And he let her go.
Bran drove the wagon to the stables. He and a lad put up the horses and they left the duke sleeping in the wagon bed.
The next morning, Bran shaved, dressed, and set off to see Kate. He had not slept well. He’d begun to doubt himself. There were things he should have said the night before. He believed he must try again. Years before, he hadn’t and she had needed him.
Dreams change, he planned to say to her.That was what life wasabout—startingin one direction and then realizing something better, finer lay in another.
Would he convince her? He didn’t know.
In the end, it didn’t matter because when he reached the clearing, he discovered the actors were gone—wagon, tents, and stage.
Standing in the empty field, he accepted this wasn’t the past repeating itself.
And he let her go.
Chapter Nineteen
In a week’s time, Kate was in London and she discovered that many things were different about the workings of the theater world since she was last there.
She barely knew any of the theater managers and even fewer of the actors. No one seemed to have memory of her. She was starting from the very bottom of the heap as far as recognition. She had done so time and time again. After all, every new village during her years traveling with a troupe demanded she introduce herself. That didn’t make it easier.
Because she had set her heart on performingThe Tempest,she’d had to rent a theater with a royal patent. Months earlier, she had negotiated leasing the Drury Lane on Catherine Street for one week between the shows they were mounting. The pressure to make her mark in that short period of time was significant. She prayed she didn’t buckle from the weight of it.
Of course they could not use the theater to rehearse so she rented a hall. She marked off Drury Lane’s stage just as she had the ground in Maidenshop. She also paid for a room for the men and one for Mary and herself. Tiny rooms without air and beds that were less comfortable than the cot she slept on when traveling. Three weeks to rehearse and build Brandon’s sets, one week to perform.
InTheTempest, Kate had chosen the part of the fairy Ariel. Silas would be the magician Prospero and Nestor, the evil Caliban. Mary was given the role of Miranda, daughter to Prospero and Robbie would be the handsome Ferdinand.
One of the first actions to upset her plans was John’s leaving the company. He didn’t like London. It wasn’t for him and he headed off to Manchester where he said he had family.
They were two actors down what with Kate having dismissed Jess.
She hurried to find replacements and several more to fill out the parts inThe Tempest. Silas, Robbie, and Nestor set to work on Brandon’s designs for the stage pieces while she and Mary sewed costumes. Besides the Shakespeare, they would perform several of herAesop’s Fables. London audiences expected a full evening.
Her dream was an expensive endeavor. By the end of the second week of rehearsals, Kate was squeezing every penny.
She was going over her expense books when Silas charged into the room she and Mary shared. Kate sat at a table, squinting at numbers by candlelight.
He slammed his hands down on the desk to gain her attention. “I’ve found Jess.”
Kate looked up. “And this interests me because...?”
“She is at Covent. She’s playing Ophelia across from Kemble.” John Kemble was one of the finest actors in England.
That commanded her attention. “Jess?”
“Aye.” Silas reached for a stool and dragged it over to sit. “Kate, her first performance was Monday. Here it is Wednesday and they are singing her praises. They call her the ‘Golden Goddess.’”
“Oh, please.” Kate put down her pen. “The names they come up with. They lauded me as the ‘Aphrodite of London.’”
“I can understand that, but Jess—?”
“It just means she has captured male attention.” She picked up her pen. “This has nothing to do with us.”
“I thought you’d wish to know.”
“I do. I had no doubt she would land on her feet. May she carry on happily and stay away from our door.” Silas nodded, rose, and started to leave, but Kate stopped him. “How were the reviews?”
He sighed heavily. “Fair. Of course, everything she knows, you taught her. And her winning the part has little to do with talent. The rumor is she has an important benefactor. They met at a posting house. The original actress came down sick and, well, there was Jess.”
