. . .siiiiighhh. . . How alone I am under this unforgiving sky! The wind that blows whispers of my doom . . .
charming:
This sadness is such a bore.
To fix it is a simple chore,
And certainly no harm will come
If the fairy queen does meddle some.
Miss Charming fumbled with a prop bag of sparkles while everyone froze patiently. At last she managed to open the bag, grab a fistful, and toss them. The entire massive gob landed right in Miss Heartwright’s face. She didn’t make a sound, her eyes stayed closed, her face absolutely caked in glitter as if a giant red unicorn had sneezed on her. She opened her mouth to speak her lines, but glitter puffed out and she began to cough.
She tossed aside her book and looked not at the shepherd East as the fairy queen had intended but at Nobley’s soldier character. And so began the play’s plot of love spells gone awry. Heartwright threw herself at Nobley, declaring her immediate love. Jane intercepted, declaring her own love, while soldier Nobley denied them both.
east:
How would you reject so fair and perfect a lady? You dare wound her soul with your words? Then I will wound your face with my staff!
nobley:
Here you—Oops, you’ve got my sleeve. Let me just. . . Here, you rogue!
east:
Enough babble, sirrah. I will not fight your tongue! I—You’ve hooked me. Your sword is . . .
jane&heartwright:
Oh!Ooh, aah . . . um. . .
nobley:
Hold still, just let me . . .
east:
A pox upon you! I will meet you strike for strike.
nobley:
Almost got it . . . Aha!Here is your sharp, silver death!
andrews:
A battle blazes! With no sweetheart to write odes for, I will bear witness instead to war!
As Jane stood off to the side, she observed in Colonel Andrews something she hadn’t noticed before. Was the theatrical poet he portrayed supposed to be gay? Or perhaps the actor portraying Colonel Andrews was himself gay, and here, in the play within a play, he revealed part of his true self?
Jane looked around with fresh eyes, noticing everything new the play was revealing. Normally cheery and confident Captain East gripped his script pages, reading from them with an insecure stutter. Miss Charming was as exuberant and bright as a girl of five leaping confidently through a kindergarten pageant. Miss Heartwright glared every time Charming spoke, perhaps disgruntled that she herself didn’t have the biggest part. AndJane was having fun—like real, carefreefun. Even as a child, people said she was serious and old before her time. Had a playful kid been in there all along, buried by the fear of her mother’s disapproving glare or the judgments of peers and boyfriends?
And Mr. Nobley . . .
Mr. Nobley was watching Jane, as he often did. But on his lips was the slenderest, sincerest smile.
Miss Charming dug again into her bag of sparkles. The stage action froze, everyone wincing in anticipation. Miss Heartwright shielded her face with both hands. Captain East squeezed his eyes shut and had just turned when the clump of glitter struck the side of his head, turning his whole ear Valentine red.
When Captain East opened his eyes, he was looking at Miss Heartwright. She shook her head and reluctantly pointed toward Jane, reminding him that his character was supposed to be mistakenly enchanted with Jane’s dairymaid character now. So East’s character began to chase Jane while Heartwright chased Nobley, with many exclamations of “O cunning cur” and “O gallant love.” They took the chase offstage, leaving Andrews and Charming alone in the footlights.
