Shocked, Casey stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Of all the vain, egotistical— When it hit her what he’d done, she shook her head. He had put her in the mood of Elizabeth Bennet meeting a man she thought was too full of himself.
Casey went to the table, picked up the big powder puff, and stared at herself in the mirror. She had on a lot of makeup, her hair was piled up on her head, and her dress was cut lower than her nightgown. “I am Elizabeth Bennet,” she whispered, “and I think Fitzwilliam Darcy is a snob.”
She stood up, took a deep breath, and left the room.
Onstage, with the curtain drawn, all the actors took their places. In spite of her lovely clothes, Olivia looked haggard, torn up by the events of the last few days. Sitting in a chair by the fake fireplace was Dr. Kyle. There were circles under his eyes that makeup couldn’t cover. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in days.
Gizzy, as Jane, was so pretty in her pink-and-white dress that she fairly sparkled—but her eyes were haunted. To one side of Olivia was Nina. She was subbing for Lydia, but she was too old for the role. From the grim expression on her face, she wasn’t going to be able to play a frivolous young girl who cared only about men in uniform.
The only people who didn’t seem miserable were the two high school girls playing Mary and Kitty. They were tapping away on their phones, oblivious.
All in all, it was not a happy atmosphere. There was an overriding sense of gloom—and of having lost. They had gambled and lost everything.
It was eight P.M., music was playing from the small orchestra Kit had hired, but the curtain didn’t go up.
The stage manager ran to Dr. Kyle and whispered to him. He stood up. “Sorry,” he said. “Medical emergency.” As he hurried off the stage, everyone slumped in place. Now what?
In the next minute, they heard Josh speaking to the audience. As always, his easy way with people came through. He made some jokes about Dr. Kyle having to rush off to save lives, so they’d be a few minutes late.
Behind the curtain, Kit came onto the stage dressed as Mr. Bennet. But his waistcoat was misbuttoned, and the tie at his neck was askew. Nina and Casey hurried forward to straighten him, but the costume was intricate and they couldn’t quite figure it out.
“Let me,” Olivia said, and brushed them away. Deftly, she fixed Kit’s costume. “You always were worthless,” she whispered.
Kit started to say something, but instead he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. It was a kiss of such passion, such longing—and apology—that everyone felt it. Even the teenagers quit tapping. They all stared at the couple.
When Olivia began to return Kit’s passion with enthusiasm, eyes widened. One of the girls whispered, “I didn’t know old people still did that.”
“Nobody’s ever done that to me,” the other one replied.
Everyone was so transfixed, frozen, in watching the kissing couple that they didn’t see who walked onto the stage.
The voice of the girl playing Kitty broke the trance. “Lori! You’re back!”
Nina and Casey turned to see Lori, in costume as Lydia, taking her place onstage. Their first reaction was to run to her with hugs and tears of joy. But Jack and Tate were at the side and waving their arms no. They’d worked hard to keep the real reason for the disappearance quiet, and they couldn’t blow it now.
Casey had to get herself under control and go back to her place. Josh was waiting in the wings, and when Nina ran to him, she released tears of relief and he led her away.
Kit and Olivia broke apart, and for a moment they stood together, holding hands and staring at Lori, who was smoothing her hair and dress. This tall, pretty young woman was their granddaughter, and it was the first time they were seeing her with this new knowledge.
As the director, it was Kit’s job to be sure that they got into their places before the curtain went up, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Lori or leave Olivia’s side.
“Places!” the stage manager said loudly, then had to repeat it twice before everyone obeyed.
Casey looked toward the side and saw Tate, and he gave her a thumbs-up. Haines was there.
When the curtain went up, the audience saw a happy family at home. Olivia, as Mrs. Bennet, was complaining that her daughters would never get married because her husband refused to visit Mr. Bingley.
Kit played the role of Olivia’s husband with great fondness. His line about her nerves having been his concern for so many years was said with such affectionate teasing that Olivia blushed.
Casey delivered the very famous line that “a single man in possession of a good fortu
ne must be in want of a wife.” When the audience laughed, she was startled. She’d worked to try not to remember that she was being watched by what could be hundreds of people. But the laughter at a line she had delivered felt very good.
While Olivia and Kit batted lines back and forth, Casey glanced offstage and saw Tate. The way he smiled at her said he knew how she felt. The laughter and applause were a heady experience.
He winked at her, and Casey gave her attention back to the play.
The next scene was at the assembly hall, where the Bennets were to meet Darcy and Bingley and their entourage.