Bella Poldark (51 page)

'Does this mean it is bad news?'

'Oh, no! I hope you will be as excited as I am, but - but you may have qualms, have reservations. I don't know.'

'Well, tell us what has happened.'

Christopher explained about the grave accident to Arthur Scholes, the search for a replacement, the fine decision that had to be made between cancellation and postponement.

'In the end,' he said, 'in the end it was up to McArdle and Glossop to come to a final decision. Whether there was any artistic solution which would involve them in the least loss. So in the end they came to see Bella and asked if she thought she could play the part.'

Ross said: 'What?'

Demelza swallowed and said: 'Whatpart?'

'That of Romeo.'

Christopher said: 'I was not there at the time. I was at my office. It seemed they called her into the manager's room at the theatre and point-blank asked her if she thought she could do it.'

'My God!'

'And d'you know they said, they told me, that she replied almost without hesitation. 'Yes, of course."'

There was a stunned silence.

'But this,' said Demelza, 'is the main part.'

'Yes, along with Juliet.'

'But she was - what is it? - covering for Juliet! This is the man's part!'

'It has sometimes been played by a woman. In fact, I gather, it is one of the great ambitions of our leading actresses to play it. Mrs Acton played it. And Mrs Armitage. I believe Siddons wanted to. She played Hamlet. Bella was to have played a man anyhow, in a small part.'

'It's -- impossible,' Ross said. Christopher said: 'You are the only one who has seen Bella on the professional stage. And she played the lead. What was your honest opinion of her?'

'I thought her fine. But she was playing a pretty young heiress . . . She sang beautifully, but this is utterly different! I must say the audience then was enthusiastic, but

'And that a foreign audience.' 'It is a mass of lines to memorize,' Ross said. 'She must be word perfect.'

'She seems to be. Or nearly. Remember she has been soaking up this play for weeks.'

Demelza said: 'But does not Romeo have to fight a duel? He must, from what you have told us!'

'Yes. But you may be sure Fergus Flynn, having disabled one Romeo - and in so doing has done his own acting career a grave disservice - he will make doubly sure he does not become over-realistic again . . . And Bella is a quick learner.'

'What does that mean?'

'Since hearing the news I have been teaching her the basic strokes and lunges. When Wellington spent a winter in Lisbon he organized various sports to keep his troops occupied. I won the fencing prize.'

Ross stood up. 'Were you behind this appointment, Christopher?'

'If you mean did I try to persuade her in either way, certainly not. I was not there when she agreed to play the role. I - I have not sought to dissuade her because I want her to succeed. This is an astounding chance. Even a noble failure might do her all the good in the world. Perhaps only I know how deeply she has felt about the loss of her singing voice. She said to me last week that she felt like nothing now - as if she did not properly exist. This extraordinary opportunity - to return not as an extra but to the centre of the stage will, I hope and believe, act like a renewal of her life. How could I persuade her not to do this?'

Ross looked at Demelza. 'What do you think?'

'I am lost.'

'There must have been some influence at work. I wonder if Edward Fitzmaurice had a hand in it?'

'They are in Norfolk,' Christopher said. 'Bella heard from Clowance yesterday.'

'What sort of a number of folk does the Royal Coburg hold?' Demelza asked.

'Somewhere around fifteen hundred to eighteen hundred.'

Demelza said nothing more, but looked at Ross almost appealingly.

Christopher intercepted the glance. 'There was no way of asking for your approval. She had said yes, and I had no authority to say no. I know it is a tremendous undertaking for her, and it may well not come off.'

'You say a noble failure might do her good all the same,'

said Ross. 'But what if the failure is not noble? It could be the end of her willingness to appear in public. It might kill her confidence completely. You must know how fierce and harsh a crowd can be. This cannot be the most refined of audiences. It draws on a poor district.'

'I do not suppose the audiences at Rouen were highly cultivated.'

'No, they were not. But by the time I saw the production Bella had become their favourite.'

'Pray God it happens here,' said Christopher.

It had not all occurred quite like that, but Christopher felt justified for the time being in lying by omission. Observing the amount of influence Edward Fitzmaurice had wielded by means of an investment of 500 pounds in the theatre, and thereafter being elected a trustee, Christopher had sold the new house (at a substantial profit) and invested 500 pounds in the Royal Coburg. He had reasoned then that if Bella did well in her small speaking part, his influence as a trustee would help Mr Glossop to think favourably of her for some larger part in the near future. He obviously had had no other thought in mind, but he felt it essential to help Bella to go on climbing the new ladder. He could not bear to think of her as destroyed. Thereafter had come the accident and, unknown to Bella, he had tackled, first, Mr Glossop alone, secondly Frederick McArdle, and then the two men together. There had been instant resistance, though not a hostile one. McArdle surprisingly had been the more amenable, though still against the idea. 'A woman, a girl, it must be fifteen years or more since Mrs Acton did it. It was not badly received. There's always a special interest in a woman playing a man's part. Shakespeare knew all about that. Doublet and hose, a hint of prurience. Bella has certainly got the looks and the presence. But she's got no experience. Ach, no, this is a rough audience. Sorry, Christopher, I think for your lady. I doubt she would entertain it.'

'Ask her.'

'No, it's too great a risk,' said Glossop firmly. 'My family has sunk thousands into this theatre. If this production were an ordinary failure it would involve a considerable loss all round. If it were a fiasco it would ruin the reputation we are trying to build up.'

'I am not without money,' Christopher said. 'I would be willing to advance you a draft for a further five hundred pounds to cover any possible loss on this production. If it is a failure the money can go to expenses that you can't retrieve. If it is a success the draft can go to the purchase of five more shares in the production company.'

Glossop rubbed his fat chin. 'You have great faith in Miss Poldark, Havergal.'

'I have known her a long time.'

"What do you think, McArdle?'

'I've been considering,' the director said. 'I have been looking at ways in which we could make a virtue of necessity, so to speak. That she is a young woman, quite unknown, never before set foot on a London stage, trained as an opera singer, a huge success in Paris. That would bring people in ... If then it all turned out a dreadful failure they could turn nasty.'

Money had been talking to Mr Glossop. He said: 'Do you think any of the existing cast would resent such premature promotion?'

'Whether they do or not,' McArdle said, 'I'll see that they do not show it.'

Monday it rained all day. Bella was called for still one more rehearsal at the theatre, and they did not see her until after dinner, when Christopher brought her to see them at about five. She was glowing, taut, now and then abruptly silent, thoughtful, her hair shortened and subdued. She was wearing a simple blue dress with a ruffed collar that could well have been adapted for a young man. It was clear that she was thinking herself into the part. Mother-catlike, Demelza looked her over and wondered if, after the grave illness of the summer, she were not being persuaded to put too great a strain upon her youthful vitality. Even her voice had darkened a little; possibly it was deliberate to go with the assumption of maleness, but would it hold out under the strain of speaking, almost declaiming, before an audience of more than a thousand people? In spite of these thoughts, it was a lively meeting. She and Christopher appeared to be on the old affectionate terms. What if Maurice were suddenly to turn up? Tuesday was fine, and the rain had lifted. Bella said she would not see her parents before the opening. She was going to have a quiet morning, a light meal at the theatre. Ross and Demelza were to dine with Mrs Pelham and go on to the theatre at six-thirty. There was to be a light comic play called Harlequin first, and The Two Lovers of Verona was due to start at seven. Time dragged; darkness fell; a light rain came down and then cleared. They climbed into Mrs Pelham's carriage and clopped off at a measured pace towards Bella's destiny.

Waterloo Bridge was lit by gas lamps, winking and reflecting off the Thames, which as usual was full of lightermen and looked like an intermittent snake of glowworms. So to the theatre. A handsome facade, and it seemed as if the crowd which was to fill the house was still outside. Christopher was waiting for them at the main door and led them to their box. They went in as quietly as possible so as not to disturb the actors already singing and dancing on the gaudy stage. Few others in the pit or in the gallery seemed to mind disturbing or competing with the singers in any way they chose.

'They are going to install gas in the New Year,' Christopher said. 'I'm not sure that I like it: these lamps give off a more mellow light.'

The box was close to the stage, scarcely a man's height above the level of the stage and as far back from it. This was a farce that was being enacted and the crudely painted faces of the actors were there to invite laughter, even derision. They tripped up and fell over each other, women shouted and put out their tongues, the twelve-piece orchestra brayed. The theatre was already more than half full;

people were pouring in, pushing and crushing to get a good position. Demelza thought: 'Why did I ever let this happen? I could have stopped it all at the very beginning! Said: "Bella, no? This is not for you - it is not for us. We are genteel country folk, provincials, concerned with the seasons and the weather and the ordinary, lovingly commonplace routine of animals and crops and the turning world." Why did I ever let her become mixed up in such brash, trumpery tinsel as this? Why does she have to expose herself to the stares and the catcalls of all these Londoners, who work in dark factories and come out in the evening to be entertained with crude jokes and pantomime action? It is Bella who will shortly have to come out on that stage and pretend to be a lovesick young man. Ross is not short of money now. Well enough to go to a theatre to be entertained. But not, not to take part! Bella will soon be coming on before this rabble. Dear God, I think I shall faint! If I fainted, could I stop it all?'

The musical was coming to an end. The actors were bowing and the orchestra was rising to a crescendo, and in a moment the curtains fell across the stage and all went dark. Christopher had given her a programme, but she could not hold her hand steady enough to read it. There was some reference to Miss Bella Poldark in larger print, but she did not want to read it. It would only upset her the more. The curtains parted, and a tall thin man in the black and white evening suit made de rigueur by the dictates of Beau Brummel began to speak into a gradually decreasing hubbub of sound. He appeared to be telling the audience what they already knew - about the nature of Shakespeare's tragedy, the remarkable cast which had been assembled to depict it, a late substitution for the actor playing Romeo because of the unfortunate accident happening to Mr Arthur Scholes, the singular good fortune of the management in securing the services of Miss Bella Poldark, who, fresh from her triumphs in Paris, had agreed at short notice to take over the leading role (pause for applause, which was muted). He must also recommend to their attention the remarkable scenery, which had been specially designed and painted and built for this play alone. He had talked the audience into semi-silence, and now, after he had bowed and withdrawn through the velvet curtains, there was a brief pregnant pause, then the curtains slowly parted to reveal a busy street in Verona. Scenery had come to mean a lot to a modern audience, and there was a solid round of clapping and whistles of approval. A score of people were on the stage, walking about, women with their baskets, men strolling and talking, a beggar at a corner, stately steps leading to a porticoed mansion on the left. The costumes too were excellently done, colour generally khaki or brown, but with a slash of yellow or scarlet about a woman's head or throat. A convincing scene. The audience was ready to watch and listen. They had chosen the beggar to speak the prologue, and presently he climbed to his feet, yawned, smoothed down his ragged jacket and came centre stage to speak.

'Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene ..."

So the play began, the peaceful scene suddenly rent by a quarrel between the servants and the relatives of the Montagues and the Capulets, breaking into a fierce fight with swords and bucklers. A good deal of practice had gone into the battle and it greatly pleased the audience. Benvolio, Romeo's friend, tries to stop the quarrel, but it is fanned into flames again by the fiercely quarrelsome Tybalt, Juliet's cousin. This further duel is quelled by citizens with clubs and then by the arrival of Lord and Lady Montague and Lord and Lady Capulet, and then the Prince of Verona himself, to threaten death or banishment to anyone who in future dares to break the peace. As people begin to disperse, Romeo is discussed by his father and others. Where is he? What is amiss with him? Onto the largely emptied stage Romeo strolls to meet Benvolio and explain he is desperately in love with his cousin Rosaline. Demelza hardly recognized her daughter. Dressed in scarlet doublet and hose, hair drawn tightly back and slightly darkened under a soft scarlet cap, sword at hip. Her voice was lighter than most of the men's, but heavier than usual, every word clearly but casually enunciated, as if she spoke the words as she thought them.

'Love is a smoke rais'd with the fume of sighs, Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vexed, a sea nourished with lovers' tears. What is it else? a madness most discreet..."

The audience, though still restive, was not, as far as one could see, put off by Bella's sex. Once the play had moved to the great scene in the Ballroom, and Romeo, having been persuaded to go to the Ball masked, has seen Juliet for the first time and, Rosaline forgot, realizes she is the one and only love of his life, then the audience began to watch and listen more attentively. It was fortunate that Charlotte Bancroft was three inches shorter. In a light silk dress with hair falling over her shoulders, there was a sufficient disparity between them to foster the illusion. What astonished Demelza almost more than anything was that her daughter spoke with such confidence and so clearly. One year's elocution at Dr Fredericks' Academy! Although she did not shout, as one or two of the men did, her voice came over clearer than any of the others. And much of it was poetry, to be declaimed. Yet she might have been talking in the kitchen of Nampara. Then Romeo is recognized by Tybalt and denounced to Lord Capulet, but Lord Capulet pacifies his angry kinsman and refuses to turn Romeo away. At this stage Demelza somehow lost touch with reality and became involved with the star-crossed lovers, not forgetting life as it was but transported to this new tragedy on the stage. At the end of the Ballroom scene Christopher excused himself with a whispered apology. Bella had not wanted him to come round at the impending interval, but he said he wanted to gauge Mr Glossop's reaction so far.