“Thank you, Mother,” Nelly said, taking her mother’s hand in hers. “I hope every daughter has a mother such as you. You make me feel so confident with your words of encouragement.
“What else is a mother to do?” her mother smiled at her daughter in fondness, “Besides, it's easy for me, I have every faith in your abilities.”
“Do I look the part?”
“My darling, youarethe part, now off you go and get some rehearsing done,” her mother pushed. But before Nelly moved away, she added, “You know we have performed this play multiple times for the people of the streets. And every time it has been a huge success. But never have we had such a beautifully talentedDorimeneamong our cast. You are the perfect, delicate butterfly to play this role.”
Nelly's face flushed at such a wonderful compliment from her mother.
“Look in the mirror and see how you blush with innocence. My dear daughter, that is what is going to win over the hearts of your audience,” her mother encouraged. “See how your bright red lips clash with your white powdered face? How you carry your elaborate hair style that sits upon your head with props aplenty. And beneath all of that, I can still see the softness in your eyes that will carry your expressions to your audience.”
“I look like you, Mother, with all this stage makeup on,” Nelly pointed out. “But I like looking like you. Knowing that will lend me some confidence.
“You do, my love. Now off you go, they’re waiting for you.”
Nelly hugged her mother and dashed over to the cast who would be out there on the stage with her any time soon. Some of them were family members and others were close friends, but they all loved her, and her heart filled with love for them too.
Straight away she was able to jump into the leading role, not even needing to ask which part they were rehearsing. To add to the charm of the play, the main male role was being played by a female actor. The play had comedic scenes, but it built up to the grand finale of a tragic ending. Because that was what the audience loved, and they would be well and truly entertained.
Nelly’s mother was the principal owner of the acting company, as her family had been since it began generations ago. The group of actors who toured with the company, whether family members or not, they were all like one big family. And so, Nelly knew them all, and each of them would support her developing role. Most of them had been with the touring company for many years. They had watched Nelly grow into the leading role she was about to perform for the first time. And all of them shared her mother's opinion, that Nelly was born to act.
“Are you to tell me that my new husband has taken on a mistress?”Nelly repeated her lines, getting into the drama without even realizing that she had done so, such was her talent.“But ours was a marriage born from a business agreement, and not out of love. What care I for such indiscretions?”
This scene dictated that she plays a cheated wife, and that she did not care, for hers was an arranged marriage, as the title implied. Later in the play, she would cheat on her husband, and by the end of it, he would murder her for her indiscretion. It was a play that brought about laughter and tears, written for a specific audience so that the poor could poke fun at the rich.
Nelly had seen the play re-enacted many times over the years, even with her parents in the leading roles. But now, it was her turn, and her cousin, Daisy, played her husband. It was also Daisy’s debut and when rehearsals were done, they huddled together in a show of support for one another.
“I have the easier role, Daisy, at least I am playing the fairer sex,” Nelly said. “You have the added awkwardness of playing a man!”
“Yes, but you have to die in the last scene, I wouldn’t have a clue how to play such a part,” Daisy said.
“Hah! So, you're comfortable with murdering me then?” Nelly asked, laughing.
“Oh, I hope we do the scene justice,” Daisy added, burrowing her brows into a deep frown with worry.
“Every rehearsal has gone well, so why shouldn’t the real thing?” Nelly encouraged, knowing her cousin needed as much support as she did.
“You are right, cousin, and playing alongside you is a real honour,” Daisy told her, and she meant it. “You are by far the best actor in the group, Nelly, and don’t you forget it.”
“That's a lot for me to live up to,” Nelly said, fretting over the thought. “With words like that, how can I dare make a mistake?”
“You have proven that you are good at covering over any mistakes, so you have nothing to worry over,” Daisy assured her. “Besides, your mother would not have put you in the leading role if she thought for one moment you were not ready.”
“There are others in the group who could play the part better, but Mother is pushing me to do it. She says it is time for me to consider taking over the company, but I don’t know… I don’t feel ready for it.”
“You have me by your side, always, don’t you ever forget that,” Daisy said cheerfully.
“You are like a sister to me, Daisy—”
“Role call!” her mother shouted out, reeling off the names of the actors for the next scene, one of which was her daughter.
“Here we go.” Nelly had a nervous quiver on her lips. She was anxious because a leading role was far more stressful than a supporting one. But her mother had been right, if she forgot her lines, she knew exactly how to flow with her dialogue. Now it was time to pray that her hands would stop shaking and that her voice would carry to the audience and not sound so fretful.
“Break a leg!” Daisy called after her.
“You too, Daisy. I’ll see you out there soon.”
She had changed into a plain cream day dress for the coming scene, for she was to look the part of a bride. The stage was set for her wedding day, and Daisy would be wearing a man’s tailored jacket with tight pants and knee boots. As soon as she got to the last creaky, wooden step of the inn, she danced through the back door of the inn and into the yard. There, she climbed onto the wooden stage that she had acted upon so many times before, but never in such an important capacity. Nelly began her lines.