“I could not rebel against those who love me," she replied with conviction. "It would make me feel like a traitor against my family.”
She could sense Oliver’s eyes watching her in the glimmering moonlight. She even felt comfortable with it because she liked being alone with this man. Nelly felt that to lie to him would not be fair, for he was so open with her. Sharing his enjoyment of her performance, and his obvious love of the theatre. He talked about grand plays acted out in huge theatre halls. Grand candelabras hanging from ornately decorated, golden ceilings, lighting up the halls. When she heard his tales, she felt a yearning to see it for herself, and even, heaven forbid, act there herself one day.
“And the audience, are they as passionate as the crowds we play for?”
“Now there you have me,” he said with a sad expression. “Of course, many are passionate about the play, but a theatre house is about more than that. It encompasses the entire setting of the play. The audience, the actors, and the extravagance of the building. Many are not even interested in the show.”
"Why would they go then, to watch a play they didn’t enjoy?"
“Ah, that is where you can sometimes notice the difference. The members of the audience are also part of the play,” he said.
“What? You mean audience participation?” she asked, confused. “How can so many people play a role in a stage play?”
“No, not quite on the stage. Those who visit the theatre are there to show off their class in a fine setting. That is the way of the wealthy. The stage is set for them to boast to one another, and the play itself takes second place” he explained.
For the next few hours, he admitted to her how he loved to watch plays in the theatre house too. He went on to explain how one of the servants in the big house got him tickets whenever he wanted them. And when he was there, he would observe all the people and watch the drama that played out in the crowds. He shared how the audience of wealthy clientele pranced around like peacocks. She laughed, and at the same time, it saddened her too.
"The stage performance should always play the central role in a night in a theatre, don't you agree?" she asked, quite serious in her conviction.
"Put it this way, the actors are all the lead roles. The audience plays the lesser roles, with the building itself as the entire stage," he said.
In between his tales, he asked her questions about her life. It seemed that their time together had been but a blur in a scene set upon a scene, as Nelly noticed the sky was turning brighter. Above them, the sky was no longer filled with stars. It had changed from darkness to the soft red glow of early dawn that was filled with grey clouds floating above them in silence.
Nelly stood up to stretch out her aching legs, and she turned to lean over the wall. Oliver did likewise, and as they gazed up to see the sunrise, someone shouted out her name. Looking down she spotted familiar faces looking up at her, and she waved to them.
“Do you know them, or are they annoying admirers who follow great performers around?” Oliver asked as if he wanted to protect her if it was needed. His concern caused her to smile.
“Ha, yes, they are annoying, but they are my cousins,” she laughed as she waved back at them. “I’m up here,” she called out, feeling a little saddened that the evening and the company of Oliver had come to an end.
“You know I have told you of my family, and you have told me of the big theatre houses, but I know nothing of you, Oliver,” she said to him. “We have shared an entire evening, but I still do not know who you are.”
She could see him hesitate as if contemplating what to say. But he hesitated too long as the door to the roof burst open, and her cousins joined them. The moment was gone, and she suddenly felt a distance growing between herself and Oliver.
“Ah, come here you lot, and meet Oliver. He’s a very wise man who seems to know everything there is to know about the life of an actor,” she said, sharing with them her newfound friendship.
They accepted her words, for it was enough, and they greeted Oliver with much enthusiasm and friendliness.
“It’s time to go and get some much-needed rest, before tonight’s performance, Nelly,” her cousin Jacob told her. “We had such a celebration at your success, that another day has sneaked upon us.”
“This is Jacob,” she said to Oliver, with a huge grin on her lips. “And we always do what he says, as he's the oldest and considers himself the wisest among us.”
“His words are wise,” Oliver acknowledged as he nodded his head in agreement with Jacob's remark. “A tired actor is no good to anyone, but a refreshed one will give their all.”
“Goodbye Oliver,” she said as she went to stand closer to him. Her cousins were already clambering back down the stairs to leave. “I don't know much about you, but I do hope to see you again.”
She did not wait for a reply. Instead, she turned towards the stairway. Before disappearing, she turned back again and waved to her handsome stranger, sharing a fond smile with him. Dashing down the stairway, and through the inn, she soon caught up with her cousins.
“Are you going to tell us anything about your new friend?” Matt, Jacob’s younger brother, asked her.
“He's someone who loved my performance. And a man who is very knowledgeable about the theatre,” she answered. Nelly did not want to share anything else, as the moment with Oliver had been private.
“Then he has good taste,” Tory said. “Daisy told us you had found a handsome admirer.”
“Then your sister needs to hold her tongue,” Nelly remarked, feigning anger. In truth, she was floating on a cloud. “We talked of theatre all night long, that’s all,” she replied, which was true, in part. But she failed to add how he had won over her heart.