"Have no fear, my dear, I shall take Miss Wigfall here under my birdlike wing. With her magnificent musculature, we shall transform and transmogrify this bare interior with trappings fit for a palace of the imagination, in short... a theatre!" Darling declaimed, throwing up a hand, dramatically.
Evelyn smiled at the thought of Darling having his own ideas of making this place into a theatre...that would surely annoy Ben Simons somewhat.
"Yes of course. Might I ask what play will you be putting on for the opener? I used to live in New York City and saw a few theater plays. I enjoyed them though Father thought them a bit of an expensive extravagance...his words not mine."
Looking at the girl, Evelyn nodded. It seems that this one was at least aware of the theatre. "We'll be performing an adaptation of Saratoga by Bronson Howard...a play I think the people of this town will quite enjoy."
She turned to Darling, "Now, that the introductions have been made, would you kindly show the young ladies what needs to be done."
For a second, she thought about adding something about keeping an eye on them just in case Darling had made another mistake but decided not to. Despite his faults, Darling was a competent actor and if she lost him now, or that fact any of the other members of her troupe while in this backwater, she wouldn't be able to replace them. That thought was a sobering one indeed and another reason to curse the man who had bought her here.
Looking at the girl, Evelyn nodded. It seems that this one was at least aware of the theatre. "We'll be performing an adaptation of Saratoga by Bronson Howard...a play I think the people of this town will quite enjoy."
"Oh Saratoga, like the famous battle in the Revolution?" Miriam knew some of the history of her country if not the actual play or author, neither of who she had a clue.
"I will certainly look forward to seeing it," she declared in all sincerity, perhaps her and Arabella could take it in together?
The woman now turned to Darling, "Now, that the introductions have been made, would you kindly show the young ladies what needs to be done."
Miriam blinked, she was confused. Just a few seconds earlier the woman had stated she would show her where the dresses were but now she to be back in the company of Mr. Darling who would explain what they would be doing?
"Oh? Ummm, alright," the girl then looked to the flamboyant actor with the goatee for yet more instructions. Hopefully HE knew where the dresses were kept because she still did not.
"How very dare you?! Of course it's my natural hair color!"
"Oh Saratoga, like the famous battle in the Revolution?" Miriam knew some of the history of her country if not the actual play or author, neither of who she had a clue.
"Indeed, dear girl, indeed!" Darling smiled "...but that is merely the locus dramatis. The piece is a mere modern comedy of manners."
"I will certainly look forward to seeing it," she declared in all sincerity, perhaps her and Arabella could take it in together?
"See it? You might end up being in it! What do you think Evey? We shall need a couple of local youngsters for Pussy and Larks! Eh, no? Oh." No indeed: one of the jobs that Darling was never given was the casting of locals in walk on parts, especially female locals! Not after what happened at Grand Falls, Dakota.
The woman now turned to Darling, "Now, that the introductions have been made, would you kindly show the young ladies what needs to be done."
"Oh? Ummm, alright," the girl then looked to the flamboyant actor with the goatee for yet more instructions. Hopefully HE knew where the dresses were kept because she still did not.
"No dear, I think you are taking Miss Kaufmann to the dresses." he glanced at the girls "Have no fear, ladies, Miss Hardy can remember what she is about once she feels the stage beneath her dainty size 12 boots."
"Can I come and see the costumes, too?" Jemima suddenly asked. Darling was too old and fancy for her tastes, and besides, his beard reminded her of that snake, the late, unlamented Richard Orr, for whom she had ever held the deepest of contempt.
"No dear, I think you are taking Miss Kaufmann to the dresses." he glanced at the girls "Have no fear, ladies, Miss Hardy can remember what she is about once she feels the stage beneath her dainty size 12 boots."
Evelyn blushed at her faux pas. She had been distracted by what was going on over on the other side of the room and had forgotten what she had said earlier. The youngest member of her troupe, Beatrice Shaw had just returned with some cowboy and was showing him around the place. The way the ingenue was fawning over the man was concerning. Beatrice had a habit of latching onto some poor fellow and falling in love with him. Thankfully, the girl had enough sense in the past to break it off with them (with a little nudge or two) by the time they left town.
"My apologies," Evelyn answered, "Yes, I will show you where our costumes are. I do hope you won't be overwhelmed with the workload as some of them didn't survive the trip here. If you will just follow me."
Dapper Mr. Darling came to Miriam's confused rescue, reminding the woman of what she had said only a moment earlier to the young seamstress.
"My apologies," Evelyn answered, "Yes, I will show you where our costumes are. I do hope you won't be overwhelmed with the workload as some of them didn't survive the trip here. If you will just follow me."
"Very well, ma'am. Overwhelmed? Gosh I hope not. But we are used to working against deadlines," Miriam responded.
"So was it a rough trip?" she imagined the clothes would have been in some sort of luggage at least for such journeys.
"THERE'S SOMEBODY AT THE DOOR!!!"
"My apologies," Evelyn answered, "Yes, I will show you where our costumes are. I do hope you won't be overwhelmed with the workload as some of them didn't survive the trip here. If you will just follow me."
The normally inert Jemima jumped, she had been as distracted as Miss Hardy by the entrance of the handsome cowboy and the younger actress who, she had to grudgingly admit, was prettier than any girl in town, including the likes of the winsome Anaesthesia Orr.
"Very well, ma'am. Overwhelmed? Gosh I hope not. But we are used to working against deadlines," Miriam responded.
"We get the job done, no matter how tough." Jemima agreed, sounding like she'd been asked to drown a sack-full of puppies.
"So was it a rough trip?" she imagined the clothes would have been in some sort of luggage at least for such journeys.
Jemima listened for the answer as the two girls followed the fancy big-city actress to 'wardrobe'.
"So was it a rough trip?" she imagined the clothes would have been in some sort of luggage at least for such journeys.
"It was about as rough as you expect it to be since this place is in a remote area," Evelyn replied. No need to mention the fact that Kalispell was a dreadful backwater, as the two girls probably had families here and that meant paying customers.
"There is usually some damage on any trip we make as sometimes we don't get time to check the costumes before we leave due to the distance we have to travel."
When they arrived at the part of the theatre where the costumes were, Evelyn turned to Miriam, "As you can see we have hung some of them on the racks but there are still others that need to be taken out of the trunks."
One of things Evelyn liked to do was to throw people in the deep end. She walked over to one of the dresses that was hanging up and pointed out how some of the buttons were missing and how some of the lace trimming was coming undone, "As you can see this one needs some minor repairs. So, we'll start off with this and you can show me what you can do. If you do a good job on this one, you can proceed to the other outfits."
Miriam's question was answered by this theatre lady though Miriam still did not understand how even a bumpy stage trip could damage clothing packed away in luggage. But no matter, if some needed fixing then that's what she would attempt to do. Her employer sent her over here to be of help, it was her job.
When they arrived at the part of the theatre where the costumes were, Evelyn turned to Miriam, "As you can see we have hung some of them on the racks but there are still others that need to be taken out of the trunks."
Miriam nodded, "Very well, ma'am."
Evelyn walked over to one of the dresses that was hanging up and pointed out how some of the buttons were missing and how some of the lace trimming was coming undone, "As you can see this one needs some minor repairs. So, we'll start off with this and you can show me what you can do. If you do a good job on this one, you can proceed to the other outfits."
Miriam took a quick look and was ready with an answer, "Well, I can certainly mend the garment easily enough. The hard part is matching those buttons to replace the missing ones. I am uncertain we have that exact type of button. May I take them all off and then replace the buttons with a complete new set?"
"THERE'S SOMEBODY AT THE DOOR!!!"
It was that moment that Jemima realised that despite everything, the fact that she was Jewish, the fact that she was pretty, and Jemima was not, despite her unnatural (with Muddy) and unpleasant (with her own brother! Yeuk!) liaisons, despite being annoyingly quiet and mousy, despite all of that: Jemima felt a great affection for Miriam. It was the sort of easy, comradely affection that grows between two people who work together, day in, day out, in the same hum-drum job.
Also, she not only admitted Miriam's superior skills with a needle and tread, she was proud of them.
"That girl's a miracle with the sewing" she always told folk, in her flat monotonous voice.
Years later, in very different circumstances, and before the Ringling Brothers strongwoman's untimely death, she would bump into Arabella and Miriam on professional visits to The Great White Way and, in the gaps between the vapid babblings of 'Miss Wentworth' as she now called herself, Jemima and Miriam would have quiet, knowing, friendly conversations.
Miriam took a quick look and was ready with an answer, "Well, I can certainly mend the garment easily enough. The hard part is matching those buttons to replace the missing ones. I am uncertain we have that exact type of button. May I take them all off and then replace the buttons with a complete new set?"
Jemima looked at Mrs Hardy with the dead fish eye glare of a shark about to snap up its prey.
"You'd better do like she says, Missus Lady, Miss Kaufmann's an expert." She looked and sounded like she would pull out a six shooter and fill Miss Hardy full of lead if the actress didn't heed Miriam's advice!
She looked at the girly girl. "I'll get the button box." she announced evenly.