Massonville 1897
After a night of very little sleep, Ophelia got out of bed with heavy eyes. She still hadn't made a decision. She wanted to marry Edward, but only if he was going to be the old Edward who was her best friend. She couldn't forget that the man who had asked her to be his wife hadn't been able to look up from his hands to face her.
Eating breakfast was out of the question, but there was still some unfinished office work awaiting her. As she made her way down the inner staircase that connected the family quarters to the office, she heard the sound of someone gasping for breath. She raced down the last few steps to find her mother on the highest rung of the ladder they kept in the office. Juliet's face was white, and she was holding on to the top bookshelves for dear life.
“Help me!” she choked out. She swayed, her hands loosened their grip, and she began to fall. Ophelia caught her before she tumbled to the floor. That was when she realized how easy it was to hold her; Mama didn't weigh more than a child.
How could I not have noticed? I have been so busy with my own affairs that I didn't see her dwindling to skin and bones.
“What were you doing, Mama?” Ophelia scolded, guilt making her voice harsh.
“I just wanted … to hold Romie's dictionary,” Mama gasped.
“Romie” was her brother Romeo, who had deserted her many years ago. His dictionary was a beaten-up old thing that Mama kept on the top shelf for sentimental reasons. It was of no use to anyone, and for Mama to climb up to the office ceiling on a rickety ladder to get it was stupid and foolhardy. Ophelia was about to say as much when Juliet leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.
“I don't think I can do it anymore,” she said. “All I wanted was a theater for us, for my family. I wanted the name to last. For Papa and Maman.” She opened her eyes. “But … I can't do it anymore.”
Ophelia was accustomed to her mother being tired, but she'd never seen Juliet defeated. Ophelia tried to push away her terror. “I'm going to send for a doctor,” she said.
But Juliet grasped her hand. “No doctor, ” she said. Then she mumbled so softly that Ophelia could barely hear her. “It's my punishment.”
There was no way to push away the fear now. “Mama, I don't know what you're talking about. We haven't had such a successful season in years. The theater earned even more than the hotel, and—”
“The season was a success because of Edward Rain,” her mother interrupted in a whisper.
“And now we have the Othello tour. That will bring in more money—”
“We need Edward,” the soft, hoarse voice persisted. “Everything depends on him. And we are going to lose him.”
No. We can't.
But she knew they could.
Mama roused herself and walked painfully to her big desk. From a pile of papers, she picked up a telegram. “We received an offer this morning to extend our tour to Trenton, New Jersey. It seems that Jonathan Tyrell has some friends who manage a theater there.”
Ophelia saw the danger immediately. New Jersey was near New York, and if any important New York managers were to see Edward in Othello, he would get offers far better than any they could give him.
And if he and Jonathan were to get an offer at the same theater … The thought came unwanted into her head.
Mama was right, the future of their company did depend on Edward. It was he who brought in the audiences. Without him what would happen? Would they be forced to sell the opera house? Would some new name appear on the canopy over the front door?
“We won't take the booking in New Jersey, Mama,” she said.
Juliet shook her head. “Even if we don't, word will get out. Edward is a brilliant actor. Sooner or later we will lose him.”
Ophelia thought about seeing a new name printed in gold on the canopy over the front door of the opera house. She thought about never again having the joy of watching Edward act on her stage. And she thought about Edward, her best friend, who had taken away her loneliness and made her happy.
“No, Mama,” she said, “we will not lose Edward. Not ever.”
Before noon she told Edward she would be his wife.