Heaven and Hell by John Jakes Read Free Book Online Page A

behind her into the darkness. Where were the other 3fnpany members she'd assumed would be here for the rehearsal? In
    32 ' HEAVEN AND HELL
    the stillness she heard only the tiniest creak--perhaps the playhouse cat prowling. She had an impulse to run.
    "Who's there?"
    Claudius Wood's shadow preceded him to the door. He yanked it fully open, and the rectangle of gaslight widened to reveal Willa with the petition in her hand.
    Wood's cravat was untied, his waistcoat unbuttoned, his sleeves Page 35

    rolled up. He scowled at her. "The call was half past the hour. You're forty minutes late."
    "Mr. Wood, I apologize. I fell behind."
    "With what?" He noticed the papers with signatures. "Another of your radical crusades?" He startled her by snatching the petition.
    "Oh, Christ. The poor wretched Indian. Not on my time, if you please.
    I'll dock your wages. Come in, so we can get to work."
    Something undefined but alarming warned her then--warned her to run from the silent theater and this burly man, whose handsome face was already giving way to patterns of veins in his cheeks and a bulbous, spongy look to his nose. But she desperately wanted to play the difficult role he'd offered her. It called for an older actress, and an accomplished one. If she could bring it off, it would promote her career.
    And yet--
    "Isn't there anyone else coming?"
    "Not tonight. I felt our scenes together needed special attention."
    "Could we do them onstage, please? This is the Scottish play, after all."
    His bellow of laughter made her feel small and stupid. "Surely you don't believe that nonsense, Willa. You who are so intelligent, conversant with so many advanced ideas." He flicked the papers with his nail, then handed them back. "The play is Macbeth, and I'll speak the lines anywhere I choose. Now get in here and let's begin."
    He turned and went back in the office. Willa followed, a part of her saying he was right, that she was infantile to worry about the superstitions.
    Peter Parker would have worried, though.
    Overhead, a rumbling sounded--the storm growing worse. The actor-child in Willa was convinced that baleful forces were gathering above Chambers Street. Her hands turned cold as she followed her employer.
    "Take
    off your shawl and bonnet." Wood moved chairs to clear a space on the shabby carpet. The office was a junkshop of period furniture and imitation green plants in urns of all sizes and designs. Handbills for New Knickerbocker productions covered the walls. Goldsmith, Moliere, Boucicault, Sophocles. The huge desk was a litter of bills, play scripts, contracts, career mementos. Wood pushed aside Macbeth's Lost Causes 33
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    enameled dagger, a metal prop with a blunted point, and poured two inches of whiskey from a decanter. Green glass bowls on the gas jets seemed to darken rather than lighten the room.
    Nervous, Willa put the signed petitions on a velvet chair. She laid her velvet gloves on top, then her shawl and bonnet. All in a pile in case she needed to snatch them quickly. She had started to mature at twelve, and men who worked around the theater soon began responding to her beauty. She'd learned to stand them off with good humor, even a little physical force when necessary. She was expert at running away.
    Wood strolled to the door and closed it. "All right, my dear. First act, seventh scene."
    "But we rehearsed that most of yesterday."
    "I'm not satisfied." He walked back to her. "Macbeth's castle."
    Grinning, he reached out and ran his palm slowly down the silk of her sleeve. "Begin in the middle of Lady Macbeth's speech, where she says 7 have given suck.'
    He relished the last word. The gas put a highlight on his wet lower lip. Willa struggled to suppress fear and a sad despair. It was so obvious now, so obvious what he'd wanted all along, and why he'd engaged her when there were scores of older actresses available. Mrs. Drew had done everything but tell her in explicit language. She wasn't flattered, only upset. If this