To his right, his mother said, “Is that your aunt, Lady Viola?”
“Indeed, yes, Dowager Countess,” Lady Viola said. “She was entreated to step in at the last minute, as Lady Marie was called away from Town.”
The dowager pursed her lips, though Roland could not guess why. Lady Rawley’s attempts at playacting were faintly ridiculous, but there could be nothing shocking about Miss Mayton taking part in it.
The dowager then leaned toward Lady Viola and said something else, but she’d lowered her voice and he could not hear what it was. It seemed she was whispering in a rush, as if she must hurry to communicate her thoughts.
Whatever it was, he did not think it was particularly pleasant, if Lady Viola’s expression were anything to go by. She had looked at the dowager with her eyes wide and then quickly averted them to the stage.
He would have to speak to the dowager later about that. If it were another episode of rudeness, he would pack her bags.
“My friends,” Lady Rawley said, “I give youMuch Ado About Nothing, as I imagined in my own mind how that unfortunate situation, had it been real, might have played out.”
As Roland watched the scene unfold, he began to think that nothing particularly rational had occurred in Lady Rawley’s mind while she’d been imagining.
Hero was just now preparing to meet Claudio at the altar for try number two and had very alarmingly hidden a sword in the folds of her wedding dress. Claudio, for his part, was inexplicably wearing a helmet to meet his bride.
As Hero reached the side of her betrothed, Claudio apologized profusely for believing a pack of lies about her. He was also very sorry that she’d supposedly died of grief over it. He was, according to him, very pleased that she was still alive.
Hero’s father, Leonato, laughed and said, “I hath been thinking—all’s well that ends well, the end justifies the means, forgive and forget, where there’s a will there’s a way, what’s done is done, and so on and so forth.”
Hero spun toward her father. “Father!” she cried. “Hath you the carelessness to pledge me to this faintheart of a boy? HathIthe folly to wed such an unsteady man? I will take Benedick instead.”
Roland set down his glass of wine. That certainly hath been a twist.
Miss Mayton, playing Beatrice, stepped forward. “I hath already pledged to him, cousin.”
“Then I hath at least my revenge on Claudio!” Hero cried.
She raised the sword from the folds of her dress and struck poor Lady Agatha, playing Claudio, over the head.
Ah, so that was the reason for the helmet.
The players all stood there staring at one other, as if somebody had forgotten a line.
Claudio blinked hard at Hero, as if to remind the lady of something or encourage her on.
Hero nodded and then hit Claudio over the head again. There was a sudden spurt of red liquid that rained down on the coat of his uniform.
Lady Rawley’s audience gasped.
Claudio cried, “I hath been killed for being of faint heart!” He dropped dramatically to the floor and the other actors bowed to the audience.
Roland drained his wine. Did he just see what he thought he did? It was all rather…well, it was…He gave up. He did not know what it was.
Lady Rawley’s guests, finally understanding that they’dnotjust witnessed Lady Agatha bleeding from the head, although she did seem a bit stunned, took up an applause.
The dowager suddenly grabbed hard at his arm. At barely a whisper, she said, “I am feeling exceedingly faint from this display. Escort me out.”
Roland saw that she was pale and small beads of perspiration had formed on her forehead. He leapt up and took her arm.
“Lady Viola,” he said, bowing as well as he could under the circumstances. He supported the dowager to the front doors, hoping the fresh air would prove conducive to her condition.
A chair was fetched and her carriage called for. Lady Rawley’s butler offered to fetch a vinaigrette, but the dowager refused. Rather, she stayed draped over the chair, softly moaning, and Roland wondered if she would fall to the ground at some point.
He would have to send for a doctor. He’d never seen the dowager in such a state as this.
Roland made arrangements for one of Lady Rawley’s grooms to bring his horse home so he might ride in the carriage, lest the lady faint in the vehicle. Fortunately, it was not too long a time before the dowager’s coach arrived.
