Read Online Love Plays a Part by Nina Coombs Pykare - Free Book Online Page B

five or six hours. Sit down and talk to me.” He swiveled around in his chair and faced her.
    “T-talk, sir? What about, sir?” Samantha picked up the tunic and, holding it, settled into the chair.
    “First,” said Kean with an exaggerated frown, “if you don’t stop calling me ‘sir,’ I shall talk to Arnold about having you dismissed.”
    “Dismissed!” Samantha jumped to her feet, barely remembering in time to clutch the sewing basket.
    He nodded. “I mean it. Unless you stop this miserable sirring, I shall take steps - drastic steps - to have you removed from the company. Now, do you understand that?”
    “I - I - Yes, si - That is, I understand. I think.” Samantha settled back into the chair, still clutching the basket and tunic.
    “Good. Now perhaps we can get to know each other. Be friends.”
    “F - friends?” Samantha could hardly believe that any of this could be taking place.
    “Yes, friends. Actors need friends too, you know. Actors are people. You do know that, don’t you?”
    “Yes, s - That is, of course I do. But - but you can go anywhere in London. Be welcome any place. Why, all the ton are eager to have you as a guest.”
    Kean shrugged, his frown no longer make-believe. “The ton? Forget that. I don’t like to be gawked at like some freak in a raree show. I’m not comfortable with those people. They’re just not my kind.”
    “But - but why me?” Samantha stared at him.
    Kean fingered his chin thoughtfully. “I can’t say exactly. There’s just something about you that I like. I can tell by your speech that you’re educated. Yet you aren’t of a class that makes me nervous.”
    “Sir- That is, Mr. Kean. There’s something I should tell you.”
    “Yes, what?”
    “I - I’m not what you think I am. That is, Mr. Kean, I am wellborn. And - and I don’t have to work here.” She didn’t know what drove her to confess her secret, but she couldn’t stop. “I let Mr. Arnold think I was poor so he would give me work. You - you won’t tell him, will you?” She realized what she had done, and tears sprang unbidden to her eyes. “I’ve dreamed for so long, waited so long for the chance to see real plays, to be part of the theatre.” She wiped hastily at her eyes. “Please, if you tell him, he’ll dismiss me.”
    “Simmer  down,  Samantha.”  Kean’s chuckle was reassuring. “I won’t tell old Arnold anything. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
    “Thank you, Mr.-”
    Kean shook his head. “No more Mr. either. With a secret like this between us, we must be on a first-name basis.”
    “Oh, sir, I couldn’t.” Samantha clasped her hands together.
    “Yes, you can. The name is Ned. Say it. Ned. Ned, Ned, Ned.”
    “N-Ned.”
    “Say it again. Ned, Ned, Ned.”
    “Ned, Ned, Ned.”
    “That’s better. Say it again. Ned.”
    “Ned.”
    “All right. You’ll get used to it.”He smiled at her. “Thread up your needle, Samantha. There’s a rent in the front of the skirt.”
    Recalling her conversation with Jake, Samantha giggled nervously.
    “Well, and what is that about?” asked Kean.
    “My manservant - he was telling me about your tunic. And he said that it must be awfully chilly for those poor creatures who have to wear it all the time.”
    Kean smiled. “The thing is rather drafty, but it’s authentic, and that’s what we need. The idea of playing the Moor in a British officer’s coat is ridiculous in the extreme.”
    As Samantha bent to examine the richly embroidered tunic, he continued. “So, you have a manservant.”
    Samantha nodded. “Yes, Mr. Pomroy loaned him to me. My father’s solicitor – now mine.”
    Kean scratched his ear. “And have you others in your establishment?”
    “Only Hester. She was my maidservant back in Dover. She abhors the theatre, calls it an abomination. But she came with me to protect me. She’s the only friend I have.”
    “Not anymore,” Kean replied with a winning smile. “Now you have me. But go