No Without-Book Prologue

"They have their exits and their entrances."

March 29th

Albion Manor was rarely a dull place. Lord Albion himself was always running to and fro to satisfy his responsibilities to the purse of the realm. His lady wife was never without a project, whether it was illustrating a book of poetry or rearranging the furniture in search of perfect chromatic harmony. Adrian's idle hours had been eaten up by his baby son, Frederick, who was the darling of the family. Adrian's wife, Ann, made it seem like she had thirty-six hours in day - she doted on Frederick, competed in archery, and was part of the three-headed monster that was the Theatrical Society of Verona, alongside the Albion daughters, Cherry and Morgaine.

Cherry was always calmest at the beginning of a new production. Ann had to cast and direct the show and Morgaine was always fiddling with the script, whether her own creation or a found gem. Cherry was master of the design elements and the keeper of the purse. The budget wasn't her favorite responsibility, but she had a good head for it. It also allowed her to overspend on fabrics and trimmings and scrimp elsewhere. With her heart set on gold ribbons for Lady Fairy's retinue, Cherry decided the first expense to cut would be the rush premium on copies of the script.

"Are you still rewriting the third act?"

Morgaine shrugged her shoulders and didn't look up. "It isn't finished, Cherry."

"The auditions finished yesterday. I think it has to be."

"But-"

"No buts, Morgaine. Unless you mean to take my advice about the friars."

"Cherry!"

Cherry flung herself into a chair and grinned at her sister. "A little bawdy tidbit never hurt anyone. Anyway, those two that Ann cast as the friars would be adorable together. How about a touch of romantic tension, since you're re-writing the third act anyway, and we can let the audience draw their own conclusions?"

"Shouldn't you be telling me how much more expensive the manuscripts will be if I re-write?"

"Well, it was going to go for gold hair ribbons, but I'll find it somewhere else." She grinned at her sister and wiggled her eyebrows. "All that pocket money I saved should be good for something fun. You can't deny the appeal of two good-looking men lusting after each other."

Morgaine's certain refusal was prevented by a servant's knock. She shot a pointed look at her sister and prayed they hadn't been overheard. "Yes?"

"M'lady, Lady Beatrice Montague is waiting upon you and your sister in the drawing room."

"Tell her we will be down presently." Morgaine glanced at her manuscript and sighed. Beatrice was a chatterbox - a lovely girl, but a chatterbox. This visit would last until supper, and then she, Cherry, and Ann would be asked to regale her parents with all the details of he auditions. Midnight would be upon them before she saw this paper again, and the script truly had to be sent out tomorrow for copying. "I suppose it's done, then."

"Did you add your name?"

"I'll think about it." Whenever Morgaine had written a script in the past, she had used a pen name. Although she had been considering signing her own name to this script, she felt more like burning it than owning it at the moment. She would decide later who the author of Who is The Gatekeeper? would be.

The drawing room was Morgaine's second-favorite in the house, after the writing room. Three walls full of windows allowed lots of light and her mother's taste made it a room worthy of being seen from all angles. It was a realm of ease. This made Morgaine all the more surprised to see such an uncomfortable lady beside Beatrice.

"Hello, Bea."

"Hello Morgaine. Hello, Cherry." Several awkward moments passed while the sisters waited for Beatrice to realize her mistake. "You don't want to sit down?"

Morgaine smiled. "It is usually more pleasant to know with whom we are sitting."

"Morgaine! You'll be a worse tease than Cherry if you keep this up."

Cherry sighed. "Bea, next to you."

"Oh! I'm sorry. This is my cousin, Lady Paulina Amantes. Paulina, Lady Morgaine and Lady Cherry Albion." After the appropriate curtsies and nods, the ladies barely touched their backsides to the sofas before Bea was at her point again. "Cherry, I came to bribe you with an assistant. Paulina is astonishingly good at sewing and painting, and she desperately needs something to do besides being crossed in love."

"Beatrice!"

"It's the truth," Beatrice sighed. "I know that is rich coming from me, but I didn't realize how pathetic I was until you started. And I didn't even know him. It's time to forget him and have a little fun, Paulina."

Morgaine and Cherry shared a sisterly look. Beatrice was handling her cousin with the delicacy of a hatchet, and there was no stopping her. Hatchets were required if they were going to play. "You should know," Cherry said to Beatrice, "we immediately banish from the cast anyone who comes to compliment their way into a part. We only accept bribes in gold coin."

"If anyone can play the Lady Fairy better than I can, I didn't see her."

"I'm afraid we've decided the character requires modesty and humility." Smirking, Cherry looked to Paulina. "You appear to have those qualities in spades, Lady Paulina. Perhaps you would be a better fit."

"No, no. No, I'm not an actress." Paulina gave her cousin a reassuring glance. "My cousin is an excellent one, I'm sure. She only thought you might need another pair of hands to sew costumes or paint scenery."

Morgaine smiled at Paulina and aimed to draw her into a more normal conversation than either Beatrice or Cherry was likely to engineer. "We meet here three evenings a week until the week before the performances begin. The actors work with my sister-in-law and me, and the crew of artists - sewers, painters, builders - works with Cherry. Do you carry a weapon? A dagger?" Paulina shook her head. "Good, then. We confiscate everyone's weapons at the door, so it's best not to bring one."

"We prefer to savage each other with words," Cherry explained. "If you aren't up to it, don't worry. You'll be with me, and my tongue is sharp enough for three or four people, at least. If you're especially handy with a needle and a brush, that's all the more time for me to do the talking."

"I was hardly without one or the other at school. The nuns were strongly opposed to idle hands."

Instantly, Morgaine's eyebrows peaked. "You went to a convent school?"

"Well, yes. I did, for several years," Paulina replied, puzzled by Morgaine's eager interest.

"That's perfect! Lady Paulina, would you mind if I quizzed you? I've been worrying over some details in the script. We were all tutored at home, and every interview I've arranged with someone who went to school has fallen through. If I could be sure of the details, I would be so much more at ease with my wr- with my edits to the script. Do you have time?"

Paulina glanced toward Beatrice, who only shrugged. Her face began to brighten. "I believe I have time now, if that is convenient?"

"Convenient? Absolutely!" Morgaine shot out of her seat. "Cherry, send for tea. I'm going to get my notes. And Bea, since you brought me your cousin, Ann already cast you as Lady Fairy. None of you go anywhere. I'll be right back!"

"Well," Cherry sighed, "I suppose there are always exceptions to the bribery rule. Welcome to the asylum."

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