‘That’s where the comedy lies,’ said Gill, fussily.
‘Would you want to be shown as a cat, an owl or a monkey? For that’s what happens to the three women. Nor does Mistress Malevole come out of it with any credit. She’s portrayed as a malevolent snake, who schemes her way into Lord Loveless’s affections. No,’ Nicholas concluded, ‘Saul Hibbert has little affection for his ladies.’
‘Then the play does not have the ring of truth at all,’ said Firethorn, ‘for Saul has far too much affection for the fairer sex. When I spoke to him earlier, I had to prise him from a hot bed of passion. The fellow adores women.’
‘He uses them, surely,’ said Hoode, ‘but I sense no adoration in the man except for himself. Passion, once past, can leave only scorn in some men. I side with Nick. The ladies in the play are poorly treated.’
‘Everyone takes a knock in The Malevolent Comedy,’ said Gill.
‘But those most hurt are Rosamund, Chloe and Eleanor. They are swinged soundly throughout. I wonder what their real names are.’
‘What does it matter? Let’s get back to our work.’
‘All in good time,’ said Firethorn, musing on what he had heard. ‘Nick may have seen something that eluded our gaze. Women can become frothing demons in an instant, as I learnt to my cost only yesterday. If one of them was turned into a laughing stock onstage, she’d seek revenge. Could that be the reason our prompt book was stolen?’
‘It all comes back to one question,’ said Nicholas.
‘Go on.’
‘What do we really know of Saul Hibbert?’
‘We know him for a playwright of exceptional talent.’
‘And exceptional vanity,’ added Quilter. ‘We also know him for his spite and malice. Nick was the victim of that. Master Hibbert will never be a true member of a company because he despises us.’
Gill preened himself. ‘He does not despise me or my work.’
‘But where did he come from?’ asked Nicholas. ‘How did he get here and what did he do before he came? Where did he learn to turn a line and shape a scene? In brief — who is Saul Hibbert?’
Cyrus Hame was just about to leave when his landlady showed in the visitor. He was taken aback to see Saul Hibbert standing there. The newcomer had lost some of his overweening confidence.
‘I hope that I’m not intruding on your time, Cyrus,’ he said.
‘No, no. Come in.’
‘You said that I might call upon you.’
‘Upon me or upon John. Though should you go to the Vavasor residence,’ said Hame, indicating his untidy little room, ‘you’ll find it more commodious than my humble lodging.’
‘I’d rather talk to you.’
‘Then take a seat and let’s converse.’
‘Not if I’m holding you up, Cyrus.’
‘The lady will wait,’ said Hame with a confiding grin. They sat either side of a little table. ‘How may I help you?’
‘I wished to ask about contracts.’
‘That’s something you’ll have to discuss with Giles Randolph. Only he can sign on behalf of Banbury’s Men.’
‘But is he a fair man? Do his terms favour the playwright?’
‘We made sure that they did.’
‘You have control over your work?’
‘Why do you ask?’
‘Lawrence Firethorn slipped terms into the contract that I barely noticed in my readiness to sign. I’ve lived to regret that.’
‘Other authors have said the same of him. Master Firethorn is slippery. Does he want another play?’
‘More than one.’
‘But you’ve not committed yourself?’
‘No,’ said Hibbert, ‘I wanted to speak to you or John first. You claim that Banbury’s Men will pay me more and treat me better.’
‘We can only talk from our own experience.’
‘It’s much happier than mine.’
‘A playwright should go where he’s most esteemed,’ said Hame. ‘Look at John Vavasor. He was reviled by one company and welcomed by another. Lawrence Firethorn was brutal to him.’
‘I’m less than satisfied with Master Firethorn myself.’
‘Then you have a remedy within your grasp.’
‘Do I?’
‘John and I have told you as much.’
‘But the power of decision lies with Master Randolph.’
‘Naturally,’ said the other, ‘but we came to you with his authority. He trusts our judgement and knows that we would not offer praise lightly. For reasons too obvious to relate, Giles is unable to attend a performance at the Queen’s Head. Even if he were not onstage every afternoon,’ he went on with a sly grin, ‘I doubt that he’d ever find his way to Gracechurch Street, any more than Lawrence Firethorn would go to the Curtain.’
‘So you’ve delivered good reports of me to Banbury’s Men?’
‘Giles cannot wait to embrace you.’
‘How much would he give me in advance?’
‘In advance?’
‘Against my next play,’ said Hibbert. ‘The truth is that I’ve spent too freely since I’ve been here, and need the funds to keep me while I work on my new play.’
‘Giles will not buy a pig in a poke,’ cautioned Hame.
‘That’s not what he’ll be doing. I’ll be able to show him a first act and tell him the plot of the whole play. The Malevolent Comedy has attested my merit. Its successor will have even tastier pork on it.’
‘Let me talk to Giles.’
‘Soon, please. My purse grows slacker by the day.’
‘Then we are two of a kind,’ said Hame, companionably. ‘We sail before the wind of our creditors. John had the good fortune to marry money. I can only seem to spend it.’
‘I share that fault, Cyrus. I’m a man of extravagant tastes.’
‘There’s no disgrace in that. But what of Westfield’s Men?’
‘What of them?’
‘No ties of loyalty to bind you?’
‘None,’ said Hibbert, bitterly. ‘After all that’s happened, I’d break with them at the drop of a hat.’
Cyrus Hame lifted his hat in the air and let it fall to the floor. Saul Hibbert laughed. Having come for help and advice, he was going away reassured. A profitable future seemed to open up before him. They left the room and stepped out into the street. Hibbert went his way. His spirits were lifted and his arrogant strut restored but, long after the two of them had parted, it was Cyrus Hame who was still laughing.
Midnight bells were chiming when Nicholas Bracewell finally got back to Bankside. Forsaking the bridge, he had been rowed across the river by a talkative waterman with an interest in the stars. Nicholas was given a lecture on astrology that owed more to the ale the man had drunk than to any serious study of the subject. Arriving back at his lodging, he was pleased to see a light burning in Anne’s bedchamber. He let himself into the house and tiptoed upstairs, opening her door as silently as possible.
‘I’m still awake,’ she said, drowsily.
‘Did you get my message?’
‘Yes, Nick. It was kind of you to send it.’
‘George Dart blamed himself for the loss of the book,’ he said. ‘He was so keen to atone in some way that I took advantage of him. I felt that you ought to know what was afoot.’
‘Was the play reconstructed?’
‘To the last letter.’
‘You’ve always had an amazing memory.’
‘It does not compare with Lawrence’s. He holds over thirty parts in his head. When we go on tour,’ said Nicholas, ‘he can play any one of them after a mere glance at the prompt book.’
‘And where is the book for The Malevolent Comedy?’
‘Right here, Anne.’ He patted the manuscript under his arm. ‘I’ll lock it away before I come into bed. May I get you anything?’
‘Yes, please,’ she whispered. ‘Nick Bracewell.’
He kissed her gently on the forehead then went along the passageway to the room that he had rented when he first moved in. Since he now shared a bed with Anne, he used the room for storage. The most important item there was a large oaken chest, ribbed with iron and fitted with two locks. When he used his keys to unlock the chest, he opened the lid to reveal the history of Westfield’s Men, a collection of prompt books that went back over the years and that had been carefully annotated by the man in charge of them. It was a theatrical treasure trove. After adding the new play to the collection, he closed the lid and locked the chest again. Shortly afterwards, he was blowing out the candle beside the bed and snuggling up to Anne.