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look a little innocent, but you've got hidden depths.' She was pale now, wincing at what he had said. So that's what the rest of the cast thinks! she said to herself. They think I somehow influenced Max into giving me the part. They think I'm a scheming little cheat without any talent who's used Max to get what she wants. It hurt. She looked at Nicky sadly. He was grin- ning, admiring and amused. His angle on life was so different to her own that they lived in different worlds. He thought that to cheat and scheme was admirable, if successful. He had no idea what she was like. No notion at all. 109 She was late getting to bed. She slipped through the kitchen and upstairs without meeting anyone. The house was dark and quiet. But as she came out of the bathroom ten minutes later, in her cotton pyjamas and dressing-gown, she bumped into Max. He looked at her coolly. 'You must be in bed early now that you're working. No more late nights. Don't forget in future. I expect total obedience from my cast. You'll need all your energy and all your strength for the job.' Katrine ducked her head, nodding silently. He stood for a second or two, as if expecting her to argue or anyway reply, then he stood aside and she darted past and back to her own room. Next morning he told her curtly that he was going to give her special rehearsals of her own at first. 'I'll take you through your part back here for a couple of days, then we'll rehearse on stage. You'll find it harder to remember movements than the others do as you're so inexperienced. When I think you're ready, you can join rehearsals with the rest of the cast again. Stay at home today and read the play on your own, taking a close note of your part.' 'Couldn't I do that at general rehearsal? Why must I do it alone?' 'Because I want you to feel more confident before I plunge you into public rehearsal. The others are going to be watching you with close interest, and that will make you nervous. You need all the con- fidence you can get as it is I won't add to your bur- 110 den by exposing you to the criticism of the others yet.' That evening, after supper, Max marched her off to a quiet little room at the back of the house which they used as a spare reception room when any visitors clashed. If Rolf brought some friends home at the same time as Cleo arrived with a party of the cast, Rolf would take his friends into the spare sitting-room. Naturally, the local Festival Commit- tee had been very hospitable towards these famous visitors. They had had to fend off many invitations, but Rolf enjoyed evenings spent accepting hero- worship, so he had seen a great deal of local people, and he had had to return their hospitality from time to time. Max pushed the chairs back from the centre of the room, leaving it clear. ' Now,' he said, 'let's take a look at what you have to do ...' They read through the part carefully, noting movement and gesture. Most of the time she was on stage, Katrine would be very still. The girl was a withdrawn character. She rarely moved, never spoke. `But she is there,' Max emphasised. 'The audi- ence can see her. So what is she doing?' Just sitting there?' suggested Katrine tentatively. `Her father is talking about sending her to a hospital,' Max said quietly. 'Do you really think she doesn't react? She doesn't say anything. Flint doesn't even tell us what she does. But she's listen- 111 ing so she must react. You have to show the audi- ence that she understands what's going on ...' They moved on to the next scene, where Max again revealed to her his own sure grasp of the inter- action of these characters, while showing her, too, how little she yet knew of the play. She had thought she knew it by heart, yet she had only had a very hazy idea of what would be happening on stage. When they halted, she smiled at Max. 'You've been wonderful. I really feel I'm beginning to feel my way through the scenes.' 'You've barely scratched the surface,' he said curtly. His tone made her stiffen. 'Well, we've made a start, anyway. Thank you.' 'For doing my job?' His tone was sarcastic. She looked at him doubtfully. 'Max .. .' 'Yes?' He stood at the door, his hand on the door handle, looking at her unsmilingly. 'Is anything wrong?' 'Should it be?' He still spoke coolly. She swallowed. 'You sound ... very disagreeable.' 'Do I?' He did not unbend. His whole attitude made it clear that he was only waiting for her to release him from this pointless conversation. She made a gesture of finality and he at once opened the door and walked off without saying anything further. Katrine saw nothing of him for the rest of the evening. He and Cleo vanished, presumably off to yet another local party. Cleo was in constant de- 112 mand with the young men of the area, but she rationed her public appearances carefully. She had no intention of losing her glamorous image by being too accessible. As rehearsals proceeded, Katrine grew more and more confident. Max was gently encouraging, prais- ing her when things went well and comforting her when she lost her grip on the character. She found herself thinking about this girl all the time. At [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |