The First Act

by Vanessa Mulberry

  Richard stepped up next to him and murmured, “Where’s the rest? We normally take ten pounds in London, an angel more than that, and the theater was particularly crowded today.”

  “You do?” William’s mirth was gone, replaced first by confusion, then panic.

  Richard would wager his share that William hadn’t taken the money, and a cutpurse would have had the lot. It must be one of their men recognizing an opportunity to blame it on the new boy. There was only one way to find out; he had to play along.

  “Don’t give me that wide-eyed innocence!” he roared.

  William shrank back in fear. Although they were practically strangers, Richard did not like to see it.

  In an instant, the men fell silent, with only Geoffrey’s cursing filling the void. William looked to his cousin for help, but Richard knew he would get nothing from that quarter until his innocence was proven.

  “I haven’t had a farthing of it,” William argued.

  “Think carefully, boy, because in London, men are hanged for less. Your village cousins might have forgiven such a transgression with reparation and an apology, but the city is not so kind. You’ve picked a dangerous place to begin your career as a thief.”

  “I wasn’t the only man on the door. This is all I was given. I swear it on your life. I-I-I mean, my life.”

  Ah, the nerves are still there, albeit buried deep.

  “Prove it,” Richard challenged. “Take your clothes off.”

  “What? No!”

  “Let me search you. If there is money on you, I’ll find it.”

  William blushed rosy red as he stripped. Soon he stood in only his shirt, which he pulled down at the front to cover his cock and balls. It was unseasonably warm for mid-April, and Richard gave William’s muscular white thighs a leisurely gaze, not worried William would become cold. He tossed the lad’s clothes and shoes to Geoffrey, who searched them and found nothing, exactly as Richard had suspected.

  Richard frowned at William as if confused and continued his search. He smoothed the young man’s shirt down, finding only the hard lines of his chest and stomach hiding beneath it and two perky nipples poking the cloth. His eyes dipped lower, but he could see William was not excited by the touch.

  It must be colder than I thought.

  “Well, it’s not you, unless there’s a purse up your arse, but it looks too tight for that.”

  The others laughed. William’s face turned a more vivid shade of scarlet.

  Richard took William’s clothes from Geoffrey and handed them back. “Sorry for the performance,” he whispered softly to William. “I undressed you to confirm your innocence to the men. I think your blushes have proven that.”

  He turned his attention to the rest. “Let’s find out who did take it.”

  One by one the others emptied out their pockets and allowed themselves to be searched until only Nick remained. Richard left him until last, hoping he was not the culprit. He trusted Nick more than the others because he knew him best. Perhaps that should have been reason enough to trust him least, but although he didn’t think Nick was above thieving, Richard hadn’t believed he would ever be the victim.

  “You’re not going to search me, are you?” Nick asked with an uneasy laugh. “You’ve seen me naked plenty of times.”

  “Give me your purse.”

  Nick swallowed nervously, tongue poking out to moisten his lips for the lie. “It’s heavy today. I’ve been saving my wages.”

  He handed it over, and Richard felt the substantial weight. There was the stolen angel and more besides.

  “Pay the men, Geoffrey,” Richard said. “See the sharers right too, as if we’d had an angel more. Everyone can go for the day.”

  He waited silently while they collected their money and headed off to squander it in the taverns. When only Geoffrey, William, and Nick remained, it was time to hold his apprentice to account.

  “Apologize to William,” Richard began. “You could have cost him his future.”

  Nick scowled at the newcomer. “Sorry,” he said with no remorse.

  It would have to do. Richard knew he would get no better out of Nick. “Why did you take the money? Do I not give you enough? I am twice as generous with you as the others are with their apprentices.”

  “You make me work for it,” Nick mumbled.

  Richard finally heard his regret. He was not sorry for what he’d done to William, but he was sorry he got caught. “Just tell me why. You owe me that.”

  Nick paused but appeared to realize he had no option but to speak. “I have a debt.”

  “Where?”

  “A Pye Corner stew. There was a particular girl. I left London owing them but a little when the plague numbers rose. I didn’t know they were usurers as well as bawds.”

  Being lied to and stolen from was hard enough. Richard was not prepared for this.

  “You’ve been sleeping with whores?”

  “She was a clean one,” Nick promised. “No risk to you. She wasn’t cheap.”

  Richard had never loved Nick, but they were friends. He hadn’t expected it to end this way. Given their introduction, however, he should have known better than to trust Nick. He might like to think he’d rescued the youth from the shadowy world of espionage, but habits picked up in that line of work were hard to break.

  “Keep the angel to pay your debts, and here is another for you until you find work,” he muttered, handing over some from his own purse. “Now go to my room at the Spurre, take your things, and get as far away from me as you can. I don’t want to see you again.”

  Turning away, he heard Nick drop the coins into his purse and leave. With no argument, Richard knew he would find him waiting at the inn, but the coming protest would be in vain. He had wanted more than Nick could give him for a while, but convenience and money kept them together. For him, at least, there would be other men.

  Richard looked across at Geoffrey, who had begun his expletive-filled monologue again, and then at William, who chewed his lower lip as it curved into a wide smile. He appeared to have got over his earlier humiliation extraordinarily quickly.

  “Could you not wait until the end of the run?” Geoffrey asked, though he had no reason to support Nick. “We need him for the performance tomorrow, if nothing else, and you won’t get the others out of the taverns tonight to sort out a different play.”

  “He stole from us. You know he can’t stay after that.”

  “I’m not sure that’s what is bothering you.”

  “We are not forgiving him, no matter how convenient it would be. They’d all be dipping their hands in the takings. One of the others can play two parts. Whoever is the least drunk come morning can learn the extra lines.”

  “I could do it,” William said suddenly, his voice high, excited.

  Richard was surprised by the interruption as much as the suggestion. “You?”

  “Why not? How hard could it be?”

  Though Richard was sure William meant no insult, he was not impressed. “You? You’re not pretty enough to play a girl.”

  William was quite breathless now and ignored the slight. “I won’t let you say no. I’ll jump on the stage tomorrow if I have to. I really want to be an actor. I’ve been in plenty of plays back home.”

  “Forgive me, but your village probably doesn’t see much quality theater. London tastes are more refined, and you are not acquainted with them. You’ve only been here one day.”

  “But I’ve been watching you for more than a year. Let me show you what I can do. If I’m terrible tomorrow, then I will go home in shame, but if I’m good, you must make me your new apprentice.”

  He was full of determination. That was something, but Richard’s mind came back to his sweet, nervous stammer. Could that be overcome?

  There was only one way to find out. “If I think you’re going to be terrible tomorrow, I won’t let you on the stage. I won’t stake my reputation unless I’m sure you can perform, but I will give you a chance to prove y
ourself. You’re coming with me tonight, and we will rehearse and make you ready. Let’s see if you’re any good.”

  William grinned, apparently thrilled with the way the afternoon had gone. At least someone was. Richard was a pound poorer and had lost the man who was his lover, apprentice, and friend. With the stress of preparing this stripling for the next performance, he couldn’t even muster the strength to pretend to match his pleasure.

  He signaled that William should follow him, but Geoffrey said, “Cousin, wait! This may seem fortuitous, but—”

  “I am just meeting the terms you gave me.” William spoke over him, waving away his interference. “You said I should take any position that becomes available.”

  “And what position do you think he’s going to put you in?”

  William flashed him a wicked grin.

  Richard felt Geoffrey’s words like a knife in his heart. “What I do in the dark never bothered you before.”

  Geoffrey had the decency to appear guilty. “Your bed doesn’t bother me, but he’s my family.”

  “And now my apprentice. I will take care of him.”

  “That’s what worries me.”

  Richard had half a mind to have William just to spite Geoffrey, but right then it wasn’t in him. “Fear not,” he said. “I haven’t the mood for that sort of mastering.”

  Nodding his thanks, Geoffrey wiped his brow. His relief disappointed Richard. He had never expected that sort of judgment from his friend.

  “Good luck, William,” Geoffrey said. “Your future rests on what you accomplish on that stage tomorrow. Don’t forget it. I will bring your things to Richard’s room later.” He left the stage.

  Richard and William were alone.

  “You will not regret this,” the lad promised merrily, his happiness rendering him oblivious to the mood.

  “I’d better not. Even if you are wonderful in rehearsal, if I let you onstage and you stammer your way through, you will cost me a lot more than your upkeep.”

  William smiled slyly. He appeared to be choosing his words carefully as he said, “I’m not nervous, though I may be clumsy my first time. But how can I fail when I’m learning from the best?”

  Clumsy? That was an interesting choice. Richard wondered at his provocative tone and his newfound confidence. Was he outside the barn that night, hiding in the shadows? It was best not to ask too early into their partnership.

  “Flattery will earn you no more cash from me, but respect will keep you in a job. You may have been watching me for a while, but I’ve only known you a few hours. We’re not friends, you and me, no matter what you might hope. I will be your master.”

  “An apprentice may like his master even when he is being instructed, if the work is enjoyable,” William mused. “And the master ought to like the apprentice. He has to spend much time and effort on him.”

  “That is a good point. Keep me content. You saw what happened to the last when he didn’t.”

  Dropping his voice, William said, “Teach me well, and I’ll keep you more than satisfied. I’m your apprentice, not a whoremaster.”

  Where does a shy country boy learn to talk like that?

  Richard reminded himself that the company’s repertoire was full of that sort of language, and let the lad down gently. “Given your earlier blushes, I imagine you know better how to promise than to perform. I will not hold you to your word.”

  William’s happy confidence faded. “I’m not worldly, but I am eager. You may hold me if you wish.”

  William was tempting. Richard looked into his eyes and saw an intensity that aroused desires he did not wish to satisfy that afternoon. Virgins had their charm, but he’d never truly enjoyed taking one to his bed and didn’t prize them the way other men did. That said, the lad’s look told him they’d lain together a hundred times already in his dreams. He wasn’t as innocent as he first appeared.

  “We have a busy afternoon.” Richard turned away. “Let me show you our room, and then we will begin rehearsals.”

  Chapter Three

  WILLIAM COULD have danced back to the Spurre. Having spent the first night there, sharing a pallet with Geoffrey’s snoring, seventeen-year-old apprentice, he’d begun to wonder if he’d made a mistake coming to town. Now his doubts were gone, and he felt immensely proud that less than a day after his arrival, he had secured a position as Richard’s apprentice and made his intentions known to him.

  That Richard had not immediately carried him off to his bed seemed only a minor problem. They had only just been properly introduced, and it would be unseemly not to wait until they were better acquainted. At least a few hours ought to pass first. They were about to embark on a love affair, not a quick fumble.

  They didn’t talk until they stood outside Richard’s room.

  “If you want to please me, stay here and don’t speak,” Richard said. He positioned William in the corridor, against the wall, before opening the door.

  William watched him.

  Richard paused in the doorway, irritation on his face. “I asked you to leave, but I find you here undressed and in my bed. Shall I tell the innkeeper to toss you out naked?”

  Nick’s voice carried through to the corridor. “You don’t want one last fuck? All told, I’ve had a pound from you today. That’s got to buy you something.”

  “Dress.” Richard didn’t move.

  The conversation paused, Nick scrabbled around for his clothes and his belongings. “Please don’t turn me out. I’ve nowhere to go.” He sounded desperate, but William felt no sympathy for him and couldn’t wait for him to be gone.

  “It’s your own fault,” Richard muttered.

  Nick’s voice was close and quiet as he said, “I love you, Richard.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “I do. I swear I love you.”

  “You never lied to me about your feelings before!” Richard barked. “Don’t start now.”

  Nick pushed past him and hurried down the corridor toward the stairs. He was half-dressed, his auburn hair a tousled mess on his head. Despite his desperation, he wasn’t crying.

  Richard watched him round the corner and then, with an apparent change of heart, called out, “Wait, Nick!” before dashing after him.

  William knew he was supposed to wait, but he’d already lost one night to Nick. He wouldn’t lose any more. He padded quickly and silently down the corridor and came to a halt at the corner, where he could hear them both clearly on the stairs.

  “Take this ring,” Richard said in a low voice. “It’s not a love token, nor is it to be melted down or sold. I want you to pawn it and bring me the ticket. Slide it under the door if I am not here, but make sure you bring it back to me. Try and buy yourself into a proper trade with the money. Don’t go back to peddling secrets or your arse. And get yourself a wife. Men may have money, but we’ve hearts too. I don’t want you leading on a man who is softer-headed than me.”

  Quickly William returned to his spot by the wall and waited for Richard, who followed a minute later. He looked tired rather than upset, but that was little better.

  “Now, we have work to do,” Richard said, opening the door again. “We’ll get you in costume and make sure your appearance as a woman isn’t totally laughable. Then we’ll talk through your lines.”

  “Are you all right?” William asked, following him inside.

  “My reputation is about to rest on you and your unknown ability. Forgive me if that gives me unease.”

  “I’m asking about Nick.”

  “He was just a distraction. Not worth feeling heartsick over.”

  Worth sticking your cock in, though.

  William was very glad to see the back of Nick.

  He glanced around the room. It was a small space compared to his family home, but he thought it generously sized for two occupants, being twice the size of Geoffrey’s. Richard obviously expected to make good money now he was back in London. A fireplace stood to the left of the door, a bed to the right, and straight
ahead were a table and two stools, arranged next to a large window. On the table stood a pitcher and a bowl, but beyond that, nothing was lying about. William’s gaze returned to the bed, where he noted good-quality sheets, though they were rumpled and yellowed with age. He wanted to wrap himself in them and breathe in Richard’s musk.

  A heavy-looking chest sat in the corner. Richard hefted a golden silk gown from it. The garment must have cost three times what they had made that day. For the first time, William—who had been in countless feast day plays over the years and thought himself well prepared for a life on the stage—was intimidated by the job he so desperately wanted.

  “Strip,” Richard said. Reminded of the other thing he desperately wanted, William eagerly complied. He didn’t allow his disappointment to show when Richard continued, “I’ll dress you.”

  It took a while to get into the costume. The unfamiliar clothes were heavy, and William needed Richard’s help. His new master was all business, averting his eyes as William slipped into a smock but helping him with the many undergarments he would have to wear on the stage.

  Richard laced the bodice tightly, without compassion, and would not listen to complaints. “Women manage this daily,” he said. “You’ll live.”

  Despite longing for it in the past, it felt unnatural to dress as a woman, and William took no pleasure in it until Richard looked him up and down approvingly.

  “I take it back. You are quite attractive in costume. You’ll be the envy of every Puritan, no matter what they pretend.”

  William looked down at the dress. The gown hid the hard lines of his body, but his shoulders were no less broad and his large feet peeked out from the bottom of the skirt, which was a touch too short.

  “I don’t feel girlish.”

  “You don’t look it yet.”

  Richard rested his arms on William’s shoulders and pulled the ribbon from his hair. The dark locks fell free, and Richard tousled them before arranging them about William’s face. His fingers lightly brushed William’s neck, and William couldn’t help but shiver.

  Meeting his eye, Richard acknowledged the response to his touch with nothing more than a disapproving look. “Ideally you’d wear a wig, but you won’t be playing nobility tomorrow and can make do with your own hair, even if it is a little short.”