CWMBR 24

Chapter 24

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*Past

As an actress herself, Donna was well aware of Finn's fame, and naturally, she wanted his work.

But usually, in order to get a role from a playwright of Finn's caliber she had to compete with other famous actors in the big cities. Even those actors had their own backers, and even the smallest roles were often determined by connections.

Even if Donna was the main actress at the Glynford Theater, her fame was limited to only Glynford. Unless she took to the stage in a production that would create a buzz in other towns, her popularity would remain local. In that sense, Finn's arrival was a great opportunity for Donna.

"Donna Green, yes. She's a beautiful actress."

Finn nodded thoughtfully.

"But I prefer live flowers to artificial flowers, even if they're the same flower. Artificial flowers are too artificial."

Finn clicked his tongue, then folded his eyes and smiled.

"If it's the same beauty, I prefer the unadorned beauty in front of me."

Bridget, who had listened to Finn's words without changing her expression, raised her eyebrows and replied in an even voice.

"Well, thank you for your nice words."

"You don't believe me?"

"Of course I don't."

How could a man lie so effortlessly, so naturally? Perhaps he was closer to an actor than a writer. Genuinely impressed, Bridget gripped the mop tighter and resumed her paused floor sweeping. Finn chuckled at her indirect indication that she didn't want to continue the conversation.

"Don't you sometimes get told you look like Donna Green?"

"No."

"Aha."

Finn clucked his tongue exaggeratedly, and Bridget, who watched him out of the corner of her eye, warned him nonchalantly as she continued mopping.

"Don't you ever say anything like that in front of Donna, or you'll look bad."

"You mean you've heard of it?"

Finn rubbed his chin and thought for a moment, then looked back at Patrick, who was suddenly at his side.

"Mr. Sherman, don't you agree with me?"

Bridget's head snapped up at that, and her eyes locked with Patrick's, who was glaring at her.

She didn't want to hear Finn's greasy words, but she didn't want to hear Patrick's sharp, pointed assessment either.

Bridget decided to interrupt Finn before Patrick could unleash his mockery.

"I know you're upset that I'm not selling the Grand Theater, but you shouldn't have to go to all this trouble. I'm sure you can find a better place than this, so don't waste your time."

Of course, Bridget was sure there was nowhere in Glynford with a better view than the Glynford Grand Theater. The view of the building backing onto the river at sunset was serene and majestic in its own right. But what about when the river was foggy? It looked like a building built on clouds giving it a mysterious appearance. At night, the river and everything around it was dark, with only the lights of the building shining brightly, which was very special.

Bridget marveled daily at the foresight of her parents in establishing the Glynford Grand Theater on this site. Could there be a more romantic place in Glynford?

She could go on and on about the theater and the surrounding scenery, but she didn't want to do it in front of Finn. Bridget pressed her lips together and intensified her mopping.

Finn looked at her with some bewilderment, then clicked his tongue and spoke.

"I've been told that this is the estate of the late Mr. and Mrs. Pennington."

Bridget pretended not to hear him and pushed the mop farther away. Finn spoke to her in a gentle voice.

"Of course, I understand Miss Pennington's feelings a hundred times over, but your parents would want their daughter to live happily, and I don't think they'd want her to have to do this dirty work to protect a legacy you can't afford."

"I'm sorry."

Thud.

Bridget, holding the mop upright, chuckled.

"It's not dirty work. It's just ordinary mopping."

"I only regret that we don't see eye to eye, Miss Pennington."

What kind of a life did he lead that he would call mopping a dirty job? Bridget, looking at Finn in disbelief, said in a shaky voice, 

"I'm going to keep doing dirty work, and you're just going to stand there and waste your time?" 

"Yes."

Finn was the opposite of Ain. He was a free spirit who had no qualms about investing his time in the impulses and emotions of the moment. He didn't hesitate to sweet-talk and spend his personal time to get what he wanted. It was an attitude that could easily mislead those around him.

Patrick, who was supposed to be his advisor, began to appear around her, along with Finn. In no time at all, Bridget was a resourceful woman who had managed to seduce two handsome men. To Bridget's chagrin, it was ridiculous to have to go around and correct the rumors.

"Miss, you don't really think Mr. Emerson is interested in you, do you?"

"I have no such notion, so please don't imagine anything strange."

Donna's pride was considerably bruised by Finn's unwillingness to fall for her flirtations, and she began to dress up more extravagantly than ever. Not only were there two handsome men wandering around the theater, but the theater's main actress was also beautifully dressed and came to work every day.

It was true that the number of people visiting the theater increased thanks to the three people who became the center of attention. Bridget didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this unintentional publicity.

The only consolation was that the theater was preparing to stage a new production. It hadn't gotten much attention since Donna had refused to appear, but in these crowded times, it would have brought in a few people. Inwardly, Bridget was relieved.

Donna had been fussing over her. Even when she was busy inspecting the chandeliers in the great hall, the grumbling continued.

"I'd like to be onstage," Donna said, "do you have anything good?"

While the smaller theaters in the building were relatively well utilized, the large theater was not as consistently used.

The chandelier was only in the main theater, and even if it wasn't scheduled, it had to be lit once in a while to check its condition. Today was the day.

After checking the intensity of the chandelier's light, Bridget, who had been working next to the staff member who was going downstairs to inspect it, finally straightened her bent back because of Donna's annoying comments.

"You can't just make up a schedule out of thin air, Donna."

Donna was an actress in the theater, and she was usually the lead in everything the theater put on. She loved to play royalty and nobility, especially roles where she could be beautiful, but she couldn't take on all the roles she wanted to play.

"Everyone comes to see my face anyway, so prepare something colorful and pretty."

"Donna, even if you were to recruit an entire theater company yourself, you wouldn't be able to put on a play tomorrow."

No matter how small the play was, it needed time to prepare, both for the people and the set. Even if Donna were to bring in an entire, fully rehearsed theater company from somewhere, it would take her at least ten days to put on a show of the scale she wanted. And how much money would that cost?

All that aside, there was nothing worthy of the Glynford Grand Theater in the first place. All the big plays nowadays flock to the big cities in or near the capital.

But Donna was irritated, as if this reality had nothing to do with her.

"Do you realize how much of a loss it is that I'm taking this time off?" 

"You're the one who refused to take part in the available play."

Even though it was a play for a small theater, it had been a long time since she had been in a play. It wasn't a classic tragedy or comedy, but Bridget thought it had a promising future. So she showed Donna the script but she quickly rejected it. As soon as Donna realized that the main character was an ordinary citizen, she closed the script book.

"You want me to perform a crappy play by an unsupported writer on a cramped stage? How am I supposed to show that to my fans? Are you kidding me? Besides, the story was garbage!"

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