“I could not care less what you believe,” she said, her voice breaking at last. “But I did not blackmail nor threaten anyone.” She put a hand to her mouth, attempting to stifle a sob, but she failed. “I truly believed that he loved me,” she said, her voice dropping so that she sounded more like she was talking to herself than to the others in the room. “And I loved him.” She covered her face with both of her hands and began to sob. Rose moved quickly to place her hand on the actress’s shoulder. Then, without a word, Rose vanished. Daniel considered following her, but she returned shortly holding a glass of water. As Rose patted Catherine on the back and held the glass of water until the actress’s hands were steady enough to hold onto it, Daniel marveled at Rose’s kindness. Many ladies of Rose’s station would run away from a woman who was disgraced in such a manner, or even laugh at her emotional state. But Rose was treating her as though Catherine were a dear friend of hers, and Daniel had never loved her more.
Daniel stepped forward toward the women, wanting to offer his assistance. Catherine looked at him with damp eyes, and his heart broke for her. He pulled a handkerchief out of one of his pockets and handed it to her.
“Do not fret, Miss Dross,” Daniel said. Her distress reminded her so much of his late brother and sister-in-law, and he wished more than ever to give the actress some sort of comfort. “Do not let this make you cease searching for love. It can, and often does, happen when you least expect it, and it will certainly happen for you.”
For the first time that evening, Catherine smiled.
“Do you really believe that?” she asked hopefully.
Daniel smiled, grateful that the mask did much to conceal the sadness in his eyes.
“I have seen it,” he said. “So, yes, I most certainly believe it.”
Catherine smiled again and started to speak once more. However, Allison stepped in before she could. Daniel held his breath, letting it out in an audible gush when he saw that the diva was also crying. She held out her open arms to Catherine, who looked at her suspiciously for a moment.
“Catherine, please,” Allison said. Daniel was pleasantly surprised to hear sincerity in her voice. “Forgive my cruelty and brutish antics. I had no idea how deeply you cared for the young gentleman, and I feel terrible for you. Please, accept my sincerest and most humble apology.”
Catherine’s lip began to tremble once more, but this time, she smiled through her tears. She walked over to the diva and accepted her embrace with great enthusiasm.
Rose’s mouth fell open, and she cautiously made her way over to where Daniel stood, now abandoned by the hugging and crying actresses.
“Well, would you look at that,” Rose said quietly.
“I do believe that those two shall become best friends yet,” Daniel whispered to Rose as the two women embraced each other.
Rose giggled softly.
“I would not have thought it possible before today,” she said. “But I believe that you are absolutely right.”
Daniel chuckled softly, listening to the women apologizing and laughing and crying together. Rose, however, frowned.
“Should we have, perhaps, shooed away the other actors before they began ousting each other?” she asked quietly. “Will this not be embarrassing, now that everyone knows their secrets?”
Daniel smiled and shook his head.
“Everyone already knew about Catherine’s affair with that gentleman,” Daniel said. “And I am certain that she knew everyone knew. I believe that she boasted about it a bit, before the man shamed her.” He paused a moment to chuckle before continuing. “And, of course, everyone already knows that Allison is, in fact, envious of Catherine’s youth.”
Rose laughed.
“Well, it is nice to see them getting along,” she said, looking at the crowd. Daniel followed her gaze to see that not only were the two actresses hugging and laughing, but many of the cast members were also embracing them and talking quietly but animatedly to them.
Daniel nodded.
“Yes,” he said. “It is one less thing over which to worry while we try to figure out what happened the night of the fire.”
Suddenly, Catherine pulled away from Allison.
“Oh, but what about that letter?” she asked, her face wrinkling into an expression of concern. “Who could have written that to you?”
Allison’s face turned white, seeming to realize that, if it was not Catherine, someone might actually wish her harm. She shook her head, her eyes wide with fear.
“I have not a clue,” she said. “I am so frightened.”
The diva began wringing her hands. Catherine put her hand on Allison’s arm, and the diva clasped it in her own, squeezing it tightly.
“Can we see it?” Catherine asked. “Perhaps, if we read and examine it, we can uncover a clue.”
Daniel stiffened. How could he have not considered that Allison might come back in search of the letter?
Allison blushed, embarrassed.
“I no longer have the letter,” Allison said. “In my anger and haste, I dropped it onto the floor, and when I was able to come retrieve it, it was gone.”
Daniel and Rose looked at each other, sharing the briefest expression of panic. Daniel tried to casually pat his coat pocket, in which he felt the crinkle of the envelop he had picked up off the floor.
“Perhaps the letter merely got pushed around during the cleanup after the chandelier incident,” Daniel said. “I shall go look for you, Miss Beets.”
Daniel looked pointedly at Rose and waited until she had the actresses’ attention. Then, he slipped into the shadows of the backstage area. He waited several moments. He didn’t want anyone to find it curious that he happened to find the letter so quickly, especially since they still had no idea who was behind all of this. Once he felt that he had waited long enough, he returned to the waiting crowd. He held out the letter to the actress, but she recoiled and shook her head slowly, as though she feared that it would bite her if she touched it again.
Daniel smiled sympathetically and nodded.
“If you like, I can read it,” he said.
Allison nodded frantically.
“Thank you, Specter,” she said, smiling gratefully.
Daniel slowly opened and read the letter as if it were the first time. He showed it to Rose, who also pretended as though she had never seen it, but neither of them read it aloud. Of course, they both already knew what it said, but they were unsure whether the entire cast should hear about it. Rose looked at Daniel inquisitively, glancing inconspicuously at the lingering cast members. Daniel gave Rose the smallest nod, and she jumped into action.
“Why don’t you all finish getting into costume?” she asked, smiling a bit too brightly.