Margaret, seeing Sarah and Liza deep in conversation, realized it was not the moment to tell Sarah what she felt about the cast.

‘There you are, dear,’ Sarah said. ‘This is the understudy, Liza Wigan. Liza, this is Margaret Thursday.’

The two girls stared at each other. They looked very different: Margaret, simply but well-dressed in a warm, soft, dull pink dress, and Liza, all ringlets and black satin, but that was only outside, inside they were not so unlike and they both felt it. As it happened they had barely greeted each other when the reading started. Tommy Smith called out:

‘Please sit, everybody, and have your pencils ready to mark the cuts.’ Then he added: ‘Come over here, Margaret, and sit in the front where you can hear what is going on.’

No sooner were all the cast seated with their scripts open at Act I, than Sir John came on to the stage. He made quite an entrance. The gas lights were turned up so it felt as if he brought light with him. He stood for a moment where everybody could see him. Then he bowed.

‘Good morning, everybody. Now, if you are ready, we will start.’

A large chair had been put ready for him and he sank gracefully into it.

Then it was Tommy Smith’s turn. He said loudly and clearly:

‘The Little Queen, Act One, Scene One. The library at Souton Hall.’

Chapter Twelve

LICENCES

On the whole Margaret found rehearsals a bore. She enjoyed her own scenes enormously, especially her favourite where she lost her temper, but there seemed to be so much of the play when she was not on the stage. During those scenes she was supposed to do lessons. They were set by Miss Grey and were usually very simple, for she did not see how Margaret could study and keep one ear open so that she did not miss her entrance.

One afternoon when Katie was having a music lesson Miss Grey took Margaret and Liza to the magistrate’s court to get licences permitting them to appear at The Dolphin. To Liza it was a great day, for they drove to the magistrate’s court. They travelled in what was called a growler, a four-wheeled horse-drawn conveyance. Miss Grey smiled to herself as she watched Liza grandly allowing Mr Todd to help her into the cab.

The magistrate was not fierce as Miss Grey had feared he might be. He asked Margaret a few simple questions, but the fact that she had a governess was all that he seemed to need to know. Miss Grey let Liza answer for herself for she had no idea who was educating her or where they did it – if indeed she was educated at all.

‘I’m only the understudy, your worship,’ said Liza, grinning at him from under her cheap velvet hat, ‘so I goes to school regular. You see, I don’t ’ave to wait in the theatre till the play’s over, so I don’t need to sleep in, for if Margaret’s fine I can go ’ome when the curtain’s down on the first act.’