Section I, Next Section
Prologue
Posted on Tuesday, 11 January 2005
“And cut!”
The director’s voice echoed through the sound stage. The dancers froze in their positions and then relaxed after a moment as the lights went out. Several of them remained on the stage, while others removed themselves to dressing rooms, or to the table at the edge of the stage where there was cool water and fresh towels. It was very warm working under the lights, especially dancing in that heat, and all of them were fatigued and perspiring.
One of the dancers who was still on the stage stretched her lithe body into a split and yawned as she leaned her torso over her leg to increase the stretch. A moment later she turned, while remaining in the splits, and faced the other direction, reversing her split. Satisfied with her flexibility, she picked herself off the floor and made her way to get a cup of water and a towel.
“Miss Bennet,” the director called after her as she left the stage.
“Yes, Mr. Woodhouse?” Ella Bennet smiled as she turned to face the director of the production. James Woodhouse was a renowned film director. His credits went back to the silent era, and he had earned numerous Academy Awards for his work. He generally favored dramatic, period pieces, or modern thrillers. It had been major Hollywood news when he had signed to produce his latest picture, which fit neither description. No, James Woodhouse had decided to make a film was completely different from all others he had made before. In fact, it was completely different from any film anyone had made before.
“Ella, my daughter is giving a party this Friday at our home. I know she would love it if you could be there. It is a party for young people, and since you are relatively new in Los Angeles, Emma thought you might like to meet her friends. She has invited several of the other girls in this picture, as well as many of her friends from school and others who work here at the studio.” Mr. Woodhouse looked kindly at one of his best dancers, and hoped that she would accept his daughter’s invitation.
Ella had meet Emma Woodhouse only once before, at the party the studio had given to celebrate the first day of shooting. She seemed like a nice girl, about her own age, perhaps a little younger, but she also seemed a little spoiled. Ella couldn’t help but think that the spoiling was due to her father, who was, after all, incredibly famous and wealthy. Still, Emma seemed nice enough, and it was true that Ella was new in town and did not have many friends. However, there was one thing holding her back.
“Mr. Woodhouse, please tell your daughter that I regret I cannot attend her party, but to thank her for the lovely invitation.”
“Ella, come now, surely you have nothing else to do on a Friday evening, unless,” and here, his eyes twinkled mischievously, “you have a date?”
Ella had the composure not to blush. “No, Mr. Woodhouse, I do not have a prior engagement, but, as you know, I have my younger sister, Janet, to take care of, and I cannot just leave her for an evening. She is only ten.”
“Ah yes, I am sorry for teasing you,” the older man replied. “I am sure that Emma will insist that you bring your sister with you. Several of the families in our neighborhood have younger children who will accompany their older siblings to Emma’s little party. It will be nice for Janet, as well as for you, to be in company for the evening. Emma and I won’t take no for an answer, Ella.”
Ella smiled again at Mr. Woodhouse’s mock forcefulness. “Then we will be there, for sure!” She replied.
“Good, the party is to begin at 7, there will be dinner, and I believe that Emma has arranged for a Navy band to provide music for dancing.”
“Thank you sir.”
With that, he gave Ella a formal little bow of his head, and went off, calling out a question to the head cameraman, a middle-aged man by the name of Perry.
Ella smiled again at his mannerisms. He was a dear old man, to be sure. Very kind and doting, yet a little eccentric.
She got herself the cup of water she had needed, and made her way towards the dressing rooms.
Chapter 1:
Ella left the studio late, around five that evening. She would normally walk half of the way home before catching a bus, as she had grown accustomed to walking in Los Angeles, even though the distances in that city were far more suited to driving or bus taking. She liked the solitude afforded by walking, and it gave her a chance to think. However, this evening, she was delayed in leaving, and needed to get home to relieve her neighbor, Mrs. Kwan, of her charge, Janet.
Ella caught the bus that she knew would take her from Hollywood to her Westwood home. As the bus went along Wilshire Boulevard, Ella closed her eyes and was brought back to a moment, several months earlier, when she was riding on the same bus, absolutely elated from receiving her first job at Hartfield Studios. She remembered exactly how she had felt that evening, and how excited she had been to get home to Janet and tell her the news.
The sisters had been living in Los Angeles for about two months when Ella finally got a job. They had moved there from a small town further north in California, when their parents died. Ella knew that she needed to find a job to support herself and her sister, or else her sister would be taken away from her, and she knew that there was very little work for a nineteen-year-old girl who had never worked a day in her life.
Ella and Janet had grown up in a modest, middle-class home in a quiet town, and knew next-to-nothing of the outside world. However, when their parents were killed in a fire at the town filling station, Ella knew that she and Janet would have to move to a place where there were more opportunities for both of them.
Since Ella had been studying ballet since she could walk, she thought that perhaps she could find a job in Los Angeles as a teacher or perhaps even in a small dance company. However, with the War going in full force, most of the dance studios and companies had closed down, or, at best, downsized. None of them had the need or the money for another teacher or dancer, and Ella’s lack of experience made her a poor candidate. She tried even the local public elementary schools, including the one she enrolled Janet in, but, while many of them would have loved to offer dancing classes, the government funding for art classes had all but diminished with the War effort, and Ella could not afford to take a volunteer position.
Finally, one day, as Ella was walking dejectedly down Hollywood Boulevard, she passed a group of Marines, leaning on the window of a Drug Store. They looked her over for a moment, as she waited to cross the street, and then the boldest of the group whistled at her and said “Hiya, cutie! You ought to be in pictures!”
Ella had blushed furiously at the comment, and thought nothing more of the Marines until a few days later when she was reading through the want ads in the newspaper and came across an ad requesting dancers for a film at the Hartfield Studios, one of Hollywood’s most prestigious movie studios.
Ella went to the audition, and was selected. The pay wasn’t much, but it was enough to keep her and Janet, and the best part was that she was put under contract for the next three years. Ella knew that she would always be a chorus girl, and that her pay would never be great and her name would never be in lights, but a steady paycheck and the promise of a job – especially one that would last until the war was over (God willing) was enough to make her ecstatic!
Ella shook herself from her reverie as she realized she was nearing her stop. She got off the bus and made her way up the five blocks to her home. She paused for a moment in front of the home – a modest duplex of which she and Janet had the top floor. A large family, the Kwans, who had four children around Janet’s age, inhabited the bottom floor and Mrs. Kwan was always willing to watch Janet after school and on weekends when Ella had to work. She always laughingly said that there was really no difference between four children and five – the noise factor wasn’t increased by much. Ella, more than willingly, would watch Mrs. Kwan’s large brood whenever the good woman needed to go to the store, or just out for a few minutes peace.
Mr. Kwan owned a rather successful restaurant near the University of California, Los Angeles campus, which was only about five blocks from their home. It was always filled with university students, soldiers, and passers-by. He served both delicious Chinese food and standard American fare. Ella and Janet were regulars on Saturday mornings and Sunday after church. Ella favored the coffee and pancakes, while Janet was addicted to Mr. Kwan’s delicious egg rolls, which she claimed she could eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Ella made her way up the short path to the front door of the duplex. She knew not to knock, but instead to just walk in, and find Mrs. Kwan amid the mass of children. The neighborhood was full of children, all of varying ethnicities – many Europeans, some second-generation immigrants from England or Ireland, others fleeing from Nazi occupation in France, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Italy, and many other places. There were also lots of Oriental families, from China, Japan, Taiwan, and other countries.
Ella loved the diversity of the neighborhood, especially that, even though they all came from different backgrounds, they all got along well. Most of the families were young, with children in high school or younger. All the children went to school together, and played together. It was a wonderful community to belong to, especially for two young girls with a tragic background.
“Janet, where are you?” Ella called, after greeting Mrs. Kwan. She looked around the living room for her younger sister, but couldn’t find her.
“I believe Janet is outside, with Tommy.” Said Mrs. Kwan, noticing that Ella couldn’t locate her sister. “They are doing some research for a science class, I believe.”
Tommy was Mrs. Kwan’s ten-year-old son. He and Janet were in the same class, and were good friends.
Ella made her way to the back door, through the kitchen, and saw her sister crouched with Tommy and another neighborhood boy at the base of the one tree that grew in the yard. They were intently studying something, and Ella walked over to join them.
Chapter 2:
“Hey Janet, Tommy, Nick,” Ella called out to the three children as she approached them. “What are you looking at?”
“Ella!” Janet shrieked as she stood up to hug her sister. “We’re making rubbings of the tree bark for a science project. Ms. Lehman wants us to study the natural world around us, and to investigate our environmental habitat.” Janet, typically, tended to use words that were advanced for someone of ten. She was a bright child, and loved everyone and every thing around her. And because of her sweet nature, everyone loved her.
“Hi Miss Bennet!” Tommy said as he stood up. Nick, the neighbor boy, the oldest son of the O’Shays who lived across the street, stood up as well and showed Ella a rather messy “rubbing” of the bark of the old pine tree. Ella smiled at their valiant effort, and then turned to Janet.
“Janet, only ten more minutes of playtime, ok?” She started, but Janet interrupted.
“El, we’re not playing, we’re studying nature!” She giggled at her sister’s “mistake” and rolled her eyes at her friends.
“Well, only ten more minutes of studying nature, then. I have some things I need to talk about with you – no, nothing bad – and then you need to finish your other homework.” Ella could tell from the looks of Janet’s partly undone braids, her scuffed saddle shoes, and the mud of the bottom of her dress that she had been studying nature for quite a while that afternoon.
“Fine,” Janet replied with a slight groan. “Hey, Nick, Tommy, let’s see if we can find some buttercups in the lawn! We can try holding them up to our chins to see if we like butter!”
Ella laughed a little, inwardly, at the children, and made her way up the stairs at the back of the house, and opened the door into her little apartment.
The top floor of the duplex wasn’t much. There was a small kitchen, with a little table in it and two chairs for the sisters. There was a fairly large living room that was almost completely bare of furniture, except for a side table that had the record player and small radio on it, and a wooden barre that Ella used for her dancing practice. She had been very glad that the floor of the living room was hardwood, because it was easy to dance on. The living room was situated directly over the Kwan’s living room, so Ella would not disturb anyone sleeping when she practiced. However, most of her practicing tended to be of the stretching and strengthening kind, not the jumping around the room kind.
Ella made her way to the other end of the living room, where there were two small bedrooms and a bathroom. She put her bag and purse down on a chair in her room, and made her way out into the kitchen, to find something for dinner. Unfortunately, the cupboard was as bare as Old Mother Hubbard’s, and Ella realized with a grimace that she had meant to go to the store on her way home.
“Darn!” Ella said as she slammed her palm down on the kitchen counter. “If only the shooting hadn’t gone on so long today! I’ve become so neglectful lately, I really don’t know what I’m doing.”
Janet had come up the steps and entered the apartment just as Ella was talking out loud to herself. She went over and hugged her sister around the waist.
“Ella, you’re not neglectful. You’re perfect. I’m not very hungry, only a little bit,” she said as she held Ella tighter. Janet always got afraid when she heard her sister talking like this. She was afraid that someone would take her away from her sister, and break up her world completely. Janet had dealt well with the loss of her parents only because she had her older sister to turn to.
Ella turned around and knelt down. “Oh J, I know, I just get very frustrated with myself sometimes. I don’t know how to run a home, and I don’t know how to raise a child. You’re the most angelic girl in the world, but even an angel needs some upbringing.”
“You’re an angel too, and Mommy and Daddy are real angels looking down on us from Heaven and they’re helping bring us both up!”
Ella laughed a little at her sister’s sweet childish thoughts. She paused for a moment and then said, “Janet, if you can finish your homework and get dressed in forty-five minutes, how would you like to go out to dinner?”
Going out to dinner was a treat reserved for the most special occasions – birthdays, the last day of school, and the day Ella got her job.
“Ella, did you get another job today?” Janet asked, surprised.
Ella laughed whole-heartedly at this comment. “No sweetie, but I just think that we’re both in need of a little pampering. Now, hurry up and get your work done!
Janet skipped off to the bathroom to fix her hair.
“Change your dress too,” Ella called after her. “I can’t let the people in the restaurant think that I’m taking a mud-covered hoodlum to dinner!”
“I will,” came Janet’s reply as she laughed.
After Janet emerged from the bathroom Ella took the opportunity to get herself cleaned up. She washed her face and re-did her hair. Although she had already changed out of her proper dancing clothes – her tights, and the leotard she wore under her costume – Ella thought she would take a few minutes to stretch out her muscles before putting on a new dress.
She went out into the living room and put her favorite record on the record player – Strauss’ “Blue Danube” and other waltzes. As the soothing, slow music began to play, Ella eased her right leg up onto the barre and stretched her body over it. Her muscles were a little stiff after the journey home, but a few minutes of stretching through the pain made her relaxed and revived. She decided that she was still warm enough to try a few of the moves she was working on for the next day’s shooting, which was the beginning of a long and complicated dream sequence told entirely through dance.
Though Ella was a simple chorus girl, the dancing in this particular film was quite spectacular, and allowed all the chorus dancers a lot of time to showcase their talents. The studio was very excited and pleased about this new production, and Ella was pleased and excited to be a part of it.
Ella put on her pointe shows, and was soon experimenting with the steps she had memorized during a rehearsal several weeks earlier. One of the things she was learning about film is that it may take many “takes” to make one scene, and while you may learn one part of the film at one point, it may be weeks before it is ever filmed, and it is very important for you to remember everything, because you never know when you’ll need it. The dancers were generally only given a day’s notice about filming, sometimes less, so they needed to be on top of all their numbers.
Ella had no trouble memorizing her parts, and was happy to rehearse them as much as she could. She loved the feeling of dancing, and let herself flow along with the music.
After fifteen minutes of intricate passés, bourées, pirouettes, jetés, and arabesques, Ella realized that she had told Janet to be ready in five minutes, and that she had better be ready herself.
As she was dressing, Ella remembered she had to tell Janet about their party invitation for Friday. Perhaps she could take Janet shopping for a new party hair ribbon, and something new for herself on Friday after school. She didn’t have a lot of money to spare, and their party dresses still looked fairly nice, but for a fancy party at Mr. Woodhouse’s home, she thought they should be a little “dressier.” Ella was usually finished with work early on Fridays, and hoped that she would this week.
Both sisters came out of their rooms at the same time, and were ready to go. It was nearly seven in the evening, and Ella knew that she and Janet shouldn’t be out late, so she suggested they walk into the town of Westwood and have dinner there.
“Are we going to Mr. Kwan’s?” Janet asked.
“We could,” Ella replied, “Or we could try something else.”
“I like Mr. Kwan’s,” Janet said, licking her lips in memory of her favorite egg rolls.
“I know you do, but why don’t we walk around for a bit and see if we want to try something different. We do go to Mr. Kwan’s a lot. We were just there on Sunday, and we usually go at least twice a week.”
“Alright,” Janet said, as she took her older sister’s hand and the two girls walked cheerfully along the sidewalk.
Chapter 3:
Ella and Janet made their way into “downtown” Westwood. Westwood was a fairly newly developed area. The downtown held several restaurants of various ethnicities, indicative of the type of people who lived in the neighborhood, a grocery, a hardware store, a barbershop, and a drugstore. Most of the residents of the area were young families, many of them immigrants, all lower-middle class. It was a very friendly area, and many of the merchants knew all of their customers by name.
Ella and Janet had managed to make several friends among those in the downtown as well as in their immediate neighborhood. The family who owned the drugstore, the Lukas family, was quite close to the two girls. The Lukas family had immigrated to America in the late 1930s, from Germany, when Adolf Hitler’s rise to power began.
The Lukas’ were Jewish, and had managed to escape from the Nazis before the threat to them was too great in Europe. Unlike many Jews in Germany, Poland, Austria, and surrounding countries, the Lukas’ had been lucky enough to escape to America, instead of just to another European country where Hitler’s power would eventually spread. Every day more and more horror stories were written in the newspapers about Hitler’s extermination of the Jews in death camps.
Ella knew just how terrible it was in Europe, and was glad that America had finally joined the war. Living through a war in America was difficult, but she knew it was necessary to fight the evil of the Nazis and the other forces in Europe and Japan, so that peace could be restored to the world. She knew that what everyone was going through in Europe was much worse than anything she could imagine.
The Lukas family had moved to New York City at first, where many immigrants end up when they first come to America. The family struggled to learn English, both Mr. And Mrs. Lukas attended night school after working all day in factories to make ends meat. After an unsuccessful year living in poverty among other German immigrants in the relative slums of New York, Mr. Lukas, a proud, hard-working man who had been a prosperous farmer in Germany, decided to move his family to California. He had heard of it as the land of Promise, which it certainly had been during the Great Depression a few years earlier, and he thought that he could perhaps buy some land and begin farming again.
The family ended up in Los Angeles, though, with very little farmland in the area. Mr. Lukas rented a small apartment and looked for work. He found employment at a drugstore run by an older gentleman who had inherited the store from his father. The man had no family of his own, but he hired Mr. Lukas as a clerk, and continued to promote him when he found out that he was an excellent worker. When the man died, he left the entire drugstore to Mr. Lukas, which was a giant promotion and great salvation for the family.
The Lukas family had four children, three girls, and a boy, who was the youngest. The eldest daughter, Charlotte, was twenty-one, and was good friends with Ella. Charlotte worked as a telephone operator for a large agency downtown.
“Hey Ella,” Janet asked.
“Yes?” Ella replied, looking at her sister.
“Can we go to Mr. Lukas’ and get hamburgers and milkshakes?” Janet pleaded a little with her sister. Hamburgers and milkshakes were a treat, but Ella thought that sounded just perfect that evening.
“That is a wonderful idea! Let’s go.”
The two girls headed towards Mr. Lukas’ drugstore, which was called “Doc’s” after the original owner. They opened the door and a little bell chimed.
Mr. Lukas was behind the counter, pouring a coke for a customer, a young man in an army uniform.
Ella and Janet went up to the counter and sat down on the tall stools in front of it. Ella waved hello to Mrs. Lukas, who was cooking in the back.
“Ahh, the Bennet girls,” Mr. Lukas smiled at them. His accent was fading over time, but he still retained a great deal of “Old World charm.” “What can I get for you this evening?”
“We’d like two hamburgers, please, Mr. Lukas,” Janet said, “and I would like a strawberry milkshake. What do you want, Ella?”
“I’ll have a vanilla shake, please.”
“Now, girls, you know, because of rationing, that the hamburgers will only have a little bit of meat. Mrs. Lukas has come up with a delicious meat substitute made up of grains, and I am sure that you will like it just as well. Milkshakes, eh? Well, I guess I have enough sugar and milk rations left over for those. No strawberries, though, sorry Miss Janet. Mrs. Lukas was canning peaches all day for the hospitals. I think she has a few extra leftover… how do you like a peach milkshake?” Mr. Lukas was a very affable gentleman, who always tried to make allowances for his customers, especially Ella and Janet, for whom he had a soft spot in his heart.
“That sounds yummy! Thanks Mr. Lukas,” Janet said happily.
“It sure does,” Ella added. “Make mine peach too please.”
“Two burgers and two peach milkshakes coming right up!” With that, Mr. Lukas went into the back of the store where his wife was.
Ella and Janet turned to each other and started chatting. Janet told Ella about her day at school, and about the science project her teacher had assigned. The Ella remembered about her big news.
“Mr. Woodhouse asked me today if I could go to a party that his daughter Emma is giving of Friday. Apparently, she’s got a Navy band to play for dancing, and has invited a lot of her friends who are my age.”
“Wow, that sounds fun, Ella.” Janet seemed genuinely happy for her sister, but a little upset not to be able to go to the “grown-up” party.
Ella sensed her disappointment, and grinned as she spoke her next words. “And the best part is, Mr. Woodhouse invited you too!”
Janet smiled and hugged her sister, giving a little shriek of excitement. “Oh goodie! I’m so excited El!!”
“I thought you would be. Mr. Woodhouse said that there will be many other kids your age there. Maybe we can both make some new friends.”
“Yeah, and we get to get dressed up and go to a fancy party! Isn’t Mr. Woodhouse a big Hollywood director? I bet his house is huge!” Janet giggled.
“Yes, he is well-known. Now, I thought that maybe we could go shopping Friday after school. You could get a new hair bow, and maybe some new party shoes. I think that your nice dress is still good, but your shoes may be getting a little bit small. We don’t have a lot of money to spare, but it would be nice to get a little something special.”
“Oh, that sounds like fun! Maybe I can get a red silk ribbon to match the one on my dress. And can I get white party shoes? A girl in my class has shiny new Mary Jane shoes and I’d love a pair like those.” Janet was already very enticed by the prospect of a shopping trip.
“We’ll see,” Ella said, smiling yet again at her sister’s eagerness.
At that moment Mr. Lukas brought out their meals. “Here you are, ladies. Please enjoy.”
“Thanks!” The sisters chorused.
They ate in silence for a few moments. Janet then said, with her mouth very full, “this burger is good, I don’t care what Mrs. Lukas put in it.”
“You’re right. This gives me a new idea of a recipe to try. I saw a recipe for false meatloaf in the newspaper last week, and cut it out. But I wasn’t sure how good it would taste. If its anything like this, though, it will be delicious.”
Janet made a face, but tried to hide it. She was not a fan of meatloaf, no matter how many times Ella told her that it was basically the same thing as a hamburger, just without the bread around it. You could even eat it with ketchup!
Ella read Janet’s mind (and expression) and laughed. “I also read in the same recipe that you can make meatloaf into hamburgers with two pieces of bread and put some vegetables and ketchup on it. I promise that you won’t know the difference. Plus, it will last for several meals.” Ella wasn’t much of a cook, but she did like to make new recipes, and was always trying to improve her skills.
Janet’s face brightened considerably at this, and she took a long drink of her milkshake. “This peach milkshake is very good too! How come you never can peaches, Ella?”
“Because I would make a terrible mess and waste a lot of peaches and sugar, that’s why! I have very limited skills in the kitchen. You should know that by that fiasco with the jam last summer!”
Janet giggled again. Ella had tried to make strawberry jam one day when there was a special on over-ripe strawberries at the market. It had resulted in a sticky mess all over the kitchen. She had successfully filled only two jars.
A few minutes later, as the girls were finishing their meals, the man in the army uniform who had been sitting at the counter the whole time put a dollar on the table, put his hat on, stood up, and walked to stand in between the sisters.
“Hello, ladies,” the stranger said, tipping his hat. “I couldn’t help but notice two pretty girls enjoying a lovely evening together. I’m George Wickham,” he said, with a large grin.
Chapter 4:
Ella stared at the soldier for a minute before smiling at the young man, saying “Hello.” She was totally unaccustomed to strangers speaking to her, especially when she was with Janet, and this man’s forwardness took her completely by surprise.
George Wickham, as all readers know, was really a cad, but he was a dashing and handsome one, with a knack for winning over young ladies. He didn’t think of Ella as anyone special, necessarily, but she could be good for a bit of fun. She seemed especially “promising” to his twisted mind because she appeared to be quite young and yet have a child, which was a sign she was easy. This made him smile even more.
“And hello to you too, young lady,” he said, with yet another toothy grin at Janet. “You’re a pretty little girl, just as pretty as your mommy.”
Ella was completely shocked by this statement. She was barely ten years older than Janet, and certainly she was not so “worn-down” as to look like she was old enough to be the mother of a ten year old! She blushed furiously to the tips of her ears, and was about to give the man a piece of her mind (and possibly her fist), when Janet spoke.
“She’s not my mother,” Janet said, her voice as cold as ice. “My mother is dead and she is my older sister. You’ve a very rude man.” Janet, who was normally a very sensitive, yet calm child, looked as if she were about to rip the man’s hair out at the same time as freezing him with her stony glare.
“Please forgive me, ladies. I didn’t mean to insult you! My most sincere apologies. I merely thought that you, madam,” he nodded at Ella, “seemed so responsible of your sister that you appeared to be very motherly. I apologize for insulting you. It was not my intention.” George Wickham was very flustered. “Dammit, why did I make that mistake!? Now I’ll have no chance with her,” he berated himself. He put on his most innocent and apologetic face.
Ella saw that the man was genuinely (or so she thought) sorry for his error. “Its alright,” she said, after a pause. “I suppose it is an easy mistake to make. Our parents died last year, and I have been raising my sister alone since then.” She was a bit reluctant to forgive him, especially since Janet still looked furious, however, she thought it best to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“Oh, the poor girl,” Wickham thought sarcastically to himself. “She’ll need a shoulder to cry on, and I have one free.” To Ella he said, “Thank you for accepting my humble apologies, Miss --?”
“Call me Ella, and this is Janet.” Janet’s glare had softened a little, but she was still reluctant to trust the man.
“Hi,” Janet said softly, her tone returning almost to her normal sweet temper, but with a bit of trepidation. She was always determined to see the best in people, but this man had gotten off to a pretty bad start. Still, he could not be as bad as all that. It was a simple mistake.
“Lovely to meet you both,” Wickham said, removing his hat. “May I join you for a slice of pie?” He slipped himself onto the stool next to Ella.
“Well, I’m not very hungry, after the large dinner we just ate, but thank you just the same. Janet, we should get going, it’s late and you have school tomorrow.”
“May I walk you home?” Wickham was reluctant to let them get away so soon, especially since after his first snafu, he thought he had made a good impression.
“Oh, its not far, and we have an errand to run first, but thank you just the same,” Ella replied, grabbing Janet’s hand and walking toward the door. George Wickham no longer offended her, but she didn’t really want to spend much more time with him. He was just a random soldier, someone she would never see again, or so she thought.
Ella and Janet made their way home, where they listened to the radio for a bit, before going to bed fairly early. They didn’t talk about the strange soldier from Doc’s, but the encounter was on both of their minds.
As Ella was drifting off to sleep, she heard Janet walk towards her door. She sat up in bed. “What’s up?” she asked.
“I was just thinking about that man at the pharmacy,” Janet said, coming to sit on the edge of Ella’s bed. “I feel badly about how I spoke to him. I was very rude.”
“Well, so was he,” Ella said, with a bit of a smirk. “But I know what you mean. You did nothing wrong, remember that. Sometimes you have to be a little rude to express your feelings. Usually you’re such an angel. Now, let’s get him out of our minds, I’m sure we’ll never see him again, and, frankly, I’m not going to worry about it.”
“Okay, then I’ll do the same. Thanks Ella. I feel better. I’m excited to work on my science project tomorrow! Goodnight!”
Truthfully, Ella was glad that Janet had expressed her feelings so forcefully that night. For once, the sisters’ roles had been reversed. She, the outspoken one, had been tongue-tied by the soldier’s comment, while Janet, usually so sweet and a little bit shy, had no qualms about speaking her mind. It was good to know that they each had a bit of the other in them.
Ella felt that she was truly blessed to have a sister who complemented her so well. They were very different, they even looked different, but they got along so well, and she really felt that Janet, even though she was only 10 years old, was her best friend. They were lucky to have each other.
Chapter 5:
The next few days passed smoothly, quickly, and uneventfully for Ella and Janet. Janet finished her study of nature for her science class, and Ella finished shooting one of the large dance numbers in the film. They were both excited for the party Friday night, and were both pleasantly surprised to discover when they woke up on Friday morning that they day was already there!
“Now, remember,” Ella said as she and Janet went their separate ways in the morning, she to the bus stop and Janet to meet up with her friends to walk to school, “I’ll meet you at the front steps of your school, right after 3, and then we’ll go do some shopping.” Ella grinned when she saw her sister’s happy look. “It won’t be much, but we can have fun, and then come back here and get ready for the party.”
“Okay, I’ll see you then,” Janet said as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss Ella’s cheek. Ella bent down and gave her a small hug, and then tweaked one of her blonde braids and walked off in the other direction.
Janet skipped off to the corner of the street, where some of the other kids who lived on the block were standing. There were many school-aged children in the neighborhood, and about nine or ten lived on their block alone, so they all met up and walked to school together. Janet had such an easygoing nature that she was a friend with everyone. The older children, and many of their parents, loved her good manners and admired her prettiness, and she was so sweet and kind that the younger ones worshiped her. Ella was always glad that her sister had so many friends, especially since their own lives were in such confusion. It was good that Janet had friends to keep her happy and grounded.
As Ella walked down the street towards the bus stop, on Wilshire Boulevard, she thought about the rest of the day. She knew that they would be starting a new scene today, but she wasn’t even sure if she would be needed for most of the day. True, her name had been on the call list yesterday, but Ella had quickly learned that in the movie business, nothing goes according to schedule, and she often spent hours or even days, when she thought she would be working, wandering aimlessly around the studio, stretching, or immersing herself in a book.
For that reason, Ella never left home without some reading material. She had thought that since Janet was growing up, and would soon be reading literature and starting more advanced studies in mathematics and history, that it would be a good idea for her to brush up on those subjects, and to re-read some of the books she had read in school. Ella had fond memories of both her parents helping her when she was struggling with a composition or a math problem, and she wanted to make sure that she could do the same for her sister. Ella was, of course, very sad at the loss of her parents, but she was determined that Janet would have every advantage she could afford – including a knowledgeable person to help her with homework.
Today, Ella had brought along Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” which she had read at some point in high school. When the bus came, Ella climbed on and instead of looking out the window at the cars, as she often did, she found a seat and started reading the first chapter.
The ride to the studio passed quickly, and she soon found herself walking through the gates of Hartfield Studios, waving to the gatekeeper, a friendly, old black man named James who knew every person at the studio – from the CEO to the chorus girls to the assistant makeup artist – by sight and by name. The man had an amazing memory, and a wide smile every morning.
Ella made her way to Studio 17B, where the female dancers in her picture dressed and rehearsed most of their scenes. When she got there, there was a crowd of people around the door, which surprised her, because by this time in the morning she had expected that most of the other girls would be inside changing into rehearsal clothes.
“Ella, there you are!” Anne Elliot, one of Ella’s closer friends at the studio shouted out to her, as she came over and linked her arm with Ella’s. “What do you think has happened? You’ll never guess, so we’ll have to tell you! Mr. Woodhouse has called all of us in the dancing chorus for a screen test and audition today. It seems that one of the actresses in the picture has quit for some personal reason (although I can’t imagine why anyone would ever give up a part in a movie!) and he wants to replace her with one of us! It’ll be you for sure. You’re by far the prettiest of all of us, and the best dancer.
Ella blushed a little at Anne’s effusiveness. “Anne, I highly doubt that, but that’s exciting news just the same. Is that why everyone’s crowded around here?”
“Yes,” her friend agreed. “We are all waiting here for the rest to arrive, because we all want to be the first to tell!”
“Well, thank you for telling me. When is this going to take place?”
“At ten. Mr. Woodhouse said that several of the big-shot heads of the studio are coming to watch the test, and that they will pick the girl by this afternoon. Oh, I wonder what the part is? I know it is a dancing part, because we’re all supposed to be ready in our practice clothes and to bring our pointe shoes.”
“Hmm, I wonder,” Ella thought aloud, as she and Anne and several of the others made their way inside the studio.
The girls changed into their practice dresses, which were like long tutus with tight bodices and long, stiff tulle skirts. Ella’s was pale green, which brought out the sparkle in her eyes and the hints of red in her brown hair. She went with Anne and two others, Betty and Susan, into the large empty room that the chorus used for warm-ups.
Anne Elliot was several years older than Ella, and she had been under contract at Hartfield Studios for two years. She was a good dancer, and had been in several films as either a chorus dancer or a walk-on extra. She was not exceptionally pretty, but her face was pleasant, and she had very thick, long, straight brown hair, which she often wore in two long braids pinned over her head. Ella liked to tease her that it was an old-fashioned style, and that Anne resembled her grandmother, but Anne would always respond that her hair was so poker-straight that cutting it into a short bob would make her look like a boy, because her hair would certainly never curl the way Ella’s did.
Ella was especially grateful to Anne for being such a kind person when she first started at Hartfield. She knew no one, and Anne had been friendly, showing her around the studio and making sure she got to the right place at the right time. Ella was sure that she wouldn’t have survived those first few weeks without Anne’s help.
Since it was only Ella’s first film, she had never heard of actors or actresses “dropping out” of movies, and the director searching for replacements.
“Does this happen often?” She asked the other girls. “People quitting the movies, I mean. It seems strange to me, and I can’t believe that Mr. Woodhouse is looking for a replacement in one of us!”
Susan, a tall, cool blonde, answered. “Oh, it happens all the time. Actresses are very temperamental, and if something isn’t going just the way they want, and the director won’t change it, then they quit. Its quite good luck for us, or one of us, actually. Usually the studio will just hire a different actress who’s already under contract as an actress to fill the role, but I guess because this is a dance part, they need one of us.” Susan was a very self-assured woman, and she smiled to herself as she said this, as if confident that she would be the chosen one.
“Do you have any idea who it is that quit? Or what the part is like?”
Betty answered this time. “My boyfriend,” she said with a small giggle, “is a script-boy, and he said that it was Carol Bingley who quit. You know how pushy she can be, and I guess she just didn’t get her way.” At this, Betty, a small girl with black curls, giggled again at the others. “Actually,” and here she lowered her voice, “Sam, my boyfriend, told me that Mr. Woodhouse very nearly fired her because she was too demanding and wouldn’t play the part the way he wanted, but she quit just before he could!”
“Wow,” Ella said, her eyes widening. “I would think that if anyone ever got the chance to be a movie star they would do what the director said! I know I would!”
“I’m sure you would, honey,” Susan said with a smirk, “but it’s different when you’re a star. When you’re just a simple chorus girl, you have to obey the rules, because there are hundreds of others out there who could take your place, but there are very few people who have what it takes to be great.”
Susan wasn’t a mean or cruel person, but she did think very highly of herself, and in her mind she knew that “poor little naïve Ella” didn’t have a chance.
“Oh well,” Ella shrugged. I guess everything’s different in show business.”
“I didn’t even know Carol Bingley could dance,” Anne said, effectively changing the subject.
“Oh, she can’t,” Betty replied. “Sam said she was just awful in rehearsals, not graceful at all. I believe he described her dancing as something akin to a giraffe trying to balance on a ball while juggling flaming pins. It was that awkward.” Here she giggled, yet again, but this time the other joined her, picturing that image.
“I bet she did!” Ella said, almost shrieking with laughter. “I only saw her once, and once in a movie a few years ago, but she does have an abnormally long neck, and her movements are rather, um, ungraceful.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Susan said, wiping a tear from her eye after laughing so hard. “Drat, I hope this doesn’t ruin my makeup. I’d better head to the hair and makeup ‘closet’ to touch-up before the screen test.”
“Hey Betty,” Ella said as the four girls headed towards the tiny room where they “made themselves beautiful,” “Do you know what part Carol Bingley had in this picture? I barely even know what the movie’s about, let alone what the parts are.”
“You know, neither do I. All I know is that we’ve all filmed several long dance numbers, but I have no idea how they fit in with the rest of the story, or even really what the story is. I think that the studio’s being deliberately concealing, because even Sam says that he hasn’t seen a whole script, ever, just the scenes they’re filming, the day before. I just know that the movie’s called ‘Dance With Me,’ and that it takes place both on Broadway and in a ballet company. I know that Carol Bingley wasn’t the leading actress, but I’m betting she would have been up for ‘Best Supporting’ – provided she hadn’t just quit,” she finished with another giggle.
“How old is she, anyway,” Susan asked.
“She’s got to be near thirty, if not past it,” Anne replied, “and I don’t think she should be playing ingénue parts anymore, and I’m sure that this was one, because they’re looking for her replacement among us. And well, we’re all young, right?!”
“Right,” Susan said confidently. She was probably one of the oldest of the girls in the chorus, but she was still only about twenty-four. There was a very short life for dancers in movies, and she was determined to “move on and up” before it was too late.
The four girls touched up their makeup, applied fresh lipstick, and fluffed their hair, before they, and the other twenty or so girls with whom they shared Studio 17B, made their way to Soundstage 1A, where the screen tests would take place. They wore their street shoes, and their coats over their practice dresses, but then carried their pointe shoes to change into if needed. Most of the girls had warmed up for awhile that morning, so they were all ready to dance if asked.
When they got there, Mr. Perry, the head cameraman, told them all to line up, and they would be tested in order of the lineup. They would be asked to read a short scene from the script, with one of the script boys, and then those whom the director and studio heads chose would be asked to sing, dance, and to do another reading.
Mr. Perry then addressed the girls. “You may all remain in your street shoes until some of you are directed to change. Please remain entirely silent while others are being tested. This is a preliminary screen test, just so we can see how each of you ladies look on camera, close-up. Once the director and studio heads have narrowed the group down, we will do more formal testing. Thank you for your patience, we appreciate your enthusiasm, and wish you all good luck.” Mr. Perry smiled at the dancers. He was a very affable man, and a great friend to Mr. Woodhouse, the director.
At that moment, the large main doors of the sound stage flew open, and a tall man with dark curling hair entered, followed by Mr. Woodhouse and several of the assistant directors.
“Ah, ladies,” Mr. Woodhouse said, approaching the lineup of girls. “Thank you for being here. I would like to say a few words regarding this sudden change in scheduling and filming, and then we will begin the screen tests. Please, remember that even if you are not chosen to fill this role, you are all excellent dancers, and young women, and you are still a vital and integral part of this film. We thank you for your excellent work so far on this picture, and we know it will continue. By the way, before I go on, I would like to introduce to you the head of Hartfield Studios and another major studio here in Hollywood, Pemberley/Derby Studios. Ladies, this is Mr. William Darcy.”
Chapter 6:
William Darcy looked down the line of girls. He liked the look of several of them, but that was just the initial impression. He knew that it was common in this business that the best-looking girls were often the least talented. He had learned that from Carol Bingley, who was precisely the reason he was here today. He felt that this “casting call” was a waste of his valuable time, and he took no care to hide that feeling in his expression.
“Well, ladies,” he said after a moment, “I trust that each of you will do your best to show myself and your director your talents. We will make our decision based solely on talent. Please do not try to emphasize your feminine charms by batting your eyelashes or pouting your lips, I assure you that it will have no affect on me. Whomever we choose for this role must be an absolute professional.” His tone was cool, and the girls knew that while he was quite serious, he was also very uninterested in them, and he was all about business.
Several of the girls rolled their eyes or sighed quietly as he spoke. They were the ones with the pretty faces and “great gams” whose talents were limited.
Anne Elliot smiled slightly, for she knew that many men would pass over her in a lineup because she wasn’t eye-catching, but if Mr. Darcy was truly looking for the most talent, perhaps she had a chance.
Ella also found Mr. Darcy’s words somewhat encouraging, but she felt that the way he addressed all of them was very rude. Sure, some of the girls tended to be coquettish and silly, but it was unfair of him to group them all together like that. However, she put it all behind her as Mr. Woodhouse began telling them about the procedures for the audition.
Ella stood next to Anne, near the middle of the lineup. There were about nine girls who acted their scene before her turn came. In order to make the preliminary audition completely fair to all the girls, Mr. Woodhouse had chosen enough short scenes so that every girl read something new. They were given two minutes to read the scene over before they acted it out with the script boy, on camera.
Several of the girls who went before Ella flubbed their lines, or mispronounced words. She snuck a look at Mr. Darcy and Mr. Woodhouse, standing just out of the lights, looking at them, and noticed that they did not seem very pleased, so far.
A minute later the script boy handed her the script she had to read from, and said “Two minutes, Miss Bennet.”
Ella read over the page. She had only about six lines, less than a page, in a conversation. The character she was to play was named “Maggie.” She was pretty sure, from reading over her lines, that all the girls were reading the same part. From what she had heard already, it seemed that Maggie was a young dancer in a ballet company who fell in love with the lighting technician for a Broadway show and decided to try and quit the ballet and go into musical theater. The part seemed interesting, and Ella began to hope that she would get it, even though she knew her chance was small.
She read the scene again before the script boy came over to her and told her it was time. The camera began to roll, and he began his first line.
Dance with me, Scene 31, Partial:
Script boy (playing the part of Roy): Maggie, you don’t know what you’re doing!
Ella (as Maggie): Yes, Roy, I do! I want to be on Broadway, it’s where I belong.
Roy: You’re just doing this because of that boy. I know you; I’ve known you since you were a kid. All you’ve ever wanted to do is be a ballerina. Now you have your big chance. Rodolfo was going to promote you to soloist when Olivia leaves in May.
(From what Ella had gathered from the other scenes, Olivia was the lead female in the film.)
Maggie: (surprised) Really? (Ella paused here, and tried to let the emotion sink in.) Roy, I know that ballet was my dream, but dreams change. I need to do this, I need to try this. I know you think I’m crazy, and maybe I am, but I need to see if I can make this work, on my own. Even here, in the ballet company, I have you to help me; you’ve always been here for me. I am extremely grateful for your help, Roy, really, I am. But I need to try to succeed on my own. I’m flattered that Rodolfo would consider promoting me, but I know that I don’t deserve it any more than any of the other girls in the corps. I know you had something to do with it, and while I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, I need to be somewhere where I can do things for myself.
(Ella figured that Roy was an older brother-type or something, and was probably secretly in love with Maggie.)
Roy: But Maggie, you know that’s not true. You’ve earned a promotion.
Maggie: Maybe, but I won’t feel like it, I will be resented by the others, and they’ll spread rumors that I only got promoted because of you. I need to know that I can achieve great things based on my talent alone.
End Scene
“Thank you, Miss Bennet,” Mr. Perry, the cameraman said as she finished her line. The script boy handed the next scene to Anne, and Ella breathed a sigh of relief.
She had tried to read the scene with as much feeling as possible, which was difficult, because it was unrehearsed and she was very nervous acting in front of the camera. However, she felt pretty good about her performance, for she hadn’t messed up a line, and she thought she read with greater feeling than several of the others.
After another forty minutes the preliminary readings were completed, and the girls were told to take a break outside until called back in. It was time for the directors and Mr. Darcy to make their decisions.
“Ella, you were great!” Anne told her as they exited the sound stage. “I didn’t know you were such a talented actress!”
“Thanks Anne, I just tried to read with feeling. I was so nervous, though, I thought my voice sounded shaky. You were really good, too.”
“Well, your shaky voice, as you call it, sounded like you were really feeling what the character was feeling. You conveyed such great emotion! I flubbed some of my words, didn’t you notice?”
“No,” Ella answered truthfully. “I thought you were great.” Anne’s scene had been less emotional and more comic than hers, but she had done a good job with the comedy. The part of Maggie seemed quite multi-dimensional, and it was also quite a long part, judging by all the scenes that had been read.
Several of the other girls, including Susan and Betty, came over, and they stood around on the lawn outside and congratulated each other and chatted about the audition for a few minutes.
“Hey girls,” Susan said, lowering her voice slightly, “Isn’t Mr. Darcy dreamy?” She winked as she spoke.
Betty giggled. “Yes, but he seems intimidating.”
“I think he’s handsome,” Ella confessed, “but I thought he was very rude, the way he talked to us before the audition. He seems very full of himself.”
“Well, I’m sure that’s not difficult when you’re the head of two of Hollywood’s biggest film studios! And he’s quite young to be so accomplished.” Anne said, understanding what Ella was saying, but still trying to come up with a rational explanation for his behavior.
“Yes, how old do you think he is,” Ava, another girl asked.
“I read in ‘The Gazette’ that he isn’t even twenty-eight yet! And look how rich he is, already! He must be the richest man in California under thirty!” Susan was clearly smitten.
“Well, that may be true,” Ella replied, good-naturedly, “but it doesn’t excuse his manners.”
Several of the girls were about to reply, but at that moment the script boy came out of the sound stage and asked them to come back inside.
“Ladies, again, we would all like to thank you for your excellent work, both on this picture and this morning’s audition. Mr. Darcy was quite impressed with the caliber of your work, especially since so many of you have little or no acting experience. Unfortunately, there is only one role that needs to be filled, and though we wish we could give each of you this opportunity, we must narrow down the group in order to further audition those girls whom we feel will be best for this role. Please remember that this does not mean we think you are any worse than they are, it just means that you are simply not right for this part.” Mr. Woodhouse gave every girl a warm, comforting smile before continuing.
“Ladies, if you would please go to the script boy to get a script if I call your name. Julia Graff.”
A tall, willowy brunette stepped out of the line. Ella remembered that she had done a really funny scene, and had done very well.
“Anne Elliot.” Ella gave Anne’s hand a squeeze and smiled at her. Anne looked at her in a moment of disbelief before walking over to get her script.
“Betty Jones.” Betty giggled and skipped happily off to get her script (and to see her boyfriend, Sam, the script boy.)
“Ella Bennet,” Ella couldn’t help but break out in a large grin when she heard her name called. She also heard someone who sounded suspiciously like Anne, give a little yell.
Two more girls were called, Susan Dixon and Ruth Post, and then Mr. Woodhouse again thanked everyone for being there, and gave the other girls the rest of the day off. They all seemed a little upset, but brightened at the prospect of a free afternoon, and they ran off to change.
“Ladies, you did an excellent job this morning,” Mr. Woodhouse told the six who remained. “Now, Mrs. Bell (the chorus “matron”) is sending over some lunch for you, and will you please be prepared to sing, dance, and read for us at one o’clock this afternoon. We will return then. Thank you.”
As Ella sat down and began to look over her script with Anne, someone was observing her closely: Mr. William Darcy.
(AN: No, not in a stalker way, in a sexy Darcy way! He’s admiring her fine eyes of course!)
Chapter 7:
Ella and the others spent the next half hour relaxing, stretching, reading their scenes, and eating some lunch. Ella was too nervous to eat much, but managed to eat half a turkey sandwich and part of an apple.
At quarter-to-one she found herself a quiet area to relax and concentrate. She sat on the floor, breathing deeply, and trying to ease her nervousness. All of a sudden, in the midst of her relaxation exercises, she remembered something, and opened her eyes abruptly.
“Oh no!” She thought, and actually spoke aloud, unaware that she had spoken. “Janet! I promised I would meet her right after school today, and she will be so worried if I’m not there! I can’t do this! I’m such a terrible ‘parent!’”
“Ella, what’s wrong,” Anne said, rushing over to her friend to see what was the matter.
“I promised Janet that I would pick her up from school today, and we would go shopping before the party tonight. But now I’m here, and if I have to leave here, I know I’ll probably loose my job, and then where would that leave us? What am I going to do?” Ella was truly in despair. She didn’t want to disappoint her sister, but she knew that this audition was her big opportunity, and if she refused to stay, she was sure she would not only lose the chance for this part, but her job with the studio as well.
“There’s no way I can make it back to Westwood by three, if we’re to start auditioning at one. It will take much more time than that, and I certainly can’t ask them to make an exception for me…” Ella trailed off, realizing that something was going to have to give, and that she wouldn’t be happy with giving up anything. But most importantly, she did not want to hurt her sister.
“I have to go,” she said, after pausing a moment. “I have to be there for Janet, I’m all that she has, and I don’t think that she would understand if I wasn’t there.”
“Ella, think carefully,” Anne said, grasping her friend’s shoulders in a supportive way. “Janet is a big girl, she may be disappointed in you, but that will only last briefly until you tell her what happened to you today! Think how proud she will be of you!”
“Anne, I haven’t gotten the part, and think how devastated she’d be if I was late and jobless!” Ella knew that she was overreacting, but she was completely determined not to hurt Janet in any way.
“Excuse me,” a deep male voice cut in.
Ella and Anne turned to face Mr. William Darcy, head of Hartfield and Pemberley/Derby Studios. Ella quickly wiped her eyes, for they had begun to tear, and straightened her skirt.
“I’m sorry, sir, for causing a scene. I am just a bit distressed. I am afraid that I cannot –“
“No, I am sorry for interrupting your discussion, but I couldn’t help overhearing. I would like to suggest a solution, if I may.”
Ella was surprised by his behavior. This was the same man who hadn’t spoken two words together this morning, the same man who had looked on her and all the other girls with distaste. He was offering her help?
“Yes, of course,” she said, falteringly.
“Well, I heard you tell Miss Elliot that you needed to pick up someone named Janet in Westwood by three this afternoon, is that correct?”
William Darcy was confused about this “Janet” who Ella Bennet spoke of. He heard her say that she was a “terrible parent,” and she didn’t seem nearly old enough to have a child of her own, but he did not want to judge her in any way, or to embarrass her, so he kept quiet about that. He kept reminding himself, in his head, that this woman was a lowly chorus girl in one of the movies at one of his studios, but something about her intrigued him. He wanted to help her.
Ella nodded. She was not prone to accepting eavesdroppers, but he seemed genuinely concerned, and she needed all the help she could get – especially from the head of the studio.
“Well, I am in charge of this afternoon’s audition proceedings, and if you are ready, Miss Bennet, you may come with me and audition first.”
Ella was completely flabbergasted by this. Mr. Darcy, who earlier had been the epitome of rude, was now being kind to her, and giving her an opportunity! She was speechless for a moment, but then regained her senses and smiled at him.
“Thank you, sir. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate this. I am ready now.”
Darcy’s heart jumped at her smile. “Well then, Miss Bennet, please follow me. We will begin your test now.”
Forty-five minutes later, Ella emerged from the soundstage a very happy person. Even if she did not get the part, she knew she had tried her best, and was happy with that. She was also very happy that she was now free to meet Janet, and after wishing Anne and the others “good luck” she changed, gathered up her things, and went to catch her bus.
The screen tests continued on for several hours. Mr. Woodhouse and the others, especially Mr. Darcy, wanted to make sure they picked just the right girl for the role, for though it wasn’t the biggest part in the film, it was very important.
They deliberated over their choice for the rest of the afternoon. About twenty minutes after the last of the girls had given their test, one of the assistant directors had told them that they should all go home, for it was a very difficult decision, and the directors wanted to make sure to give everyone the consideration they deserved. Therefore, it was unlikely that they would make their decision before that night.
The man then informed them that Mr. Woodhouse had extended an invitation to each of them, to attend the party that his daughter was giving that evening, and that the choice would be announced that evening.
All the other girls seemed contented with this news, although they certainly didn’t wish for their suspense to continue, but they knew that they would know the results by later that night. They all went home to prepare for Emma Woodhouse’s soiree.
Ella, on the other hand, was too excited to tell Janet about her day, and for her shopping excursion, and the party that followed, to remember that she didn’t even know who had the part yet. She nearly forgot about it until Janet asked her, after the story had been told, if she had the part.
“Goodness!” Ella exclaimed. “I forgot about that! I was so excited to come meet you after my test that I totally forgot that I didn’t even know how I would find out about the outcome! Well, I guess I’ll find out on Monday, or perhaps the studio will call our phone. Well, we’ll see.” Ella wasn’t terribly concerned. She knew that she had a job in the picture no matter what. Mr. Darcy’s assurance had made her sure of that. She knew that she was not going to lose her job. And perhaps she’d get an even better one!
Ella and Janet “shopped” for about an hour and a half, before heading home to get ready for the evening. Ella had bought Janet a new pair of party shoes, white Mary Janes, just like she had wanted, and a red silk hair ribbon. Janet was in heaven, for she loved new and pretty things. She ran to wash and put on her new dress as soon as they got home.
Ella took a few minutes rest on her bed before getting up to get herself ready. She had not bought anything special for herself, since she spent all they money she could spare on Janet. Besides, she told herself, you don’t need anything. You aren’t still growing like Janet is, and your dress and shoes still fit and look fairly nice.
Ella went into the bathroom and washed her face. She pulled the pins out of her hair, and put the ends in curling papers, just hoping to “refresh” the curls. Her brown hair hung to her shoulders, and she wore it in a curly bob, as was fashionable at the time, when it wasn’t pinned up for dancing. She did not have any special hair adornments, but her shiny brown curls looked nice enough when neat. She hoped that her simple toilette would do for a party as fancy as Emma Woodhouse’s was sure to be.
Ella’s party dress was a very pale blue, and it had silver threads running through it. She wore her mother’s pearls, the only jewelry she owned, and a pair of silver heeled slippers. She had the dress and the shoes from her “sweet sixteen party,” only four short years ago. As she put on her dress and shoes, and applied a little makeup to her legs, she sighed, recalling just how much had happened in the last four years.
Janet looked adorable in her white party dress with a crimson sash, and her new white shoes. Though her dress was starting to get on the small side, it didn’t look too short quite yet, but Ella knew she would have to get a new dress for her sister, probably within the year.
Ella and Janet did look alike, but different too. Ella looked very much like their mother had. She had a very pretty face, with a small nose, bright green eyes, and a small bow mouth. Janet resembled their father more in her coloring, and had inherited his blonde hair and dark blue eyes. Ella knew she was pretty, but she saw that her sister was going to be far more beautiful than she could ever be. Their faces were similar, but Janet’s light hair and dark eyes made her positively striking.
The sisters set off together, around six-thirty, eager with anticipation for what the evening would bring.
Chapter 8:
The party was in “semi-full swing” when Ella and Janet arrived. They walked from the bus stop up the long, winding driveway of the Woodhouse estate, to the front door of the mansion.
“This is the biggest house I’ve ever seen,” said Janet, awed. “I think it’s bigger than the White House!”
Ella laughed. “No, I don’t think so,” she replied, “but it is very large and impressive. But let’s not let that intimidate us,” she finished, grinning.
Ella didn’t know the outcome of the afternoon’s events, but she was determined to have a wonderful time at the party no matter what. She was fairly certain that she had not gotten the part, but she didn’t care. She was at the most lavish and exciting party she had ever been to, and she was resolute to enjoy it.
The door was opened for them by a uniformed butler, who took their coats and directed them to the “ballroom.” They made their way to the aforementioned room, where there were dozens of people dancing, talking and laughing. As Mr. Woodhouse had promised, a Navy band was set up at one side of the ballroom, and they were playing all sorts of current favorites as well as old standards. Most of the guests were around Ella’s age or a little older, but in the far corner, near a door that looked like it led to a greenhouse – which they later discovered was referred to at the “conservatory” – was a cluster of children, about eight of them, who looked about the same age as Janet.
The sisters stood at the doorway from the hall surveying the room, daunted by the fashionable interior as well as the fashionably people inside it. A moment later, a girl dressed in a stylish, light-pink dress, with her blonde curls bobbing around her face and sparking grey eyes rushed up to them.
“Ella Bennet!” She exclaimed, exuberantly. “Remember me? I’m Emma Woodhouse! Welcome to my party, I’m so glad you could come!”
Ella smiled, glad that her hostess had greeted her so friendly – and that she remembered her by name! “Thank you, Miss Woodhouse, for inviting me. And thank you for extending the invitation to my sister, Janet.”
“Please, call me Emma. Hey Janet, nice to meet you! There are loads of kids around your age here. Where did they go? Oh, they’re over there by the conservatory! I’ll get Georgie over here and she’ll introduce you to everyone, hang on a minute. Oh, would you girls like something to drink? The bar’s over there, and its very well-stocked with soda pop!” Emma talked a mile-a-minute. Ella couldn’t help but laugh lightly, under her breath. She smiled again at Emma, as she went over towards the group of children.
“She seems very nice, El. Do you know her well?” Janet asked.
“No, not at all, really. I met her once, when she came to visit her father at the studio, during my first few weeks there. She’s about my age, I think. She is very friendly, I agree with that!” Ella and Janet went to the “bar” where they each asked for coca-colas, which were served in fancy crystal goblets.
A minute later Emma came rushing back to them, bringing a girl about Janet’s age along with her.
“Janet, Ella, this is Georgiana Darcy, but please, call her Georgie, everyone does!” The girl looked oddly familiar to Ella and Janet. She had long, dark brown hair that fell halfway down her back in waves. She was wearing a very pretty dress that was white with blue piping and lace trim, and she had shiny white Mary Jane shoes and ankle socks edged with lace. Her eyes were a very light, almost ice blue, framed with long black lashes, and her delicate features and high cheekbones made her look like a porcelain doll. She was one of the most beautiful girls that either of them had ever seen.
“Hello,” Georgie Darcy said shyly. “I’m Georgie. It is a pleasure to meet you.” She had lovely voice, and nice manners, but seemed very timid. She was quite a contrast from Emma Woodhouse.
“Hello, I’m Janet Bennet, and this is my sister, Ella,” Janet said, smiling at Georgie just a little shyly.
“Hi Georgie, it is very nice to meet you, as well,” Ella said, giving the girl a kind and encouraging smile. “Surely she is not always this shy,” she thought, “perhaps its just the party and so many unfamiliar people.”
“Georgie, why don’t you take Janet over to meet the other kids,” Emma asked. “I’ll introduce Ella around, okay?”
“Alright, Emma. Please come with me, Janet.” The younger girls walked off towards the group of children.
“Poor girl,” Emma said, as soon as they were halfway across the room, as she linked her arm with Ella’s and led her to the bar so she could get herself a drink. “She’s so very shy, but she comes alive on-screen, it’s the most peculiar thing.”
“Wait a moment!” Ella exclaimed. “I knew she was familiar! Georgiana Darcy, of course! She’s the child star. Why, Janet and I rarely go to the movies, but we’ve seen many that she has been in!”
“Yes, didn’t you realize? Oh, how silly of me! See, I never mention it in front of her, she gets so self-conscious, but yes, she is a child star. Quite a good little actress, too. She is one of William Darcy’s biggest box-office draws for his studios.”
“How silly of me not to recognize her at first. She’s a lovely child, and so polite!” Ella was a little embarrassed at her ignorance, but Emma didn’t seem to think anything of it.
“Yes, she is, very lovely. So is your sister. I think they will be good friends, they seem to have similar temperaments.”
“Janet is not so shy, though she initially comes across as very timid. Maybe she can help Georgie increase in confidence.”
“Maybe,” Emma said, as she got her ginger ale from the bartender, and her mind instantly went on to a new topic. “Come on, let me introduce you to everyone!”
The next half-hour both Ella and Janet were occupied getting to know Georgie and Emma’s friends. At eight, a buffet dinner was served, and the sisters met up again.
“Ella, did you know that Georgie is the actress we’ve seen in all those movies? I didn’t realize it at first, but then I recognized her, and I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to ask her about being an actress, or if I was supposed to congratulate her or something. It was very confusing!” Janet said. “But then she introduced me to the other kids, and they’re almost all actors and actresses. Some of them are very famous, too! Like Peggy and Liz and Maggie and Roddy! And they’re all so nice!”
“That’s great, Janet,” Ella replied. She wasn’t quite sure just whom her sister was talking about, but later on, when she saw Janet eating with her new friends, she recognized several of them from films.
Ella had been speaking with several of the girls she knew from the film, as well as others who were new friends. Everyone there seemed to be involved in the movie business, but Ella was too, so she felt like she belonged, and she was glad that Janet had been so well-accepted by the other children as well.
As she was sitting at a table with Anne Elliot and several others, eating delicious food that was extremely lacking a “rationed” quality (she wondered how they had pulled that off, but then again, Mr. Woodhouse was one of the most well-known and wealthiest men in the country), she overheard a conversation at the next table.
“Darcy, you must loosen up, I will not have you sitting here, sulking in this manner.”
“We had a very rough day at the studios today, Charles. You couldn’t possibly understand how frustrating it is to learn one morning that you must re-cast an important role for a very important film, and then spend the entire day wadding through mediocre chorus girls, most of whom haven’t a wit of talent and no beauty, trying to find a suitable replacement. I must have seen fifty untalented girls today. It’s a wonder that they are even under contract for my studio already. I will have to have a talk with the casting directors and have them review their contracts. Personally, I would have fired them rather than promoted any of them! I have no desire to hire untalented ninnies who probably only got their jobs by their superficial good looks. Its amazing what kind of impression a little lipstick and a short skirt can have on many men.”
The voice was unmistakably that of William Darcy, the man who had been running hot and cold on Ella all day. How incredibly insulting! If he couldn’t have found a “suitable replacement” among any of the “untalented ninnies” in short skirts, why had he bothered to waste their time that day. She was a little hurt by his gross generalization, and his insults of herself and all her friends (granted, there were a few girls in the chorus who fit his description, but most of them were lovely and talented)!
Ella flushed, and Anne, who had been in conversation with another girl at their table, asked her what was wrong.
Ella related what she had overheard to Anne in a hushed voice, so the others wouldn’t hear. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” she explained, “but he was talking very loudly, I’m sure others heard him as well.” She was furious. “I want to give him a piece of my mind and show him that not all chorus girls are brainless ninnies!”
Anne pointed out that they were seated at a corner table, and that the table where William Darcy and his friend were was the only one further in the corner than theirs, so that it was unlikely that anyone else had heard. “Ella, don’t cause a scene. There is no excuse for his behavior – or his words – but just ignore him, and don’t say anything. We certainly wouldn’t want to embarrass Emma Woodhouse.”
“No, you are right, Anne, I won’t say anything. But can you believe the nerve – he just wasted our time today, he isn’t going to cast any of us in this role!”
“We don’t know that for sure, Ella, so let’s wait and see,” Anne said, trying to calm her friend down.
“Alright, we can wait. I promised that no matter what I would enjoy this party, and I will! The food is delicious! I haven’t seen such a spread since well before the war, and even then --!
“I know, it is wonderful. Everything’s wonderful, the music, the food, the house, the company (with an exception, yes, I know what you’re going to say).”
The girls smiled at each other, and continued to eat. Ella finished what was on her plate, and excused herself to go get some more, since this delicious food was not something she would see again for a long time.
As she stood in the line for the buffet she heard another familiar voice several people behind her. It was Susan, one of the girls from the chorus whom Ella had talked with earlier that day. She had obviously been imbibing the champagne that was available at the bar – and lots of it. She was speaking in a very sultry, yet silly voice that occasionally broke into giggles, to none other than William Darcy.
“Soooooooooo, Mr. Darcy,” Susan said very loudly. Ella turned around and saw that Mr. Darcy’s back was to her, but she could see that Susan, who was facing her, was trying to drape herself over him in a sexy manner.
Ella could tell from his body language that he was not pleased.
“Have you,” she continued, giggling, “well, I mean, you and the others, you know who I mean, have you decided who gets the part?”
“Please, Miss – uh – Dixon, I do not wish to discuss this now. We will make an announcement later this evening.” He tried, in vain, to get her off of him.
“Oh, come now, Mr. Darcy, you can tell me. Just a little whisper.” She started to pout as she batted her eyelashes in what she hoped was a sexy way. She ended up just looking ridiculous.
“Well, Miss Dixon, since you are so insistent, I can tell you one thing.” He straightened his shoulders and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “it's not you!”