Fortune's Journey Read Online Free PDF Page A

grin. “I always find it gives me butterflies when I have an admirer in the audience.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” asked Fortune, a little too casually.
    â€œJamie, of course.”
    â€œOh, him.” She waved a hand carelessly. “I hardly think you could call him an admirer.”
    Mrs. Watson paused in the application of her makeup. “You know, I think you’re right.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?” asked Fortune. This is ridiculous, she said to herself. I’m not in the least bit interested in him. So why should it bother me if he’s not interested in me? Vanity. That’s what it is. You’re getting vain, Fortune Plunkett. You’d better watch out, or you’ll end up like Mrs. Watson.
    â€œI’ll tell you what it is with that boy,” said Mrs. Watson. She gave her face one last dab of powder and turned to Fortune. “He’s stage-struck! Don’t ask me how it happened out here in West Nowhere, but that’s what it is. He’s got it bad.”
    The older woman shrugged. “Of course, you being an actress and all, he naturally looks up to you. But it’s the stage he’s really interested in. You’re right, Fortune. He’s not an admirer after all.”
    Fortune looked at Mrs. Watson suspiciously. Was she teasing? The hint of a smile lit her face, but Fortune couldn’t tell if it was because she was joking, or because she was feeling smug for having diagnosed Jamie’s condition.
    â€œWell, that’s a relief,” she said, forcing a smile herself. “I was beginning to worry about the poor boy.”
    â€œOh, I wouldn’t worry about him. Any lad who looks like he does won’t lack for female companionship. But he’ll go crazy in this little town if he doesn’t get rid of that hankering for ‘the theater.’”
    Mrs. Watson altered her voice on the last two words, doing a perfect imitation of Jamie’s worshipful way of saying them.
    Fortune laughed in spite of herself.
    Suddenly they were aware of a silence on the stage. “Oh, Minerva!” cried Mrs. Watson. “That’s my entrance!”
    The older woman rushed off, leaving Fortune alone with her thoughts. After a moment she reached for the edge of the curtain and again scanned the audience.
    She spotted Jamie sitting in the third row, and wondered how he had gotten around his mother’s objections to his coming…or what price he would pay once the fierce old harridan discovered where he had been.
    She narrowed her eyes. Jamie was sitting next to a girl. Had they come together?
    What difference does it make if they did? she asked herself sternly. I certainly don’t care if he has a girlfriend!
    She looked the young lady over.
    She’s pretty—but not as pretty as I am.
    She lowered the edge of the curtain in disgust. What had gotten into her? What did she care whether the girl he was sitting with was pretty or not? She had Aaron to think about.
    Aaron! She could hear his voice onstage. If she wasn’t careful she would be like Mrs. Watson and miss her entrance.
    She went to the edge of the stage and waited for her cue.
    â€œAnd where is the widow’s daughter?” asked Walter in his oiliest tones.
    Fortune smiled. Walter made a wonderful villain—which was strange, since he was about the sweetest man she knew.
    â€œHere I am!” she cried gaily, doing a pirouette as she made her entrance.
    Her arrival prompted a burst of applause. Women were scarce in this area—and pretty ones were even scarcer. The men appreciated her beauty, and she enjoyed their appreciation. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Mrs. Watson looking disgruntled. There had been slightly less applause at her entrance.
    At the end of the first act the audience surged out of the loft. Fortune, experienced at reading the mood of a crowd, could tell things were going well. She caught a certain contented