He left Violet
Grey alone, to the best of his ability, but she carried out
imperfectly her own side of the bargain. She came to him with new
questions--she waited for him with old doubts, and half an hour
before the last dress-rehearsal, on the eve of production, she
proposed to him a totally fresh rendering of his heroine. This
incident gave him such a sense of insecurity that he turned his back
on her without a word, bolted out of the theatre, dashed along the
Strand and walked as far as the Bank. Then he jumped into a hansom
and came westward, and when he reached the theatre again the business
was nearly over. It appeared, almost to his disappointment, not bad
enough to give him the consolation of the old playhouse adage that
the worst dress-rehearsals make the best first nights.
The morrow, which was a Wednesday, was the dreadful day; the theatre
had been closed on the Monday and the Tuesday. Every one, on the
Wednesday, did his best to let every one else alone, and every one
signally failed in the attempt.
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