Free Unseemly Ambition by K.B. Owen

want to infect the players,
now, do we?”
    “ Certainly not,” Concordia
answered through gritted teeth.
    “ So, how are these charming
young ladies faring? Have we found any dramatic prodigies yet?”
Mrs. Isley paced up and down the apron of the stage, looking over
the girls, who tittered nervously. “My, my, such fresh young faces!
We will have our work cut out for us with stage makeup, to make
them look battle-weary...or evil.”
    Concordia motioned toward her
clipboard. “I’ve seen several promising students, Mrs.
Isley….”
    “ Wonderful!” Lily came over
to look.
    “ I was thinking that these
three—” Concordia pointed to several names and nodded toward the
girls “—would make good candidates for Iago.”
    Lily clucked her tongue and
glanced over the assembled girls. “Oh, my dear, they simply do not
have the look ! No,
no, they won’t do at all.”
    “ We can adjust the look ; isn’t it more
important that they can act ?” Concordia said, working to keep
the sarcasm from her voice. How long had it been since Lily had
performed in the theater, anyway?
    Lily gave Concordia a pitying glance,
and turned toward the door, where Millie Carver, one of the quieter
seniors, stood. Concordia hadn’t even auditioned Miss Carver, as
that young lady had made clear her contribution to the play would
be set design. She was merely waiting for her roommate to be
finished so they could join their study group at the library. Now
Lily was pulling the poor girl to the center of the stage and
thrusting a script in her hands.
    “ Read this passage, dear; I
think you would be a perfect Iago,” Mrs. Isley cooed.
    A bewildered Miss Carver gave
Concordia a pleading look. “M-m-miss....”
    “ Mrs. Isley,” Concordia
said sharply. “This senior is already assigned. Pick one of the
young ladies who has auditioned for the
part, if you please.”
    Lily Isley pouted and waved a
dismissive hand. Concordia held out her clipboard, but Lily ignored
it. “You,” she said, pointing to a short, dark-browed girl in the
back, “read this passage aloud.”
    When the young lady complied,
Concordia was astonished. How had she missed this girl? “I don’t
recall you signing up to audition for Iago.”
    “ No miss,” came the soft
answer, “I saw how many girls wanted the part, so I wasn’t going to
try for it.”
    Not exactly a go-getter in life,
Concordia thought, which was ironic for this particular character,
but the student certainly had something that carried from the
stage. Once it was coaxed out of her.
    Mrs. Isley beamed.
“Congratulations...Miss Stephens, is it? You are our new Iago.” A
chorus of disappointed sighs followed this
pronouncement.
    “ Not to worry, lambs!” Lily
called to the other girls. “We need everyone’s contribution to make
the play a success. Miss Wells here will find a meaningful job for
each of you.”
    Miss Wells will find a job
for each of you? Splendid. So much for a
lighter work load.
    Concordia rummaged among the scripts.
She passed one to Miss Stephens. “It’s a significant part to
learn,” she warned. “You should get started on it right away.” The
girl nodded delightedly and left, clutching the script.
    Lily wrapped herself in her fox fur
and picked up her reticule. “I must go; I have an appointment. Oh!
I almost forgot. I’m giving a dinner party in two weeks’ time. It’s
a small affair; no more than forty guests. It’s in honor of Mr.
Sanders—he’s the Republican candidate for the state senate seat,
you know. I was hoping you could come, my dear. And bring that
young man of yours...Mr. Bradley, isn’t it?”
    Concordia nodded
stiffly. That young man of yours, indeed. She was hardly a debutante, but rather a
staid older woman of twenty-nine. Practically on the shelf, as they
say. Sometimes being “on the shelf” suited her just
fine.
    “ I cannot speak for Mr.
Bradley, but I’ll ask him, if you’d like,” Concordia said. A small dinner party of
forty