Denis Smith - The Mammoth Book of the New Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes

‘Very well,’ said Holmes. ‘First, then, Mr Hardy, I should be obliged if you could furnish me with a little general information as to the company. Leaving aside for a moment the malicious incidents, would you say that it has, generally speaking, been a happy and contented company?’

‘So I believe. Of course, there has been the occasional disagreement, and no doubt one or two of the company have sometimes wished themselves elsewhere.’

‘Did you have anything specific in mind?’

‘It is no secret that some of the actors could very easily find themselves alternative employment, and some of that alternative employment might possibly be better than that which they have at present. I was thinking only the other night what the consequences might be for Miss Ballantyne, for instance, should The Lavender Girl fail to open on time, or be cancelled altogether. Neither of these possibilities is very likely, but one has to have regard for every eventuality. Anyway, my conclusion was that she would not be particularly inconvenienced.’

‘What do you mean?’ asked Holmes, a note of curiosity in his voice.

‘To speak frankly, we were very fortunate to secure the services of Miss Ballantyne for The Lavender Girl . At the time I approached her with the offer, she happened to be between engagements. Since then, however, as I am only too aware, several other offers have been made to her and she could probably increase her earnings, and appear in a somewhat more fashionable class of theatre, by accepting one of these other offers. I know for a fact, for instance, that my great rival, Kempston Vernon, would dearly love to have Miss Ballantyne as his leading lady in his forthcoming production at the Agora. This offer, of course, she would be free to accept if The Lavender Girl were cancelled.’

‘But that is surely not a circumstance she would welcome,’ interrupted Holmes. ‘As one of the financial sponsors of the production, her husband would, I take it, be considerably out of pocket if your production were cancelled.’

‘That is certainly true – and the sum would not be a small one. A great deal of money has already been invested in The Lavender Girl .’

‘The financing of the production is divided between the two of you?’

Hardy shook his head. ‘It is divided three ways. Count Laszlo of Sipolia is also standing for a third of it. You may be familiar with his name. He is a great patron of the London stage, renowned, among other things, for the lavish receptions he holds at the Langham Hotel, and a man I have known for many years. It was largely as a result of his encouragement – and financial support, too, I must admit – that I made the decision to purchase the Albion and the Southwark Palace three years ago. Of course the Palace is a ruin and was consequently thrown into the bargain for practically nothing. Count Laszlo’s idea was that we would use the profits from successful productions at the Albion to finance the rebuilding of the Palace, which we could then let out to others. Count Laszlo is also, I might add, a long-time admirer of Miss Ballantyne. I believe he once even entertained thoughts of seeking her hand in matrimony. Whether he asked her and she turned him down, or whether he never quite reached the point of asking the question, I cannot say. Either way, it doesn’t matter now, as his opportunity has gone; but I know that he still follows her career with great interest. When he heard that she had agreed to appear in The Lavender Girl , he approached me and offered to provide some, at least, of the finance for the play. I say that he ‘‘offered’’ the money, but to say that he insisted on my taking it would be nearer the mark. “With Isabel Ballantyne in the leading role,” said he, “the play cannot fail to be an unparalleled success!” I hope he is right.’

‘If Miss Ballantyne were to withdraw from the production for any reason, could it continue without her?’ asked Holmes.

‘In theory it could; but our chances of having a success with it would be very greatly reduced. If it were to happen, Lydia Summers would take over Miss Ballantyne’s role and one of the girls from the chorus would take over that of Miss Summers. I am sure they would all do their best to make it a success, but it would not be the same, either for us, or, more importantly, for the public. Isabel Ballantyne is like one of the stars in the firmament at the moment: in respect of her gifts and her accomplishments, she is an immeasurable distance above all her rivals; her radiance is steady and unblinking, and the public’s desire to gaze upon it appears to be insatiable. For Miss Summers to take over Miss Ballantyne’s role would be a difficult and unenviable task. Miss Summers is an enthusiastic enough young lady, and has a reasonably pleasant singing voice, but she is very inexperienced and her acting perhaps leaves something to be desired.’

‘What, if I may ask, made you choose Miss Summers for the present production, considering that you appear unsure as to her accomplishments?’ asked Holmes.

A look of discomfort came over our visitor’s features. ‘It is one of those compromises which life is constantly demanding of one,’ he replied at length. ‘Her father is Sir Cecil Summers, the wealthy ship owner. I met him socially some eight or nine months ago, and in the course of our conversation he implied that he was interested in becoming a patron of the theatre and perhaps investing money in our future productions. He even offered to purchase the Palace from me, although what he intended to do with it, I don’t know. Anyway, you will understand that when his daughter applied for the second female role in The Lavender Girl , I felt obliged to give her application greater consideration than I might otherwise have done. I discussed the matter extensively with Count Laszlo and Captain Trent, who both thought she should be given a chance, and it was decided in the end that we would offer her the part. She would not, in all honesty, have been my first choice, but she is acceptable and will not, I think, let us down. Whether, in the long run, she will make much of a career upon the stage, I do not know. She is not the most gifted young performer I have had under my wing; but on the other hand, I have observed in her a certain streak of ruthlessness, which can be useful in this business. No doubt she takes after her father. They do say that it was his ruthlessness which brought Sir Cecil Summers his great wealth.’

‘And your leading men, Ludovic Xavier and Jimmy Webster?’ queried Holmes, as his visitor paused.

‘The first thing to say is that they are like chalk and cheese, and do not get on very well together.’

‘I rather fancied as much from an incident Miss Ballantyne recounted.’

‘And yet they play well together on the stage, and the public seems to like both of them; so the fact that they scarcely speak to each other when off the stage does not appear to matter. I dare say you are familiar with their names, for both have enjoyed considerable success and popularity in recent years, and have had their names blazoned across theatrical posters throughout London.

‘The case with Ludovic Xavier, however, is an unusual one. A year ago, I should have said, as in the case of Miss Ballantyne, that we were fortunate to secure his services for the present production. He has always been a useful sort of actor, known for his fine speaking voice and a certain “presence” on stage. He is also very experienced, having played in many different types of theatrical production. Indeed, many years ago, as a young man, he worked with Solomon Tanner himself, at the Albion. This last year, however, has been something of a singular one for him, as a result of which I am inclined to think that he benefits from our present agreement quite as much as I do.