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through it. The character in the vagabond costume attempted to follow but was unable to pass through. They then crouched next to the gate apparently hiding in wait.
    â€œIt is a very old story,” said Merrick, his eyes fixed on Ellis rather than the stage. “Do you not remember it, Ellis? Is it not familiar to you?”
    â€œNo, Merrick,” Ellis finally replied. “I cannot make heads or tails of it. What has any of this got to do with Jenny?”
    Anger flashed in Merrick’s eyes as his face flushed and he jumped up, facing the stage.
    â€œSecond act!” Merrick shouted at the actors onstage.
    Silenus stammered for a moment in the middle of his oration and then stopped. He quickly ushered everyone off stage and hurried his extras back down the stairs and into the aisles once more.
    â€œWell, this is moving along rather quickly,” said Alicia, shrugging.
    â€œUh, second act? Yes, of course.” Silenus gnawed at his lip for a moment in thought and then held up his beckoning hand toward the center of the front row. “Lady Ellis, may we impose upon you? We shall certainly need you for this act.”
    Ellis felt a chill run down the center of her back. “Oh, no. I couldn’t possibly…”
    â€œBut you must, my dear,” Merrick said. “It is the commedia dell’arte and, after all, an important part of the Game.”
    â€œOh, go on, Ellis,” Alicia urged. “It’s only a play.”
    â€œYou do want to find Jenny, don’t you?” Merrick’s face was blank, his eyebrows raised.
    Ellis drew in a breath and stood up. She made her way around to the left side of the stage and started up the stairs. The packed theater erupted in applause and cheers. She followed the directions of Silenus and stood facing the audience in the center of the stage. The vista in front of her made her shiver. All of the bizarre and garish masks and costumes staring back at her made her wonder for a moment if the actors were in the audience and the audience was onstage.
    â€œOh, tragedy indeed!” said Silenus as he frowned and wiped away unseen tears from his mask. “But then again, what is the second act for if it is not for competition, heartache and inexplicable sorrow. Pain, indeed, thy name is second act!”
    Margaret, as if on cue, stepped onto the stage from the shadowy distance of the wings. She was not in costume but was still in her plain black dress, her hair bundled tightly at the back of her head. When she spoke, however, her voice had a strange accent to it. “Miss Ellis, you in fo’ a whoopin’ now. I’z don’ know what yo mamma’s gonna do.”
    Ellis gaped at Margaret. She shook her head, uncertain what to do.
    Silenus slipped quietly up behind her and prompted Ellis by whispering in her ear. “Say ‘ She doesn’t have to know. ’”
    â€œShe doesn’t have to know,” repeated Ellis.
    The audience drew in a collective breath.
    â€œOh, yez she does,” Margaret continued near her on the barren stage. “Ain’t no way you gonna keep this a secret any longer. How you managed this long is beyond me!”
    The pair of peacocks entered again from the side of the stage that was behind her. They brought in with them a tall set of doors, which they held upright between Ellis and the back of the stage.
    Silenus whispered again in Ellis’s ear. “Even if she knows…”
    â€œEven if she knows…” Ellis said aloud.
    â€œIt doesn’t change a thing,” Silenus continued.
    â€œIt doesn’t change a thing.”
    â€œYou had best to stay out of this,” Silenus murmured.
    â€œYou had best to stay out of this, Emma,” Ellis said.
    Margaret opened her mouth to speak, only it was no longer Margaret. A thin, hunched-over black woman in a servant’s dress had taken her place on the stage.
    â€œIt’s your funeral,” the black