The first production, which was performed before all those employed on the estate, was usually not only amusing to the audience but also great fun for the participants.
The previous year cousin Hugo had insisted they perform Moliere’s Mariage Forcé.
When it had first been performed in 1664, Louis XIV had appeared on stage dressed as a gypsy woman.
This was not as odd as it might seem because in those days men always played female roles. However, the gypsy woman last Christmas had been Valda and she remembered that the costume she had worn had been put away with the other clothes in the attic.
The key was fortunately in the door and, when she opened it, she could see a long array of theatrical costumes of every sort and description.
There were the long-sleeved robes that the ladies had
