If We Were Villains

Oliver returns to Ohio for Christmas break. Caroline’s health has taken a turn for the worse. Overwhelmed, Oliver decides to leave home. He goes to Manhattan to be with Meredith. Meredith’s parents, her older brother, and her sister-in-law are in Canada. Her other brother, Caleb, is busy with work, so Oliver and Meredith have the apartment largely to themselves. Oliver notes Meredith has decorated her dressing mirror with photo and memorabilia of the fourth-years. He realizes Meredith thinks of all of them as family. Oliver and Meredith begin a romantic relationship. Only a few months are left until they leave Dellecher. Talent scouts will soon be visiting the castle. The one big thing left for the fourth-years is the Spring performance.

The play to be performed is King Lear, to everyone’s surprise. Lear has never been attempted at Dellecher because its protagonist is far too old for the youthful actors to convincingly portray. It is unknown how Frederick and Gwendolyn will address this problem. The fourth-years begin auditioning for the play; James choosing an uncharacteristically aggressive speech. Oliver reflects James has been wanting to break free of playing the good guy for a while now, and that he probably wants to be cast in a negative role this time.

The cast list is put up. Lear’s part is to be played by Frederick while Camilo has been cast as the Duke of Albany, the husband of Lear’s oldest daughter Goneril. The other bits of unusual casting are James as Edmund, the scheming main villain and Oliver as Edgar, his kind and heroic half-brother. The girls have been cast as usual: Wren as the youngest good daughter Cordelia, and Filipa as middle daughter Goneril. Although the casting should herald excitement, the friends are all lethargic and preoccupied. Oliver can’t fathom why Frederick has been cast with the students. He suspects it may be to keep an eye on them, since the faculty may think the fourth-years are cracking under pressure.

Richard’s loss hangs heavy in the air as the students begin rehearsing King Lear. Oliver often has nightmares featuring Richard, as do James, Meredith, and Wren. Oliver tries to distract himself with learning his lines and cleaning the castle. One day, he finds a scrap of burnt white fabric hidden in the fireplace. It is stained a deep red at one end, perhaps with wine or blood. Oliver hides the scrap, thinking it may have something to do with Richard’s death. Just then, Colborne wanders into the castle. Colborne asks Oliver about Dellecher. When Oliver describes the rush of performing, Colborne points out that it sounds very much like addiction. Colborne keeps revisiting the castle because he cannot square all their testimonies together. Oliver reminds him life is not a mathematical equation. Their testimonies may seem contradictory because everyone experiences events subjectively. Colborne tells Oliver he likes him. He asks him to keep an eye for anything unusual while cleaning. Oliver doesn’t tell Colborne about the scrap.

Giving Colborne a head start, Oliver goes over to the FAB. Under the theatre and halls is a large undercroft crammed with old props and furniture. Oliver gets into the undercroft and hides the scrap in an old, rusty locker. He reminds himself that the red mark might not even be blood, and bids himself to stay sane. He boards the locker with an old table and leaves the undercroft.

In combat class, Camilo directs a fight sequence between Oliver and James, showing them the specific blocking that they must perform during mock fights. Initially, the mood is playful, but soon James starts getting carried away with the emotion of his lines. Edgar is the legitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester, while Edmund, his scheming half-brother is Gloucester’s son from an affair. While Edgar’s character is good and kindly, the dispossessed Edmund wants to get rid of his half-brother and father to become the Earl himself. At the end of the play, Edgar and Edmund duel, and Edgar defeats Edmund.

As James and Oliver spar during rehearsal, James, as Edmund, smashes Oliver across the face. Oliver’s mouth fills up with blood. Camillo yells at James to get out. Oliver is taken to the infirmary.

Oliver’s nose has been broken. Gwendolyn and Frederick request Oliver to publicly say it was an accident. Back at the castle, Alexander commiserates with Oliver. They discuss how James has become increasingly moody, disappearing from the castle for long stretches. Alexander suspects James is getting too deep into the role. Alexander hands Oliver a joint to dull his pain. Oliver walks outside to smoke when Meredith meets him and leads him to her room.