Preview:

At Rise: Scene opens as the Garth's finish with two shoppers. Make it very cheerful as the shoppers bustle out with packages, and all calling a 'Merry Christmas, etc. Reggie & Sara are straightening a table of goods

Mary: What a day this has been, Garth. We've sold more than ever this season.

Garth: Right you are, m' dear. And such a merry bunch of customers, too.

Sara: We've completely sold out of the new Queen Victoria dolls. They went like hot cakes.

Reggie: Hopefully the mistress will be pleased with sales this season, she's hardly had time to sip her afternoon tea, with all the accounting of her earnings.

Sara: Oh, I doubt she'll be pleased. When has anything ever pleased her?

Mary: (hushing Sara) Now, Sara. You mustn't speak like that of the mistress. She could come in at any moment and be offended.

Garth: And remember she employs us all. She allows us to live in the rooms above the shop, and we depend on her for our livelihood.

Sara: Well, she's so tight fisted with her money! She had a proper fit when I discounted last year's toys to make room for the new ones. Don't you remember the way she screamed at me and called me a.ninny, and 'who did I think I was, changing prices without consulting her?'  (makes an exasperated face)

Garth:  Yes, she is very strict in business, yet we know that underneath she is just a bitter, angry woman, with no joy, nor peace in her life. This season just reminds her of that tragic loss of long ago.

Mary: But she wasn't always bitter and hateful.. When she was young, Mistress Ezmerelda was a sweet Christian girl, full of kindness and goodwill toward all. But then when her father died that snowy Christmas Eve, she blamed God, and lost her faith completely.

Garth: Her poor mother died of a broken heart, seeing her only child turn her back on God. Well, all we can do is pray for the mistress. God is still able to do something to cause her to trust in Him again.

(Voice from off stage)   Reggie, get my carriage at once!

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