A Sudden Engagement and The Sicilian’s Surprise Wife(15)

‘Been neglecting you, has he?’ he murmured softly. ‘Poor little girl! We’ll have to see if we can’t find some way of entertaining you when he’s too busy.’

‘Kirsty—Clive, if I could have your attention for a moment!’

Kirsty had been so engrossed in fostering Clive’s impression that Drew was neglecting her and she was peeved about it, that she hadn’t realised that the rest of the cast had gathered round Drew.

Consequently there was no need for her to fake embarrassment or the guilty look she exchanged with Clive, and Drew’s brows came together in a frown as she hurried over.

‘I’ve just been explaining to the others what we want to achieve from Much Ado. We haven’t done it before as a company, and both Simon and I feel it needs a fresh approach. As I think most of you already know, Simon is handing over to me for Much Ado. He wants to spend some time with Helen, and he also wants to go to New York, to see the sort of thing they’re doing over there. We’re hoping that next season we might be able to extend our repertoire slightly…’

‘But you don’t normally direct, surely?’

It was David Andrews, who was to play Benedick, who asked the question. A popular actor, he was also extremely dedicated to turning out a professional performance, and Kirsty could see faint concern shadowing his eyes as he asked the question.

‘Not normally,’ Drew agreed with a smile that said he understood the reasoning behind the question and respected him for it. ‘Certainly I did at Oxford, and for several years afterwards, but these days, when I’m not writing, I work mainly as a critic.’

Writing! Kirsty hadn’t realised that he wrote, and she wondered how many more strings he had to his bow.

‘However,’ Drew was continuing, ‘if at any time the cast feels that I’m letting them down, they’re perfectly at liberty to say so.’

‘It’s a pitty we aren’t doing one of your plays,’ David Andrews further astounded Kirsty by saying. ‘I saw Light Waves being performed at the National during the summer. Peter Howard made an excellent Leo.’

Light Waves! Kirsty was stunned. Light Waves had been written by Paul Bennett, a much revered and admired modern playwright they had studied at drama school, one of the few modern playwrights Kirsty admired. It came as a shocking blow to realise that Paul Bennett and Drew Chalmers were one and the same person.

Across the small distance that separated them she could see the open mockery in Drew’s eyes and held herself proudly. Was it her fault that she hadn’t known?

‘Quite a man, your fiancé,’ Clive murmured softly at her side. ‘That’s where he got the money to invest in the place. But of course, you’ll already know all about that, won’t you?’

Kirsty wasn’t too naïve to sense the hostility and envy behind the question, but before she could say anything Rachel Bellamy, who was playing Beatrice, was speaking, her voice rather cool as she said sharply, ‘Drew, I’ve heard that you’re planning to change Hero’s role slightly. I can understand why, of course,’ her eyes rested with icy disdain on Kirsty’s flushed cheeks, ‘but I must say, darling, it isn’t like you to allow emotion to run away with common sense. Hero is merely a foil to Beatrice…’

‘And so the audience feels a great deal of sympathy for her,’ Drew pointed out. ‘As far as the relationship between Beatrice and Hero is concerned, I don’t want to change it, but when it comes to Hero’s acceptance of Claudio’s denunciation of her and their subsequent reunion  , I should like to see her behaving in a way that today’s woman can more easily identify with.’

‘But surely even today, there are women who accept just as much from their men as Hero did?’ Kirsty surprised herself by saying.

It was disconcerting to have so many pairs of eyes fixed on her face, not all of them kind.

It was Rachel who spoke first.

‘Oh dear,’ she exclaimed in dulcet tones, ‘are we about to witness a lovers’ quarrel? Haven’t you told her yet, Drew, that one simply does not argue with the director, even when one is engaged to him?’

To Kirsty’s surprise Drew, instead of looking annoyed, merely said calmly, ‘Kirsty wasn’t arguing with me, Rachel, and she does have a valid point. However, in this instance both Simon and I believe that Hero has been thrust too much into the background in past productions. Now, I want to run through the entire play. Everyone knows what part they’re taking. We’ll read through and then talk about it afterwards.’

The casual way he said it gave Kirsty no intimation whatsoever of how hard they were all going to have to work. The simple read-through took the best part of five hours, with Drew constantly stopping them and explaining exactly what he wanted from each actor.

It was nearly seven in the evening when he finally glanced at his watch and announced, ‘I think we’d better break there. Don’t forget, we start rehearsals proper on Tuesday morning.’

Kirsty had been sitting next to Rafe Adams who was playing Claudio. She liked him and thought they would work well together, although the read-through had brought home to her more than ever just how hard she was going to have to work. Clive joined them as they stood up.

‘How about giving me a lift back into town?’ he suggested to Kirsty, obviously not realising that she hadn’t come in her car. ‘Then we could go out and have a Chinese if you fancy the idea. I expect your ever-loving will have to stay behind to smooth down la Bellamy—’ he gestured in the direction of Rachel Bellamy. ‘She wasn’t too happy about the idea of him boosting your part—I can see why, of course. She’s frightened you’ll upstage her—probably with good reason,’ he added flatteringly. ‘So I’m afraid your fiancé will be lost to you for tonight. One of the penalties of mingling with the famous!’

Kirsty really had no desire to do anything other than return to her bedsit and simply flop. Reluctant though she was to admit it even to herself, pique had mingled with the relief she had experienced when she realised that far from subjecting her to any lover-like displays of affection, Drew was behaving towards her exactly as he behaved towards the rest of the cast.

She was just on the point of explaining to Clive that she hadn’t come in her car, when Drew’s voice suddenly silenced her.

‘Kirsty!’ he called.

She turned her head, and Clive murmured mischievously in her ear, ‘Ah. His Master’s Voice, and how well he has you trained, my dear… I hear that Beverley Travers is staying with Rachel and her husband, for an unspecified length of time,’ he added. ‘I should be very careful if I were you. She won’t give him up lightly.’

‘Have you got a moment?’ Drew asked. ‘There are one or two points I should like to go over with you…’

‘Oh, unfair, darling!’ Rachel pouted resentfully. ‘Surely you can give Kirsty extra coaching any time? I wanted you to come back and have dinner with us. There are one or two aspects of Beatrice I want to talk over with you. I’m sure Kirsty won’t mind, will you, sweet?’

Inwardly seething, Kirsty forced a vapid smile. Rachel didn’t fool her in the least, and she would have laid bets that Drew would find himself partnered for dinner by Beverley Travers.

Still, was that any concern of hers? she chided herself. Drew had made no secret of his feelings for the other woman. She herself was merely a pawn in the game.

‘Of course I don’t,’ she managed with a sweetness to match Rachel’s. ‘Drew has already explained to me that being director often means that business has to come before pleasure. Never mind, darling,’ she smiled up at him, watching the way Rachel’s eyes hardened with anger as she slipped her hand through Drew’s arm and gazed up at him, ‘we can always make up for it later.’

‘There you are, Drew!’ Rachel exclaimed triumphantly. ‘I knew Kirsty would understand. I’d invite her to join us, but I’m sure she’d much rather be with the other young things, at the pub. I can remember how much we used to enjoy that sort of thing, can’t you?’

She was clever, Kirsty conceded, watching her smile. If Drew had really been engaged to her, by now both of them would be feeling a little sore; she would be imagining that she was too young for Drew, and no doubt he would be wondering if he was too old for her. However, Kirsty realised soon that she had underestimated him, for instead of appearing put out by Rachel’s malice, he merely thanked her for the invitation, and told Kirsty he would talk to her later about Hero, dropping a brief kiss on her forehead before leaving with Rachel.

Kirsty saw them briefly when she and the others emerged from the theatre. Drew was climbing into the back seat of Alan’s powerful Daimler.

‘Don’t look so forlorn,’ Cherry told her commiseratingly. ‘I don’t think there’s any doubt as to who he’d rather be with.’

Kirsty didn’t either, but she knew that Cherry would be both shocked and disbelieving if she were to tell her what she thought, so instead she forced a smile and announced that she rather regretted not bringing the car, because the evening was sharply cold after the warmth of the theatre, and she was not really in the mood for the walk home.