Part 20 (2/2)

Walking back through the park in the suns.h.i.+ne with Ted, Susan's heart lifted. Although she felt desperately sorry for the poor woman in the care home she felt that Ted deserved some happiness and contentment at last for all that he had suffered. As for her, she couldn't remember a time when she'd felt so happy.

Chapter Twenty-Three.

I couldn't believe it. The very next day after the article had appeared in the Sunday Sphere, I had a call from one of the agents I'd left my details with. I called at once and an interview was arranged for the following day.

Di was thrilled. 'There! What did I tell you?' she said. 'I knew it was a good idea to put yourself out there.'

I pulled a face at her. 'Making myself look like a gullible idiot, you mean,' I said. 'Maybe they're just looking for a cleaning woman.'

'Get away with you,' Di said. 'This could be the making of you.'

Dressed in the Chanel suit, carefully sponged and pressed, I made my way to the agent's office at the appointed time and sat nervously in reception. Looking around the room, I was impressed by the signed photographs of many well-known celebrities displayed on the walls.

The door opened and a man came out. A moment after he left, the receptionist's phone rang. She listened briefly, then replaced the receiver and looked across at me. 'Mr Jason will see you now.'

He was middle-aged with silver-grey hair and an attractive, warm smile. He rose and offered his hand. 'Good morning, Miss Delmar. I'm Patrick Jason. Please have a seat.' When we faced each other across his desk he said, 'I read the article in the Sunday Sphere about your bad experience. The name rang a bell and I looked in my in-tray and found the details you left at the office a few days ago.' He looked up at me. 'Surely you had an agent before all this?'

I nodded. 'Yes, Harry Clay. Unfortunately he put money into the project too and it has put him out of business.'

'I see. I had heard he was retiring, but I had no idea that he was another victim of this terrible business.' He looked at me speculatively. 'This Fortune man fooled us all. It was brave of you to go to the national press with your story,' he said.

'I don't know about that.' I smiled. 'It might well turn out to be the end of my career, but frankly it was a case of desperation. I needed the money. It was as simple as that.' I looked at him and decided I might as well lay my cards on the table. 'I couldn't believe my luck when I got the leading role in this new musical. It seemed like the big break I'd been longing for, and when I was asked to put money into it I was only too eager. I was supposed to get my money back, plus generous interest once the show was up and running.'

'I can't begin to imagine how you all felt when you found yourselves stranded high and dry in Bournemouth.'

I gave him a wry smile. 'It was a blow to say the least. Then when Harry told me he was closing the agency, it looked as if I was going to be out of work for some time. I had to do something.'

He shook his head. 'So you decided to go public?'

'Yes.' I sighed. 'The price I paid being that now everyone will know how vain and gullible I was.'

'So, you've had no work since?'

'Not in the business. I did have a job at a West End wedding-dress boutique,' I told him. 'It only lasted a few days though. The owner was a twenty-four-carat cow.'

He laughed. 'I liked the sound of you in the article,' he said. 'It showed me that you have character, the ability to laugh at yourself.'

I decided to ask him point blank where all this was going. 'So why did you ask me to come in? Are you offering to represent me?'

He pursed his lips. 'I do have one or two things in mind that might suit you.' He looked at me. 'Meantime, would you be willing to do some commercial TV?'

'Anything to keep the wolf from the door.'

'Right.' He made a note on his pad. 'Have you done any TV work before?'

I opened my mouth to tell him I had and then closed it again. The time had come to be honest. If I lied about this he'd be bound to find out and that could ruin any future chances I might have. 'No,' I said. 'But it's always been an ambition of mine.'

'OK. If anything comes up I'll give you a ring.' He leaned back in his chair and eyed me for a moment. 'I've just had a thought. One of the TV soaps is auditioning next week,' he said at last. 'Have you done character?'

I shook my head, remembering my decision to be truthful. 'Not really, though I admit I'm getting close to that age. What's the part?'

'A middle-aged motherly type,' he said. 'The kind of sympathetic woman everyone turns to in times of trouble. Do you watch King's Reach?'

I nodded. I'd seen it a few times when I was staying with Susan. Susan! She was just the kind of woman he'd just described to me. I knew Susan well enough to use her as a role model. 'I quite like the sound of that,' I told him.

'You wouldn't mind playing older than your age?'

'Not at all.' At that particular moment I wasn't at all sure about playing older but beggars certainly couldn't be choosers. And I reminded myself that some of those soap stars had been playing the same part for years. A guaranteed income sounded pretty good to me, playing older or not.

He opened a file on his desk and took out a sheet of paper. 'Here's the character description. She's called Amy Armstrong. Take it home and have a read. The audition is next Thursday. I'll text you the address of the venue when they let me have it. Meanwhile, I'll ring you if a commercial opportunity comes along.' He paused. 'Are you still at the address you left me?'

'Oh, no. What a good job you thought to ask. I'll be staying with a friend for the foreseeable future.' I scribbled down Di's address and pa.s.sed it to him. 'But you can always get me on my mobile.' I stood up. 'Thank you so much for seeing me, Mr Jason.'

He smiled. 'Patrick, please. Let's hope it all works out for you.'

The following morning I had two calls; the first was from Patrick Jason, giving me the address of the audition venue. I was so excited when I clicked the call off that I went to the fridge and poured myself a celebratory gla.s.s of wine. I wished Di could have been with me to share the excitement. I was sipping my wine and studying the character description once more when my phone rang again.

'h.e.l.lo.'

'h.e.l.lo, Louise.'

I recognized the voice at once and my heart plummeted. 'What do you want?' I asked bluntly.

'Oh, come on Louise,' my mother said. 'I'm just ringing to say how sorry I was to read about your disappointment. It was such a lovely photo in the paper too.'

'So now you and your son will realize that I'm actually broke,' I said. 'If you think I'm rolling in cash and a soft touch, you're going to have to think again.'

'You're very suspicious, Louise. I can't think where you get that from.' Her voice had a hard note to it now.

'Neither can I. So we might as well call it a day now,' I told her. 'I'll be frank. I don't want a relations.h.i.+p with you. It's too late and I don't think we have anything in common anyway.'

'I'm sorry to hear that you think that, Louise,' she said. 'But before we part company, there's something you should know about yourself. Something important that no one knows about but me.'

'I don't think you know anything that I don't.' I held my finger over the 'end call' b.u.t.ton but what she said next stopped me.

'Don't hang up, Louise! This is something you really should know for your own sake. I'm not joking.'

There was something chilling about her tone and I began to be apprehensive. 'Then tell me now.'

'Not on the phone,' she said. 'It's not trivial, Louise, and I'm not kidding. We really have to meet for me to tell you even if it is for the last time.'

She'd got me now. In spite of myself I was curious. 'All right,' I said. 'Where and when?'

'King's Cross Station,' she said. 'In the cafe Thursday, at one o'clock.'

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