by Lucy Gordon
‘Of me? How?’
‘The fact is-I’ve been a bit of an idiot, and if there’s a disaster it’ll be my own fault.’ Caution made him stop there, but then he saw her face, kindly and understanding, as so few faces were in his world, and something drove him on to say, ‘I went to a nightclub with some friends, and there was this girl-’
‘The one that sat on your lap? Is that how they got the picture?’
He groaned. ‘You’ve seen it? Yes, it was in the newspaper, wasn’t it? I’m finished.’
‘No, she’s a bit blurred. You can sort of vaguely tell what she’s up to, and the fact that she’s hardly wearing anything, but the only face you can see is yours.’
‘Yeah, me cuddling a nearly naked girl,’ he groaned. ‘Actually, I was fairly tipsy by then and I just sat there and let her…well… And I’m paying for it. I’m supposed to be virtuous in private as well as in front of the cameras.’
‘And you’re not,’ she said sympathetically. ‘Not below the waist, anyway.’
‘Right,’ he said, relieved to find her so mentally in tune.
‘Well, I have the answer,’ she said. ‘The perfect solution to all your problems.’
‘Tell me.’
‘It’s simple. All you have to do is take up residence in a monastery. There, your life will be unassailably righteous, your career will be protected, and the studio profits will be safe.’
He stared. ‘You…you…’ Then he saw the wicked glint in her eyes and joined in her laughter. ‘You evil hussy!’ he choked. ‘I ought to…oh, but it was a good joke. You really had me scared for a moment.’
‘Well, at least you’re laughing,’ she said.
‘Yes, but it’s no laughing matter. I could lose so much.’
Travis’s phone rang. He answered quickly and seemed on edge.
‘Mom, it’s all right. Honestly. I can handle it. Stop worrying, I’ll call you later.’
He hung up, looking harassed.
‘She thinks I’m going to be brought down by scandal,’ he said. ‘When she was making films nobody could have survived what’s happening now.’
‘A film actress? Hey, that’s it. I thought you reminded me of someone, and now I can see. Julia Franklin.’
Julia Franklin had been a promising film actress some thirty years ago. For a while she’d shone brightly, and her old films were still shown on television.
‘That’s right,’ Travis said. ‘She’s my mother. You’ve seen her?’
‘One of her films was on television last night, and they’re often shown in England. Everyone thought she’d go on to be a big star, but for some reason it didn’t happen.’
‘That’s because she had me. Total disaster.’
‘Did your father make her give up acting to be a full-time wife?’
‘They weren’t married. My father’s English, a businessman who’s always travelled a lot. Thirty years ago he was in the States to make some deal, met my mother briefly, and I’m the result.
‘He was already married to his second wife, his first having chucked him out for playing around. My mother’s film career was just taking off but he wanted her to throw it all away and follow him to England. Not for marriage, just to live as his mistress, be there when it suited him and keep quiet when it didn’t.’
‘I hope she told him what he could do with himself,’ Charlene said indignantly.
‘I’m proud to say that she did. In fact she did more than say it. If you met him you’d see a tiny little scar on his chin where she…let’s say, put her feelings into action.’
‘Do you mean Amos Falcon?’ Charlene said suddenly. ‘Hey, you’re one of the Falcon dynasty.’
‘In a sense,’ Travis said so quietly that she barely heard.
‘Amos Falcon was in the papers last week,’ she went on excitedly, ‘and there was a picture with this little scar-’
Travis groaned. ‘All right, yes, but please forget it. I shouldn’t have told you.’
Charlene began to chuckle. ‘The journalist went on about that scar, how the “heroic” Amos Falcon confronted a robber and drove him off, at the cost of injury to himself.’
Travis gave a shout of laughter. ‘Robber, my foot! Mom chucked an ashtray at him. She must have been a bit like you, losing your temper and storming out of the bank. She’s got her violent side too. I reckon you two would like each other. She really scared my father. Not that he’d ever admit it, but after that things tended to be at a distance.’
‘Do you mean you don’t see him?’
‘We meet occasionally, but we’re not close. His second wife booted him out as well and he married a third time. I told Mom once that he ought to have married her-I was very young and naive in those days. She said she’d sooner marry the devil himself, except that the devil wouldn’t be nearly so interesting as Amos Falcon.’
‘He sounds a colourful character.’
‘I believe his business enemies say the same. A falcon is a bird of prey, and he’s known for preying on people. But enough about him. I must tell Mom the nice things you said about her. She’ll be so thrilled that someone remembers her. What was the film they were showing?’
‘Dancing on the Edge,’ Charlene remembered.
‘That’s her,’ Travis said at once. ‘How often have I heard her say, “If it isn’t on the edge, it isn’t fun”?’
‘She played the hero’s sister, the one who was always putting her foot in it, but everyone forgave her because she had that lovely cheeky grin.’
‘True. And it’s just how it is in real life. She blurts out all sorts of outrageous things, then says “Sorry, honey”, and gives you such a smile that you have to forgive her.’
Charlene wondered if he realised that he had the same smile-mischievous, delightfully wicked. He was nice too, courteously paying her as much attention as if she’d been a raving beauty. Not like Lee Anton, she had to admit with an inner sigh.
As if reading her thoughts, Travis said suddenly, ‘Why do you bother with him?’
‘Maybe because I’m a fool,’ she said lightly. ‘We got close during the play-all those scenes we had together-’
‘But they weren’t love scenes,’ Travis pointed out. ‘Demetrius rejects Helena until the last minute-’
Charlene nodded. ‘Saying things like, I love thee not, therefore pursue me not. But Helena won’t get the message. She follows him saying, Neglect me, lose me, only give me leave, unworthy as I am, to follow you. What a twerp she is!’
She gave a grim laugh at herself. ‘Listen to me, saying that. Follow him. That’s exactly what I did.’
‘But Helena won Demetrius in the end,’ Travis pointed out.
‘Only because someone cast a spell on him. It wasn’t true love. It doesn’t happen in real life. Oh, look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be going on like this, making you listen. You’ve been really nice to me, although I can’t think why, considering that I assaulted you.’
He’d been wondering that himself. He had a kind heart and often went out of his way to help people, but he didn’t normally linger. Strangely, her clout across his face had been a turning point. Her horror and dismay had aroused his pity, making him want to defend her. He didn’t fully understand it, but she ignited his protective instincts in a way that only one other person did. And that other person was his mother.
‘I’ll get out and stop bothering you-’ she hastened to say.
‘You’re not bothering me.’ He took her hand in both his and spoke gently. ‘Look, I’ll be honest. I have a selfish motive. I don’t like Lee. I’m not sure why. There’s just something about him that gets up my nose. It’ll be a real pleasure to annoy him. You wouldn’t be so hard-hearted as to deny me that pleasure, would you?’
It was a performance. The twinkle in his eyes revealed as much, and also the fact that he expected her to share the joke. And why not, she thought, since she gained from it?
‘How could I be hard-hearted enough to deny you anything?’ she said lightly,
matching his theatrical fervour with her own.
He brushed his lips against her hand. ‘That’s good,’ he murmured, ‘because Lee’s watching. No, don’t turn your head. Just look at me. Try to seem entranced.’
She sighed, throwing back her head and giving him a glance of adoration, plus a brilliant smile.
‘Well done,’ Travis said. ‘That’ll teach him.’
‘If he saw.’
‘He did. He edged just closer enough to see everything. Trust me, I’m directing this production. Am I doing a good job?’
‘They should give you an award,’ she assured him, and he grinned. ‘Is he still watching?’ she asked.
‘I’m afraid not. He’s concentrating on Penny, which makes sense because she’s the female star of the show.’
‘And she can do him a lot of good,’ Charlene mused.
So Lee’s interest in Penny was mostly professional. She would cling to that thought.
Travis read her mind and burst out, ‘Forget him. He can’t matter that much.’
‘He does,’ she said softly. ‘But I can’t talk about it.’
‘All right, I won’t press you. We’ll talk some more tonight, over dinner.’
‘I can’t promise that-’
‘You mean you want to stay free for him. But he’s engaged this evening. He’s got to go to this ghastly dinner they’re giving for Frank Brenton. He and I can’t stand each other so I won’t be- Wait a minute!’ He slapped his hand to his forehead. ‘What am I thinking of? It’s been staring me in the face all the time.’
‘What is?’
He didn’t answer but grasped her hand, looking round and calling, ‘Denzil!’
Denzil had appeared in the doorway and Travis hailed him loudly. He came straight over. Charlene felt Travis tighten his grip on her hand, urging her to say nothing.
‘What’s up with you suddenly?’ Denzil asked, sitting down.
‘I’ve been thinking about tonight, and maybe I was a little unreasonable. I’d like to attend that dinner after all, if they can accommodate me at the last moment.’
Denzil beamed. ‘I don’t think there’ll be any problem about that,’ he said.
‘Fine, I’ll want a table for two. Charlene will be my guest.’
Denzil nodded slowly, as though something had just become clear to him.
‘Leave it to me. I’ll fix it.’ He vanished.
‘So that’s settled,’ Travis said. ‘Lee will be there tonight, so dress up to the nines. Let him know what he’s missing.’
Her head was in a spin. Travis was making everything happen so fast, it was like being taken over by a whirling dervish. But a kindly dervish.
‘It’s nice of you to take so much trouble for me-’ she began.
But he shook his head firmly. ‘Let’s be clear about this. I’m not being nice. I’m doing it for myself. You’ll make me look respectable and that’ll get them off my back. That’s why I strong-armed you into it without asking your opinion first. Sheer bullying to get what I want. So don’t praise me. I’m just being selfish.’
She regarded him fondly. ‘So you’re being selfish?’
‘Horribly selfish.’ There was a twinkling devil in his eyes. ‘I don’t know how you can stand me for a moment.’
‘Neither do I,’ she agreed. ‘In fact, all I can say is-’ she paused for dramatic effect ‘-if that’s your idea of being selfish, I wish there were more selfish people in the world.’
‘So you’ll come?’
‘Just try to stop me.’
‘Fine, then it’s time for you to go back to your hotel and prepare for tonight. Rick, my driver, will take you.’
A quick phone call to summon the car, then he escorted her out to where it was waiting with Rick behind the wheel. He was an elderly man with a good-natured face.
‘Rick, this is Miss Wilkins, who’ll be coming to the Brenton dinner with me tonight.’
Rick was astounded. ‘But you said-’
‘Never mind that. Things have changed. I want you to take her to her hotel now, and return there for her tonight. See you both later.’
He waved and stepped back as the car headed out into the traffic.
‘Did I hear him right?’ Rick called over his shoulder. ‘The Brenton dinner?’
‘Yes, what’s the big deal? I know he’d planned not to go-’
‘You can say that again. Travis gets on well with most people, but not that one. Brenton tried to ruin his big chance.’
‘How?’
‘His son’s an agent, and he had his own candidate for the role. Brenton did all he could to talk the studio bosses out of giving it to Travis. He failed, so then he set out to get him fired. Spreading rumours, bad stories in the press. Didn’t work. Since then it’s been armed truce. Nobody expected Travis to go tonight. But now he’s going so that he can take you. Lady, you must be really something!’
The habit of years made her begin modestly, ‘Oh, I don’t think I’m-’ But then her courage rose. ‘As long as he thinks so, that’s all that matters.’
‘You said it!’
Charlene leaned back against the upholstery. Suddenly she was enjoying this, despite everything.
Rick delivered her to the hotel, waited while she collected her key, smiled and departed. She knew he’d regarded the surroundings with surprise. It was the kind of hotel described as ‘budget’, which meant that she had a dormitory room, shared with two other women. It wasn’t ideal, but the place was clean and efficient, and she could connect her laptop to the Internet. This she did as soon as she arrived, looking up Travis Falcon, and growing more wide-eyed the more she learned of him.
The basics she already knew. He was the son of Julia Franklin and Amos Falcon of the international Falcon dynasty. But now she learned that he’d started his career on the stage, graduated to tiny roles in films before being pounced on by the studio and cast in the series.
There were hints that his private life was colourful. He was a playboy who never seemed to stay with one girlfriend for long. He indulged in flirtations, not love. But until now his liveliness had stayed within acceptable bounds. The nightclub picture marked the start of a new phase, and Charlene could see why his bosses were concerned.
Studying the photographs, she had to admit that he was the handsomest man she’d ever seen. And the most charming. It wasn’t a matter of looks. His face had a magical ‘something’ that spoke of a lust for life, a readiness to dive in anywhere and try anything. He was filled with humour, sometimes bawdy, sometimes cheeky.
Actually, she mused, the man from heaven can be a bit of a devil. Good for him!
She remembered how he’d treated her that afternoon-kindly, gently, with warmth and understanding, and she thought she could see those things in his face. Most people would have missed them, she reckoned, but she knew better.
All right, he was making use of her. But in a way she was making use of him. It was a fair bargain. Now it was time to prepare for the evening in such a way that she would be a credit both to herself and Travis.
I ought to be grateful, she thought. Lee’s turned his back on me-
But the next moment she clasped her hand across her stomach, still slim despite her suspicions.
But things may change, she told herself. I won’t know anything until I’ve told him.
She refused to believe that he could have dumped her completely after what they had shared. There was still hope.
CHAPTER THREE
A QUICK visit to a nearby hairdresser and her dark locks were transformed, becoming curled and lush. The blue satin dress was elegant, closely fitting a slender figure that many women would have envied.
And yet there was something missing. Honesty forced Charlene to admit that. Whatever the magical ‘extra’ was, she knew she didn’t have it. She looked pleasant, but not special.
Nor could she recall ever being really special to anyone in her life. Even her mother.
Her father had been mostly absent, more a
bsorbed by his work than his family. He’d died when she was five, and her mother had remarried a year later. She and Mark, her stepfather, had been reasonably affectionate in an undemonstrative sort of way, but she’d sensed even then that they meant more to each other than she did to either of them. Mark had a son, James, by a previous marriage, who lived with his mother. Mark had been immensely proud of him, often speaking of him in a way that made Charlene feel that she herself didn’t really exist. Even her mother, anxious to please her husband, had sometimes seemed to value James more than her own daughter.
Once she’d overheard them discussing the idea of another baby.
‘It would be nice to have a daughter,’ Mark had remarked.
‘We’ve got Charlene,’ her mother had pointed out.
‘Yes, but-you know what I mean. A real daughter-ours.’
She had crept hastily away and never mentioned what she had heard. The casually unkind words, a real daughter, haunted her ever after.
When she was fifteen they had taken a holiday together. Just the two of them.
‘Can’t I come?’ Charlene had pleaded.
‘Darling, it’s our anniversary,’ her mother had said. ‘Mark and I need to be alone. You can understand that, can’t you?’
Of course she could understand. She’d always understood why she wasn’t a priority.
So they had gone without her, and never returned. Everyone said how lucky it was that she hadn’t been on the plane when it crashed, but haunting her grief was the knowledge that she hadn’t been wanted.
Her mother’s parents had taken her in. They had no other children or grandchildren, and they consoled themselves by lavishing affection on Charlene. In their warmth she blossomed, and much of the pain was eased. She had two people to love, and she knew that they loved her.
But the knowledge of having been second best never quite left her. Her stepbrother was never in touch, which made her sad because it would have been nice to have a big brother.
She’d come to understand that she was moderate in all things: moderate-looking, nothing special; moderately talented, with skills that were efficient rather than glamorous. Her bank employers praised her with the words, ‘We need good back-room staff.’ And she felt that this was where she belonged. In the back room-of work, of life, of love, of everything. The spotlight was for others.