Midsummer Magic (26 page)

Bron was still in vogue, popping up on the occasional chat show, his and Freddie’s company going from strength to strength, thanks to some shrewd investment in several successful movies. And Bron had started directing Shakespeare too. She’d always wanted to do Shakespeare. But these days, she was even lucky to get a panto. Thank God for UK Gold and repeat fees.

‘What am I to do?’ she said. ‘They can’t fit me in till God knows when. My roots are showing. It’s a disaster!’

‘Darling, we’ll just get you booked into Anthony’s,’ said Gray M’stard, her new stylist. ‘Everyone’s going there.’

‘I need more than a new hair style,’ said Tatiana, with a sigh. ‘I need to get my profile raised. Get back on to Susan as quickly as you can. The sooner we start, the better.’

Josie led them through the theatre, to where Tatiana was lying prone on the stage, with Mike hovering awkwardly around her.

Tatiana sat up, stretching languorously.

‘What angel wakes me from my flow’ry bed?’ she declaimed.

‘The finch, the sparrow and the lark,’ warbled Mike, woefully out of tune. ‘Who would set his wit to what?’ He paused, ‘sorry, just lost my place, ah yes, let me see …’

‘And thy fair virtue’s force perforce doth move …’

‘Methinks mistress …’

‘No, no, no! Darling,’ Tatiana held up her hand. ‘You need to wait for me to finish the line. Your cue is “To swear I love thee”.’

‘Which of course, dear lady, I do,’ said Mike, bowing ingratiatingly.

Tatiana waved him away as if swatting a gnat, ‘Now carry on …’

Josie was in pieces. Mike’s attempts to prove his actor credentials hadn’t improved as the night wore on; he was appalling. He was trying to make Bottom seem a romantic lead, but was channelling his inner buffoon. Plus he was so loud he kept drowning out Tatiana’s lines, and Josie could see Tatiana was getting very fed up with it.

When Mike got to the line ‘if I had wit enough to get out of this wood’, it was all Josie could do not to burst out laughing at the look on Tatiana’s face. She was probably hoping he’d do just that. Josie found herself wishing Harry was sitting here with her watching it together, laughing at Mike, rather than with Tatiana’s bunch of lunatics, who kept standing up, applauding every line she delivered. She was good, though maybe not deserving of a standing ovation after delivering three lines.

Could you break off an engagement and still stay together? Josie wondered. That’s what Harry seemed to be suggesting, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. She didn’t want to lose him, but how could they carry on after that?

‘… And when she weeps, weeps every little flower,

Lamenting some enforced chastity.

Tie up my lover’s tongue, bring him silently.’ Tatiana finished triumphantly.

‘Oh, bravo, Tati, Bravo!’ M’stard stood up clapping loudly. ‘Isn’t she good,’ he said enthusiastically, ‘I say, isn’t she good?’

‘Marvellous, darling. Marvellous,’ said Gypsy.

‘You were magnificent,’ said Ariadne, ‘simply magnificent.’

‘Thank you, darlings,’ said Tatiana gracefully. ‘One does one’s best.’

Josie had to suppress another snigger. Poor Tatiana. Everyone around her was so unctuous and self-serving, she probably never had a true word spoken to her in her life. Or certainly not for years. Josie felt sorry for her in a way. All that fame and fortune, to end up surrounded by arse lickers and having to butter up the likes of Mike Slowbotham, who she noticed with amusement was being very touchyfeely with Tatiana.

Tatiana seemed to be responding, but Josie couldn’t be sure if she was just acting. Surely she couldn’t find a creep like Mike attractive, could she? However desperate she was.

‘Let’s run through that again,’ said Tatiana, lying back down on the ground. ‘Now, from the top …’

‘Oh well,’ thought Josie, repressing a yawn. ‘I may as well stay here.’

For all she knew, the others might have all gone back to the house by now, Harry had a spare set of keys. She didn’t want to go home and face whatever was there. Much better to stay put. At least she’d have a laugh.

Ant was determined to find Josie before Harry got it into his head that he needed to sort things out. Maybe if Ant got there first, she’d be prepared to listen to him. For a moment he indulged in a fantasy that he and Josie were alone on a desert island and she had agreed that he was the only man for her …

But where had she gone? He made his way down the cliff path and was nearly back in the village when he ran into Freddie, who said, ‘How’s it going?’

‘How do you think?’ said Ant. ‘Can’t you get anything right? Josie is over Di, but has fallen out with Harry, Di is in love with me, and I apparently am in love with Josie. What have you done to us?’

‘I’ll sort it, I promise,’ said Freddie.

‘Why not sort it this time that Josie falls for me, eh?’ said Ant. ‘That’s what I’d call a result.’

‘Hmm,’ said Freddie. ‘Look, I haven’t seen any of the others coming this way, but I think Josie might have been heading for the theatre.’

‘Right, I’m off, then,’ said Ant, and he went haring back up the path. He ran and ran as if his life was depending on it. He had to get to Josie before Harry did. Soon he was puffed out and exhausted. Maybe it was time to knock the fags on the head. He was sweating profusely by the time he got back to the theatre, but there was no sign of Harry, so that was something.

He found Josie sitting among Tatiana’s retinue, trying not to giggle as they fell over each other in their bids to get her attention. Tatiana was looking as if she was finding Mike’s attentions a bit too much. He appeared to have developed into a very amorous Bottom …

‘You okay?’ Ant sat down next to Josie. He wanted to play this carefully, didn’t want to frighten her off.

‘Not sure yet,’ said Josie. ‘I’m trying not to think about it.’

‘Well, if you need me, I’m here,’ said Ant. And for once it wasn’t a corny come-on. He actually meant it.

‘You’re not so bad under all that bravado, are you?’ said Josie, smiling. ‘I’ve seen a different side to you tonight.’

‘Shh, don’t tell anyone,’ said Ant, ‘it would ruin my reputation.’

He could do it, make her fall for him, he knew he could. She was vulnerable and upset. He was the obvious shoulder to cry on. He’d done it dozens of times in the past, so what was making him hesitate? Why did he feel so different?

Because she’s in love with your best mate, you cretin. He could almost feel Freddie’s words splintering in his head. Damn. This responsibility shit was still sticking. Sod, sod, and double sod.

Diana was feeling much better after her chat with Auberon, who’d insisted she call him Bron. He seemed to completely understand what had happened to her. No one had done that before. Not even Josie, she realised. Josie was a good listener, and was always sweetly sympathetic, but she hadn’t ever been through any of the things that Di had, and her charmed life hadn’t prepared her for the kind of pain Di had experienced. It meant there was a gap in empathy sometimes, and Di could see now that she hadn’t really understood.

‘You’ve been very sweet,’ she said. ‘I’ve never told anyone else the whole story.’

‘Curse of old age, my dear,’ he said. ‘You finally learn empathy when it’s far too late.’

‘You’re not that old,’ said Diana. ‘And anyway, maybe it’s not too late. Have you tried talking to Tatiana since you’ve been here?’

‘No,’ admitted Bron, ‘but I don’t think she’ll want to talk to me, particularly with Freddie around. She can’t stand him. And anyway … it’s probably too late now.’

‘Why?’

‘Like an idiot I let Freddie persuade me it would be fun to take Tati down a peg or two. It was after the scene in the pub the other night. I was really cross with her, so I told Freddie I wanted revenge.’

‘And?’

‘Freddie’s hypnotised Mike Slowbotham to think she’s in love with him. She thinks he’s genuinely offering her a part when he hasn’t even got proper funding, and all he really wants to do is get inside her knickers.’

‘I gathered that,’ said Diana drily. ‘Do you always go to Freddie for your relationship advice? Because quite frankly that’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard …’

‘Freddie can be very persuasive,’ said Bron. ‘It used to drive Tati nuts.’

‘I’m not surprised,’ said Diana. ‘If I were you I’d get myself another mate. And stop Freddie before it’s too late. What you’re doing to Tatiana is monstrous. The poor woman thinks she’s in with a chance of a leading role.’

‘Oh,’ said Bron, looking mournful. ‘It did seem funnier in the pub when I was in my cups. Freddie can be very cruel. Speak of the devil.’

Freddie came puffing up the hill.

‘Why you lot can’t stay in one place, I don’t know,’ he complained. ‘Diana, can you possibly stay here, and I’ll get you all together again, and see if we can finally get this to work. Have you seen Harry?’

‘Someone mention my name?’ said Harry.

‘Where did you spring from?’ said Diana in surprise.

‘I just came through those bushes,’ said Harry, ‘and here you all were. I was looking for Josie. Have you seen her?’

‘What do you think?’ said Diana. ‘I’m the last person she wants to see at the moment.’

She felt like kicking herself. She’d been a horrible cow to Josie tonight.

‘I’m sorry about earlier,’ she said to Harry.

‘No worries,’ he said. ‘It’s been a funny old night.’

‘You can say that again,’ said Diana with feeling.

Despite everything that had happened, Harry felt sorry for Diana, it was clear she’d been crying, and she obviously regretted what she’d said to Josie earlier. He’d have to make sure Josie was prepared to forgive her when they caught up with one another.

‘As you’re both here,’ said Freddie, interrupting his thoughts, ‘can we get some of your response to this evening on camera?’

‘I don’t think you’d like what I’ve got to say,’ said Harry, spotting that Will was hovering behind Freddie, camera in hand. Bloody hell, they never stopped.

‘Nor me,’ said Diana. ‘Disastrous doesn’t cover it.’

‘All you’ve done is bugger things up,’ said Harry. ‘So far I don’t think your experiment has been a success.’

‘The night is still young,’ said Freddie, ‘plenty of time to put things right before morning.’

‘You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?’ Diana accused Freddie.

‘No, of course I’m not,’ said Freddie, ‘but hypnotism isn’t an exact science; things sometimes take an unexpected turn. Everything will work out in the end, I’m sure. And the money will make it all worthwhile.’

The money. That was the main reason Harry was doing this, so he could show Josie how much he loved her when they got married – if they got married. But what was the point in that, if Josie wasn’t going to come with him?

Suddenly feeling tired, defeated and very sorry for himself, Harry sat down with a thump.

‘Three, two, one,’ he heard Freddie say.

Bloody hell. Not again.

Harry was out like a light, dreaming of being rooted to the spot while Josie endlessly danced in among the moonbeams. When he went to reach her she ran away laughing …

Ant was trying to do the decent thing, and had been planning to tell Josie she should go and talk to Harry, when he was suddenly aware that she was weeping silently beside him. Suddenly his resolve to do the right thing was sorely tempted, it would be all too easy to take advantage of her vulnerability.

‘Here Josie, don’t cry,’ he said awkwardly patting her arm. He desperately wanted to put his arm round her, but didn’t want to appear too pushy.

‘Here, have a tissue,’ he felt in his pockets and pulled out his fags, ‘no sorry, here, I do have one.’

Gently, he wiped her eyes.

‘He’s an idiot, you know,’ said Ant. ‘If you were mine, I’d never let you go.’

‘But I’m not, am I?’ said Josie. ‘I just can’t believe he’d do this to me. I thought he really wanted to marry me. But now …’

This could be his moment, and in the past would have been, but the damned sense of responsibility was hovering over him with a vengeance.

‘Maybe you rushed things,’ he found himself saying. ‘Maybe he needs more time.’

‘He’s had six months,’ said Josie.

‘Well, if it were me, I’d need at least two years, probably five,’ said Ant with a grin. ‘And I certainly couldn’t handle all that chat about dresses and flowers. You’ve talked about nothing else since we got here.’

‘You think I’ve become a bit obsessed?’ Josie looked appalled.

‘Just a smidgeon,’ said Ant. ‘What do I know? I’ve never been engaged. But I think the circus acts may have been a tipping point.’

‘Oh, God, I’ve turned into a bridezilla, haven’t I?’ Josie groaned. ‘Why did no one tell me?’

‘You can be quite hard to resist,’ said Ant, ‘and to be honest I don’t think anyone wanted to upset you.’

‘Really?’ Josie looked stricken. ‘Am I really that bad?’

‘No,’ said Ant, cursing himself for his clumsiness. ‘I think it might have been a bit overwhelming for Harry, that’s all.’

‘Maybe 250 guests
is
too many,’ said Josie slowly. ‘Harry did mention it, but I ignored him.’

She looked as if something was dawning on her.

‘Perhaps it’s my fault,’ she said, ‘perhaps I’ve been ignoring Harry too much.’

‘No, no, no,’ said Ant, ‘I think you’ve just got a bit more involved than him. It’s natural, I’m sure.’

‘All I wanted was for things to be perfect,’ said Josie rather sadly. ‘I didn’t want to put Harry off.’

‘And you probably haven’t,’ said Ant. ‘Maybe you need to talk to him about it.’

‘Maybe I do,’ said Josie. ‘Thinking about the sort of people my mum and dad want to invite, I can understand Harry being intimidated. I never meant to upset him, I got a bit carried away.’

‘Maybe just a little bit,’ said Ant. ‘Come on, let’s go and see where Harry’s got to. Maybe we can try and work this out.’

Still not quite believing he could be so noble, Ant took Josie by the hand and led her out of the theatre.

Diana sat watching Harry sleeping, wishing it was Ant lying there. Freddie, Bron and Will had wandered off to see what was happening at the theatre and, nervous of the reaction she would get when she saw Ant again, she’d elected to stay put. What was she going to do? She was overcome with the strength of her feelings for Ant. They’d come like a bolt from the blue, a real
coup de foudre
. Only, maybe it hadn’t been that sudden. Talking to Bron had made her remember how much she’d loved him. In her hurt and bitterness she’d forgotten that. But maybe it was time to let that hurt and bitterness go. At least he’d been prepared to talk to her tonight, and thinking again about the whole situation with Sian, perhaps she had misjudged him.