Voice of the Heart (27 page)

‘I will. Thank you, Estelle. You’ve been really terrific, alerting me to all this. I won’t forget it, and neither will Victor. Look, I’ve got to get back to the table. I’ll call you tomorrow, and let you know about Sunday. Thanks again, Estelle darling.’

‘Any time, Katharine,’ Estelle beamed, suffused with self-satisfaction about the way she was so cleverly cementing the relationship. ‘I’m only too glad to help if I can.’

When she returned to the table, Katharine sat down and said with an apologetic laugh, ‘Sorry I was so long, but I ran slap-bang into Estelle, and I’m afraid she can be awfully garrulous at times. But she’s quite a good sport, and I didn’t want to offend her.’

‘Oh, that’s perfectly all right,’ Francesca replied. ‘I do understand. Thank you for listening, Katharine. And for the marvellous pep talk. You helped me a lot, and I’m going to take your advice. I’ve decided to take a few days off, and make a new start on the book next week.’

Katharine was delighted. ‘I’m so glad, Francesca. And
listen, any time you need a sounding board, I’m here. Incidentally, when I was in the ladies room it struck me you ought to have a literary agent. I assume you don’t have one. Or do you?’

‘No. And to be honest I wouldn’t know where to get one either. Anyway, I don’t have a manuscript to show at this moment.’

‘I realize that. On the other hand, it might be a good idea to talk to a few agents, and see what they say. Later, when you’ve finished the book, you’d be better off using a literary agent, rather than trying to sell it yourself. At least I know that much.’ She paused and then excitement animated her. ‘I know what we can do. We can ask Victor to get you one.’

‘No!’ Francesca cried, and flushed with embarrassment, realizing she had snapped at Katharine, and without good reason.

Katharine gave her a peculiar look, but merely shrugged. ‘Then I suppose I could ask Nicholas Latimer. He’d never do anything for me, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind helping you.’

‘Why wouldn’t he do anything for you?’ Francesca asked with a confused frown. ‘He was very charming at Les Ambassadeurs on Monday night. I thought he liked you enormously. He certainly behaved as if he did.’

‘Oh but he doesn’t,’ Katharine said with a cool and knowing smile. ‘He is pleasant, and he teases me a lot, and behaves as if he’s my best buddy. But haven’t you noticed his flat blues when he’s talking to me?’

‘Flat blues? What do you mean?’

‘His eyes. Flat and blue and hard. His mouth might be smiling, but his eyes drip ice. I know he hates my guts.’

Francesca was flabbergasted. ‘Oh but surely you’re wrong, Katharine! I would have noticed. Anyway, I can’t imagine anyone hating
your
guts,’ she pronounced with certainty. ‘And please don’t ask him for any favours for me. I don’t
want you putting yourself in an awkward position. And as I said, I don’t need an agent at the moment.’

‘No, I suppose you don’t,’ Katharine answered. ‘Anyway, we can always hold Nicholas Latimer in reserve, I guess. Incidentally, talking of favours, I was going to ask one of you—’

‘Would you like the fish off the bone, madame?’ the waiter interrupted, displaying the sole with a splendid flourish.

‘Yes, thank you very much. Would you, Francesca?’

Francesca nodded, and when the waiter was out of earshot, she said eagerly, ‘What kind of favour, Katharine?’

Katharine leaned across the table and explained. ‘I need someone to write the material I want to use for the screen test, and I was wondering if you would do it for me.’

Francesca looked at her in amazement. ‘Gosh, Katharine, I wouldn’t know how! I mean, dialogue and that kind of thing is way beyond me. Good Lord, I wouldn’t know where to begin!’

Katharine said, ‘Oh,’ in a very small voice. Crushed, she dropped her eyes and stared at the tablecloth.

‘It’s not that I don’t want to help you,’ Francesca exclaimed anxiously, her voice rising. ‘I’d do anything for you, Katharine, I really would. I just don’t know how to write something like that. Honestly, I don’t,’ she persisted, feeling downright mean for refusing. Then she was filled with chagrin. Katharine had shown her extraordinary understanding, and kindness, had been so patient and encouraging. She felt she was somehow letting her new friend down by refusing to accede to this request. She said, ‘Please don’t be upset. I couldn’t bear it. Let’s talk about it at least.’

Katharine lifted her head sharply and smiled beguilingly. ‘I
know
you can do it! I really do, especially since it’s a long passage from
Wuthering Heights
. You said on Saturday that you knew the book extremely well.’

‘Yes, that’s true, I do…’ Francesca’s brows went up in a quirk. ‘But why do you need me to write something for you?
I thought Victor Mason had a finished screenplay.’

‘When I asked Victor for the particular pages I need, he said that I could have them. At first. Later he called me back and told me that Nicholas Latimer was rewriting that whole section of the script, and therefore I couldn’t have them after all.’ Katharine bent her head closer to Francesca’s, and lowered her voice. ‘But I don’t believe Nick
is
rewriting. Don’t misunderstand me. It’s not Victor being difficult. It’s Nick. I don’t think he wants me to have those pages.’

‘How rotten of him! But surely Victor can—’

‘Nicholas Latimer has a great deal of influence over Victor. It seems to me that anything Nick says goes. They’re as thick as thieves. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear to God they were a couple of fags.’ She burst out laughing when she saw Francesca’s face. ‘Don’t look so shocked. Anyway, they’re
not
. As I was going to say, their reputations as studs precede them. Nick, in particular, thinks every woman he meets is going to fall flat on her back for him.’ She laughed again, and went on, ‘In any event, Nick probably lied to Victor when he told him he was working on the screenplay, and did it just to thwart me. Victor suggested I do something from
Trojan Interlude.
’ Katharine shrugged. ‘What could I say. When I told him I preferred to use something that was fresher to me, he said I could select anything I wanted that ran about thirty minutes. I went through
Wuthering Heights
again, and I really studied the scene I like. And to be honest, it wouldn’t be difficult to adapt.’

‘Which scene is it?’ Francesca asked, her interest aroused.

‘It’s the one where—’ Katharine stopped when the waiter approached the table with the food, and then said, ‘I’ll tell you about it later.’

Once lunch had been served, Katharine took a few mouthfuls and then put down her knife and fork, suddenly unable to eat. ‘You know something, Francesca, every time I think about that scene I get excited. I know it’s exactly right for the screen test.
And I do want Victor to see me playing Cathy, not Helen of Troy. It’s that very moving and dramatic scene, where Cathy comes back from Thrushcross Grange and tells Nelly Dean that Edgar Linton wants to marry her. They get into a long discussion about her feelings for Linton, as opposed to her feelings for Heathcliff. Nelly tries to stop Cathy, who is being very outspoken. She knows Heathcliff is listening outside the door. But Cathy presses on, and says something about how it would degrade her to marry Heathcliff, because her brother has brought him so low—’

‘And then Cathy starts talking about her love for Heathcliff,’ Francesca cut in, her face alive with excitement, her eyes shining. ‘And there are those marvellous lines about their souls. I can almost quote it to you verbatim. Cathy says, “
He shall never know how I love him; and that, not because he’s handsome, Nelly, but because he’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and Linton’s is as different as moonbeam from lightning, as frost from fire.
” Of course I know it, and very well, Katharine. And you’re right. It is dramatic and emotional.’

Katharine had observed Francesca’s enthusiasm, her growing interest, and now she seized the moment. She said, ‘If you look at that particular chapter in the book again, and study it, you’ll see there’s enough dialogue between Nelly and Cathy to create a good thirty-minute scene, which is all I need for the screen test. Listen, Francesca, I
know
you can do it, and in a very short time. I also thought it would be a change of pace for you, and would get you away from your research for a day or two. Oh please, do say yes,’ she cajoled. She gazed at Francesca, her expression pleading, then finished, ‘I need you, I really do. Please, won’t you give it a stab? The test is so important to me.’ Katharine’s eyes did not leave Francesca’s face.

Francesca bit her lip, unsure of herself. But she did want to help Katharine, to please her, and so she swallowed her
uncertainty. ‘Well, all right,’ she said. ‘If
you
think I can do it, then I’ll give it a try.’

‘Oh, thank you, Francesca darling! Thank you. I’m so grateful,’ Katharine cried.

‘It might not be right, you know, not exactly what you want, but I promise I’ll do my very best. And you’ll have to tell me how many pages you need, where I should begin and end the scene. I will need a little guidance.’

‘I’ll help you. In fact, I can explain some things over lunch. You won’t find it difficult, because it is all there in the book,’ Katharine assured her.

Francesca nodded and stared at her plate. When she lifted her head she looked slightly perplexed. ‘You seem to have a lot of confidence in me, Katharine. Why?’

Katharine thought for a second, and then she smiled. ‘Instinct,’ she replied.

As Katharine approached the St James’s Theatre, she felt a quickening inside, and her heart beat a little faster, excitement tingling through her in short sharp waves. She always experienced these feelings when she went to work, and never once had they diminished or lessened. The thrill, the anticipation and the expectation mingled to bring a spring to her step, a blithe smile of eagerness to her face, and she increased her pace, hurrying down the alley to the stage door.

For as long as she could remember, the theatre for her had been a place of refuge and her happiest moments had been spent on a stage. When she was ten years old she had appeared in a nativity play at the convent in Chicago, and ever since that time she had known she would become an actress, for her destiny had been truly sealed that day. It was the only life she could bear to live, the only one which had any real meaning, and purpose, to her. In a sense, the magical unreality of the stage was her only reality. She found escape in her roles, bringing to them such belief and intensity, she literally became the characters she played. And it was this extraordinary commitment, total and unwavering, that gave her portrayals the absolute ring of dramatic truth, and was perhaps one of her greatest strengths as an actress. She never failed to touch, to move, and perhaps, more importantly, to convince. Even as a student, her interpretations of classical parts, in particular Shakespearean heroines, were innovative and individualistic, and she brought to them wholly new dimensions which staggered with their brilliance.

Charlie, the stage-door attendant, gave her a cheery greeting, and after exchanging a few friendly words with him,
she went down the stone staircase to her dressing room. She sighed with relief as she closed the door and snapped on the light. She was home again. Safe and secure. Here nothing could harm her.

Katharine always went to the theatre several hours before first curtain call. She needed this time to relax, to empty her head of extraneous matters, to repose, to concentrate and to psyche herself into the part of Helen of Troy. This afternoon she was earlier than usual, but she welcomed the chance to be alone, to think and plan her strategy for the next few days. She still had a lot to achieve before the screen test. After her lunch with Francesca, she had debated whether to go back to her flat, and then decided against it, realizing it was a waste of energy to return to Lennox Gardens for only an hour at the most. Instead, she had strolled down Piccadilly, stopped at Hatchards to buy several books, and then made her way to the Haymarket. She had attempted to call Victor Mason from a telephone booth, to give him Estelle’s information about
Confidential
. To her frustration he was not at the hotel, and so she had left a cryptic message, adding that she would call again later.

Now, as she took off her cape, her skirt and her sweater, she concentrated on the supper she had dreamed up on the spur of the moment at the Arlington Club. She was quite positive Victor would not object, since he relied on her for much of his social life, and he had already intimated he wanted to take her to dinner with Francesca on Sunday night. So he’ll give a small party instead, she thought, slipping into her towelling robe and sitting down on the couch to pull off her boots. After she had carefully put all her clothes away in the wardrobe, she found a small note pad and pencil, and moved to the dressing table to make a tentative guest list. There would be Victor. And Nicholas Latimer. Naturally, she thought with a small caustic smile. And Francesca, Estelle and herself. She needed at least three more people, perhaps even five, to make up an entertaining group. Well, Kim and
the Earl were out, as they were returning to Yorkshire on Sunday afternoon. She paused, the pencil poised in mid-air, considering various friends who would be suitable to include. The Shand-Elliots were possibilities if…

There was a light tapping on the dressing room door, and she looked at it in surprise. ‘Who is it?’ she called.

‘It’s me, Katharine. Norman,’ Terry’s dresser said.

‘Oh, come in, love,’ she exclaimed, smiling broadly as Norman’s head appeared around the door. But the smile fled when she saw his face. Norman, usually breezy, jovial and as bright-eyed as a chirpy Cockney sparrow, wore a dour expression and distress was mirrored in his light brown eyes. Katharine saw immediately that he was agitated. He entered the dressing room with unusual swiftness and closed the door almost furtively. He leaned against it, his body taut, his nervousness spilling out of him.

‘Norman, whatever’s wrong?’ Katharine cried, straightening up in the chair, her eyes fixed on him. ‘You look terribly upset.’