Read Online Bella by Jilly Cooper - Free Book Online Page A

gone orange. How brave of you. Is it for a new part, or are you doing a soup commercial?’
    The men around Angora looked at Bella without interest.
    ‘You’ve all met Rupert’s fiancée, haven’t you?’ said Angora. ‘You know Steve of course, Bella, and this is Timmie, and this is Patrick, and this is . . . oh God, I can’t remember your name.’
    Bella was looking at Steve. Her heart was pounding.
    ‘Yes, I know Steve,’ she said. ‘Or I thought I did. How are you?’
    ‘Fantastic,’ said Steve, giving her that curiously opaque, shutters-down look she knew of old. ‘Where’s Rupert? Getting some aunt out of mothballs?’
    ‘I’m glad you’ve brought Foxy,’ said Angora, patting Bella’s fox fur. ‘He looks as though he needs an outing. Why don’t you give him some Bob Martins?’
    Everyone laughed. Bella blushed. Why can’t I think of some witty crack to make back, she thought miserably.
    Rescue, however, was at hand, in the not very steady shape of Charles. ‘Bella, darling,’ he said, kissing her on both cheeks. ‘I’ve been looking all over for you. They ought to page people at this party. I wonder if you’d be terribly kind and give a word of advice to a young niece of mine. She’s awfully keen to go on the stage and I thought, being such a star, you were the person to talk to.’
    Bella got a slight satisfaction in seeing a look of annoyance flicker across Angora’s face. She obviously felt she was the one who ought to be consulted.
    ‘I’d love to,’ said Bella and, without even saying goodbye to Steve, she followed Charles back into the crowd.
    The stage-struck niece had a horse face and half Chelsea Flower Show on her head.
    ‘It must be amazing to be acting at the Britannia,’ she said. ‘I suppose you pulled strings.’
    ‘No,’ said Bella, ‘not even a tiny thread, but I had a lucky break. Have you had much experience?’
    ‘No. I played Juliet in the school play. Everyone said I was awfully good.’
    Oh God! Bella groaned inwardly. ‘Have you tried to get into any of the drama schools?’ she said.
    ‘No. Perhaps you could give me a list of names. And perhaps you could introduce me to your director. I gather he’s very charming.’
    ‘Very,’ said Bella. Her mind started to wander.
    The horse-faced niece droned on and on.
    ‘Incredible, fantastic, amazing,’ said Bella at suitable intervals. Then she said, ‘How marvellous’. The horse-faced girl looked at her in surprise.
    ‘How marvellous,’ said Bella again.
    ‘I said Mummy was in Harrods when the bomb went off last week,’ said the girl.
    ‘Oh God, I’m sorry,’ said Bella. ‘I misheard you. There’s such a din going on.’
    Next moment one of Horseface’s friends came up and they started shrieking at each other. Bella escaped, but not before she heard Horseface saying, ‘That’s Rupert’s fiancée. I don’t think she’s quite all there.’
    Bella retreated to a pillar again and ate three more éclairs, malevolently surveying the rest of the crowd.
    ‘Don’t look so horrified,’ said a voice. ‘You chose to marry into this lot.’
    She jumped nervously. It was Lazlo.
    ‘They’re a load of junk,’ she snapped. ‘They should be driven over a cliff with pitch forks.’
    Lazlo laughed. ‘I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.’
    A waitress came by with a tray.
    ‘Have an ice,’ he said. ‘Children are supposed to like them, aren’t they?’
    ‘I hate ices,’ her voice rose shrilly, ‘more than anything else in the world except you.’
    At that moment Teddy came up, looking distraught.
    ‘Hullo, Bella,’ he said. ‘I say, Lazlo, I thought pregnant women only threw up in the morning. Gay’s puking her guts out upstairs. I’m sure Constance is going to smell a rat. She wants us to cut the cake now. She’s terrified everyone is going to drink too much.’
    ‘Poor old Teddy,’ said Lazlo, ‘but you did go into this with your flies open.’
    ‘I certainly did,’ sighed Teddy.