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the morning, leading to discovering her long-lost mother.
    When she came off the phone she took Bella’s hand.
    â€˜Zee Zee’s looking forward to meeting you!’ she said. ‘He doesn’t care that I’m out of a job and we can’t afford to get married.’
    Bella beamed back at her. She had found the daughter she’d always dreamed of. And, somehow, her dream of being a presenter seemed less important. TV could wait, she decided. She would introduce Fiona to Carmel’s tea shop and they would catch up on all the years they had lost. She might try to reserve the window seat in advance.
    Of course, there was just a tiny tinge of sadness, and who wouldn’t be just a bit sad? Her career as a food presenter was over before it had started. But more importantly she felt sorry for Fiona. It was Bella’s fault she was out of a job.
    The soothing had calmed Juliet down. Now she was no longer wailing, Yvonne and Tony could be heard talking in the gallery.
    â€˜My wife will pull the plug on everything if we can’t justify the money spent on Finger Food ,’ said Tony.
    Bella looked at the cameras. They had been rolling the entire time. She walked to the nearest one and asked the cameraman to give her the tape. He did so with pleasure. Everything Yvonne and Tony had said was on record. Even the things that Yvonne thought no one else could hear.
    Bella cleared her throat.
    â€˜Could I have silence please?’ She called up to the gallery, ‘Yvonne! Here’s an idea that might help you out of your tangled web. No one thought to tell you that your microphone has been on for this entire pilot. And down here on set we’ve all been able to hear everything. Everything.’ Bella paused to let the words sink in.
    â€˜If you give me back MY pilot as a series,’ she continued, ‘with Fiona as floor manager, I will agree not to tell Tony’s wife that Tony, you and Juliet are in a little trio. If you get me.’ She waved the tape. ‘It’s all been recorded.’
    â€˜Tony? You and Juliet ?’ Yvonne spoke for the first time.
    Tony sounded guilty. ‘It was only the once, Yvonne. Nothing happened.’
    â€˜So.’ Bella decided to make an offer to Tony. ‘Since Yvonne seems to be speechless I’ll make youan offer you can’t refuse. I present Finger Food , which is my idea in any case, and Fiona keeps her job.’
    Tony emerged on the gallery balcony, straightening his clothing. He looked at the audience and then at Bella.
    â€˜Bella, I thought you were magnificent,’ he said. ‘The audience loved it. I think the show could really work with you at the helm. And,’ he winked at Fiona and did that funny thing with his tongue in the cheek again, ‘the pair of you as a double act work perfectly.’ He blew a kiss.
    Bella waved her hand dismissively.
    â€˜Oh, keep your kisses for Yvonne. She’s such a trustworthy, open-hearted, kind, warm person how could anyone resist?’
    The audience booed loudly.
    Tony smiled. ‘It’s a deal.’

Chapter 11
    The church organist was playing a Middle Eastern melody with some difficulty. Three Moroccan folk dancers joined in as best they could with flutes and drums.
    Under the hypnotic effect of the music the guests were swaying as if in a trance. Roses and crystals decorated every seat and a handsome young man was waiting anxiously by the altar.
    Bella sat at the front, proudly awaiting the bride. She was wearing a rose-print dress with little crystals on the collar. Next to her sat Carmel in a cream suit and, on her other side, sat Bella’s own mother, clutching a lace hankie in readiness. Once Fiona had been found, her grandmother had admitted that she too had always regretted the decision to give her away. She had carried her guilt all through Bella’s career but had never once spoken of it. Their relationship had still not recovered – that would