Read Online Olivia's Winter Wonderland by Lyn Gardner - Free Book Online

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a serious actor. It’s just lucky for you that filmingon his new movie was put back and there was an unexpected gap in his schedule or he wouldn’t be able to do it at all.” She smiled so that big white teeth could be glimpsed behind crimson lips, putting Alicia in mind of a shark that had just had its tea. “You’ve got to remember he could be earning thousands elsewhere while he’s helping you out on your little panto.”
    Jon had felt Alicia stiffen in the chair next to him and prayed that she wouldn’t say anything. But she’d been so astonished at Sheridan’s breathtaking rudeness that she was stunned into silence, although on the way back to the Swan she’d done such a perfect imitation of Sheridan that Jon had been in stitches.
    â€œI know it’s wrong of me to even think it,” said Alicia, “but if anybody should play an ugly sister it should be Sheridan. She’s so demanding and unpleasant, it would almost be typecasting.”
    Jon had smiled. “Maybe that’s one of the things that makes her a great agent. Remember she did salvage Theo’s career after he did all those appalling movies and appeared to be in freefall.”
    Jon looked down at his list of the remaining auditionees. There was only Olivia and Tomto come, followed by Katie Wilkes-Cox, and he knew all their work very well. In the case of Katie Wilkes-Cox rather too well, after his experiences with her on
The Sound of Music.
Alicia had told him that Olivia didn’t want to be cast as anything major and Katie couldn’t be, but he was wondering whether Tom might be a perfect Buttons. The age gap between him and Amber wouldn’t matter so much; in fact, it would make the relationship all the more hopeless and touching.
    â€œLivy? Tom? Are you there? I haven’t got all night,” shouted Jon impatiently.
    â€œComing!” came the muffled reply. There was a tinny tinkle of music and then suddenly a large pantomime horse appeared on stage. It had soft brown fur, massive brown eyes with thick lashes, a tail that swished magnificently and a daisy in the middle of its forehead. The children in the theatre shrieked, and the horse gave a loud whinny and galloped down the steps and into the auditorium. It tap-danced its way up the aisle, its front two feet perfectly coordinated and its back two tripping over each other. It cocked its head and pricked up its ears becomingly, flirted outrageously with the audience and Jon,and put out its head to be patted. Laughing, the children reached out to stroke it, and the horse whinnied with pleasure and fluttered its huge eyelashes. That brought the house down. The children were screaming with laughter as the music from
Swan Lake
started up and the horse started a lumbering dance.
    Jon’s face creased with laughter. “OK, Tom and Livy,” he said. “That was fabulous. But there is no panto horse in Michael’s script.”
    The horse dropped to its knees in front of Jon, put its front hooves together and begged, all the while batting its huge eyelashes and pretending to wipe away tears. Most of the Swans were doubled up with laughter and Jon held up his hands in surrender.
    â€œAll right, all right,” he cried. “You win. I give in. You can be the panto horse. I’ll ask Michael to write one in.”
    A noise that was a cross between a neigh and a cheer came from inside the horse, which rose to its feet, gave a little jig of joy and then collapsed in a heap on the floor. Then it scrambled up like a newborn foal and galloped off into the wings. Everyone cheered.
    It took a few minutes for everyone to settledown again after the excitement and Jon had to ask for quiet several times.
    â€œOK,” he said. “Katie, are you ready?”
    Katie popped her head out from the wings. “Yes,” she said, trying to sound bright and cheerful. “I’m ready.”
    â€œThen let’s