got to her feet, pulling her fox furs around her shoulders and tucking her bag under one arm. That bloody film. Letty had promised her the moon and the stars to make the lousything, leading lady, top billing, special privileges, massive publicity, the lot, and look what had happened. The film had had rave notices, and was doing excellent business - which was nice, considering she had a percentage of the box office receipts included in her contract - but she personally had been raked by the critics and that was far from nice. Supercilious bastards, she thought now as she made her way across the lobby towards the entrance to the Grill Room. Supercilious
English
bastards. No American critic would have dared to be so waspish about her performance. None of them would have dreamed of hauling her over the coals in that hateful fashion. But here they had, and she still stung as she thought of all they had said.
If only she hadn’t signed that goddamned two-year contract! If only she could have gone straight back to Hollywood to set up a better deal the minute this fiasco was over, it wouldn’t have been so bad. But as it was, here she was, stuck in bloody London where the rain never stopped and there wasn’t a decent thing to eat or drink, let alone any people she could be bothered with, and another year to get through. She was making money all right; there was no shortage of that, with Letty in charge of the operation, but there was more to life than money, for God’s sake. Like having the chance to spend it, and she marched into the Grill Room to eat her solitary lunch in a raging temper. But beneath her bad temper there lingered another thought. Harry Lackland. She really must winkle him out of wherever he was hiding and see what games there were to be played with him. He used to be quite good fun -
‘I know,’ Johanna said in a low voice as Lee faltered in what she had been saying about talking to Letty regarding the Benefit, as she watched Katy’s narrow hips go swinging away, with the eyes of every man in the place following her too. ‘It’s maddening. Women like that ought to be - to be locked away. But never let them see they’ve hurt you, because when you do they only set out to hurt you more.’
Lee reddened. ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she said, and Johanna shook her head at her.
‘I used to be just like you, blaming the women, blaming myself, blaming everyone but him. But it isn’t anyone else’sfault, you know. Even if you did lock them away, it’d all be the same. Some men are like that - like Jonty was -’
She stopped talking and bent her head to look down at her hands and Lee looked at her and then leaned forwards and touched her wrist, impulsively.
‘I know, Jo darling. Please don’t let’s fret about it. Men are men and - well, there it is. Not much we can do about it. Let’s go to the restaurant instead of the Grill Room, and we’ll plan how we’re going to make money for dear old Nellie’s and to blazes with everything and everybody else. What do you say?’
Johanna lifted her chin and smiled, a rather watery little grimace, but she nodded. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Let’s do just that. We’ll go and raise some money for the hospital. That’s more important than anything - and it’ll be fun to do it.’ And together the two women went to eat a rather leathery dried egg omelette filled with a few rare mushrooms, cocooned and safe in the fragile protection of their friendship. Just for a little while.
6
‘Well?’ Charlie jumped to her feet and then, realizing how unprofessional such excitement must seem, sat down again, perching on the edge of Sister’s desk, and said again in as cool a voice as she could muster, ‘Well?’
‘
Very
well,’ Max said, and went past her to sit in the chair behind the desk and reach for a report sheet from the rack in its corner. ‘Very well indeed, in a psychiatric sense. I made no effort to judge his physical condition, of course, but at
English
bastards. No American critic would have dared to be so waspish about her performance. None of them would have dreamed of hauling her over the coals in that hateful fashion. But here they had, and she still stung as she thought of all they had said.
If only she hadn’t signed that goddamned two-year contract! If only she could have gone straight back to Hollywood to set up a better deal the minute this fiasco was over, it wouldn’t have been so bad. But as it was, here she was, stuck in bloody London where the rain never stopped and there wasn’t a decent thing to eat or drink, let alone any people she could be bothered with, and another year to get through. She was making money all right; there was no shortage of that, with Letty in charge of the operation, but there was more to life than money, for God’s sake. Like having the chance to spend it, and she marched into the Grill Room to eat her solitary lunch in a raging temper. But beneath her bad temper there lingered another thought. Harry Lackland. She really must winkle him out of wherever he was hiding and see what games there were to be played with him. He used to be quite good fun -
‘I know,’ Johanna said in a low voice as Lee faltered in what she had been saying about talking to Letty regarding the Benefit, as she watched Katy’s narrow hips go swinging away, with the eyes of every man in the place following her too. ‘It’s maddening. Women like that ought to be - to be locked away. But never let them see they’ve hurt you, because when you do they only set out to hurt you more.’
Lee reddened. ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she said, and Johanna shook her head at her.
‘I used to be just like you, blaming the women, blaming myself, blaming everyone but him. But it isn’t anyone else’sfault, you know. Even if you did lock them away, it’d all be the same. Some men are like that - like Jonty was -’
She stopped talking and bent her head to look down at her hands and Lee looked at her and then leaned forwards and touched her wrist, impulsively.
‘I know, Jo darling. Please don’t let’s fret about it. Men are men and - well, there it is. Not much we can do about it. Let’s go to the restaurant instead of the Grill Room, and we’ll plan how we’re going to make money for dear old Nellie’s and to blazes with everything and everybody else. What do you say?’
Johanna lifted her chin and smiled, a rather watery little grimace, but she nodded. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Let’s do just that. We’ll go and raise some money for the hospital. That’s more important than anything - and it’ll be fun to do it.’ And together the two women went to eat a rather leathery dried egg omelette filled with a few rare mushrooms, cocooned and safe in the fragile protection of their friendship. Just for a little while.
6
‘Well?’ Charlie jumped to her feet and then, realizing how unprofessional such excitement must seem, sat down again, perching on the edge of Sister’s desk, and said again in as cool a voice as she could muster, ‘Well?’
‘
Very
well,’ Max said, and went past her to sit in the chair behind the desk and reach for a report sheet from the rack in its corner. ‘Very well indeed, in a psychiatric sense. I made no effort to judge his physical condition, of course, but at
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