Chapter 7

Exams finally over the cast met for their first rehearsal. They were immediately told that they would be expected to know their lines well enough to do without their books as soon as possible.

Toby and Andrew, the three girls, Bruce Jenner and Richard Jenkins adjourned to the local coffee bar when the rehearsal was over. It was a subdued crowd sitting around a table in a corner of the Café Roma.

‘I’m beginning to wonder what I’ve let myself in for,’ sighed Andrew, stirring his cup of espresso moodily.

‘Suddenly we seem to have hardly any time at all,’ agreed Richard, ‘There’s such a lot to learn.’

‘And your part is the worst of the lot,’ said Emma, ‘There’s so much of it. Are you any good at learning things off by heart?’

‘I’ve never had quite so much to do before,’ replied Richard, ‘Every time that I look at my copy of the play I get a shiver down my spine.’

‘Cheer up,’ said Toby encouragingly, ‘I’m sure you’ll all be OK on the night.’

‘It’s all very well for you to say that,’ retorted Bruce, ‘You won’t be standing out there on the stage making a complete idiot of yourself.’

‘And neither will you either,’ said Toby firmly, ‘You’d better not anyway. I’m selling a lot of tickets to this thing and I’m darned if I want to have people demanding their money back because you made a hash of it.’

He glowered at them all in mock fury and beetled his eyebrows comically which caused the first laughter heard since they had left the rehearsal.

The schedule was arduous and at first progress was painfully slow. As the days passed by even the optimistic Toby was beginning to panic slightly. However by dint of sheer hard work and determination, by the last weekend before the week of performances, Mr Singleton declared that it seemed to be coming together at last.

On a personal level, Natasha’s relationship with Bruce Jenner blossomed, much as Andrew had foreseen. In fact they became inseparable and Bruce was suddenly a regular visitor at Northolt. Toby, who had known him very well since his own transfer into the languages stream at the beginning of his second year at the College, approved of the match and turned his own attentions to Samantha West.

Sammy, as she generally seemed to be known, shared his ridiculous sense of humour and they got on like a house on fire, cracking a seemingly endless stream of simply awful jokes. As Emma had told Andrew previously, Sammy was partial to the odd drink and this soon because very obvious when she started producing a silver hip-flask after rehearsals and lacing everybody’s coffee cup with cognac.

‘Honestly, Sammy, you’ll get us all plastered,’ protested Andrew on the final Saturday evening as they were sitting together in the coffee bar after an arduous full day’s work.

‘Nonsense darling,’ husked Samantha as she poured a generous measure into Toby’s cup and an even more generous one into her own. ‘We’ve all worked very hard this afternoon and we deserve it.’

‘Talking of deserving things,’ yawned Bruce, stretching his arms above his head, ‘I think I could do with a hot bath. My back’s killing me. If we nip back to my place do you think I’ve got time to have one before the film starts, Tasha?’

‘Yes, I should think so, you poor old fellow,’ replied Natasha, rising to her feet. She held out her arm, ‘You can lean on me as we walk down the road if you like.’

The two of them departed, leaving Andrew and Toby, Emma and Sammy to their alcoholic coffees.

‘You know I’m starving,’ complained Emma, ‘What are we going to do about supper tonight?’

‘Well, we can go back to Northolt and see what’s on offer, or we could go out,’ replied Andrew.

‘I rather fancy a Chinese,’ declared Sammy.

‘Yes, but what about something to eat?’ quipped Toby.

‘Oh yes, very droll darling,’ Samantha gave Toby an old fashioned look and took a last mouthful from her cup.

‘Yes, a Chinese sounds like a nice idea,’ agreed Andrew. He looked at Emma, ‘Can we afford it though?’

She took her purse out of her handbag and inspected the contents.

‘Just about,’ she replied.

‘Let’s have a takeaway,’ suggested Samantha, ‘That’s much cheaper.’

‘Yes, all right,’ agreed Andrew, ‘But where shall we eat it? In Toby’s car?’

‘Oh no darling. Let’s go back to Westhorpe and we can have it by the fire in Sammy’s playroom,’ said Samantha at once.

‘Coo,’ breathed Toby, ‘I quite fancy having it by the fire in Sammy’s playroom.’

The girl arched one eyebrow and looked at him appraisingly.

‘You know, darling, if you’re very good perhaps Sammy will let you after we’ve finished eating.’

Her remark provoked raucous laughter and finishing their coffee, the foursome paid the bill and went out into the street. The Chinese meal was duly selected and purchased from a small restaurant on the edge of the city and Samantha held the packages between her feet, by the heater vent in Toby’s car, to keep them warm as they drove swiftly to Westhorpe Manor.

Neither Toby nor Andrew had been to the West “family seat” before and they were more than a little impressed by the size of the establishment as they approached it up the long winding drive.

‘Wow, what a pile,’ chuckled Andrew.

‘Yes, I’m sorry about that darling,’ said Samantha apologetically, ‘It is just a teensy bit ostentatious isn’t it?’

‘Blimey, it’s one of the stately homes of England. I had no idea,’ breathed Toby.

The three visitors were even more impressed when, on climbing the wide staircase to the front entrance, they found the door opened for them by an impressive looking man who was obviously the butler.

‘Billings, is the fire lit in my playroom?’ asked Samantha as he took her jacket from her solicitously.

‘Oh yes, Miss Samantha,’ he replied deferentially.

‘Terrific. Could you please bring us up four hot dinner plates, four sets of chopsticks, four wine glasses and three bottles of hock?’ asked Samantha, smiling sweetly at the old retainer, ‘We’re going to have a little party.’

‘Very good, Miss Samantha,’ nodded Billings.

‘Come on then darlings, let’s go upstairs,’ said Samantha, leading them towards a most impressive staircase complete with marble balustrades.

‘It’s like a bloody palace,’ Andrew whispered to his girlfriend as they climbed to the first floor.

At the end of a long wide passageway Samantha stopped at a doorway, opened it and gestured for her companions to follow her. They found themselves in a small hallway with a staircase at the end of it.

‘This leads to my apartments,’ explained the tall girl casually.

When they reached the top of the stairs, their hostess threw open a door and showed them into a large, comfortably furnished lounge where there was a log fire burning cheerfully in the grate. On either side of the fireplace were two enormous settees and the window opposite was curtained by thick rich dark red velvet. On the floor was the most beautiful pale-coloured Persian carpet that the three had ever seen.

‘Oh, what a gorgeous room!’ exclaimed Emma, sitting down on the floor beside the fire and running her hand over the soft fabric beneath her.

‘Yes, it is quite nice,’ admitted Samantha modestly, going over to a little bar in the far corner of the room.

‘Put the food on the hearth near the fire to help keep it warm, darlings,’ Samantha instructed and the boys did as they were told.

Despite their protestations, Samantha’s guests were each poured a large gin and tonic and they settled down to wait for Billings to bring the plates, chopsticks, glasses and wine. In only a few minutes there was a discreet knock at the door and he entered, bearing everything on a huge silver tray.

‘Thank you very much indeed, Billings,’ said Samantha gravely, ‘That will do us nicely. I don’t think I’ll need anything else this evening.’

‘Very good, Miss Samantha,’ The butler retired, closing the door silently behind him.

‘I thought that people like Billings only existed in old movies,’ laughed Andrew as Samantha and Emma began to share the food around the plates.

‘He’s a dying breed according to Daddy,’ admitted Samantha, uncorking the wine bottle with a skill that did not go unnoticed, ‘He’s been with us since the year dot. The rest of the staff come and go all the time.’

‘Why’s that?’ asked Toby innocently.

‘Well, Daddy expects such impossibly high standards,’ replied Samantha and then gave Toby a sly look, ‘He can’t abide servants who get above their station.’

Toby looked at her, puzzled.

‘Take Colonel Mustard, the Estate Manager, for example,’ continued Samantha, keeping a perfectly straight face, ‘When Daddy caught us together in the study he fired him straight away, although all he was doing was showing me his little dagger.’

Toby looked at her blankly and the corners of her mouth twitched.

‘Then there was Professor Plumb, my music teacher. Every time we finished our lessons together in the conservatory he used to take out his lead piping. I didn’t mind one bit but the time that Daddy saw him do it was the last.’

Neither Andrew nor Emma saw the joke at all, but Toby and his sister also owned a “Cluedo” set and the penny finally dropped.

‘Tell me about Reverend Green,’ he prompted.

‘Ah, poor Reverend Green,’ cried Samantha, ‘Such a sad case. It did excite him when I let him tie me to the billiard table with his rope. I thought it was very funny, but poor Daddy almost had a heart attack when he found me spread-eagled there in the nude.’

‘And what of Miss Scarlett?’

‘Our parting was a painful experience,’ replied Samantha with a twinge of regret in her voice, ‘As I said to Daddy afterwards, what she was doing to herself with that candlestick in the dining room, I might just as well have been doing myself,’ she sighed heavily. ‘But he insisted that she had to go.’

‘Is Mrs. White no longer with you either?’ asked Toby, a mischievous grin on his face.

Samantha shook her head in apparent disgust.

‘Mrs. White had only herself to blame,’ she said contemptuously, ‘What she and Mummy did in the ballroom with that spanner was obscene.’

‘I saw Miss Peacock in town the other day, didn’t I?’ enquired Toby, his face beginning to twitch uncontrollably.

‘My old nanny? Yes, I expect you did. She’s still on the staff you know, but I’m sure that Daddy will get rid of her like a shot if he ever realises that she’s a transvestite.’ replied Samantha and then subsided in a fit of helpless giggles.

Andrew and Emma looked on in amazement.

‘What on earth are you two whittering on about?’ asked Andrew.

In between gasps of laughter Toby and Samantha explained.

‘You’re both off your heads,’ remarked Emma dismissively, picking up a plate and a pair of chopsticks, ‘Come on, let’s eat before this delicious food gets too cold.’