Rebecca moved to the head of the bed so Christopher could watch as she slowly removed her long black dress, allowing it to fall into a silky heap at her feet. Beneath it she was entirely naked, apart from shiny black hold-up stockings and a tiny black G-string. She saw Christopher swallow hard and his tongue flick out to moisten his dry lips. Turning her back on him and walking with a provocative sway of her hips, Rebecca crossed the room. Making sure that she remained in his line of vision she picked up a silver-backed hair brush that she kept on their dressing table. Many times she would get Christopher to brush her long dark hair, but this time both he and she knew that it was intended for a very different use.
When she returned to the side of the bed, Rebecca eased her thumbs into the sides of the G-string and slowly tugged it down her legs until all she had on were the stockings. She then collected together the other items that she would need for their session, deliberately taking her time so that Christopher, watching her every move, would grow even more excited.
Finally she climbed on to the bed then straddled herself across the middle of his back while facing his feet. Then, very carefully, she tapped lightly against the cheeks of his bottom with the bristles of the hair brush. At first Christopher remained completely still but, after a few moments, his hips began to move as he tried to press himself against the mattress beneath him. Immediately Rebecca lifted the brush into the air.
‘If you don’t keep still I shall leave you tied up like this and go and sleep in the spare room,’ she said shortly.
‘I’m sorry,’ mumbled Christopher, and Rebecca smiled to herself. She knew very well how difficult this must be for him and how excited he was growing. Her own excitement was growing too, but there was a long way to go before the session was over.
Once Christopher was still again, she resumed her use of the brush. This time she flicked it far harder against his tightly muscled buttocks and, slowly, a red flush began to appear on the surface of the skin. Once both his buttocks were glowing she moved lower, using the brush against the tops of the backs of his thighs and only stopping when she reached the soft flesh of the backs of the knees. She then straightened up again so that she was sitting upright. She then placed the brush to one side.
Slowly she climbed off her lover’s back and then, standing beside the bed, slid a long-fingered slender hand beneath his helpless naked body. She could feel, by the size of his erection, that he was already perilously close to climaxing. This was something that had proved a problem early on when they had first begun to play these games. Now, however, Rebecca was an expert at preventing him from coming too soon. Carefully she squeezed his penis firmly, her thumb on the underside, with her fingers on the top of the penis just below the glans. As she gripped firmly she heard Christopher give a tiny groan of disappointment but, as usual, the technique worked well and after a few minutes she knew that his urge to come had gone.
‘You’re being rather quick tonight,’ she said in her most bossy voice. ‘It looks as though you’re going to keep me very busy.’
Christopher didn’t answer; he simply buried his face deeper in the pillow, uttering tiny sounds of mixed pleasure and despair. This was what they both loved the most and Rebecca began to tremble from the excitement of it all. She couldn’t help wondering what his fans would think if they could see him now, spreadeagled and tied on the bed, entirely at her mercy and loving every minute of it.
Next, Rebecca resumed her earlier position sitting astride him, only this time she held a bottle of massage oil. Carefully she began to apply it liberally to his back. Using long strokes she moved her hands up and down and then round and round in small circular movements. She moved her hands ahead of herself, slowly sliding them down his body until she reached the faintly pink buttocks. Ignoring those for the moment, she poured a little of the oil into the palm of one hand and carefully anointed the tips of her own breasts. Then she crouched on all fours, leaning forward so that she could anoint the backs of his thighs with oil using her breasts instead of her hands. This drove both of them wild with delight, and Rebecca’s internal muscles tightened as she felt the pressure of Christopher’s legs against her rapidly hardening nipples. The pleasure for her was so great that she almost forgot Christopher, and it was only when he uttered a muffled groan that she realised that once more he was dangerously near to reaching a climax.
Swiftly twisting round so that she was facing his head, she again reached beneath him and applied the squeeze technique until his burgeoning erection had lessened. It was always at around this point that Christopher started to become irritated. Although he enjoyed being dominated, there came a moment when he wanted to be allowed to climax and was torn between his desire to be dominated and his desire for gratification. Rebecca had decided long ago that it was best if she remained in control. Although he might make a fuss at the time, afterwards he was always incredibly grateful and the end result was wonderful for both of them.
After allowing him a short break she resumed her original position, and then slowly tipped the bottle of oil so that drops of it fell on to the base of his spine and began to seep down into the crack between his buttocks. Then, using her fingers, she began to knead them slowly and sensuously while all of Christopher’s muscles began to tighten and his hips started to move restlessly once more.
Rebecca continued this for so long that she knew it was almost beyond the kind of cruelty that Christopher really wanted, but she couldn’t help it – she was enjoying herself and her power so much. Her breasts felt large and tight, and deep within her stomach she could feel tiny flutterings while between her thighs she was already damp and more than ready for him. Eventually, she replaced the stopper in the bottle of oil and picked up the final implement for the evening’s entertainment. Christopher twisted his head round to try to see what was going to happen but she sharply ordered him to look away again. Then, very carefully, she lifted up the small but flexible rod that held a number of Thai beads.
This was one of Christopher’s favourite forms of stimulation. Rebecca prised his buttocks apart with her hands and then spread some of the oil that had seeped between them carefully around the opening to his rectum. It was only when she began to slide the tiny rod into the puckered mouth of the rectum that Christopher realised exactly what delights she had planned for him and he gave a tiny cry of delight. Rebecca inserted the rod very slowly, twisting and turning it as it slid in, the small beads rubbing against the incredibly sensitive sides of the opening. Once the rod was inserted as fully as possible, Rebecca had a choice. She could either continue twisting it or she could flick the protruding end, allowing the beads that were inside Christopher to vibrate even harder against him. After pausing for a moment to decide which would be best, Rebecca flicked at the rod and immediately Christopher’s body started to rise up from the bed.
‘If I have to tell you to keep still again,’ said Rebecca, ‘then I’m going to stop the game and leave. This is your last warning, do you understand?’
‘Yes,’ groaned Christopher. His voice was thick, barely recognisable, and beneath the mounting excitement there was also resentment at her total power over him. Rebecca continued to flick remorselessly at the rod until Christopher was groaning aloud with his ever-increasing need to climax as the stimulation intensified.
Finally, Rebecca decided that the time had come for her to gain more pleasure as well. While still flicking occasionally at the protruding end of the Thai beads, she began to slide herself up and down Christopher’s oiled back, widening her legs so that her clitoris was stimulated by the hardness of his well-muscled body.
She moved slowly at first but then with increasing speed as the wonderful hot liquid sensation at the pit of her belly intensified. As she moved herself, Rebecca also massaged her already-oiled nipple with her own fingers, and after a few moments the combined sensation meant that her entire body shivered and shook as she found a moment’s release in her first orgasm.
Beneath her, Christopher, who was not yet allowed to come, bucked furiously as he tried to throw Rebecca off him. It was double torture for him when Rebecca gained satisfaction during his torment of frustration and domination, but this only added to Rebecca’s excitement.
Suddenly, she was seized by the desire for yet another orgasm before she allowed him any kind of release. She reversed her position, which meant that she was now facing the back of Christopher’s head, then spread her entire body over his so the front of her body covered the back of his. Placing her hands on the tops of his shoulders, she used these to pull herself up and down over his oiled flesh. She knew that, quite apart from the sensations he would be feeling from her breasts and belly, he would also be driven half mad by the feel of the stockings against his legs. He loved to feel silk against his skin and, as she moved faster and faster, allowing her own excitement to mount and the flickering flame to burst into an orgasm, she heard him muttering curses into the pillow.
After her second orgasm, Rebecca carefully removed the rod from Christopher’s rectum. She did it very slowly and deliberately, allowing one bead to pop out at a time and, as each bead slowly appeared through the opening, Christopher’s body jolted. Only when it was finally removed did Rebecca climb off the bed and start to unfasten the silken scarves that tied him there.
Even though he was now free, Christopher knew better than to try to do anything on his own initiative. He remained lying face down until Rebecca gave him permission to turn on to his back. Once he was positioned there, she proceeded to re-tie him and, in addition, covered his eyes with a piece of black cloth. This meant that Christopher had no idea of how he was going to be allowed to achieve his long-awaited orgasm but, as she looked at his naked body, Rebecca could see that every well-defined muscle was taut and quivering with anticipation. His erection was huge, the glans purple, with tiny clear drops of pre-come slowly oozing from the slit.
Rebecca decided that she would give Christopher a running commentary on what she was doing. This was an entirely new idea, but she felt that it would probably be almost more than he could stand. Tonight, that gave her a strange kind of satisfaction, since she was still well aware that he had spent the afternoon interviewing attractive actresses. In a way, quite apart from giving them both intense pleasure, this session was a kind of sensual revenge.
‘I’m lifting myself up now,’ she murmured to him seductively. As she did so she squatted over his penis and then rubbed it against her clitoris.
‘Now I’m going to move my hips around and you must keep perfectly still,’ she told him calmly. Christopher’s mouth was tightly closed in a desperate effort to control himself but, despite this, a small groan escaped him. Rebecca was so carried away that she really didn’t care if Christopher was enjoying himself or not. His reward would come at the end; she was getting hers all the time. As she allowed his penis to stimulate her clitoris a hot throbbing pulse began deep within her, somewhere behind the clitoris itself, and she knew that very soon she was going to have her final orgasm. She wanted to postpone it for as long as possible in order to make it more intense. Reaching down, she grasped the root of Christopher’s penis in her hand and then descended swiftly on to it so that penetration was incredibly deep.
‘Now I’m going to move up and down on top of you,’ she whispered to Christopher.
‘I don’t think I can wait much longer,’ he gasped.
Rebecca didn’t care, but she remembered to pretend that she did. ‘You’d better, Christopher,’ she said with a tone of menace to her voice. She could feel his hardness within her increase, and smiled at the realisation of what even a simple command given in the right tone could do to him. She sensed that, despite the fact he was so close to the edge, Christopher would strain to carry out her orders, and this additional excitement only increased her own build-up to orgasm.
Now, with a keen edge of cruelty, she moved her hips around and around, sank slowly back on him, then lifted her hips in the air until only the tip of him was inside her, before plunging her body back down on to his. All the time she kept up a running commentary on what she was doing and how she was feeling.
She described how her muscles were tightening, how she felt hot and liquid in her belly, and how her breasts were feeling tight and swollen while her nipples tingled remorselessly. All at once she felt the warm glow begin to spread throughout her entire belly and up through her breasts, while between her thighs the tension increased and a deep ache started. She knew that she was only seconds away from a huge orgasm and, leaning forward with her hands on either side of his head, she dangled her breasts in front of Christopher’s face.
Although he couldn’t see them, Christopher could feel them only too well. His mouth opened and he lifted his head, searching blindly so that he could draw one of her nipples into his mouth. Taking pity on him, Rebecca carefully allowed one of the throbbing hard tips to enter his mouth. Christopher licked and sucked on it greedily, his tongue swirling around the tissue that surrounded the tip of the nipple, and Rebecca quickened the pace of her hips as she moved up and down on him.
Suddenly, Christopher drew his head back, releasing Rebecca’s nipple with startling speed as he shouted out in agonised ecstasy. Rebecca knew he could no longer control himself. Immediately she sat back so that her arms were free at her sides and, as she continued to move up and down, stimulating his desperately straining penis, she allowed the fingers of her right hand to rub slowly against her clitoris.
Rebecca had judged the moment to perfection. As Christopher gave a giant shout of satisfaction while his hips pumped furiously, Rebecca too was flooded with one of the most intense climaxes she had yet experienced with her lover. It felt as though her whole body had suffered an electrical charge, and when her muscles were finally still and the sensations slowly began to ebb away, she slumped down on top of him with her head resting on his chest.
Beneath her she could hear his racing heartbeat and, as he murmured words of gratitude and affection, she knew that this time she had managed to surpass herself. It didn’t matter how pretty the girls were he had seen that afternoon, she was well aware that, if she were able to continue satisfying him in this way, then Christopher would not look anywhere else for a permanent girlfriend.
After she had released him and they were both getting ready to sleep, Christopher held her tightly against him. ‘That was really incredible, Becky,’ he said slowly. ‘I’ve never met a woman who was so versatile. You always seem to know what it is that I need and the best thing of all is it’s what you need too.’
‘We make a very good pair,’ agreed Rebecca softly. Then, snuggling up against him, she fell happily asleep.
Exactly two weeks after her audition, Esther returned to the hall in Clapham in order to meet the other members of Christopher’s new company. He’d already announced to the press that the company would be known as ‘The People’s Theatre’. This had amused both Esther and Lydia, since they were well aware that this was Christopher’s theatre and the people were merely expected to come and adore him.
Christopher was standing at the door in order to greet everyone as they arrived. This would have been a more heartwarming gesture if it hadn’t been for the fact that on the opposite side of the road several press photographers were busy snapping away as he warmly welcomed each arrival. Esther was greeted with hugs and kisses and she heard the frantic clicking of the cameras. She smiled to herself. It would be wonderful if a photo of this were to appear in one of the American papers for Marcus to see, but she doubted if that were likely to happen. Nevertheless, it showed her that she had been right in deciding to take this job. There would clearly be plenty of publicity and, by the end of the tour, she should be more firmly established as a theatrical actress. As far as she knew, Claudine was nothing but a model, although she called herself a model and actress. This was a term that had previously caused both Esther and Marcus considerable amusement and was generally looked down upon by fully trained professional actors and actresses.
Once everyone was inside the hall, Esther looked about her with interest. She very much hoped that the other members of the company would be people she could get along with easily. It made such a difference, especially when touring was involved.
A circle of chairs had been arranged in the middle of the room and within about ten minutes Christopher had organised it so they were all sitting down. He then proceeded to introduce them to each other and Esther, with a horrible sinking sensation, realised that once the introductions had been made they were probably going to be expected to play some bonding games.
She’d had more than her fill of those at drama school and one of the big advantages of working in television was that you were not required to carry out this kind of exercise. There simply wasn’t the time. You learnt your lines, turned up on set and acted. In the theatre, as she knew from Marcus, it was all very different and these bonding games were, for some reason, considered a vital part of company work. Personally, she thought they were utterly ridiculous.
‘Right then,’ said Christopher, getting to his feet and proceeding to walk round the backs of the chairs. ‘First of all I’ll introduce the girls. This is Rebecca Leslie. Rebecca and I met at the RSC, and so I do know a little about her work. She’s as enthusiastic about this project as I am, and indeed as I hope you all are. Rebecca, is there anything you’d like to say to everyone?’
Esther wondered if they were all going to be asked to say something about themselves to the company. Her mind went utterly blank as she tried desperately to think of something intelligent or helpful that she would be able to say. While she was thinking about it, Rebecca, who Esther thought had a beautiful face with extremely dramatic features, gave a small smile. ‘I really just want to say how very grateful I am that Christopher has allowed me to be part of his wonderful idea,’ she said softly. ‘I only hope that I don’t let him down. I just know this is going to be a huge success and I’m sure we’re all going to be great, great friends.’
Looking round the circle, Esther’s eyes met those of a tall dark-haired man sitting opposite her. His face was totally impassive, and he showed none of the forced enthusiasm that was reflected in the faces of the other company members. Indeed, he looked as though the only thing he was likely to do was vomit. Esther bent her head in order to hide a grin.
Christopher moved on round the circle. ‘This is Rosie Meyer. Rosie, as you may know, has had a small part in Brookside. She’s also done quite a bit of pub theatre and is extremely enthusiastic, aren’t you, Rosie?’
Rosie smiled and nodded her head. She had brown curly hair and was a rather buxom girl with high colouring. She seemed more natural than Rebecca and, glancing round the circle said, ‘Hi everyone. Like Rebecca I’m just absolutely thrilled to be here.’
Christopher gave a smile of acknowledgement – clearly he expected everyone to say how thrilled they were to be a part of his company – and then he moved on to a red-haired girl. ‘This is Theresa Wilson,’ he continued. ‘Theresa did a wonderful audition for me. It was a most unusual reading of Lady Macbeth. I think she’s going to prove really innovative, and that’s something I hope we’ll all strive for. I believe that plays can be traditional and yet innovative at the same time.’
‘How interesting,’ murmured the dark-haired man softly.
Christopher’s eyes flickered in the direction of the speaker and he opened his mouth as though to reply but then seemed to think better of it and closed it again. ‘Is there anything you’d like to say, Theresa?’ he asked.
‘Not really,’ she replied. Her voice was quiet, and Esther wasn’t surprised that her Lady Macbeth had been innovative. It was probably the most subdued reading that anyone had ever heard. However, Theresa looked the kind of girl who might have hidden depths. ‘I’m very pleased that you liked my audition piece,’ continued Theresa, ‘and like the others I’m just so excited. I can’t wait for us to get going.’
There were only two more girls for Christopher to introduce. The first, Ellie Ford, was baby-faced in appearance but there was something slightly predatory about her, and Esther noticed that Ellie spent most of her time looking at the male members of the cast. When asked if she had anything to say, she simply shook her head and murmured her appreciation of the fact that she had been accepted into Christopher’s company. Mary Fuller, the character actress, looked to be in her late fifties. She had silver-grey hair, was slightly above average height, and had remained slim. Esther knew that she had once been a well-known ingenue but that she had kept her career going by turning in some very fine character performances. Esther had also heard rumours about Mary’s sexual preferences, but she couldn’t quite remember what they were. It was either for young men or young women and Esther would have to wait to see which was right.
When Esther herself was introduced she cringed as Christopher burst into a paean of praise, stressing the brilliance of her reading of Ophelia, and saying how lucky they were that she had been free to join them for the project. It was obvious to Esther that everyone else in the circle was as stunned as she was. After all, she had done very little except appear in some television plays and be seen on Marcus’s arm. As for her Ophelia, while it had been better than she’d expected, it certainly wouldn’t have won her best actress of the year. Obviously Christopher had his own agenda for making such a fuss of her, but she wished that he hadn’t done it. It had put her at an immediate disadvantage. Now everyone would be watching her, waiting for her to make a mistake. If you were the director’s favourite then no one else in the company was likely to be very fond of you.
When Christopher introduced the men he was far quicker about it and, while his hand had lingered on the shoulders of the actresses, he never touched any of the men. The dark-haired man, who was almost too good-looking but was saved by an edge of danger in his features, was called Damon Dowden. Esther remembered that a couple of months earlier he had turned in a brilliant Iago at the National. Apart from that she knew very little about him, but it seemed to her that Christopher was far more fortunate to have Damon in his company than he was to have Esther. Damon refused to make any comment about himself at all; he simply nodded curtly at the company and then looked at the floor.
Another of the men, Nicholas Maxwell, had been on television quite a lot. He informed them with great pride that he had once owned a street market stall and this had paid his way through drama school. Esther sensed that he disliked most actors and actresses of Christopher’s kind, but understood that he needed them if he were to make his mark. She wondered exactly what parts Christopher had in mind for him, but then realised that because of his TV appearances he was possibly to be used as a draw for the general public in some of the smaller towns.
Two of the other male actors were almost indistinguishable from each other. Noel Daniels and Michael Lester were both average in appearance with fairly long mid-brown hair, light-brown eyes, average height and, Esther suspected, of average acting skills. They seemed cheerful and energetic and were the type of actors who helped to make life easier on the road. It was obvious they knew each other well. In fact, Michael said that he had first met Noel at LAMDA and they had remained friends ever since, only ever falling out now and again over a girl. This brought the first laugh of the morning.
Finally there was George Hickey. George had to be at least sixty, thought Esther. He had grey hair, light-blue eyes and, while he looked as if he had once been slim, he was now suffering from late middle-age spread. When Christopher asked him if there was anything he wanted to say he actually got to his feet and issued what was plainly a prepared speech in which he praised Christopher, the work that Christopher had already done, and the work he was planning to do. Esther thought that, if he felt it would have helped, George would have got down on his hands and knees and grovelled round Christopher’s feet. The one thing that was obvious was he had a beautiful speaking voice and excellent diction. This was more than could be said for Nicholas Maxwell, whose market stall origins did not seem to have been ironed out by his drama school education.
When the introductions were finally over, Esther’s worst fears were realised. Christopher took his seat again and looked round at everyone with a broad smile. ‘Right then,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Now, I believe it’s essential that if we’re to work well together we learn to lose our inhibitions and trust each other. I’m sure all of you here will agree with me, and so I thought it would be a good idea if, before we started discussing or reading any of the plays, we spent a little time in getting to know each other. Let’s start with a game of zip zap boing.’
Damon Dowden uttered an audible sigh, but Noel and Michael looked extremely enthusiastic. ‘Hey, that’s a great idea,’ agreed Michael. ‘Noel and I are really good at that.’
‘Really,’ said Rebecca, sounding incredibly bored. ‘Are you any good at anything else?’
Michael grinned at her. ‘That’s for me to know and you to find out,’ he retorted.
‘Thanks, but I don’t think I’ll bother,’ replied Rebecca.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever played it,’ said Ellie. She looked helplessly around the circle. ‘Perhaps someone could tell me about it?’
‘Don’t look at me,’ said Damon, his voice surly. ‘It’s Christopher’s idea. I’m sure he can tell you what it’s all about.’
Christopher seemed surprised that Ellie didn’t know the game. ‘Is there anyone else apart from Ellie who doesn’t know how to play it?’ he asked. His tone was such that Esther doubted if anyone would confess to not knowing, even if that was the case. No one else did say anything, so Christopher explained patiently for Ellie’s benefit.
‘It’s a game where you pass round the clap,’ he said earnestly.
Both Damon and Theresa Wilson sniggered. Ellie giggled nervously while Mary Fuller watched her with interest. No one else said anything. Christopher’s ready smile deserted him. ‘I hope you’re not all going to be childish about this,’ he said shortly. ‘What I mean, Ellie, is that one of us – say Damon over there – claps, and as he claps he turns to his right and Mary, who’s sitting on his right, catches the clap and passes it on by clapping –’
‘There’s something I never knew,’ commented Damon.
‘I’d appreciate it, Damon, if you didn’t keep interrupting me,’ Christopher said irritably. ‘Now, Ellie, everyone carries on like this, turning slightly to their right and clapping, catching the clap and passing it on saying zip. Then if they say boing as they take the clap it starts going round the other way in a clockwise direction. This carries on until someone says boing again, then the clap goes back anti-clockwise. If someone says zap they’re throwing the clap across the circle to the person opposite them. You’ll soon get the hang of it; it’s fast, it’s fun and it breaks down inhibitions.’
‘I see,’ said Ellie, sounding unsure.
‘It’s really quite easy,’ Esther assured her. ‘We used to play it loads at drama school.’
‘So did we,’ confirmed Rosie. ‘Mind you, none of us got on very well so I don’t think it really worked.’
‘Well I think it’s useful,’ said Christopher firmly. ‘Can we start now please?’
They played zip zap boing for at least ten minutes and Esther was amused to notice that Damon never once made any attempt to alter the direction of the way the game was going. He simply clapped and turned to his right or clapped and turned to his left as though it was a matter of supreme indifference to him whether the game was played properly at all. However, some of them, particularly Noel and Michael, began to get noisier and noisier and the speed of the game picked up. By the end of the ten minutes there was a lot of giggling and laughter going on and Esther wondered if she was the only one feeling prematurely old and out of it. She tried hard to disguise it but had the feeling that Rebecca – who for some reason had been watching her closely right from the start – was aware of this.
‘OK,’ called Christopher at last, just when Esther thought that she couldn’t stand any more of it. ‘Now then, George, could you and Damon move that table from the end of the room and bring it just a fraction further forward. We’re going to play the falling game.’
‘If you think I’m falling off that table and letting this lot catch me you’ve got another thing coming,’ Damon said irritably. ‘I’ve joined this company to act, not play stupid games.’
Rebecca stood up, shaking her long dark hair back from her face and moving sensuously towards Damon. ‘Don’t be like that,’ she murmured, ‘it’s really important, Damon. I know you’re very experienced, but not everyone here is. It’s really up to people like you and Christopher to help the rest of us. I’m quite happy to go first. I know I can trust you to catch me.’
‘Don’t rely on it,’ said Damon as he and George started to move the table.
‘Who is he?’ whispered Rosie Meyer to Esther as the pair of them stood together while the table was being moved.
‘Damon Dowden,’ explained Esther. ‘He’s been at the National and before that I think he was at the Royal Court. He’s had some brilliant reviews for the past year or so.’
‘He’s a bit frightening, isn’t he?’ said Rosie. ‘I don’t think we’re going to get a lot of laughs out of him.’
‘He isn’t really that kind of an actor,’ said Esther. ‘Noel and Michael look good fun though.’
‘Yes,’ agreed Rosie. ‘You know,’ she confessed, ‘I didn’t expect to be picked for this company. I thought Christopher would want people with far more experience. It was only when I read what he said to the press, about trying to give young people a chance now that rep had nearly died out, that I realised why he’d taken me on.’
Esther thought that Rosie’s buxom figure and natural enthusiasm had probably played as great a part as anything in her acceptance, but she nodded and smiled. She had decided before arriving today that she was going to be very careful what she said. She had always, in the past, found it best not to get too involved with anyone but simply to get on with her work. As far as she was concerned this was her chance to show she could act. She wasn’t going to become involved in any personality clashes. In any case, she had some sympathy for Damon, who must have thought he was long past the time of having to play these kinds of games.
The falling game was always tricky. Esther had never found it easy to stand on a table, close her eyes and then simply launch herself into space relying on everyone else’s outstretched arms to safely catch her. Even at drama school it had taken all her courage and now, after such a long gap, it was even worse. She knew that she actually took far too long to launch herself off the table and heard the edge of irritation in Christopher’s voice as he urged her to jump. Of course she was safely caught, and as she opened her eyes and was set down on her feet again, she caught Damon watching her with a strange expression in his very dark-brown eyes. However, the moment he realised that she’d seen him looking, he looked away again.
Esther remembered that in the reviews of his performance of Iago, there had been tremendous enthusiasm about his extraordinary charisma on stage. She couldn’t help but think that this abundance of stage personality appeared to drain him of any charisma off it. It was also clear that he was not a good ‘group’ person.
By the end of the day they all knew each other a little better. It seemed to Esther that alliances were already being formed, although this had not been the idea of the exercises. It was impossible, though, to prevent this from happening. You could never expect twelve people, each with their own huge ego, to get on. The best you could hope for was that some of them would get on very well and that all of them would be able to tolerate each other’s foibles.
‘Tomorrow,’ said Christopher, ‘I’m going to get you to start the first read-throughs of Time and the Conways. I’m going to play around with the roles quite a bit, which means that, although you may read one role tomorrow morning, you’ll probably read a different one in the afternoon. I certainly haven’t made up my mind about casting yet.’
‘Not even yourself?’ asked Damon.
There was a sudden silence. Christopher turned and looked at Damon. ‘No, not even about myself,’ he said with an attempt at lightness.
‘Well you do surprise me,’ murmured Damon. He picked up his jacket and then walked out of the hall and off into the London streets.
‘God, he’s going to be a pain,’ said Rebecca. ‘Do you think it’s really worth having him with us, Christopher?’
‘Rebecca, I don’t want to hear any more remarks like that,’ said Christopher. ‘Damon’s a marvellous actor, as you know very well. Maybe he isn’t the easiest of people, but that’s not the point. I think I’m more than capable of dealing with him.’
Rebecca looked suitably chastened. ‘Sorry,’ she said.
‘Well, I think it’s been a terrific day,’ Noel said enthusiastically. ‘I can’t wait for the reading tomorrow. What part do you want me to read first, Christopher?’
‘I thought probably Gerald Thornton,’ said Christopher.
‘The solicitor chappy? Oh great, I’d like that.’
‘Yes, well that’s not to say you’ll be playing Gerald, it’s just the part I’d like to hear you read in the morning,’ Christopher reminded him. ‘OK, everyone, well I think we’ll call it a day for now. By the way, if anyone from the press asks you any questions about the company, I’d really prefer it if you passed them on to me. I think it’s best to have just one spokesperson for the group otherwise things can get very complicated.’
‘So much for the people’s theatre company,’ George Hickey murmured in a low voice to Mary Fuller.
Mary smiled at him. ‘Did you really expect anything different, George?’ she asked. ‘I certainly didn’t. I’m just grateful to have the chance to do this.’
‘Oh I agree,’ George replied hastily. ‘Perhaps we should go for a drink, Mary. It must be all of six years since we last met, and if my memory serves me correctly you and I could probably be quite useful to each other during this tour.’
Mary nodded in agreement and the two older actors disappeared out of the door. Eventually everyone except for Christopher, Rebecca, Esther and Nicholas had gone. Esther had been expecting to leave with Rebecca, but Nicholas drew her to one side and explained that Rebecca and Christopher were an item. ‘I thought you knew,’ he said. ‘I should think everyone else here does.’
‘I’m afraid I don’t know very much about Christopher at all,’ confessed Esther. ‘I know about his acting, of course, but not his private life.’
‘I suppose you’ve been pretty caught up in your own over the past few weeks,’ Nicholas replied tactlessly.
Esther had the feeling that she wasn’t going to like Nicholas Maxwell very much but, nevertheless, she smiled sweetly at him. ‘It’s all been pretty traumatic,’ she confessed. ‘The important thing now is to put it behind me and get on with my career. That’s why this is such a great opportunity.’
‘I’m hoping it’ll give me some street cred with all those arty directors who are stuck up their own arses,’ said Nicholas. ‘They seem to think that unless you talk in an old-style BBC voice, and come from a good background – whatever that may be – you can’t be a classical actor. They only have to look at me and they start talking EastEnders. It’s not fair. Why can’t I be just as good as Christopher?’
‘No reason at all,’ said Esther.
Nicholas accompanied her as far as the tube station and there they parted. As she travelled back to her house, Esther allowed herself a small smile. Somehow, she didn’t think that Nicholas Maxwell’s Henry V would have quite the same impact as Christopher Wheldon’s, not unless he made some attempt to improve his vowels and his voice projection.
Despite that, she felt that the day had gone well and at last she was doing what she’d trained to do – being a proper actress. For the first time in months she was looking forward to going to work the next day. Also, she realised that the entire time she’d been with the company she had only thought about Marcus once. That was such a huge improvement it was barely believable. It’s cheaper than therapy, she thought to herself as she got off at her stop.
Once she got home she prepared a light meal, had a shower, went to bed and was asleep within fifteen minutes.