Monica yanked it up round her, tucking it in, as Barton burst in. But neither Monica’s rallying exhortations, nor Barton’s hair-tearing, nor Charles’s jokes could shift Maud. Finally they all lost their tempers and shouted at her like some operatic trio admonishing a wrong-doer, and Cameron, who’d heard a great deal too much in praise of Maud recently, was only too happy to make it a quartet when she arrived.
‘For Chrissake, Maud,’ she screeched, ‘you can’t let the cast and the audience down. Don’t be so fucking unprofessional.’
‘I’m not going on,’ Maud screamed back. ‘And why did Declan miss that plane?’
‘He went to see. .’ began Cameron, then realizing she couldn’t mention Dermot MacBride in front of Monica who might tell Tony, ‘to see someone very important about the franchise.’
It was like a spark from the fire landing in a box of matches. Maud went berserk.
‘All he thinks about is his fucking franchise,’ she screamed, her face a shuddering grotesque coloured pulp of rage and misery, and, turning on her flowers, she started to tear them apart, pulling off the heads and then the petals and throwing them on the floor.
‘Shouldn’t we slap her face?’ said Cameron longingly.
‘Stop it, Maud,’ said Monica angrily. ‘That’s wanton and destructive.’
‘I don’t care,’ screamed Maud, ripping apart poor Taggie’s yellow roses.
In despair, Taggie went out into the passage and ran slap into Rupert, who was no doubt about to add his own particularly vicious brand of invective. Behind him members of the cast and the Corinium television crew were peering curiously out of doors and round corners.
‘Where is she?’ said Rupert grimly.
‘Oh, please. They’re all shouting at her. They don’t realize how frightened she is.’
Rupert paused, weighing up the options, then, like a wand fleetingly restoring her happiness, he touched Taggie’s cheek with his finger: ‘Go and get a large brandy, angel. I’ll sort her out. Shut up the lot of you,’ he yelled, as he went into the dressing-room.
‘We’ll have to play the understudy,’ said Barton despairingly, ‘even though she’s fifteen stone and about to draw her pension.’
The floor was entirely carpeted with petals now.
‘She won’t go on,’ said Cameron contemptuously.
‘I’m not surprised with you lot yelling at her,’ said Rupert. ‘Get out, everyone.’ And he slammed the door on them.
Rupert sat down on the bed and pulling Maud into his arms, gently stroking the silken shoulders, letting her cry, until gradually the sobbing and shuddering ceased.
‘There,’ said Rupert encouragingly. ‘There’s a brave girl.’
‘He wanted me to go to Ireland with them and play Maud Gonne,’ said Maud in a choked voice.
‘I know.’ Rupert went on stroking her.
‘I wanted to do it so badly, but I funked it. I didn’t want to fail again, particularly in front of Cameron. I’m sure she’s having an affair with Declan. I kept imagining them meeting secretly after a day’s shooting, and discussing how terrible I’d been.’
‘You’re a dick,’ said Rupert gently.
‘Declan fell in love with me the first time he saw me acting. I wanted him to fall in love with me all over again tonight.’
‘Declan adores you. He’s never looked at anyone else.’
‘Then why isn’t he here?’ Maud’s voice grew shrill again. For a second Rupert thought he’d lost her.
‘He went to see Dermot MacBride.’
‘The Dermot MacBride?’
Rupert nodded. ‘He’s written a new play. Declan felt if Venturer could tell the IBA we’d bought an option, it would really give us the edge.’
Maud quivered with rage. ‘I loathe the franchise,’ she said tonelessly.
‘Declan’s only obsessed with it because he sees it as the one way he’ll get you out of your financial mess. You don’t want to sell The Priory, do you?’
Maud shook her head violently: ‘Could it come to that?’
‘It almost has,’ said Rupert.
There was a knock on the door.
‘I don’t want to see anyone,’ said Maud hysterically.
Rupert wrapped the towel round her again. But it was only Taggie with an enormous brandy for Maud and an equally huge whisky for Rupert.
‘Thanks, sweetheart.’ He took them from her. ‘Now beat it.’
Maud took such a huge gulp that she choked. Rupert didn’t tell her he suspected Declan had deliberately missed the plane because his nerve had failed and he couldn’t bear seeing Maud humiliated. Nor did he say that the press were howling like jackals outside and that, if she didn’t go on, the publicity, with both her and Declan letting everyone down, would be devastating for Venturer.
‘I’m disappointed,’ he said idly. ‘I heard you practising at The Priory so often. I wanted to hear it for real, and see the others make absolute tits of themselves by comparison. Look, you’ve had a shock, why not get back into your jersey and jeans and finish that brandy.’
There was a long, long pause.
‘Better not,’ said Maud shakily, putting down her glass, ‘or I’ll start forgetting my words. I’d do better with a drop of oil to get me through all those skylarking bits.’
Rupert said nothing, but, reaching for the huge blue tin of cleansing cream, he took off the lid, gouged out a white blob and very slowly began to smear it over Maud’s face, blurring away the ravages.
‘How did you know to use that?’
‘I’ve watched enough actresses take their make-up off in my time.’
‘Most of mine’s come off on you,’ said Maud, suddenly contrite, as she noticed his hopelessly streaked evening shirt.
‘Treat it as war paint,’ said Rupert. ‘Later I’ll be doing battle with Tony.’
Docile as a child, Maud let him remove all the smeared make-up: ‘You won’t leave me?’
‘I’ll stay with you the entire evening, but I have to admit making up your face is beyond even my skills.’
Outside, Barton looked at his watch for the hundredth time. It was ten past seven. The press were howling for a decision. The understudy was already changed. If only he could make an announcement that the performance was starting late at least it would keep the audience happy.
‘If she weren’t going on,’ said Cameron, ‘Rupert would have come and told us.’
‘He was always good at boxing difficult horses,’ said Bas, who had changed into his stage clothes and was now raring to go in and comfort Maud.
As her door opened, everyone surged forward. Coming out, Rupert put a finger to his lips, then made a thumbs up sign: ‘Has anyone got any eyedrops?’
‘Mine are by appointment to the Queen Mother,’ said Monica, diving into her dressing-room to get them. ‘They jolly well make your eyes sparkle.’
46
Out in the foyer, Tony was now welcoming the Mayor and Mayoress and the Reverend Fergus Penney from the IBA, who was visiting Cotchester for the performance.
‘I have to warn you there may be hold-ups,’ purred Tony happily. ‘Declan O’Hara, who usually misses the boat, has missed the plane this time and failed to turn up on the night of his poor wife’s famous comeback. She’s gone to pieces and is refusing to go on, so the understudy is waiting in the wings. I’m afraid one really can’t rely on Venturer,’ he added to Fergus Penney, ‘but at least we can all pass the time pleasantly enough having a glass of champagne.’
Steering them through a door marked Private, he found his latest acquisition wearing a new black and gold dress to complement her newly streaked hair and getting stuck into the Bollinger.