Zoe nodded and put a slice of toast on the plate. “We’ve been friends forever, and if I’d known she was going to react like this I never would have auditioned. It’s not worth it.” She tipped the eggs onto the toast. “You probably think that’s stupid.”

“It isn’t stupid at all. Envy is something that all actors have to learn to deal with. It’s hard.” Nicole paused, choosing her words carefully. “But you can’t let other people’s envy stop you doing what you are desperate to do.”

Zoe stared at the eggs, which were slowly congealing on the plate. She looked utterly miserable. “But she’s my best friend. We’ve never fought before. Not like this. And the hardest part is that when something is wrong she’s the one I talk to, but now she’s the thing that’s wrong.” Her voice cracked a little, and she paused to take a breath. “And I don’t have anyone to talk it through with.”

Milly’s fists were clenched, her distress almost as great as Zoe’s.

Nicole handed Zoe a knife and fork. “What do you think would have happened if she’d got the part and you hadn’t?”

“I don’t know.” Zoe poked her breakfast without enthusiasm. “I would have been happy for her, I hope. Disappointed too, obviously. But I wouldn’t have let it get in the way of our friendship. No way.”

She sounded so sure. There had been a time when Nicole might have said the same thing and believed it, but she knew better now.

“In every friendship there comes a point where you’re tested. You go in different directions. Things change. That can shake the firmest of relationships.” She could feel Milly looking at her, but she kept her attention on Zoe.

Zoe shrugged and ate a mouthful of breakfast, not even bothering to take the plate to the table. “You and Mum have gone in different directions, and you’re just fine.”

Nicole’s mouth was dry. “We’ve had our moments.”

“But my mum is still the first person you call when you’re in trouble, so whatever moments you’ve had, you’ve figured them out. And I have to do the same with Cally, but that’s hard when she’s not speaking to me. That’s why I’ve been thinking I might just give the whole thing up. Maybe then things will go back to how they were.”