‘He’s got something,’ said Nina. ‘I would feel I could bear to cuddle him. When was the photo taken, I wonder.’

‘Who can tell? He’s called William Smith, which attracts one. The others, as you’ll see, are called Wayne and Cedric.’

‘Little horrors.’

‘Probably. But one never knows.’

‘We’ll have to see, won’t we?’ said Nina, who had recovered her poise and was determined not to get involved with Barrabell-Banquo again.

A girl from the manager’s office came through to say the juveniles had arrived, each with its parent.

‘I’ll see them one by one in the rehearsal room. Nina, would you come, dear?’

‘Yes, of course.’

They went together.

For a little while Barrabell was alone. He had offered his services as the obligatory Equity Representative for this production. It is not a job that most actors like very much. It’s not pleasant to tell a fellow player that his subscription is overdue or to appeal against an infringement, imagined or genuine, by the management, though the Dolphin in its integrity and strong ‘family’ reputation was not likely to run into trouble of that sort.

Barrabell belonged to a small, extreme leftist group called The Red Fellowship. Nobody seemed to know what it wanted except that it didn’t want anything that was established or that made money in the theatre. Dougal Macdougal was equally far on the right and wanted, or so it was believed, to bring a Jacobite pretender to the throne and restore capital punishment.

Barrabell kept his ideas to himself. Peregrine was vaguely aware of his extreme leftist views but being himself hopelessly uncommitted to anything other than the theatre, gave it no more consideration than that.

The rest of the cast were equally vague.

So when the business of appointing a representative came up and Barrabell said he’d done it before and if they liked he’d do it again, they were glad to let him be their Eq. Rep. Equity is an apolitical body and takes in all shades of opinion.

But if they were indifferent to him, he was far from being indifferent to them. He had a cast list with little signs against quite a number of names. As rehearsals went on he hoped to add to it. Dougal Macdougal’s name was boxed in. Barrabell looked at it for some time with his head on one side. He then put a question mark beside it.

The rest of the cast for the morning’s rehearsal arrived. Peregrine and Nina returned with a fresh-faced child in tow.

‘Quickest piece of casting in our records,’ said Peregrine. ‘This is William Smith, everybody. Young Macduff to you.’

The little boy’s face broke into a delightful smile. Delighted and delightful. It was transformed.

‘Hal-lo, William,’ said Dougal.

‘Hallo, sir,’ said William. Not a vowel wrong and nothing forced.