‘I heard about the tour,’ he said. ‘They were a reasonably good company.’

‘They paid quite well and I did broadcasting too. I saved up enough to keep me in England for six months and got a job as an assistant children’s minder in a ship. Perhaps I should explain that my father lost pretty well everything in the slump, and we are poor people. I had my money in traveller’s cheques and the day we landed they were stolen out of my bag, together with my letters of introduction. The bank will probably be able to stop them and let me have it back but until they decide, I’m hard up. That’s all.’

‘How long have you been here?’

‘A fortnight.’

‘Where have you tried?’

‘Agencies. All the London theatres, I think.’

‘This one last? Why?’

‘One of them had to be last.’

‘Did you know of this—connection—as you call it?’

‘Yes. My mother knew of it.’

‘And the resemblance?’

‘I—we saw your pictures—people sometimes said—’ They looked at each other, warily, with guarded interest.

‘And you deliberately fought shy of this theatre because you knew I was playing here?’

‘Yes.’

‘Did you know about this piece? The girl’s part?’

Martyn was beginning to be very tired. A weariness of spirit and body seeped up through her being in a sluggish tide. She was near to tears and thrust her hand nervously through her short hair. He made some kind of ejaculation and she said at once: ‘I didn’t mean to do that.’

‘But you knew about the part when you came here?’

‘There’s a lot of gossip at the agencies when you’re waiting. A girl I stood next to in the queue at Garnet Marks’ told me they wanted someone at the Vulcan who could be made up to look like you. She’d got it all muddled up with yesterday’s auditions for the touring company in another piece.’

‘So you thought you’d try?’

‘Yes. I was a bit desperate by then. I thought I’d try.’

‘Without, I suppose, mentioning this famous “connection”?’

‘Yes.’

‘And finding there was nothing for you in the piece you applied for the job of dresser?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well,’ he said, ‘it’s fantastic, but at least it’s less fantastic than pure coincidence would have been. One rather respects you by the way, if it’s not impertinent in a second cousin once removed to say so.’

‘Thank you,’ she said vaguely.

‘The question is: What are we going to do about it?’

Martyn turned away to the ranks of dresses and with businesslike movements of her trembling hands, tweaked at the sheets that covered them. She said briskly: ‘I realize of course that I’ll have to go. Perhaps Miss Hamilton—’

‘You think you ought to go?’ his voice said behind her. ‘I suppose you’re right. It’s an awkward business.’

‘I’m sorry.’