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Back The Actresses Save as PDF
Chapters (51)
  1. Cover
  2. THE ACTRESSES
  3. About The Actresses
  4. Contents
  5. Dedication
  6. Epigraph
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. 39
  46. 40
  47. 41
  48. About Barbara Ewing
  49. Also by Barbara Ewing
  50. An Invitation from the Publisher
  51. Copyright

Emmy Lou started to laugh. ‘What do you do if someone comes before you’re ready? Like a lover or a telephone engineer?’

‘Chance would be a fine thing,’ said Frances wryly, sitting naked on her sofa. ‘You know perfectly well I haven’t had a lover for years and where I’m temping at British Telecom all the men are about fifteen and spotty. And laughingly talking of men – where’s Harry? I’ve been phoning him since ten o’clock, we don’t want to appear without any man at all do we, even if it’s the queen of Kentish Town, but all I get is his answering machine, look I’ll meet you at Victoria at twelve-thirty, and I’ll keep ringing Harry on my mobile. At least there are some advantages working for British Telecom – I don’t pay for my calls, don’t tell anyone. Now what are you wearing?’

‘My tracksuit; I’ve been jogging.’

‘No no, to the reunion.’

‘Oh.’ Emmy Lou sounded uninterested. ‘My suit?’

‘No no, it’s not that sort of formal thing, wear that blue dress, it makes you look pretty, and someone will see you and have a flash of inspiration and cast you in their new TV series and you’ll win lots of awards and make pots of money and hire a PR man and become a Star Overnight in Hollywood where I’ll join you as the next, slightly older, Rita Hayworth with my flaming auburn locks and my voluptuous and desirable figure and we’ll have a swimming pool under a magnolia tree up on the Hollywood Hills and Terence Blue will come to tea.’

‘Yes yes yes, OK OK,’ said Emmy Lou but she was laughing. ‘You don’t think Terence Blue will be there today?’

‘He might be: he was in London lately promoting his new film, he was in our class and it’s a class reunion.’

‘Well, I’ll put my blue dress on in hope! See you soon.’ Emmy Lou Brown was still smiling as she put the receiver of her white telephone down in her white flat, beside the large white bookcase that held almost every play in the English language. Automatically she glanced at herself in the mirror. Her face became serious and still. Bright sunlight shone in across the polished wooden floors and on to the white walls and on to Emmy Lou Brown herself but Emmy Lou did not see.

In the mirror she saw an actress.

*

And in the Dorchester Hotel the blonde-haired woman in the purple dress who none of them remembered, but who after today none of them would forget, stared at herself in the mirror also.

2

Pauline O’Brien Bonham, wife of the famous actor Anthony Bonham, had developed style.