‘Yes, very exciting, very early stages yet though but it’s got lots of parts and I’ll keep my eye on it. Where did you hear about it?’

‘I had dinner with Anthony Bonham in Stratford last night.’

‘Did you darling? They say he may play the lead.’

‘Yes, he says they want him. He feels he might be able to angle for the part of the wife for me.’

‘Was he serious?’ And then Anastasia coughed rather peevishly into the telephone, realising what she had said. ‘Sorry darling, but quite honestly they’ll want a bigger star than you I should think, I mean for the American end they’re talking Brando. Was he serious?’

‘He said he was serious.’

‘Good God, this would change your life, it’s the most ambitious thing that’s ever been planned in this country, or in Europe, or in America. Are you sure he was serious?’

‘He said he was serious,’ repeated Molly.

‘My God, my God, I’ll get on to them at once,’ said Anastasia excitedly.

Slowly Molly put down the phone, then turned as she heard Banjo whistling up the stairs.

‘Hello darling,’ he called.

18

‘Good evening, Copperfield Hall.’

‘Good evening, is that Mrs Beale?’

‘Yes.’

‘Mrs Beale, it’s Pauline –’ she used her stage name, the one Harry had used to introduce her ‘– Pauline O’Brien, you remember I came with Harry Donaldson to see Roger Popham last week.’

‘Ah. Miss O’Brien...’

‘Mrs Beale, I feel I can tell you now, and I’d like to come back to Copperfield Hall and tell him properly too if you agree: Roger Popham is my father.’

‘Your father?’

‘I know how strange it sounds, he knew my mother when she was young. She married someone else, Ronald O’Brien, but I’ve known since I was nineteen that a man called Roger Popham was my father, that’s why we came to see him and I – oh Mrs Beale, it’s extraordinary for me after all these years as you can imagine, and I don’t want to either shock him or upset him but – don’t you think it might be – pleasing – for him to know he had a family who would at least like to – meet him?’

There was a silence on the other end of the phone.

‘Mrs Beale – I know he was a homosexual. These things – well, these things happen.’

‘Oh my dear.’ Mrs Beale pulled herself together. ‘I’ve phoned Mr Donaldson several times, I thought he’d like to know, but kept getting his answering machine. Roger died two days ago.’

She heard Pauline’s intake of breath.

‘It was very peaceful.’ Mrs Beale was practised at this. ‘He died in his sleep, he was over eighty you know and extremely independent, it was a very good way for him to go, he would have hated to have to rely on us more than he did.’

Pauline was literally unable to speak.