He stopped and turned back to the mirror, as if he was aware that he had been talking too much.

‘Did you find Mindgame easy to do?’ Hawthorne asked.

‘Acting is never easy, Mr Hawthorne. I always say that if it’s easy, something is very much amiss. It’s an act of self-sacrifice, pulling the character from inside you. It can be painful. But that is how it should be.’

‘I was thinking about the violence at the end of Act One. And in most of Act Two.’

‘It’s not real. You surely can’t believe that it in any way connects me with what happened to Harriet Throsby.’

‘People can be violent without knowing what they’re doing.’ Hawthorne paused. ‘For example, during rehearsals I understand you hurt Sky Palmer.’

‘Did she tell you that?’

‘It’s no secret.’

Of course, I was the one who’d told Hawthorne what I’d seen. Just for once, he’d been considerate enough not to name me.

Jordan drew in a breath and I saw his hand, which had been lying flat on the make-up table, curl into a fist. ‘I am not a violent person, Mr Hawthorne, despite what you may have heard. That business with the cake, for example. I was just letting off steam. I had just read an unpleasant review and I overreacted. I do that sometimes. But if you really think I was planning to kill her, do you think I would have announced it in front of the entire company?’

Hawthorne didn’t reply.

‘As for Sky, that happened at the end of a long and tiring day. I had things on my mind. I’ll admit that there are times when I don’t know my own strength. We were rehearsing the scene where Styler and I have to tie the nurse to a chair. I had done it many, many times on the road without any issues, but just for once I suppose I lost concentration. I gripped her too tightly and I left bruises on her arms. Of course, I was mortified. Sometimes, the role, the created truth, can consume the actor. Have you read Stanislavski? That’s what happened for just a few brief seconds.’

‘You’re lucky it wasn’t Julius Caesar. There’d have been blood everywhere.’

Jordan ignored this. ‘I wrote her a note and I brought her flowers. I thought the incident had been forgiven and forgotten. I’m sorry to hear otherwise.’

‘Nobody’s complained about you, Jordan,’ I said hastily.

‘I’m glad to hear that. I’ve enjoyed my experience with Mindgame and from the start I’ve considered this to be a very happy company.’

‘Tell us about the others.’ Hawthorne had moved on. He was being positively genial now. ‘I’d be interested to know what you think of them.’

‘You mean – the other actors?’

‘Yes.’

‘As performers?’

‘As potential killers.’

‘That’s ridiculous.’ Jordan was more certain of himself now. ‘Sky Palmer is a dear, sweet girl. Tirian is a bit of a cold fish, but then he only joined the company for the London run and I haven’t had a chance to get to know him well.’