Sally Wentworth - Set the Stars on Fire Page 2

  Lightly she said, `Aren't you working today?' `I was. But as there was a mad panic on to find you and no one else knew what you' looked like, I was yanked off the set and told to scout round for you.' Lori stared up at him in astonishment. `What are you saying? Was someone looking for me? Why didn't you tell me straightaway'?' Agitatedly she bent to pick up her kaftan and pull it on.

  `I'm afraid meeting you again put it out of my head. When you didn't go to the production office as you'd been instructed or answer the phone in your room,

  Lewis started to hit the roof and sent people scurrying after you in all directions.'

  `Lewis You mean Lewis Brent, the directory' `None other. And when Lewis Brent says run, then you run. Although,' he added with a slightly twisted grin, `I suppose that when you walk into a starring role in the way you did, you can afford to ignore his instructions and turn up when you feel like it.'

  As she sopped on her sandals Lori glared at him. `Oh, don't be so ridiculous, Tony! You know that all that temperamental actress stuff just isn't my scene at all. I didn't receive any instructions, and I checked with the desk before I came out here that there weren't any messages for me. The lines must have got crossed somewhere. The man who drove me here from the airport was most unhelpful and he didn't tell me a thing.' `Well, he probably didn't know anything he's only a glorified messenger boy. But he reported that he'd delivered you to the hotel and then Lewis gave you an hour to settle in before he asked you to report to him.

  Then, when you didn't turn up, he gave you another hour's grace before he telephoned your room and started looking for you.'

  Puzzled, Lori said, 'Two hours? But I've only been here for a…' She stopped suddenly and reached out to look at Tony's watch, then groaned. 'Oh not I was so tired that I fell asleep by the pool and must have gone out like a light. I thought I'd only dozed for a few minutes.' She groaned again. 'Oh hell l What a dismal way to start my first day. Still, it can't be helped now. I'll just have to get to the production office as fast as I can and apologise.' She started to hurry back towards the hotel buildings, Tony falling into step beside her. 'Where is the office?'

  'It's here in the hotel. They took over one of the lounges and fixed it up as an office.'

  Once inside, Lori walked quickly towards the elevators but Tony put a hand on her arm to stop her. 'You're going the wrong way, the office is down that corridor to the left.' 'But I have to go to my room and change first.' Tony shook his head. 'The great man said I was to bring you straight there.'

  'But I can't turn up like this,' Lori protested. 'I look a mess. I need to re-do my make-up and brush my hair and…'

  'Far better to turn up looking a mess than keep him waiting any longer,' Tony warned. 'That's unless you don't care how angry you make him,' he added sardonically.

  Lori bit her lip. She had a feeling that she was going to need all the confidence she could get when she faced the director, but perhaps Tony was right; at least he would know that she came immediately she received his summons. 'All right, we'll go straight there.'

  `Good.' Tony took her arm and hurried her down the corridor, and Lori approached the double door at the end feeling rather like a prisoner who was being led to the block.

  As Tony held the door open for her and she stepped inside, it was almost like entering a different world. The room was cluttered with desks and people and there seemed to be half a dozen phones ringing at the same time. On one wall there was a huge-scale map of the island, looking rather like a war-map with coloured flags stuck in it to denote the various location sites the film crew would be using, and on the right-hand side of the room a projector and screen had been set up and several people were watching and discussing some rushes that were being shown.

  But Tony gave her little time to look round before guiding her towards a large desk at the far end of the room. As they walked forward a gradual silence fell on the room as people caught sight of her and nudged one another, until ]Lori felt as if every eye in the place was on her. All, that was, except those of a tall, brown haired man who was standing .at the big desk with his back to them, examining some papers. He must have been aware of the sudden tension in the room, taut he gave no sign of it, merely continuing with his task. It wasn't until they had walked right up to him and Tony had said, with more deference than he'd shown her earlier, `Lewis, I've found your missing actress for you. She was sunbathing by the pool,' that the man finally turned round.

  Afterwards, Lori could hardly remember what he looked like. All she was aware of then was his eyes. Grey eyes, the colour of new steel, they travelled slowly over her and grew cold.

  He made no effort to speak to her and Tony added rather uncertainly, 'This is Lori West, Lewis.' Lori knew that she ought to be abjectly apologising for keeping him waiting, but somehow no words would come; it was like the mental block that you sometimes get in the theatre when your lines suddenly dry up and you find yourself standing on a brilliantly lit stage knowing that hundreds of people are watching you and your limbs and voice are completely frozen. The silence lengthened until Lori's nerves began to grate and she could feel her heart beating loudly in her ears.

  At last the director said slowly, sardonically, 'Ah, yes, Miss West. How good of you to join us. I must apologise for inconveniencing you by taking you away from your sunbathing, but there are one or two small matters that require your presence if this film is ever to be made.

  Although we will, of course, try not to take up too much of your time.'

  He had an attractive voice, low and level, and he spoke as well as an actor, but the vitriolic sarcasm in his tone made the colour drain from Lori's cheeks leaving her white-faced and trembling. And the fact that everyone in the room was openly listening to her humiliation at Lewis Brent's hands could only add to her misery.

  He went on in the same tone, 'As you will have seen from your call sheet, the wardrobe department are waiting to take your measurements so that they can make any necessary alterations to…'

  Lori found her voice at last even though it was shaking, 'C-call sheet?'

  Tony interposed quickly, 'Lori hasn't been in a film before Lewis. She probably doesn't know what a call sheet is.'

  `No one is more aware than I that Miss West is not a film actress,' the director answered derisively. ‘A call sheet, Miss West, is the list of instructions given out by this office each evening to every member of the cast and crew telling them what filming is taking place the following day: where to meet, what scenes will be shot, what equipment and props will be necessary, that sort of thing. It also…'

  Two bright spots of colour had come into Lori's checks at his continuing derisiveness. `I know what it is,' she told him, tight-lipped. `I meant that I hadn't been given one.'

  The grey eyes swept over her again, then he turned with exaggerated patience and looked at a girl who was seated at a much smaller desk nearby. `.Joan, did you see that Miss West got her call sheet, as I asked?'

  The girl answered immediately, `Yes, Lewis, I took it up to her room personally as soon as I'd booked the room with the management.'

  Lori felt a wave of anger surge- through her, bringing a flush to her cheeks. `I tell you it wasn't there!'

  For a moment his mouth curled contemptuously, then Lewis Brent gave a dismissive shrug.

  `It hardly matters now anyway, it would be completely behind schedule and I don't intend to waste more time by arguing about it.' He looked round and beckoned a couple of women who had been hovering nearby over. `Lydia, you'd better take Miss West's measurements while I tell her how far we've got with filming. This is Lydia Grey, our wardrobe mistress,' he added to Lori as an after thought.

  `What size shoes do you take' the woman asked Lori.

  'Oh-fours.'

  .She pursed her lips. 'Mm, you might be able to get into the ones we've had made, then. The previous actress had very dainty feet,' she added, making Lori feel like an elephant. 'You'll have to take off that kaftan, dear, I can't take your measurements with it
on,' she said reasonably.

  'But I…' Lori stared at her appalled, feeling an irrational abhorrence of standing almost naked in front of this arrogant, dislikeable man. 'I've only got a bikini on underneath. Couldn't it wait until later?' she asked, lowering her voice.

  The woman gave her a straight look. 'Not unless you want to antagonise the director even further.' 'Is anything the matter?' Lewis Brent broke in impatiently, as he waited, a sheaf of papers in his hand, to talk to her.

  'No, nothing,' Lori answered rather hollowly, and undid the string at the neck of the robe and slipped it off her shoulders to let it fall at her feet.

  People had started talking again for a few minutes, but now they fell silent once more and Lori could feel every eye running over her tall, slim figure as she stood in a shaft of sunlight from the window. Lewis Brent, too, looked at her. Lori had experienced many men's reactions on first seeing her in a swimsuit and most of them had been frankly sensual, but she had never before met anyone who seemed so completely unaware of her beauty and attractiveness. The eyes that came back to meet her rather defiant ones were entirely impersonal and cold. His voice was also icy as he looked round the silent room and said loudly, 'Doesn't anyone here have any work to do?' and there was an immediate bustle as everyone hastily got back to work.

  As the women started to take her measurements he glanced at his' papers, his voice authoritative as he got down to business. `Now, as you know, we've already been on location for two weeks and have shot several scenes which included your part. I've been going through the rushes of these with other members of the crew and we find that there are about five scenes where the close-ups will have to be re-shot with your face, and we've decided to give priority to these. The wardrobe department will alter the necessary costumes tonight and we'll start filming first thing in the morning. Luckily all the sets are still in place for the indoor scenes.'

  He paused while Lori lifted up her hair so that they could cut a lock to use as a sample for a wig, then went on, `As you know from reading the shooting script, this is a period drama set in… ‘

  Unhappily Lori broke in, `I haven't gat a script. I don't even know what the film is about.'

  His lips thinned and he turned to his secretary again.

  `Joan?'

  `A shooting script was flown out to London as soon as we knew Miss West was going to be offered the part,' the girl answered readily.

  `But I didn't receive it!' Lori protested. `See that Miss West is given another shooting script immediately,' Lewis Brent instructed, his slight but deliberate emphasis of the word `another' making it a downright insult.

  Lori Hushed hotly; she had taken just about as much as she could stand from Lewis Brent. `I tell you I never received one !' Her voice rose. `Are you accusing me of lying?'

  Having already been told off once, everyone in the room pretended to get on with their work while at the same time avidly trying to listen to the confrontation between the director and this completely unknown and untried actress. Most of them held their breath, astounded at her temerity and waiting for thunderbolts to descend on her head.

  Lewis Brent became suddenly still and his eyes froze her, although she managed somehow to stare defiantly back at him. Then suddenly the fight went out of her and she muttered an apology, lifting a hand tiredly to her eyes.

  He looked at her for a moment longer, then, much to her surprise, went on as if she had never defied him, had never capitulated. 'The film is basically the siege of Rhodes by the Sultan Suleiman in 1522 against the Knights of St John who had held the island for over two hundred years. Your part is that of a young girl whose ship is attacked by pirates, but she is saved by being disguised as a boy and manages to swim ashore on to Rhodes. There she's found by Sir Richard Gretton-that's the part played by Dean Farrow, the American actor, and the other romantic lead-and of course he mistakes you for a boy. As far as you're concerned the rest of the film is the development of a growing relationship between the two of you, which the knight tries to fight because he thinks it's an unnatural one. However, when he finds out who you really are he makes love to you, but then sends you away because of the vows of chastity he's taken when joining the Order of St. John. But then, while the island is besieged, you're captured by the Turks and he steals into their camp to rescue you. And in the end he takes you with him when the remaining knights are allowed to leave the island.' Lori's eyes had lit with interest as he talked and she felt a thrill of excitement and anticipation; the part was far larger and more important than she had been led to expect, and again she couldn't believe her luck.

  But excitement was instantly quashed as Lewis Brent said repressively, `Don't start getting any ideas about the film being a love story revolving round the two of you. The romantic angle has been written in simply as a sop to women picture goers and because the production company insisted on it; it's purely incidental to the main story, which is about the six months' siege.' His eyes narrowed and' he added, `And if I think that your performance detracts from the film then the whole part will end up where it belongs—on the cutting room floor.'

  The women had finished their measuring and Lori bent to pick up the kaftan and slip it on before she turned to face him, her eyes over-bright in her white face. `is there anything else you want to tell me?'

  His tone became sarcastic again. `Not at the moment. A call sheet for tomorrow's shooting will be sent up to your room, and if you could manage to arrive on time, preferably having learnt the dialogue for the scenes, we would all, of course, be extremely grateful. You can go now, Miss West-and I hope we haven't kept you from your sunbathing for too long. Joan, have you got the new script for Miss West?'

  The secretary brought the fat shooting script and silently handed it to Lori, her eyes mocking.

  `Thank you.' Lori took it and turned to look at the director, her face set. `And thank you, Mr Brent, for your welcome to the company.' Then she turned on her heel and walked quickly from the room, head high, her eyes looking straight ahead and oblivious of the curious glances that followed her.

  CHAPTER TWO

  THE wait for an elevator seemed interminable, but at last one came and Lori was able to shut herself into the comparative sanctuary of her room. For a few minutes she leaned against the door, her eyes closed, willing herself to stop shaking. That man! That damnable man! Who the hell did he think he was-God? How dared he treat her so rudely-and in front of other members of the crew? Gradually her trembling eased a little and she moved slowly forward to sit on the edge of the bed and put a hand up to her mouth, biting hard to keep from crying.

  Why? Why had he been so hateful? Okay, so she'd been late and there had been a mix-up over the call sheet and script, but surely that didn't warrant the way he'd treated her. His dislike of her seemed to have been already there, just waiting to be turned on her the moment she arrived, which was totally the wrong attitude for a man in his position. All right, he needed to be determined and authoritative when the occasion arose, but the basic criterion of a director was that he establish a good working relationship with his actors and put them at their ease so that he could draw the very best performance out of them. But instead he had deliberately antagonised her, and she knew that tomorrow morning when she started work she would not only be nervous because of her inexperience in this new genre, but would also be tense and on edge in case Lewis Brent started picking on her again, criticising her work in front of other members of the cast and carrying on this personal antipathy he seemed to have against her. And she had to work with him for three months!

  The temptation to just turn round and take the first plane back to England, to run away from the whole sordid business, was almost irresistible. Lori actually got to her feet and started to put some things back into her case before she stopped suddenly and stood very still as a new thought came to her. Was that what he wanted? Was that what the whole nasty scene in the production office had been about? To make her feel so upset and unwanted that she would give up the par
t and go?

  She began to pace up and down the room, trying to figure it out in her mind. Had Lewis Brent really tried to get rid of her? If he had, then the only reason she could think of was because he had wanted the part to go to someone else and had been overruled, which was unusual, because the director usually had an important voice when it came to choosing the cast; after all, he was the one who would have to work with them. And if he had had a disagreement with the producer over who should play her part, then it would suit Lewis Brent very well if she walked out or gave such a bad performance that he could justifiably say that she was no good and get her fired. And that thought made Lori wonder yet again why the original actress cast for the role had left. Was it because she had had the same treatment meted out to herd

  Lori wasn't aware of having made a conscious decision, but she suddenly knew, quite certainly, that she wasn't going to let Lewis Brent push her out of the best chance she would ever have to establish herself at the peak of her profession. If she walked out now everyone in show business would get to hear of it and she'd be lucky if she ever worked again. In a profession where beautiful, talented girls are two a penny there was no room for anything but complete dedication to the art, and anyone who was too weak to stand the pace soon found themselves out of work or reduced to wearing

  G-string bikinis and draping themselves over hoods of cars at motor shows! And that was something Lori would never do. She had fought and worked to get where she was far too long to throw it all away just because a man like Lewis Brent had taken a dislike to her. It didn't matter what he handed out to her, she would take it on the chin and come back for more until this beastly film was finished. It was only three months, and three months wasn't very long. No? Only a quarter of a year, a whole summer! For a moment her heart failed her, but then Lori remembered the years at drama college and in repertory where her bit parts had gradually increased to the ingenue lead, and then the audition for a good part in the West End which had led to her break into television and roles that she could really get her teeth into. No, not for anything would she give all that up, not for the worst that Lewis Brent could hand out to her.