Leading Lady Read Online Free PDF Page B

flattery. Normally she took compliments like
these in stride. Other fans fawned, no doubt attracted by her
celebrity, whereas Kray seemed to hold more sincerity.
    “I knew your potential for both when I saw The Regal Plot ,” Kray continued.
    “You saw my film?”
    “We both have, many times,” Lane said, and
she jumped again at his voice. “It’s our favorite movie, because
you’re in it.”
    No . These men were but children when
that film was released, and The Regal Plot wasn’t suitable
for children. It wasn’t available on video or DVD, and had never
been on television. Dina was amazed enough that Kray knew the
title, as she had never bothered mentioning it in her official
biography for these conventions.
    “H-how?” she asked.
    “Dina.” Kray came forward and covered Lane’s
hands with his own. “I have the original film reels, willed to me
by the director.”
    “What? You knew Alan?”
    Kray looked at her, the sincerity glowing
evident in his eyes. “He was my grandfather, and he loved you very
much, as I love you now.”
     
    * * * * *
     
    She wasn’t buying it. Kray could tell
immediately from her reaction. Lane’s soft sigh of defeat, wafting
in the background, offered little encouragement.
    Dina’s guarded expression cut deep into
Kray’s heart. He could almost feel the blood flooding his body,
heating his skin at the thought of what was to come. He turned
quickly to see Lane appeared equally unnerved, knowing their
secrets were to be revealed. For Dina’s sake, and for their future,
however, Kray knew it was an eventuality they had to face.
Premature though it seemed, it had to be done quickly and
convincingly.
    As many times as he had practiced his words,
Kray expected the tremor in his voice. He wanted to cringe. He
sounded like a fraud.
    “Dina,” he said, taking her by the elbow.
“Sit.” His relief came as small comfort when she did not resist.
She perched on the edge of the bed between the two men.
    “This is impossible,” she was saying. “I knew
Alan for years, and he never married or had kids. You can’t
possibly be his grandchild.”
    “I’m telling the truth, Dina. Alan Widmark was married, for a time, although…” He sighed and pinched
his eyes shut for two seconds. How to say this without looking the
fool? He would have to be as good an actor as Dina.
    “Although,” he repeated, “he was not married here .”
    “Here?” Dina frowned. “Here as in this
hotel ? That makes no sense. You mean, here as in Toronto ?” She huffed. “You know, if you’re married in one
place, it sticks wherever you go.”
    “Dina.” Kray shook his head. Her acerbic
nature wasn’t making this any easier. Best to go for the jugular,
he decided. “Dina, pull on my ears. Take them off.”
    Dina complied, and Kray relaxed and let
himself be tugged to and fro in the futile effort. Her cry of
fearful surprise hurt nearly as much as her fingers did pinching
the pointed outer shell of his right ear.
    “We are elves, Dina,” he said, “Lane and I.
Real, live elves. We are not playing dress up like the others at
this convention. This is who we are.”
    “No,” she whispered. “Y-you just used a
stronger stage glue for those ears.” Her eyes widened, and with
trembling fingers, she snatched at one of Lane’s ears as if to
prove Kray wrong. Lane let out a soft gasp when Dina proved herself
incorrect.
    “No.” No . The word sliced Kray’s soul
in two. How could he convince her?
     
    * * * * *
     
    Okay, now this was really getting
weird.
    Whatever makeup artist they used did quality
work. Dina hadn’t bothered to notice the ears in detail, but as she
tugged stubbornly at them, she noted how seamlessly the outer
shells came to a point. The physical anomaly looked real,
but it couldn’t possibly be…
    She glanced from Lane to Kray. Their
expressions were so sincere, and they wanted her to believe them.
Nuts, the both of them. Elves didn’t exist. Elves were cartoons
that lived in