Polls Apart Read Online Free PDF

morning to the sound of their radio alarm and immediately regretted the fifth glass of champagne she had carelessly swigged shortly before they left the awards ceremony. Richard – ever sensible – had advised her against drinking it, but she’d got carried away as she enjoyed all the attention that accompanied her increasing celebrity. Finally, she was starting to get the kind of admiration she had always craved. Even directors who had once looked down on her as a two-bit soap actress – as that’s how she’d started out – were now actively courting her because of the kind of publicity she could generate. All this meant Anna was no longer nervous about her nine-thirty meeting that morning with a production company in Soho. They were interested in casting her as a single mother who turns to armed robbery to support her family. Her agent had told her it was a six-part drama that they were to begin filming in June but, while only last week she’d been desperate to get the part, last night had made her realise she could now pretty much choose whatever role she wanted. In fact, she’d decided she was going to invest her all in helping Richard on the election campaign and – once happily ensconced at Number 10 – she’d start knocking on Hollywood’s door; if the directors of Tinseltown weren’t already lining up to talk to her by then.
    Richard was stirring in the bed next to her and, feeling the warmth of abounding opportunity, Anna cuddled up behind him, her hands linking across his chest. She kissed him softly between his shoulder blades. “Morning darling,” she whispered in his ear.
    Richard turned towards her, staying in his wife’s embrace. “Good morning, my love,” he said wearily. “You seem very happy for six-thirty in the morning.”
    “That’s because I’m very proud to be your wife,” she kissed him firmly, folding herself even closer into him.
    “You’re not rushing are you?” he asked with a devilish smile whilst manoeuvring himself to lie over her.
    “Not any more,” she giggled, drawing his face towards hers until their lips met.
    “Richard,” she whispered. “How about we try again for a Downing Street baby?” The brief silence that followed almost deafened Anna, who held her breath as she waited for an answer. For the last couple of months she had been pleading with Richard to try and start a family, fearing the ticking clock, but he had wanted to wait until after the election.
    “I thought you were getting all excited about your career again?” Richard asked, then immediately realised he was shooting himself in the foot by discouraging her from seeking a family life when that is exactly what Henry and all his closest colleagues were encouraging him to go for.
    “I can combine the two,” she said in a quiet voice that spoke loudly of her true desire. “I just want us to be a family, Richard. I want to give what I never had.”
    He studied her for a moment, her eyes imploring him to understand, to commit. “We can try, darling,” he smiled, kissing her gently on the forehead. “I mean, I’ve always said we could do with encouraging more young people into the party.”
    “Thank you,” she whispered, still wrapped in his embrace. As Richard leant in to kiss his wife again he thought he could see a single tear run down the side of her cheek and disappear into the pillow.
    Two hours later Anna bounced into the back seat of the Mercedes and bid a cheerful good morning to John, her regular driver with the chauffeur firm she’d been using for the last five years.
    “How’s life treating you today, John?” she asked as she rifled through her TARDIS of a handbag to try and find her mobile. It was only eight forty-five but already she noticed she had two missed calls from a number she didn’t recognise. With a little buzz of excitement at the thought it might be one of the directors she met last night trying to reach her, she hastily hit the redial button.
    A woman