The Strangling on the Stage Read Online Free PDF Page A

apologetically over his brow, and there was an expression of mock-innocence in his blue eyes.
    Seeing the man approach, Janie Trotman took the opportunity to detach herself from the group round Gordon Blaine and go to join some of the younger members of the company. Whether this was a pointed avoidance of the newcomer neither Carole nor Jude could not judge.
    â€˜Jude!’ Storm emoted, loud against the background hubbub. ‘I really do want you to meet Ritchie.’
    â€˜You haven’t properly met my friend Carole who—’
    But the introduction was lost as Ritchie Good – it must have been him, there couldn’t be two Ritchies in SADOS – took Jude’s hand in both of his and said, ‘Where have you been hiding all my life?’
    It was one of the corniest lines in the world, but she admired the way it was delivered. He imbued the words with a sardonic quality, at the same time sending up their cheesiness and leaving the small possibility that they could be heartfelt.
    â€˜I’ve been hiding all over the place,’ Jude replied evenly. ‘Currently in Fethering.’
    â€˜Oh, lovely Fethering, where the Fether rolls down to the sea,’ he said, for no very good reason.
    â€˜Ritchie’s our Dick Dudgeon,’ said Storm enthusiastically. ‘He’s just done a terrific read-through.’
    â€˜Well, you were no slouch yourself, Storm. It’s only possible to give a good performance when you’re up against other good actors.’
    Jude was amused by the solipsism of the compliment. While apparently praising his co-star, he was also putting himself firmly in the category of ‘good actors’.
    â€˜Well, I thought you were wonderful,’ Storm insisted. ‘You really
were
Dick Dudgeon. I was nearly tearing up in the last act.’
    â€˜Oh,’ Ritchie said airily, ‘I was just demonstrating a few shabby, manipulative tricks. My performance will get a lot more subtle as we go through the rehearsal process.’
    â€˜I’m sure it will,’ said Storm devoutly.
    Oh dear, thought Jude. She had seen the symptoms in her friend before. It looked as though Ritchie Good was in serious danger of receiving the full impact of Storm Lavelle’s adoration. And Jude didn’t think it was an encounter that would have a happy outcome.
    â€˜Oh, look, there’s Elizaveta,’ said Ritchie, waving across the bar. ‘Must go and say hello to her.’
    Storm took Jude’s arm. ‘You must come and meet Elizaveta too. She is just
so
funny.’
    And the three of them swept away. Leaving Carole with Gordon Blaine.
    Her nose, susceptible to frequent dislocation, was once again put out of joint. She was taken back to the agony of school dances, where her prettier friends had all been very friendly to her until they’d been swept away by the handsome boys. And she’d been left either pretending that the last thing on her mind was dancing, or stuck with one of the nerdy ones. Like Gordon Blaine.
    â€˜There’s a little trick I used,’ he was saying, ‘when I was building the
Midsummer Night’s Dream
set for the SADOS. Obvious, but it was surprising how few people thought of it. You see, by hingeing the flats at the back so that they could open up to reveal the cyclorama, and using gauzes for the scenes in the woods, I …’
    Carole Seddon’s eyes glazed over.

THREE
    â€˜S o I said to the director: “Do you want me to do it
your way
, or do you want me to do it
right
?”’
    This was a cue for sycophantic laughter from the group around Elizaveta Dalrymple. Jude had heard the line before – it had been attributed to various Hollywood stars – but clearly the
grand dame
of the SADOS was presenting it as her own coining.
    Elizaveta Dalrymple must have been a very beautiful young woman and in her seventies she was still striking. She wore a kaftan-style long dress in