he had tried to keep himself well under control, the thrillingly erotic, sensual touch of her hands and mouth on his body had overcome all restraint. Helplessly gripped by the fierce power of a deep primeval force, the like of which he’d never known before, he’d finally possessed her with a raging, thrusting urgency, the loud, pounding thud of her heart beating in rapid unison with his own as they’d both climaxed together in wave upon wave of ecstasy, before spiralling dizzily back down to earth.
Afterwards, as they’d lain entwined together in languorous warmth and tenderness, with Ace gently brushing tendrils of that wonderful fiery red hair from her damp brow, he’d known with absolute certainty that he had never, until that moment, experienced such overwhelming joy and happiness.
Try as he might, he’d been quite unable to forget the impact of that utterly astounding, spellbinding experience. Unfortunately, however much he might have loathed the idea, Ace had known that he had no choice but to return to his new, heavy responsibilities in England. It was also clear that, with the width of the Atlantic Ocean as a permanent barrier between himself and Eloise, there could be no ‘happy ever after’ ending to their brief night of passion.
Besides, he was old enough to know that the sooner he did his best to put Eloise out of his mind, the better. There was obviously no way that they would ever meet again. And to be continually recalling the wondrous, soft quality of her skin, the truly dazzling heights which they’d attained in their lovemaking, could only make his present-day life even harder than it was already.
Lois gazed out of the window of the limousine as it sped along the motorway. The countryside was so different from that in the United States; it was taking her some time to get used to the very small scale of local geography here in England.
London, of course, had been great. When she’d first arrived in the country, some three weeks ago, she’d managed to find the time—amidst costume fittings, voice coaching sessions and learning her script—to see the usual tourist sights of Buckingham Palace, the Tower and Westminster Abbey. But, this last week, which had been spent filming location shots outside various old houses all over the country, had been something else! In fact...
‘You’re going to love this house. It’s far grander than the others we’ve used so far.’
‘Hmm...?’ Lois turned to look at her personal assistant, Peggy Fraser. who was leafing through a large file on her lap.
‘Now... this is what I call a real stately home,’ the English girl said, handing Lois a large black and white photograph.
‘It certainly looks impressive,’ Lois agreed, gazing at the picture of a classical Georgian-style Palladian mansion, whose entrance was dominated by huge stone pillars above a broad, sweeping expanse of wide stone steps. ‘What’s the interior like?’
‘Absolutely frightful!’ the other girl laughed. ‘In fact, the main rooms are in a terrible state. But, as the producer says, that’s all to the good. It’s meant that we’ve had a completely free hand in the decoration.’
‘Are we really staying there?’ Lois frowned. ‘It looks pretty uncomfortable to me. What’s wrong with a nice, quiet local hotel?’
Peggy shrugged. ‘I understand the film company negotiated a really good package deal with the owner. Which means that we can use practically the whole house—including all twenty-five bedrooms!—and the catering company will have masses of room in the enormous kitchens. In fact,’ the small blonde girl added with a grin, ‘I reckon it’s going to be a lot of fun.’
‘In your dreams!’ Lois told her assistant gloomily. ‘I’ll lay you any odds that the plumbing will be practically non-existent. And I don’t suppose that anyone will be too familiar with those important words “constant hot water”, either!’
‘Well, you may have a point,’ Peggy admitted. ‘But with the schedules having to be altered at the last minute...’ She shrugged. ‘I suppose this is the best that the production team could come up with under the circumstances.’
‘I guess you’re right,’ Lois sighed, well aware that it was solely her fault that there had been such frantically hurried necessary changes in the film’s shooting schedule.
Unfortunately, her appointment to see an eminent doctor in Harley Street, two weeks ago, had been fairly traumatic. Not being entirely a fool, she’d had a very good idea that he would confirm her suspicions. But, all the same...the whole scenario was definitely an earth-shattering one.
However, she was going to have to pull herself together pretty damn fast. Especially since the American backers of this new film had made it abundantly clear that the whole show was now riding on her slim shoulders.
‘We know that you’ll do us proud,’ Sol Weiser had said, when she’d signed the contract some months ago, his wide, beaming smile not reflected in those cold, small piggy eyes. ‘But, let’s face it, darling—without your name on the credits, we wouldn’t have dreamed of putting up the money for this arty type of film. So, we’re all going to make sure it’s a success, right?’
‘I’ll certainly do my best. It won’t be my fault if this film bombs at the box office,’ she’d told him with a confident smile.
However, after leaving his office, Lois had known that she wouldn’t be human if she hadn’t been plagued by doubts. Which had made it all the more nerve-racking when she’d had to phone Sol last week and tell him the news: she’d just discovered she was expecting a baby.
There had been an ominous silence for three days, before she’d heard that the film had been given the goahead. Although, in view of her changed circumstances, the schedule had been drastically altered.
‘I’d like to pull the plug on this production,’ Sol had told her, his voice heavy with disapproval. ‘But the other backers seem to feel that if Madonna could manage to cope with the problem—and have such a great success with Evita—we ought to take a chance that you, too, can pull it off. But, I don’t want any press exposure. So I expect everyone to keep their mouths buttoned up real tight. Do I make myself clear?’ he’d added menacingly.
‘As daylight,’ she’d assured him fervently. ‘After all, Sol, I’m hardly likely to want to....’ Her voice had faltered as she heard him slam down the phone.
So, now only the director, the producer and Peggy Fraser had been told the truth.
Peggy’s involvement had been crucial, of course. Originally employed as the English costume designer, she’d also agreed to act as Lois’ personal assistant, so as to keep the pregnancy as secret at possible.
As Peggy had pointed out, the fact that the film was set in the nineteenth century Regency period was going to be an enormous help. ‘The high-waisted dresses of the time are just about perfect for your condition,’ she’d told Lois during the costume fittings in London. ‘We shouldn’t have a problem disguising any thickening of your figure.’
Let’s hope she’s right, Lois told herself now, turning her head to gaze out of the window once more. Because she really wanted this film to be a great success.
Adapted from a short story by Jane Austen, written when the author was a young girl, Lady Susan should—if everything went according to plan—provide her with a golden opportunity to prove that she could extend her repertoire and succeed in playing a classic role. Lois had been excited by the screenplay—and the opportunity to play the lead
