by Lynn Forth
‘I don’t know when she first found out Bruno was cheating on her, but it wasn’t long. Some of what happened I know from her, some from her two closest friends at the time. They stood by her, and they have told me enough to piece things together.
‘Actually,’ he turned to Jane, ‘you’ve met them both. Robyn – you know, Scott’s mother – the little blonde you met earlier tonight. And Mimi, at the dress shop. Both feisty women who took Mum under their much more experienced Hollywood wings, thank goodness.’
‘Oh yes. I liked them both.’
‘Yup. I owe them a lot.’
Jane leaned forward. If only she could help him. But he was gazing into the past with clouded eyes.
‘Mum soon realised she was well and truly trapped in an awful marriage. Her pride meant she couldn’t go back to England and have her parents say, “I told you so.” And as you have seen, my father has a temper. At first, he didn’t actually hit her, presumably because he needed her to look good for filming, but she began to be very afraid of him.’
Jane saw his fists clench in anger. He began pacing again.
‘So, when she found out that she had become pregnant with me, she knew he would be furious. She didn’t know what to do. She was just going for a major role in a big movie, so she tried to hide it. But although she was a very good actress on screen, in real life she was never good at subterfuge and, of course, Bruno soon guessed. He was livid, and this time he did hit her, and demanded she had an abortion.’
Jane could see a pulse throbbing at his temple and suspected Jack was waiting for his anger to subside a little before he could go on.
‘She was really frightened of what he might do, so she pretended to agree. But secretly, she decided to go back to England, which wasn’t easy. She daren’t pack anything, and he always made sure she had no money of her own.’
He ran his hands through his hair, clearly distraught at his mother’s ordeal.
‘That’s when Mimi and Robyn really helped her. They told Bruno they were going out for a “girly lunch”, and took her to the airport. They gave her some of their own clothes and stuff, and paid for her ticket between them. They then lied about her whereabouts until she was safely on the plane and on her way back to England. It was a close call.’
His jaw clenched with tension and his hand went to the scar on his forehead.
‘Of course, there was a danger that he would follow her to England and, as her husband, he might have been able to force her back here. So, her friends had to make sure that didn’t happen. Mimi had taken the precaution of photographing Mum’s bruises and threatened that she would sell the pictures, and the whole story, to the magazines if he dared to follow her to England.
‘So, although Bruno was furious, he could do nothing. As an ambitious Hollywood agent, he needed his client list and daren’t be involved with scandal.’
Jack’s lips twisted in a sardonic grin. ‘He has always been very worried by the threat of scandal. It’s his Achilles’ heel because he knows some agents who have lost everything when a bad story has broken.
‘Mind you,’ he said grimly, ‘he made sure Mimi never worked in films again. Hence the dress shop. Robyn was only safe because her first husband was a big producer.’
Still standing at the open window, oblivious to the distant sounds of the party, he shook his head, clearly thinking of his mother’s narrow escape and how he might never have been born.
Jane was pale with anger and horror. She could imagine what it was costing Jack to relive his mum’s plight. ‘What an awful man. But having met him, only for that short time, I can well believe it.’
She came to stand next to him and clasped his hand in hers. This seemed to startle him, but brought him back to the present.
With a rueful grin, he turned to her. ‘There you are. That goes some of the way to explain why I hate Bruno so much.’
But it doesn’t explain why he hates you so much, Jane thought. Surely his wife escaping to England to have a baby…England!
With a jolt, Jane suddenly realised something. ‘So, you were born in England, then?’
‘Aye, lass, that I was.’ Jack’s face broke into an unexpected grin as he used a long-buried accent and phrase. ‘And as you can probably tell, not too far from where you live. I recognised your accent straight away.’
Jane gasped and laughed. ‘This is incredible. I never would have guessed. You sound totally American.’
‘Survival technique,’ Jack said shortly. ‘As you probably found out tonight, everyone loves an English accent. But thirteen-year-old boys don’t like it if your accent is attracting all the girls who keep saying how cute you are. They can soon rearrange your features so you aren’t as cute anymore. I got fed up of fighting and quickly learned to blend in, so the English accent was one of the first things to go.’
‘Whoa, hang on a minute. You were born in England and then suddenly you are aged thirteen and here in America. How did that happen?’ Jane was puzzled.
‘I was twelve actually, but I was just thirteen by the time I went to school. Thirteen going on thirty. I think the phrase “steep learning curve” is normally used to explain this sort of situation. Believe me, mine wasn’t a curve, it was a vertical cliff face.’
Glancing at Jane’s concerned face, he continued grimly, ‘OK, I suppose having told you all that, I better tell you how I ended up here…in tinselly Tinseltown. Only you and I know how far away it is in everything from rural Yorkshire.’
‘Aye, lad. The phrase “chalk and cheese” springs to mind,’ she joked, and was relieved when Jack smiled. She’d do anything to stop that crease between his eyes returning, as it inevitably did once he forced himself to continue.
‘As you might guess, Bruno divorced Mum and never gave her a penny for my upkeep. He also made sure she never got anything from her film royalties. Luckily, my grandparents welcomed her back with open arms and, although money was tight, I grew up very happily in England.’
Here he stopped, and seemed unwilling to say any more. When he did, Jane could hear that anger had been replaced with pain.
‘But then when I was twelve, Mum got sick…very sick. She hid it from me for as long as she could, but eventually even I knew she wasn’t going to get better. My grandfather had died, and my grandmother was old and frail by then, and I think Mum was worried about what would happen to me. So,’ he paused and seemed to gulp back a little emotion, ‘she wrote to Bruno.’
Jane noticed Jack never once referred to him as ‘my father’.
‘She sent him photos showing how much I looked like him. Maybe that’s why he sent for me when…when she died.’
The bleakness of Jack’s voice at these simple words, spoke volumes of grief, hurt, and a profound emptiness.
Jane instinctively squeezed his hand again. His shoulders slumped, as if sharing his story had drained him of emotion. She longed to protect him, so she gently led him to the small sofa where he sat down heavily next to her.
‘So, that’s how I came to live with Bruno in Hollywood,’ he said simply.
She gasped as she tried to imagine the young Jack’s culture shock. If she, as a grown woman, felt adrift in the Hollywood world, how would a grieving young boy have felt? No wonder he had called it a vertical learning curve.
‘But you had never even met your father. You were all on your own… It must have been…’
‘Not very nice?’ he suggested, with a bitter grin.
Jane thumped him. ‘Don’t you dare do that typically English understatement thing to hide just how bad it was.’
‘Look, I survived.’ He shrugged, clearly unwilling to go into details. ‘At first, I was a novelty. Bruno loved having a son, a mini-me. He touted me around, but I soon got fed up with playing his games, and he soon got fed up with his new toy. As I listened to him lying to people and schmoozing them, I realised he was a complete hypocrite. I actually contradicted him a couple of times in public, which didn’t go down well. He’s pretty handy with
his fists.’
‘What a bully. Couldn’t you tell anyone?’
‘Who? He had taken me in. To outside eyes, he was providing me with everything anyone could want. More even. He gave me a fantastic allowance,’ here Jack waggled his fingers into quotes, ‘as “befits the son of a major Hollywood agent”. He was then, and still is, very concerned with appearances, so his son had to have everything all the other kids had – and more. I didn’t want it, but refusing anything caused rows so I just kept schtum. To all intents and purposes, I was living a great life. He has to look good, put on a show. Look at the party tonight. It will have to figure in industry journals and gossip mags as a huge success.’
Jane nodded. The lights and noise of the party were obvious through the large open window. Tarka had said it was a major event and would feature in all the Hollywood press. Which is why, she realised, Scott had been so keen that she should look good. And why, as they’d entered the party to that barrage of cameras, Scott had twirled her around like a puppet, muttering impatiently in her ear about how to pose properly.
She wondered briefly where he was now, and whether he had missed her at all. Was he even aware of the commotion surrounding her and Jack?
Probably not. It sounded as if Bruno was taking great care that nothing should disrupt the party. Not even his desire to oust his son.
‘So, you were completely alone, in a strange country where you knew no-one, with a man who hit you.’
‘You make it sound so dramatic, so tragic.’
‘Well, it was. Don’t you dare underplay it.’
‘No, it wasn’t as bad as all that. I’m a quick learner; I kept out of his way and he kept out of mine. This was my bit of the house, and Johnson, our butler, and Juanita, our maid, liked me and looked after me so I rarely saw him. Suited us both that way.’
‘But weren’t you incredibly lonely?’
A shrug. ‘I got to be pretty self-sufficient. And I did have people I could turn to. Auntie Robyn and Auntie Mimi took me under their wings, just as they did with Mum. They knew what Bruno was like and offered to let me stay any time I wanted. But I was proud and I knew how vindictive Bruno could be if crossed, so I didn’t want to compromise them.’
Jane squeezed his hand. What could she say?
‘Don’t look like that. I’m not telling you these things to upset you. It wasn’t all bad. I involved myself in school stuff. Wrote plays for the drama club, which came in pretty handy later. It was there I met Carmen.’
He grinned. ‘Carmen…rightly named, just like in the opera. She led me a merry dance, I can tell you. Great girlfriend with a great family. I spent a lot of time there. Even when Carmen broke with me for a more exciting guy, we remained friends, and so did the family. In fact, you’ve met her dad, Hank.’
‘Hank? Our Hank? The security guard?’
‘Yes, and his wife, Dolores.’
‘He said she was here tonight, helping with catering.’
‘Yes, I thought she might be. There’s no way Hank would come here unless he had to. Making sure Dolores is OK is the only reason he’s here.’
‘He said it was to pay for his daughters’ shoes.’
Jack laughed. ‘Yes, there is that as well. Although Carmen is married now – with three little ones, at last count – the others are still at home, and he spoils them rotten.’
‘Why wouldn’t Hank come here unless he had to? And he said you would never come to the party. Why is this place so bad? And why are you here?’
Just then, the door opened softly and Hank’s unmistakable frame could be seen outlined against the bright corridor light.
Jane exclaimed, ‘Hank, we were just talking about—’
‘Shhh.’ The guard put his fingers to his lips and glanced nervously down the corridor. ‘Jack,’ he whispered urgently, ‘Bruno is coming for you with a couple of heavies. I said I would check you were still in here. Quick, we haven’t got long.’
Jack leapt to his feet. ‘Right, you take Jane to safety and I’ll take my chances.’
Hank shook his head. ‘No, you won’t, Jack. You will keep out of their way.’
‘Hank, Bruno daren’t do anything to me with half of Hollywood at the party.’
‘That’s what you think. He’s told the whole security team that you might trip over something on the way out and injure yourself quite badly. There’s money in it for them if you do.’
Jane paled.
Hank continued grimly. ‘They don’t realise I know you, so I will stick to you like glue if they find you. But it’s much simpler if they don’t. Dolores is in the kitchen and she can get you out of the back door.’
Jane could see Jack’s anger flare, ‘If you think I’m going to skulk—’
‘Hank’s right, Jack. No heroics, please.’ Jane tugged his arm. ‘Let’s go.’
Too late. They heard voices coming up the corridor.
‘Out of the window,’ Hank hissed.
Jack hesitated, clearly hating the idea of running away. But Jane swiftly opened the window as wide as she could and tried to lift her dress up so she could get out. She climbed inelegantly astride the high sill then stopped.
‘Jack, help me, please,’ she hissed. ‘I’m stuck.’
With a reluctant shrug, Jack climbed easily through the window and lifted her to safety on the other side.
Chapter Fifteen
‘This way.’
Jack pointed to a path between the lowlying shrubs and strange triangular-shaped trees. Hearing raised voices coming from the study, Jane pulled him behind one of these trees. She could see from his face how much he hated this concealment, and sensed he was only going along with the plan for her sake. She was pretty sure that if she wasn’t there, he would have taken his chances with Bruno’s heavies. But that would have endangered Hank, so in this case, she knew that discretion was the better part of valour.
Jack stood alert, peering round the tree, poised for action. Jane clung to him in the hot night-scented air, holding her breath, dreading shouts of discovery coming from the study. She was very aware of his hard, tense body against hers, and could feel her heart pounding against his chest. Once again, she was aware of the lemony scent of his aftershave, and wanted more than anything to feel his arms around her, embracing her.
Jack was listening intently for sounds of danger. Eventually, the voices faded away. The search had moved on.
Relieved, Jane relaxed into his protective body, and he clasped her to him.
‘I think they’ve gone,’ she whispered.
She felt so close to him, entwined in his arms. If only he would kiss her. She curved her body into his and, full of longing, turned her face up towards him.
But his jaw was still clenched in anger and he pulled away. Holding her hand, he began to guide her through the low shrubbery.
‘I’m so sorry to have got you embroiled in all this. Let’s take you back to the party. You’ll be safe there amongst all those people. In fact, if you can find Robyn…’
‘Oh no, you don’t.’ Jane stopped suddenly and confronted him. ‘If you think I am leaving you in all this danger, you’ve got another think coming.’
‘I’ll be OK.’
‘You’ll be more OK if I am with you.’
‘Jane, I am quite capable of—’
‘Jack, if Hank is worried, then so am I. If I’m with you, they won’t dare harm you in front of a witness. Now come on. How do we get to the kitchen? Apart from anything, I want to meet Dolores.’
A voluptuous, dark-haired woman was busy chastising a sullen, bare-chested waiter who towered over her. She wagged an angry finger up at him.
‘Carlos, you are too slow. Everyone else has carried more trays around than you. Stop making eyes at all the beautiful girls and do your job. This town is full of good-looking guys like you waiting to be discovered. But until you are, you busy up that pretty little butt of yours…or else. Now, grab that tray and go.’
Carlos gave them a curious glance as he picke
d up a large round tray of small canapés and left with a hostile shrug of his magnificent torso.
Clicking her teeth in annoyance, the woman turned and, seeing Jack, her enormous brown eyes lit up. Within moments he was engulfed in a tight hug and had scarlet lipstick kisses all over his cheeks.
‘Jack, carino, how are you? How wonderful to see you. Ay, caramba! But what are you doing here? At Bruno’s?’
Jack, smiling, released himself from her grip. ‘It’s a long story, Dolores, but—’
‘Does my Hank know you are here?’
‘Yes, yes he does.’
‘Does Bruno?’
‘Yes, and that’s causing a bit of a problem. Apparently, he’s not very happy.’
‘No, no. I should imagine he is very angry. So, Jack, you silly boy, why did you come?’
Jack shrugged a bit nonplussed, and at that moment did indeed look like a chastened boy. Jane had to smile.
‘OK, OK,’ Dolores said briskly,’ you can tell me later, sweetie. You are in trouble, yes? Do you want me to help you?’
‘Yes, Dolores, we do,’ said Jane. ‘Jack doesn’t want to admit it, but yes, we definitely do need your help.’
Dolores looked at Jane for the first time, wrinkling her nose a little at the plunging neckline and the clinginess of the dress.
‘Hello, Dolores, I’m Jane. Nice to meet you. I met your Hank a few days ago at the studio gate.’
A sudden gleam of understanding lit up her eyes. ‘Ah yes, Arabella Jane.’ She darted a quick look between them.
‘Look, sorry, Dolores, but we haven’t much time.’ The last thing Jane wanted was to be found by the search party. ‘Bruno has sent people all around looking for us and—’
‘Yes, yes, they came through the kitchen a little while ago. I didn’t know it was you, Jack, they were looking for.’
‘’Fraid so. Hank thought we could get out through the back door.’
‘No, carino. He has left someone there guarding it. I thought that was strange.’
