Brilliance

by Rosalind Laker

  Lisette had the task of finding the right house for their new home and settled on a pleasant, newly built residence with a large garden not far from the studios. It was well-proportioned with spacious, elegant rooms on three floors, a large kitchen area and a wine cellar in the basement. There was also a housekeeper’s suite that met with Maisie Jones’s approval. This time there was an attic room that made comfortable accommodation for Daisy and would give her privacy away from her mother. Yet it was Daisy who was the least happy over the move. She had left behind her first real beau, a farmer’s son, and she doubted that he would keep his promise to write to her. Yet a few letters did come, although inevitably they finally trickled away. By that time the son of a local butcher was taking her out and Maisie encouraged it. The joints and steaks that were delivered were the best to be had anywhere.

  By now Daniel’s studios were busy all the time and apart from using some of Lisette’s exceptionally good scripts he was buying work from other quality writers, which increased the variety of his productions. Ever since the Lumières had created the demand for animated pictures there had been film agents springing up everywhere, competing with one another to secure contracts for as many motion picture releases as they could grab, but from the start Daniel had kept a firm hand on his business interests and was able to dictate his terms.

  He was among the first to insert captions into his films to aid a complicated plot and had a number of favoured actors, both male and female, that he liked to include in his cast. He continued to produce comedies, but for longer productions he concentrated on historical themes, which had become increasingly popular with audiences, and mostly Lisette took the lead. In three years she played Joan of Arc, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Nell Gwyn and Queen Elizabeth, among other important roles. Always she threw herself into her work, her acting gaining a new sensitivity that had originated from the emotional crisis of her miscarriage. In close-ups her face, unmarred now by the heavier make-up of the past, conveyed the finest changes of expression and, if tears were necessary, her violet eyes could brim at will. She sometimes felt that she had had a deep well of tears within her ever since Marie-Louise was taken from her.

  Before it became known that she and Daniel were partners in Shaw Studies there had been a number of unsuccessful attempts by other movie makers to tempt her away from his productions into their own. She had also turned down stage roles that she had been offered by London producers until Daniel thought it would be good publicity for her to be seen in person by the public. As a first step he made an event out of a premiere of her latest movie at one of the leading London theatres that alternated motion pictures with musical comedies and plays.

  When the movie ended to thunderous applause the audience remained in their seats, knowing that they were to see her. Then Daniel, handsome in white tie and tails, introduced her from the stage.

  ‘Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to present the star of the evening, Lisette Shaw!’

  When she appeared in a long, sparkling gown there was a standing ovation, during which she was presented with a bouquet of red roses that Daniel had ordered specially, but others had had the same idea. Bunches of flowers were brought to the stage in such numbers that it was impossible for her to hold them all and she stood as though in the midst of a flower garden. The applause followed her off the stage.

  ‘You called me a “star”,’ she said later. ‘What made you think of that?’

  He shrugged on a happy grin. ‘You dazzled. What better term could I have used?’

  Afterwards the publicity that he issued always referred to her as the star of Shaw Studios. Eventually the term became generally used in the animated picture industry.

  Three months after her premiere appearance, Lisette appeared in a London production of Hedda Gabler. It was the ultimate test of her acting ability, but she carried the role well. One newspaper critic wrote that it was not just on the screen that she could wring hearts and she received similar favourable reviews from others. But she was glad when its run ended and she could return to the medium that she liked best.

  ‘Movies are my life now,’ she said, her fingers linked behind Daniel’s neck as he held her to him. ‘Just as they are yours.’

  But he was concerned about her. She looked extremely tired and had lost weight, the demanding role she had played having taken its toll.

  ‘You need a holiday before we talk of any more work for you. Why not visit Joanna in Monte Carlo while she is still renting that villa there? You can leave this winter weather behind and enjoy some sunshine. She has invited you to visit several times.’

  Lisette closed eyes blissfully for a moment. ‘A holiday in the sun. What a tempting thought! But could you come with me? She has always included you in her invitations.’

  He shook his head regretfully. ‘Not at the present time, but maybe I could manage a few days when you’re ready to come home again.’

  She knew he meant what he said, but doubted that he would have the time to spare if he should be in the middle of directing new work.

  ‘I shall break my journey south to call at the convent,’ she told him. ‘I know that there can’t be any news of our daughter, but the abbess is old and if she should be replaced through ill health at any time I want to know about it. Then I could make sure that her successor was fully informed about our letter and it would not lie forgotten in a drawer.’

  Privatley he wished Lisette would not to go there, knowing how it evoked painful memories for her, but he would not interfere. Since her miscarriage she had begun to pin such hopes on that letter and he would have liked to be able to share her optimism to the same degree.

  It was raining hard when the train from Paris brought Lisette to her destination. Taking a seat in a waiting cab, she told the driver to take her to the convent. He turned to look back over his shoulder at her.

  ‘Are you sure that’s where you want to go, madame? There’s nothing left of the convent since the fire.’

  She thought her heart stopped in shock at his words. ‘What do you mean?’ she asked falteringly, the colour draining from her face.

  ‘Six months ago a fire started in the kitchen and took hold quickly, spreading throughout the building. Those old timbers burned like matchwood.’

  ‘What of the inmates?’ she gasped, horrified.

  ‘A few suffered minor burns, but nothing fatal. They’ve been dispersed to other convents, the surviving nuns going with them. One nun was crushed under a falling beam as she tried to save the abbess, who was probably dead already as she had been trapped in her study, which was like a furnace.’ He was like many bearers of bad news in feeling important from the drama of it, but when he realized the effect his information was having on her he spoke more gently. ‘I can see you’re shocked, madame, but it could have been a lot worse. Do you still want me to take you there or is there somewhere else you’d like to go?’

  She passed a hand across her forehead, trying to gather her thoughts together. ‘Take me to the hotel in the square.’

  It was where she and Daniel had stayed overnight when they had visited the convent together and now, as on that occasion, there was no train to suit a continuation of her journey until the next morning. Her trunk had been sent ahead to Joanna’s address, but she had come prepared with hand baggage, never supposing that the purpose of her visit would be totally in vain.

  In the morning she did let a cab take her past the scorched ruins of the convent before going to the railway station. Already the site had been partially cleared. Tears filled her eyes at the sight as she grieved for the two women that had lost their lives there and forced herself to accept that the last hope for a reunion with her daughter had gone for ever.

  It was warm and sunny when Lisette arrived in Monte Carlo. She knew from Joanna’s letters that a host of royal personages and other distinguished visitors had arrived at the start of the season to enjoy its pleasures, including gambling at the famous casino. A cab from the railway station t
ook her to a peach-tinted villa with dark green shutters that had a view of the Mediterranean and was set in a tree-shaded flower garden on a slope of a hill. Joanna, wearing a paint-daubed smock, her bright curls tied up with a ribbon, came running to meet her with open arms.

  ‘Welcome, Lisette! How wonderful to see you again! This is going to be like old times!’

  They hugged each other in greeting and then Joanna held her by the shoulders at arm’s, length to look at her with concern.

  ‘You’ve been ill,’ she stated.

  Lisette shook her head, evading her friend’s direct gaze, ‘Not at all. I’ve been working hard and it’s left me in need of a rest.’

  ‘It’s more than that. You and Daniel aren’t splitting up, are you?’

  ‘No! No!’ Again Lisette shook her head. ‘The truth is I received a shock yesterday and I’ll tell you about it later.’

  Joanna looked concerned, but did not pursue her questioning. She knew Lisette well enough to see that something very serious had given that stark look to her eyes. ‘I read your Hedda Gabler reviews in the English newspapers, but I had just arrived here then and couldn’t return to see your performance. I never realized when we were at school that you would reach your full potential as an actress. Yet I do remember when you played Lady Macbeth during our last term there that your fear and confusion after the crime moved me to tears.’

  Lisette showed surprise. ‘Did I really have that effect on you? I never knew. But I was always sure that you would become an artist of renown. I hope you’ll let me see all your latest work.’

  ‘There’s plenty of time for that. Now I’ll show you to your room and afterwards we’ll sit out in the shade and have a glass of wine and catch up with each other’s news.’

  It was the start of a companionable time that slipped by with no notice taken of the passing of one week and then another. Lisette told Joanna at last of her baby’s adoption and it took all her will power not to break down completely when she spoke of the burnt-out convent and the destruction of her hopes.

  ‘My life has twice fallen apart through a fire,’ she said quietly. ‘The first caused me to miscarry and the second has severed the last chance of my ever finding Marie-Louise again.’

  ‘Oh, my dear friend!’ Joanna exclaimed in distress, her own eyes filling with tears. ‘How desperately sad you must be! I wish so much I could help you in this matter.’

  ‘Your friendship is a help in itself,’ Lisette replied gratefully.

  Daniel had written consolingly to her after she had sent a letter telling him of the convent fire. She wrote regularly to him, but after his first reply his letters were as usual short and obviously hastily scrawled. She could picture him dashing them off whenever he remembered. She knew it would not be a case of out of sight and out of mind, but he was engrossed in preparation for another movie and that would be taking up every minute of his days.

  She had plenty of leisurely time to herself, for Joanna had a very capable and fierce-looking housekeeper in charge of everything and it was advisable to keep out of her way. So, seated in the shade of a tree. Lisette read from Joanna’s collection of books, kept up with the news in the papers, and jotted down ideas for future productions to discuss with Daniel when she was home again, all of which kept her out of the way while her friend was at work in her studio.

  She also went for a daily stroll, always pausing to gaze out at the magnificent yachts in the harbour where the sea flashed diamonds that dazzled the eye in the glorious weather. It was also enjoyable to observe the fashions. The S-shaped figure still relied on corsetry, but silhouettes were softer, although continued to be crowned with large, gloriously trimmed hats with flowers and ribbons in abundance, some with floating veils, which with pastel-hued parasols gave additional protection to complexions from the sun. By day Lisette kept to a delicate veil, which helped her to remain incognito most of the time. Yet she recognized many well-known people and although portly King Edward was staying at his favourite resort of Nice she saw him several times, always with a beautiful woman at his side.

  Sometimes Joanna’s elderly uncle, a charming old gentleman who resided in Monte Carlo, took them out to dine and to the casino afterwards. It was during these occasions that smiles and stares told Lisette that there were animated picture goers among the well-dressed and the bejewelled, who knew her from the silver screen.

  The evenings spent at the villa were quite different when nobody cared who she was, which was a relief. After Joanna had put aside her brushes and palette for the day a motley crowd would descend on her, spilling out on to the lawn with food and drink to sprawl on the grass or in comfortable wicker chairs. There were intellectuals, artists and some whose occupations were a mystery, but who wore the oddest clothes, and other interesting people who liked to get into deep discussions about one topic or another. None of Joanna’s former beaux were among them. Sometimes there were parties at other venues that could vary from an artist’s studio to a luxurious hotel suite or a magnificent mansion overlooking the sea. As in London, Joanna’s friends and acquaintances came from all walks of life, but here she did not have a current lover.

  ‘Has there ever been anyone with whom you would have liked to form a permanent relationship?’ Lisette asked one morning when Joanna was sketching her in the garden.

  ‘There was someone once,’ Joanna answered quietly, her pencil becoming still in her hand, ‘but he was married and the scandal of a divorce would have ruined his political career. So that was that.’ She shrugged her shoulders and resumed her sketching. ‘We have to take whatever life brings along.’

  The peace and quiet of the days did much to help Lisette recover from the shock over the destroyed convent that she had received and, even though heartache remained, she lost the gaunt look that she had had on arrival. She had also regained some of the weight she had lost over past months. Soon, feeling well and rested, she was ready to go home again, but there was no chance of Daniel coming to Monte Carlo for a few days as she had hoped. He had written that he was too busy, but knowing that she intended to go shopping in Paris for a day or two on her way home, he asked her to select the best settings for the historical movie he aimed to film in France. She was not surprised by his request, knowing that he had long wanted her to play Marie Antoinette.

  ‘I shall miss you when you leave at the end of the week,’ Joanna said with a sigh. ‘It has been fun having you here. I shall also be sorry when my rental of this villa is at an end, but I have to get back to London in good time for my next exhibition.’ Then she smiled broadly, clapping her hands together. ‘Let’s go on our own to the casino this evening. We’ll try to break the bank and then we can each go home with a fortune!’

  That evening Lisette put on a favourite cream silk gown with a low décolletage and added a diamond pendant and earrings that Daniel had given her. With a gossamer wrap about her shoulders she came downstairs to meet Joanna, who was striking in purple with sequins, and together they set off in a hired carriage.

  No sooner had they mounted the steps of the casino and passed through the marble-pillared entrance into the red and gold gaming rooms than people they knew greeted them on all sides and there were pauses to chat here and there. Then they took the only two vacant chairs at their favourite roulette table, although it meant that they were at opposite ends. Lisette lost a little and won a couple of times before the seat next to her was vacated and somebody else took it. She did not look to see who it was, concentrating on placing her chips. Then as the roulette wheel began to spin the newcomer spoke to her.

  ‘It’s a long time since we first met on a train, Lisette.’

  She felt a shiver of apprehension pass down her spine, for she would have known that deep, articulate voice anywhere. Her eyes wide, she turned her head sharply to look full into the face of Philippe Bonnard. Then, making her catch her breath, she felt a swift surge of the long forgotten love that she had once felt for him. It was part of the shock of seeing him again, but then
reason returned and her acting ability took over. Appearing perfectly composed, she regarded him with a cool smile, even though a kind of dread lingered in the pit of her stomach as if some danger lay in this encounter with the past.

  ‘Yes, it has been some years, Philippe. You look well.’

  ‘I’m in excellent health.’ A narrow moustache now enhanced his handsomeness. ‘You, Lisette, are more beautiful than ever. This is such a pleasure to meet you again. I’m staying in Nice, but came here with friends this evening to try our luck at these tables. I have seen you on the silver screen several times.’

  ‘Have you?’ she commented evenly.

  ‘Allow me to congratulate you on becoming such a fine actress.’

  ‘Thank you, Philippe,’ she answered. The roulette wheel had stopped and she had lost again, but it was of no importance. She gathered up her silver-threaded evening purse to move away from him to another table with some alternative play. She had wondered very occasionally in the distant past how she would feel if ever their paths crossed again. Now that had happened. Although all animosity towards him had long since melted away his presence had cast a cloud over her and she did not want to be drawn into further conversation with him. Yet he had risen to his feet with her before she could say goodbye.

  ‘Yes, we can’t talk there,’ he said as if she could not have had any other reason for leaving the table, and he took her elbow possessively to guide her away to a quieter place where they could sit down together, but she drew to a halt. They stood facing each other out of earshot of others in a buzz of background conversation and the clear voices of the croupiers.

  ‘I heard a while ago that you had married, Philippe,’ she said, ‘and wished you well.’

  ‘That was generous of you, Lisette.’

  ‘Is your wife at one of the tables?’ she enquired, glancing about.

  ‘No. Ellen is in the States at the present time, visiting her family in Boston. Her father has not been well and she wanted to spend some time with him.’