A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers

Author:Constance Sayers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2020-02-10T16:00:00+00:00

Nora drove Billy’s Phaeton up the highway and into the Monumental Studios lot at a breakneck speed. The car was powerful as well as beautiful, she’d give it that. She’d taken her anger out on it as she’d flown back up the highway to Los Angeles. When she pushed through the front doors of Monumental’s offices, Halstead saw her immediately.

“He told me,” began Nora, peeling off her gloves.

“Who told you what?”

“Billy told me that he can’t have sex.”

The old man blanched. “He did what?”

“You should have told me,” snapped Nora.

“On the contrary, Nora,” said Halstead. “Your husband should have told you.” The man shook his head. “It had nothing to do with me.”

“He said you thought it was better that I not know about the measles until after the wedding.”

“Did he now?”

“I should have been told.”

Halstead leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in front of him, considering his next words carefully. “Oh, Nora. Our Billy is a dear boy and very valuable to this studio. This new picture, Beyond the Shore, it’s the most expensive film we’ve ever backed here at Monumental. That’s largely because of Billy and Ford. They are a powerful duo, you know?” Halstead cleared his throat. “I fear this is all Louella Parsons’s fault. She knew and Billy was afraid she’d leak it. I perhaps encouraged him to court you so she’d think the rumor wasn’t true. But I’m afraid dear Billy has treated you poorly. For that, and my role in it, I’m terribly sorry.”

“Thank you.” Nora sat on the chair in front of Halstead and put her head in her hands.

“My dear,” said Halstead gently. “You love him?”

“Of course I love him. He’s my husband.”

Halstead considered her gravely, like she’d been given a few months to live. “Tell you what I’ll do. You haven’t done much comedy, and Max and Me was a real hit. I think you could be our queen of screwball. There’s a play on Broadway that the company is investing in called A Million Kisses. If the initial run is good, we’re going to make it into a film. I think the change of scenery would do you some good. It’s a story about a man who moves his mother in to live with him and his new wife. We’ve got Lillibet Denton as the mother and a new find from New York, Jack Watt, playing the son.”

“This feels like you’re paying me off.”

“No, my dear. I’m getting you out of town for a while.” Halstead reached for his cigarette case in his breast pocket. “You’re like a daughter to me.”

“You have a daughter, don’t you, Halstead? A real one?”

“I do,” he said, nodding.

“Tell me. Would you have married her off to Billy Rapp?”

Halstead sat in his chair, silently looking down at his cigar a beat before he lit it.

She shook her head. “I didn’t think so. How long is the run in New York?”

“Ten weeks. Four weeks of rehearsal and a six-week run. Enough time to clear your head.

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