The Pupil by Ros Carne

Author:Ros Carne
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Canelo
Published: 2020-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-seven

Natasha

It only took a bit of googling to find out the details she’d missed. It was a fundraising event for the local theatre group and Isabel Goddard had star billing. Luke took a little persuading.

‘Not my thing.’

‘Come on, Luke. When do we ever go out?’

‘It’s a week night.’

He was finishing the Sudoku in his free newspaper. ‘Wake up, buddy. You sound about fifty years old. Get living. It’ll be fun.’

The entrance hall was bleak and unpromising with brutalist concrete walls and a small corner table serving as a ticket office. Drinks were sold over a kitchen counter in plastic glasses which could be taken into the show. Luke bought a fruit juice for Natasha and a beer for himself and carried them into the auditorium. And now expectations were raised. The walls were adorned with blown up photographs of the stars in their former glory, the spaces between them adorned with satin drapes.

Soundtracks to the old soaps were playing on a loop. A huge screen took up most of the stage, while in front of it, to one side, a red velvet armchair and a long sofa were strategically placed. Natasha and Luke edged their way down an aisle packed with grey-haired women in their sixties and seventies and beyond, interspersed with a few ancient men.

‘Not your usual scene, Tash,’ muttered Luke.

‘Just wait,’ she whispered, surprised by the degree of her excitement. The soaring orchestra was a memory jogger for the twice weekly fix that had lifted her out of the gloom of her early teenage years. She owned several box sets but this was taking her passion to another level. The sound system was brilliant, a cascade of strings taking her back fifteen years, filling her body with thrilling apprehension.

And not just the music, not just the big screen, but the chance to see her idol in the flesh. So what if the rest of the audience were forty years older? Canada Row had been special and still was.

She hadn’t explained the connection with her pupil supervisor whom Luke simply knew as Mel. And indeed, Mel was far from her mind as Natasha sat waiting for the lights to go down. It was Darcy Black she had come to see. Darcy with her brilliant repartee, her effortless charm, her ruthless ambition, had been a role model to the young Natasha. There was one moment when she wondered if Mel would turn up to see her mother, whether Jacob would saunter in. Too bad if they did. It was a public event. She had every right to be here. And having Luke beside her was a reassurance. Gentle soul as he was, she knew he would lay down his life for her if necessary.

The presenter introduced himself, cracked a few lame jokes, and promised them a night of nostalgic wonder. The lights went down, the music soared again, and they were into Canada Row. Immediately Natasha was back in the glittering world of cut-throat fashion. The designers, the buyers, the models, the financiers and directors.

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