Sins of Sarah Read Free Page B

like.'
    'I certainly do, and I hope you're right!' Diana flicked a brush through her dark hair and repaired the damage he had done to her lipstick. Already half dressed. Nick came behind her to drop a kiss on her bare shoulder.
    'Why should I bother with Beaujolais Nouveau when I have champagne at home?' He knowingly recognized and soothed her fears.
    'Bill's here,' Charlotte called through the door as he was tying his bow tie.
    'Told you I'd make it!'
    'By the skin of your teeth, as usual.' Diana retorted, and picked up her bag and coat.
    Following her. Nick was issuing instructions to Charlotte about Caroline's impending visit and where to put the precious delivery. 'I'll ring you during the evening,' he promised.
    'Be good and don't open the door to anyone but Caroline!' Diana added other strictures, and she groaned at the stream of instructions with the weary boredom of a know-it-all adolescent. Nick laughed indulgently at Charlotte's resigned face.
    'You do look very handsome in a DJ, Daddy,' she said adoringly. 'Not old at all!'

 
    CHAPTER 2
     
    In the club at the television studios, the Do or Dare party were on their second bottle of champagne - reckoned to be the best bargain around - and were just getting into their noisy stride. They were a young group - the only one over twenty-six was Paddy Brennan, their director/producer, an old hand in his fifties who looked after his 'children' with a benevolent fatherly air.
    Retreating to the club after transmission was a regular winding down habit, and Sarah thought suddenly how much she would miss everyone if she didn't renew her contract. Paddy wanted her to stay, and had already offered her a considerable rise to do so, and he and Peter Lyngard, her co-presenter, made a very polished duo, the best the programme had had in its two years, they complemented each other - both blonde and athletic young people, his cheeky style a perfect foil for Sarah's easygoing charm. They had an enormous following of young fans, who followed their supposed off-screen romance avidly.
    Now they were laughing and teasing her, because the tannoy had just called her to the phone. It was a familiar joke amongst the club regulars that actors got themselves noticed by being paged in the club bar.
    'It's far too early, Sarah,' joked the researcher. 'All the important people are still at their desks!' Sarah took it all in her stride, as she usually did, and meandered across to the desk, with the swinging walk of the dancer she was, to take her call.
    'Who was it?' Peter teased as she came back with a stunned look on her face. 'Hollywood?
    ' 'Not quite! It was Oscar. Nick Grey wants to see me tomorrow. He wants me to audition for Home Leave the film Harriet Barrington was going to do!' After the discussion a few days previously, she could hardly believe it had actually happened.
    'Well, well, there's nothing like starting at the top!' Peter, though completely without any ambition, was just a little jealous. 'He's certainly the best director this country has.'
    'I did some commercials for NGA before I came here,' said Paddy's assistant, and shuddered. 'He's a vicious bastard when he gets going!'
    'Very good-looking, though,' sighed another of the girls.
    'But old - and married,' said Sarah firmly. 'However, guess who the male lead is going to be?' She paused for dramatic effect. 'Only James Willoughby!'
    'Fastest trouser-dropper in the business!' Peter said sourly, painfully aware of Sarah's excitement.
    'What a way to go, though!' laughed Polly. 'He's been married twice, hasn't he? Wasn't he married to Tamzin Carpenter at one time?' Sarah let the gossip float over her and struggled not to let her excitement show too much, she could see that Peter was not taking the news too well. But at last, despite her misgivings, she could see a light at the end of her particular tunnel of boredom. Choosing her moment carefully, she got to her feet.
    'I think I'd better go,' she said, forgetting her resolve to