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drunk.
    Desiree kissed Dolly and said: “There, I did it.”
    Dolly said: “You were magnificent, darling. Didn’t I tell you you would be?”
    “I could feel how much the audience loved it.”
    “It was you they loved.”
    “The darlings!”
    “Well, you are rather wonderful, you know.”
    “Thanks, sweetheart. Say it again. I love to hear it. And there’s my Noelle. What did you think of your mother, pet?”
    “You were absolutely splendid.”
    “Bless you, sweet.”
    Robert said in his amusing French accent: “Is she … Noelle … old enough to drink the champagne, eh?”
    “Tonight she is,” said my mother. “Come, darlings. Let’s drink to a nice run … not too long. I don’t think I could stand Maud for too long. But enough to make it a success and full houses to the end. And may she know when it is the right time to leave us.”
    We drank to Maud. It was about half an hour later when we drove back to the house. Thomas had the carriage waiting for us.
    There had been a good deal of kissing and more congratulations before we parted, and in the carriage there were just Martha, my mother and myself. The streets were not very busy, for the crowds were fast dispersing.
    “You must be exhausted,” I said to my mother.
    “Oh, my dear, I am. I shall sleep right through until tomorrow afternoon.”
    “Knowing that Maud was a great success,” I said. “It was a success, wasn’t it?”
    “Of course. I knew it would be, darling,” said my mother.
    Martha looked at me and raised her eyebrows.
    “Oh, one’s always jittery just before,” said my mother defensively. “You have to be. If you weren’t, you’d go onstage flat. It’s the life, darling.”
    As we were pulling up at the house, I noticed the girl. She was standing near a lamppost, but I could see her face. She looked rather dejected and I wondered what she was doing standing about at this time of night.
    My mother was saying: “Oh, I’m so weary, and ‘Can I help you, madam?’ keeps going round and round in my head.”
    Thomas had jumped down from the driver’s seat and was holding the door open. My mother alighted. I saw the girl take a step forward. Her face was still tense. Before I could alight from the carriage she was hastily walking away.
    I said: “Did you see that girl?”
    “Which girl?”
    “The one who was standing over there. She looked as though she was watching you.”
    “Came to take a look at Countess Maud, I reckon,” said Martha.
    “Yes. But she seemed different somehow.”
    “Another of the stagestruck crowd,” said Martha. “Thinks she’s another Desiree, I don’t doubt. Most of them do.”
    “Come in,” said my mother. “I’m half asleep, if you’re not.”
    I knew that we should all find it difficult to sleep. It was like this on first nights … but this night seemed different. There were two things to make it so: the presence of Roderick in the theatre, which set me wondering again about Charlie, Lady Constance and the relationship he must have with my mother; and then the girl in the street. Why had she made such an impression on me? People often stood about to get a glimpse of my mother … outside the theatre and occasionally outside our home, for the press had betrayed where Desiree lived. The girl must have been, as Martha had said, stagestruck: she had wanted to see Desiree at close quarters.
    I should be at peace. The first night was over. Now there would be a long run and my mother and I would have more time together.
    The Accident

    Countess Maud had settled in— another success for Desiree.
    It was about three weeks after the opening night—a Thursday and a matinee. My mother had left for the theatre and I had said I wanted to do some shopping and I would come to the theatre so that I could join her after the performance and Thomas could drive us home together. He often did this. It gave us a little time together before she dashed off for the evening performance.
    As I came out of the