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understand you not wanting to be in a play, it takes so much time rehearsing and things.’
    Gilbert answered for her. ‘It’s not that. Well, it is in a way. We’re expecting another baby, you see.’
    Grandmama was scandalised. ‘Another one. Good heavens, you’ve only just got one.’
    ‘Congratulations!’
    ‘That’s wonderful.’
    ‘You must be pleased.’
    ‘Oh we are. Gilbert wants four.’
    ‘Four! Good heavens. Does your mother know?’ Grandmama downed the last of her wine and signalled to Jimbo she needed a refill.
    The conversation broke up for a moment and it took Harriet some time to get it back to the play. ‘I did think we might ask …’ she nodded her head in Hugo’s direction. ‘How about it, Hugo?’
    He’d been preoccupied entertaining Caroline and took a moment to realise he was being addressed. ‘How about what?’
‘How about helping us with the play? Directing it even? What say you?’
    ‘Me? It can’t be done in a fortnight, you know, and I wouldn’t want to outstay my welcome.’
    Jimbo charitably suggested that if he was helping with a village play then he wouldn’t be outstaying his welcome. He could stay as long as it took.
    Harriet, poised on the brink of victory, beamed at him. ‘Well? Say yes. We’d be so proud to have you on board.’
    ‘What play would you want to do?’
    Suggestions flooded out across the dining table. ‘ Blithe Spirit ’, ‘ Absurd Person Singular ’, ‘ Arsenic and Old Lace ’, ‘ Noises Off ’, ‘ The Odd Couple ’. Ideas ebbed and flowed.
    ‘Well … what do you think?’ Jimbo asked Hugo.
    ‘Yes, yes, mmmmm, I’ll have to think about it. If I say yes can I be leading man and producer?’
    ‘If you wish. Why not?’
    ‘We haven’t asked you to do something which is kind of not the thing for a famous actor to do, have we? I mean, we wouldn’t want to put a spanner in the works or anything.’ Caroline smiled at him.
    Hugo smiled back and for a moment the conversation came to a standstill. Caroline recollected herself and picked up her glass of wine intending to take a sip, but Hugo took it from her, held on to her hand and said, ‘My dear Caroline, how thoughtful of you to consider me.’
    Grandmama cleared her throat loudly and it broke the moment.
    Hugo raised his glass to them all, drank from it, put it down and began speaking. ‘It would be wonderful to do something just for fun. I don’t mean to diminish the idea by making it sound as though I wouldn’t be taking it seriously because I would, take it seriously, I mean. But just for once to work at something which didn’t demand high profile action on my part would be wonderful. After all it isn’t as if the whole world is going to know, not like they do when it’s Stratford or the West End or something. We can just quietly get on with it can’t we? Money isn’t a problem …?’
‘It certainly isn’t.’ Mr Fitch shook his head. ‘I should be proud to be associated with such an enterprise. Proud, yes very proud and I would like to commit myself here and now. I will underwrite whatever expenses you may incur. Yes, I certainly will. Who knows, this could be the beginning of something big.’ He beamed at everyone around the table and accepted their thanks with delight. ‘Now, Hugo, what do you think to that?’
    ‘I am humbled by your generosity. Humbled indeed I am. We shan’t be incurring massive expense, I would keep a stern eye on that side, believe me. Now, if I agreed to …’
    ‘Something quite appalling has occurred to me.’ Caroline’s strangled voice drew their attention. ‘How on earth can we expect Hugo, who has worked with most of the famous names on the British stage, how can we expect him to work with us , a load of complete amateurs? What presumption. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves even thinking of it. I’m sorry, so very sorry that we’ve put you in such an embarrassing position. Please accept our apologies. We all got carried