I have a horrible feeling Josh-as-Dominic will deliver a seriously sexy performance.
CHAPTER 18
Josh
Ifinish the scene with Rugby and surreptitiously let out a big exhale. Whew. I’ve been dreading that almost as much as I’ve been dreading coming face to face with Elle. I grin at Nick, who’s playing Rugby and sitting next to me, and twist in my seat to Victoria behind me. She gives me a thumbs-up, and I allow myself to relax.
While I’ve been talking to myself in a British accent for weeks now—in the shower, in the car, in the mirror while shaving, giving myself a running commentary of everything I cook—it’s not the same as siting at a table full of British people and speaking in their accent.Thatis fucking terrifying, especially since my ex-girlfriend probably wants me to crash and burn.Grosvenorwill have a dialect coach on set at all times, but Victoria is working solely with me.
It’s been an epic learning process. Incredibly, after over two decades in the business, this is the first time I’ve had to learn a new accent (never mind taking my speaking habits back a couple hundred years) and the first time I’ve worked intensively with a dialect coach. I think I’m a pretty good mimic, but Victoria works with phonetics rather than mimicry. Hermethod is basically science, and I’ve had to learn this British accent—RP—by completely relearning how to use my mouth, my tongue, my face resonator…
It’s intense, but using building blocks like this means I have the tools I need to say anything I want in my fancy accent. And I’ve surprised myself with how much I’ve enjoyed the mental stimulation of learning a new skill. This show is gonna demand so much of its cast—we have dance lessons and etiquette lessons and horse-back riding lessons scheduled—and while it’s a lot to carry, I feel really good about the challenge.
Obviously, the biggest challenge of all will be getting my beautiful co-star to play nicely. I have no doubt she’s the ultimate professional and will deliver a fantastic performance. I also have no doubt she’ll make me sweat for every ounce of civility she throws my way. I’m kinda looking forward to the scenes where we’re happily married. They might be the only time she looks at me with anything approaching fondness.
Elle is totally refusing to look anywhere in my direction so far. She’s stiff as a board, following the script and making notes like the good little student she is. I sneak a look at her. She’s chewing the top of her pen. Oh, fuck. I quickly look away from those plump lips. She’s gotta acknowledge me in a few minutes, because we have our first scene together. This should be fun.
Felicity, who plays Georgiana’s mom, and Elle and her cousin kick off the ballroom scene where Georgiana and Dominic meet. There’s some small talk and the introduction of minor characters, in particular the ball’s hostess, Lady Waverley. This is one of Georgiana’s first events of her social season, and she’s excited. Call me pathetic, but it feels good to hear Elle feign a little enthusiasm. Even if it’s not aimed at me.
There’s a cut to Dominic’s entrance with Rugby. I lean into my mic.
‘Wrong as usual, Rugby.’ I speak out of the corner of my mouth. ‘These women are all plain as can be.’
‘Don’t be such a devil. You’ve barely set both feet in the place. Let us see if we can’t find a young lady to tempt even the great rake himself.’
‘Hush. I may not be disposed to find a wife this evening, but that’s no reason for you to taint my reputation.’
He laughs. ‘Ha! Your reputation precedes you, my friend. Have no fear of that. You may find that the young ladies flock to the safety of their mamas and give you a wide berth.’
‘That has categorically not been my experience,’ I say wryly.
Rugby spots the hostess. ‘Ah! Lady Waverley. A good evening to you.’
And we make small talk until Lady Waverley says: ‘Your Grace. My Lord. May I introduce Lady Caroline Kenworthy and her eldest daughter, Miss Georgiana Kenworthy?’
This is it. I shift in my chair, turning my body slightly towards Elle while staying close to my mic. I nod curtly. ‘Lady Kenworthy. Miss Kenworthy. How do you do?’
Script note: Dominic does a double take as Georgiana curtseys to him. He is instantly struck by her beauty and elegance. There isn’t a young lady in the room who can hold a torch to her. Dominic stands and watches as she rises slowly from her curtsey, making eye contact with him. As their eyes meet, he experiences the most powerful sensation of desire, and something more—a sensation with which he is hitherto unfamiliar. In that moment, his world turns on its head.
‘Your Grace.’ Elle’s tone is appropriately polite and totally unimpressed.
‘We are quite enchanted to meet you, Your Grace,’ Lady Kenworthy says breathily. ‘I have heard that you are an accomplished dancer, as is my daughter.’
‘In that case, I must insist that you take this next dance with me.’
I make my voice slightly strangled. I feel for poor Dom. At this point, the blood is probably rushing straight to his cock, just like mine did when I saw Elle on that screen in Cannes, and then shaking her booty on the dance floor. Unfortunately for Dom, he’ll have to make do with a waltz instead of a twerk. At least he’ll get to gaze into Georgiana’s beautiful, pale blue eyes the whole time.
A pause, into which Georgiana pours her unspoken contempt for him. ‘I would be honoured, Your Grace,’ Elle says stiffly.
Oh, boy. Tough crowd.
ELLE
I could really do with a fan. Or some smelling salts. The table read is gathering heat, and as if he feels the same, Josh peels off his jumper, revealing a tight white T-shirt, and hitting me with the scent of his body in a way that practically makes me black out. Oh fuckity shit. It’s a smell that takes me straight back to Cannes, and to sex, and to lying in the crook of his arm, drunk on orgasms.
Which is the opposite of what I need right now, when I have to play the icy Georgiana and need to protect my off-screen heart. My self-control is excellent, but I can’t have my brain playing tricks on me. Sabotaging me.
Josh has shifted to face me, and he pauses to tickle Olive, who’s on my lap, under her disloyal little chin. I flinch at the proximity of his hand to my thighs. But it would be unprofessional of me not to make eye contact for this next section.After all, he’ll be whirling me around the dance floor when we actually shoot this part of the scene, and I’ll be gazing up into his face from inches away. Ugh. So I’d better acclimatise myself to the deadliness of his obnoxious good looks sooner rather than later. Or should I say, immunise myself against them?
