Sylvie’s cheeks turned pink. ‘I’m a little old to be your Juliet, my dear, even if my fiancé has aspirations to strut his stuff as Romeo.’
Solly released a burst of laughter, which cleared some of the tension in the room. ‘I’m quite content to play the part of Romeo behind closed doors,’ he told Sylvie with a wink that made her cheeks flame. ‘In this instance, I was thinking I could be the narrator, unless someone wants to fight me for the role?’
‘I wouldn’t mind trying out.’ Solly’s brother Jack walked through the door.
Solly groaned. ‘I preferred it when you were the village recluse.’
Jack sat at the table and pulled the script towards him. In a deep, bellowing voice he began to read.
Kitty caught Nick’s eye. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach at the smile he gave her. She told herself it was down to the excitement of having found at least one contender for a role in the play. Jack was good. Very good.
Solly wasn’t going to capitulate that easily. He grabbed his own copy of the script, pushed his chair back, and read in a voice so confident it rattled the windows.
‘You’re both hired,’ said Kitty when Solly finished.
‘Of course we are,’ said Jack. ‘Which of us is going to be the narrator?’
‘We can allocate specific roles later,’ said Nick.
Kitty breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Now, who would like to try out for the role of Juliet?’ she said.
‘And don’t forget about Romeo,’ said Solly. ‘There’s no point having this play without the two main characters.’
‘You’re right,’ said Kitty. ‘Would anyone like to volunteer? It doesn’t matter if you’ve never acted before. This is a community performance, and it’s a good chance to see whether this might be for you. Everyone’s going to be really supportive, and we’ll guide you through it.’
To Kitty’s dismay, all eyes turned to the ground.
‘Alice?’ she said. ‘May? Either of you would make an incredible Juliet.’
Alice blinked at Kitty. ‘I’m sorry, truly. We’d love to help, but we’re not … we don’t… wouldn’t have a clue where to start.’
‘Anyway,’ said Luke, ‘aren’t we all ignoring the elephant in the room?’
‘And what elephant would that be?’ asked Nick.
Kitty had a sinking feeling.
Alice sighed, shook her head, and looked from Kitty to Nick. ‘The elephant in the room,’ she said, ‘which you both are well aware of, is we already have two people here who would be perfect for the roles of Romeo and Juliet. Although for some reason, they don’t seem to want to take on the responsibility.’
‘Who’s that, then?’ asked Nick, still not getting it.
Luke slapped his hands down on the table. ‘The pair of you, you idiots. You’re the ones with previous experience. You’re the ones who’d know what you were doing.’
Kitty’s stomach lurched. ‘Oh, it’s been years since I was on stage. I couldn’t possibly get up now.’
‘Doesn’t stop you wanting us to?’ asked May. ‘Doesn’t sound very fair, does it?’ She softened her tone. ‘Look, school’s really intense for me at the minute. I’m happy to help with things like ticket sales on the night, maybe I could help make some of the staging or costumes. I don’t have time to learn lines though.’
Nick turned to Kitty. ‘What do you think?’ His eyes flicked to hers and away again.
She was horrified. There was no way she could get up in front of an audience. Her whole reason for being in Saffron Bay was to hide, not to put herself up on a stage under a spotlight.
‘No,’ she said, as firmly as she could manage through her trembling voice. ‘I won’t do it.’
‘I will,’ said Nick.
All eyes turned to him.
‘Are you sure?’ asked Luke.
