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Stephanie wasn’t sure she did want to talk about it, but Isobel seemed like someone who wouldn’t judge her, so she decided to open up. ‘Fields of Barley is my first big shoot; big budget, big cast, big director.’ She looked downcast. ‘Little old me.’

‘Hey, don’t do yourself down!’ Isobel said, ‘You’re an amazing actress – you stole every scene you had in Fly Home.’

‘Maybe that’s because I didn’t understand the enormity of what I was getting myself into. It was all new and exciting, most of the cast were unknown, it had a small budget, and the lead actress declined a fee upfront. But this time …’

‘Did something happen?’

‘Yes … I was feeling a bit intimidated already, and then one day, nothing was going right, there had been no end of delays due to the Yorkshire rain holding up the shoot. One of the actors had been ill as well, so it was all behind schedule. Anyway, I’m playing the daughter of Richard Harris, and during one of our big dramatic scenes together, I just felt like I was doing everything wrong. All the crew were snappy, and I kept tripping over my lines.’ Stephanie cringed, remembering vividly her feelings of inadequacy and failure. ‘The director and Richard couldn’t have been nicer, but later that day I overheard some of the extras being horrid about my performance while I was crying on the loo.’

‘Bitches,’ Isobel said, with feeling.

‘Maybe, but they were right about my acting that day. I just sat there in the fancy Portaloos crying. Eventually one of the costume girls found me in there.’

‘Then what happened?’

‘I got through the rest of the day, but the next day I didn’t get out of my hotel dressing gown. I told my agent I was wrong for the role, and they should find someone else, someone with more experience. To cut a long story short they said, “Don’t be silly, you’re wonderful, darling!” They gave me a bit of time to get my head together, and they have shifted some of the filming around, but I should have been back on set last week.’ Stephanie sighed, feeling thoroughly defeated. ‘My agent and the producers keep trying to get hold of me … but I’m avoiding them.’

‘Why?’

Stephanie fixed her eyes on her glass, and turned the liquid around in it, deep in thought for a moment. ‘If this is how hard I find it to be a successful actress, if this is how unhappy it makes me, then maybe the big career isn’t for me? I could do panto, or Holby City.’ She gave a small, unconvincing laugh.

Isobel reached out and placed a reassuring hand on Stephanie’s. ‘Look, you’re still young. It can be hard to find your voice before you’ve had much life experience, and it’s easy to be taken advantage of.’ Isobel’s face clouded for a moment and Stephanie wondered if the woman had her own story. ‘You just have to fake it until you make it! That’s what they do in America, and we Brits could learn a lesson or two from them.’

‘That doesn’t sound that easy to me.’

‘Give it a try! The industry have seen something in your talent that is real, Stephanie. They believe in you, and you just need to learn to believe in yourself too.’

‘Perhaps …’ Stephanie said, unconvinced. ‘What about you?’

‘Ah, well I have a plan … anyway, you must go back, I meant what I said – I’d love to design a gown for you, but you need a film before you can attend the premiere in Camille’s gown.’ They both laughed, breaking the tension, though Stephanie still detected an edge in Isobel’s comment about Camille. Fields of Barley might end up without her in it, which was looking like a real possibility right now.

‘Let’s drink to that,’ Isobel beamed, as they clinked glasses. She took a sip of her rosé and asked casually, ‘Do you know Camille well?’

‘No, not at all. The other night at the restaurant was only the second time I’d met her, though she came to the house again yesterday to see Catherine. I liked her instantly. She’s had a tough time – her husband died in a car accident.’

‘I know,’ Isobel replied. At Stephanie’s quizzical look, she explained, ‘I remember reading about it in the papers.’

‘I must have been about eighteen when it happened. I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the news back then,’ Stephanie smiled. Then she became serious again as she added, ‘Her son, Lucas, was badly injured. They didn’t know if he’d make it.’

Isobel nodded. ‘My husband was consulted on his reconstruction. He was part of the team that performed the surgery.’

‘Wow, that’s amazing. I mean, it must be hard having him away so much, but it sounds like he’s doing incredible work.’

‘Mmm,’ Isobel responded, her tone noncommittal. ‘Speaking of Lucas, it looked as though the two of you were getting on pretty well at Il Paradiso …’

Stephanie blushed, unable to hide her attraction to him. ‘He’s got a girlfriend though, so I don’t think anything’s going to happen.’

‘I met her the other day. She was very demanding and … annoying. Stunning, of course, but a real pain in the arse. You’re so much nicer,’ Isobel whispered, as the two women giggled conspiratorially.

‘This is fun,’ Stephanie sighed happily. ‘We should meet up again, whilst your husband’s away.’

‘I’d love that,’ Isobel replied, then noticed that their glasses were empty. ‘Shall we get another bottle?’

‘Why not?’ Stephanie shrugged, pushing Anthony Minghella and film sets out of her mind. ‘We can get a taxi home, and I can’t think of a better way to spend the afternoon.’

‘And is there anything I need to be concerned about?’ Camille asked, looking imperiously at René. She was leafing through the papers on the desk in her suite, wearing a pair of oversized spectacles with thick, black frames, which only served to make her look more chic.

‘Everything is on track for the show,’ René assured her. ‘Gwyneth Paltrow is flying in tomorrow and Kristin Scott Thomas arrived this afternoon. I believe Nicolas is also on the island,’ René continued, his tone neutral, ‘if you’d like me to schedule a meeting with him.’