Olivia's Winter Wonderland (10 page)

Chapter Twenty

Olivia and Tom were struggling to get into their pantomime horse costume. Will Todd was trying to help, but he wasn't much use because he only had one free arm. A box was tucked under his other.

“What have you got in there?” asked Olivia crossly as Will tried unsuccessfully to ram her leg into the costume.

Will looked around to check nobody was near. “My mice.” He opened the top of the box so that Olivia and Tom could see. “They're cute, aren't they?”

“You'd better not let Miss Swan catch you with them,” said Tom. “She'll go nuclear.”

“I had to bring them in. I promised Connor he could have four and he's going to choose
which ones he wants after rehearsal. They keep having babies and my mum says we're going to be overrun by rodents.”

“Look out, Will,” said Olivia. “Gran's heading this way.”

Will looked wildly around. He had to get rid of the box before Miss Swan saw it and asked what was in it. The props table was just nearby so he stuffed the box underneath and pushed it behind the pumpkin that would become Cinderella's carriage during the transformation scene.

He stood up to find Alicia standing right behind him. “What are you up to, William Todd? You look as if butter wouldn't melt in your mouth and that always makes me suspicious.”

“Nothing,” said Will. “I'm just tidying the props.”

“How wonderfully and uncharacteristically helpful of you, Will,” said Alicia with a dry smile, and although she looked unconvinced, she didn't ask Will any more awkward questions.

“Ouch,” said Tom as Olivia half fell against him as she tried yet again to put her other leg in the horse. Brilliant though the costume was,
it was delicate, and getting in and out of it was tricky. It required complete cooperation between the two halves, and Olivia and Tom were not in the mood for cooperating.

“They haven't said anything but I know Ella and Arthur are really hurt that you're not going round to Campion's any more,” snapped Olivia. “They know something's up and I'm running out of excuses.”

“I never
asked
you to make any excuses for me,” said Tom hotly. “Look, Liv, you know I think Campion's is creepy. All the secrecy, the way they keep it like a shrine and the way it makes you behave. Finding out about the children who died was the final straw. I don't want to go there any more and I don't think you should either.”

“Ella's just an old lady,” said Olivia scornfully. “What harm can she do?”

“Have you asked her about Helen Campion and the two children? They must be related.”

Olivia shook her head. “It's not easy. You know how private she is. It feels like prying. But I
am
going to ask her, I promise, Tom. And when I have, will you come back again?”

Tom sighed. “I guess so. But I really don't like spooky stuff.”

“But it's Hallowe'en soon! I was going to ask you to help me take Eel and her friends trick-or-treating. Or will you be hiding under the bed instead?”

Tom laughed. “Now, Hallowe'en ghosts are my kind of ghosts,” he said. “I'd love to come with you.” He smiled at Olivia. “Here, Liv, let me help you put your leg in.”

Olivia grinned. She and Tom never fell out for long.

“Is everything ready, Lily?” called Jon from the front of the auditorium. Katie's mum appeared, beaming, her hair and shoulders covered in specks of plaster so it looked as if she had been caught in a snowstorm.

“All ready to go, Jon. I just hope the extra weight of the backcloth on the ceiling isn't too much. The plaster isn't great. But I think it will hold. The worst that can happen is that everyone will get covered in lots of white dust.”

“I'll get someone in to look at the ceiling and the roof tomorrow. I've been meaning to get them checked out for ages,” said Alicia. “But the
backdrops look really lovely, don't they, Jon?”

“Yes,” said Jon. “Lily's a real star. Wait till you see her pop-up puppet mice for the transformation scene. They're so cute and clever.

“Poppy!” Jon yelled. She put her head round the side of the wings. “Are all the props in place?” Poppy gave a thumbs-up. He turned to the waiting cast. “OK, everyone. We're going to really try and get Act One up on its legs. Things will go wrong, but don't worry. Let's just try to carry on and get through to the end. Places, please. When you're ready.” He sat down and leaned back towards Alicia, who was sitting in the row behind.

“This is going to be very rough, so bear with us, Alicia.”

“I will, of course. There's still plenty of time for rehearsals, and I'll make more time in the school day if necessary.”

“It's not the Swans I'm worried about,” said Jon. “They're always completely professional and some of them are fab. Katie's a revelation, although she seems to be keeping herself to herself a bit. Kylie's a real trooper, and the tinies like Eel and Emmy are terrific, every single one of them. Of course, Livy and Tom will
bring the house down. No, it's the principals who are giving me nightmares. Amber Lavelle still doesn't know her lines, and the few she does know she delivers as if they are written very faintly on toilet paper and are being held up for her to see by someone standing at least three miles away.”

“Ah,” said Alicia, snorting with guilty laughter. “I did warn you. She never was an actor, even when she was at the Swan. We really do try to ensure that all our children can sing, dance and act. It makes them so much more employable. It's what some stage schools call being a triple threat, and it makes sense. But there are some children who really only have one talent. Amber was only ever a singer. Still, if you've got a voice like that, all burned toast and honey, you can get away with a lot. But doesn't Theo's acting ability make up for what she lacks?”

“Yes, Theo's great – when he's here. His prince is devastatingly handsome and utterly charming, and he could do the role walking backwards in his sleep. The real problem,” he looked around to check that they definitely weren't overheard, “is that he and Amber have
the onstage chemistry of a couple of partially defrosted prawns. Theo is going to have to do an awful lot of acting to persuade the audience that he and Cinders are meant for each other.”

“I've every confidence that on the night, and on every night of the run, Theo will convince us all that he and Amber are madly in love; he's nothing if not a pro,” said Alicia as the orchestra began to play the overture. There was a small commotion as Sheridan swept into the theatre and settled herself down in an aisle seat with a great deal of look-at-me-I'm-a-very-important-person pomp. Jon sighed. He could do without her being here. It was only a first run-through. He knew that however it went, Sheridan would complain about the way her clients were being treated.

Alicia sat back in her seat and watched. Jon was right, the show was a very long way from ready. But you could see what it might eventually be. Michael Marvell's script was charming but also witty, even when Amber was doing her best to kill it dead. But she sang beautifully, the dancing was lovely and Theo was very charismatic, even though he was clearly treating the whole thing as if it was a gentle stroll
in the park. Alicia wished that he had ignored his agent's advice and played Baron Hard-Up. He'd have had a lot more fun. Sebastian was really enjoying himself in the part. She sat back in her seat, confident that the Swan panto was going to be a rip-roaring success.

Chapter Twenty-One

Olivia and Tom were in their pantomime horse costume and waiting in the wings for the transformation scene. In the script, the fairy godmother's spell goes awry and Daisy the panto horse steps into the breach and takes Cinderella to the ball. They were all ready to make their entrance. They could see Poppy and the stage management team already trying to move the gilt and glass coach into place, but they had got it wedged tightly against the back wall and were trying to pull it clear with very little space to manoeuvre in. They were whispering furiously to each other but as there was nothing Olivia and Tom could do to help in their costume, they turned their attention to the stage.

The first act was nearing its end. Amber's Cinderella was sobbing by the fire after her sisters and stepmother had gone to the ball. She broke into a beautiful yearning ballad about how much she longed for her mother. It was very affecting. Then there was a puff of smoke and Abbie's Cockney fairy godmother appeared on stage, wand in hand.

“Who are you?” asked Amber with the air of somebody idly enquiring about the time of the next train to Brighton.

“I am your fairy godmother,” said Abbie, taking control of the scene, “and you
shall
go to the ball.”

“But I don't want to go to the ball. I want my mum,” wailed Amber.

“Look, love,” said Abbie's fairy godmother. “I can't bring your mum back for you. But I
can
send you to the ball. And what I do know is that your mum would have wanted you to live a little. Not to just sit here snivelling by the fire like a daft pumpkin and feeling sorry for yourself. She'd have wanted to see her daughter making the most of her life.”

“Do you think so? Do you really think that's what she would have wanted?” asked
Cinderella.

“With all my heart,” said the fairy godmother.

“But I can't go to the ball! I don't have anything to wear. I don't have a carriage and horses.”

“Oh, I can help you there, darlin',” said the fairy godmother. “I got a C+ in transformations at fairy school. Have you got a pumpkin?”

“In the pantry,” said Cinderella. “I'll just get it.”

Amber ran into the wings, where a harassed Poppy, still fighting with the coach, handed her a pumpkin. Amber brought it back and put it down at Abbie's feet.

“Brilliant. Now six white mice. In a box, preferably, or they'll get everywhere. Little blighters.”

Amber ran to the wings. “Mice,” she hissed at Poppy. “I need the box of mice!”

“Can't you see I'm a bit busy with this wretched coach!” snapped Poppy. “The box is on the floor under the table. Just pick it up yourself.”

Amber pouted. The orchestra was getting ready to strike up with the transformation
music. Will Todd was holding the cymbals apart and looking for his cue. Irritably, Amber bent down under the table. There were two boxes there. She grabbed the nearest one, ran back on to the stage and placed it at Abbie's feet.

Abbie raised her wand. “Now, Cinderella, remember whatever happens you must be back by midnight, when all your finery will turn to rags. Close your eyes and count back from twelve and your transformation will be complete.”

The orchestra began to play, the lights flickered and the stage began to fill with dry ice.

“10 … 9 … 8 … 7 …” Abbie touched the pumpkin with her wand, which was the cue for the coach to appear. Nothing happened. Abbie glanced anxiously into the wings. She could see Poppy's distressed face. The coach was completely stuck. She saw Poppy and the others all run round behind it. There was nothing for it but to carry on with the spell.

“5 … 4 … 3 …” Abbie bent over the box and waved her wand. She put her hands on either side of the lid ready to lift it so the six puppet mice could pop out. Tom and Olivia stood ready to gallop on stage. He looked at the box, gasped and opened his mouth to yell,
“Stop!” but at that moment Amber finished her countdown, Will hit the cymbals as loud as he could, the tiered ballgown made from emerald silk dropped from the ceiling over Amber's head and billowed around her like a great sail, and Poppy and the stage managers gave one last huge heave to the coach, which shot like a cork out of a bottle on to the stage and knocked the box over.

There was a tiny shimmering silence and then dozens of little white mice ran all over the stage, squeaking excitedly. One shot straight up Amber's leg, which made her scream loudly. Tom and Olivia galloped on to the stage to try and help, and at that moment there was a terrible crack as if the building itself was breaking in two and a great scar ran like a river across the ceiling of the stage and out into the auditorium. For a moment, everyone watched fascinated, and then the roof fell in.