Chapter 30
Thirty
The house was ridiculous.
A white-pillared Georgian monstrosity, it was the kind of place where people were hired to wipe down the doorknobs.
Cassie parked halfway up the drive and turned off the engine. Delilah was unusually quiet beside her.
‘You ready?’ Cassie asked.
Delilah gave a tiny nod. She didn’t look ready. She looked like someone about to go into surgery.
The front door opened before they’d even reached the steps. A woman in soft beige cashmere greeted them. ‘Cassie and Delilah?’
They were led through a series of serene, echoing rooms until finally they reached the drawing room. Or sitting room. Or salon. Who knew. It had those deep armchairs no one ever sat in and a baby grand in the corner like an ornament.
Rena was already seated. She was a woman in her fifties with clear, sharp eyes and a silver streak through her short dark hair.
‘Thank you for coming,’ she said.
They all sat.
It wasn’t tense, exactly. But the vibe was rather heavy.
‘So, Cassie Thorne! I don’t think we’ve ever met before.’
‘Nope,’ Cassie agreed.
‘Well, I just want to tell you, I’m a fan.’
‘Oh?’ Cassie said, surprised.
‘Yes. You played a friend of mine once at Eastbourne? Mira Lee?’
Cassie sighed. ‘Yep.’
‘She said you were terrifying,’ Rena said with admiration.
Cassie had to laugh at that. But then she remembered why she was here, and it wasn’t to get her arse kissed. ‘Well, that was a while ago. So, Delilah here, she’s… a friend.’ Cassie was quite surprised to hear that word come out of her mouth, but it was out now. ‘And she…’
Rena turned to Delilah. ‘You wanted to know why I pulled out,’ she said, folding her hands. ‘And I think you deserve to know.’
Delilah nodded.
‘It was the script,’ Rena said simply. ‘There was… a section. About Tamsin’s relationships. With women.’
A pause.
‘She was bisexual,’ Rena added. ‘But she didn’t talk about that publicly. Not once.’
Cassie caught the smallest movement from Delilah, a shift, like her spine had straightened an inch.
‘The script felt invasive,’ Rena said. ‘Like someone going through her top drawer without asking. So I pulled the rights. I won’t let her be misrepresented, not even by people with good intentions.’
Another pause.
Delilah’s voice, when it came, was low but sure.
‘I understand,’ she said. ‘And I appreciate you telling me.’
Cassie half expected her to leave it there. But she didn’t.
‘I’m bisexual,’ Delilah said.
Cassie turned, startled. Delilah didn’t look at her. She was focused entirely on Rena.
‘And I want you to know… if I play Tamsin, I will treat that part of her with respect. Not just as an actress, but as someone who gets it.’
Rena’s gaze was still.
Delilah went on, her voice warmer now, more personal.
‘If Tamsin didn’t talk about that, maybe she did that because the world didn’t let her. But I think it matters now more than ever. Not to sensationalise it or make it the whole story. Just… to let it be part of her. So no one else feels like they have to bury who they are to be accepted.’
She stopped there, and Cassie flicked a look at Rena. It was truly hard to say how she’d taken that.
Rena looked down. Her fingers worried the hem of her sleeve for a second. Then she nodded slowly.
‘OK, well, that’s… given me something to think about. Which I will now do,’ Rena said with a nod to the door.
‘Of course,’ Delilah said quickly. ‘Of course.’
They shuffled out.
Back in the car, Cassie started the engine but didn’t drive.
Delilah stared out the window, her expression unreadable.
Cassie said, ‘You didn’t have to say all that. The personal stuff…’
‘I did, actually. Because it’s how I feel. It’s why I wanted this so badly. Well, that and a serious profile bump.’
Cassie smiled. And she wondered if she should say something else. About her own sexuality. But what did it really matter?
Of course, the real reason she didn’t, the thought she couldn’t allow herself to have very loudly, was that she was scared of where the admission could lead, in this very car. Scared to death.
‘Hey, are you busy tomorrow?’ Delilah asked.
Cassie was surprised. ‘Why?’
‘I’d like some tennis training, if you’re up for it?’
Cassie laughed. ‘Jesus, the confidence.’
‘I don’t know how that’s going to shake out. I just miss the training. I miss your…’
Cassie stopped breathing.
‘…particular brand of hard-arsery.’
Cassie let the breath go. ‘Sure. You’re paid through the week, right?’ she said quickly.
She started the car, wondering what Joanna would say about all this. There was one word she often used that could be helpful.
Boundaries.