Page 99 of Let’s Make a Scene

After a few more minutes, Cynthie arrives with Patty, Liam, Hannah, and Brooke’s crew in tow. The room gets even more crowded. I watch as Cynthie scans the crowd, and my heart lifts when I realize who she’s looking for. When her eyes find me, I lift my hand and she smiles with a look that might be relief.

Then everything moves very quickly. Cynthie, Logan, and Jasmine block the scene, and any trace of nerves has been ruthlessly suppressed, because Cynthie appears in her element. She’s changed a lot, I realize. She’s sure of herself in a way she wasn’t all those years ago, and it’s clear she has her own creative vision, because she stops at several points to make suggestions or tweaks.

Jasmine absorbs these suggestions quietly, but Logan leaps on everything she says like an enthusiastic hound on a biscuit.

“Right,” Jasmine says finally. “I think we’re ready to go.”

“First positions,” Arjun pipes up.

“Roll sound.” Jasmine points.

“Sound speed!”

“Roll camera.”

“Camera rolling.”

A young guy steps into shot with a slate. “Scene four, take one.” He claps the slate shut.

“Set,” the camera operator near me says.

“Action,” Jasmine calls.

And we’re off.

It takes about five minutes for me to forget how worried I am. Then, all I can do is watch as Cynthie delivers a perfect take. Seeing her on the monitors is a pleasure. The scene is framed beautifully, and Cynthie is luminous. It’s impossible to drag your eyes away from her. When she traces Edward’s handwriting with her fingers and a single tear slides down her face, she tilts her chin and the lighting catches it, crystalline and lovely. Every line of her body speaks of an impossible heartbreak, when only moments before she’d looked utterly at ease. I’m not the only one holding my breath.

“Cut!” Jasmine shouts, and there’s a spontaneous burst of applause. Cynthie wipes the tear away, and as Liam swoops in to fix her makeup, she glances over in Jasmine’s direction.

“I’d like to try it again, but changing up the pace in that middle section,” Cynthie says briskly.

Even Jasmine can barely suppress a smile. “Sounds good,” she agrees.

“Fuck, she’s incredible,” I murmur.

“I know, right.” Brooke’s voice comes from close beside me.

I practically jump out of my skin. Where did she even come from?

“I wondered if we could steal you for a quick interview? I know you have a busy afternoon.” Her tone is apologetic.

I glance at Cynthie, but she seems fine now, absorbed in the work.

“Sure,” I say, reluctantly.

“Great. We have everything set up next door.” Brooke is all smiles.

I catch Cynthie’s eye and gesture toward Brooke, discreetly rolling my eyes, and she smiles, shoos me off with her hand.

The room next door is empty except for a chair and a small lighting rig. I refrain from mentioning that it looks as though I’m about to be tortured for information, and I try to be as charming as possible as I settle in to answering Brooke’s questions.

“So, is it strange being back here at Darlcot Manor after all these years?”

“Definitely,” I agree. “I thought it’d been a long time since we were here, but suddenly the past feels very close. It’s a good feeling though, like coming back to somewhere that was important to you when you were younger. You know, like where you spent that one perfect summer as a kid.”

“A Lady of Quality was your first film,” Brooke says. “Did you think of yourself as a kid when you were making it?”

“God, no,” I laugh. “I was twenty-four and I thought I knew it all. Thirteen years can give you a generous dose of perspective.”