The Other Side of Midnight. Sidney Sheldon

But is that enough for an intelligent man? When you are through making love and eating, you must talk. What can she talk to you about?’ The answer was that it didn’t really matter.

      There had been no more mention of the play and Gautier was hoping that Noelle had either forgotten about it or had been unable to cope with memorizing the lines. When she left in the morning, she promised to have dinner with him that evening.

      ‘Can you get away from Philippe?’ Gautier asked.

      ‘I’ve left him,’ Noelle said simply. She gave Gautier her new address.

      He stared at her for a moment. ‘I see.’

      But he did not. Not in the least.

      

      They spent the night together again. When they were not making love, they talked. Or rather Gautier talked. Noelle seemed so interested in him that he found himself talking about things he had not discussed in years, personal things that he had never revealed to anyone before. No mention was made of the play he had given her to read, and Gautier congratulated himself on having solved his problem so neatly.

      The following night when they had had dinner and were ready to retire, Gautier started towards the bedroom.

      ‘Not yet,’ Noelle said.

      He turned in surprise.

      ‘You said you would listen to me do the play.’

      ‘Well, of – of course,’ Gautier stammered, ‘whenever you’re ready.’

      ‘I am ready.’

      He shook his head. ‘I don’t want you to read it, cherie,’ he said. ‘I want to hear it when you have memorized it so that I can really judge you as an actress.’

      ‘I have memorized it,’ Noelle replied.

      He stared at her in disbelief. It was impossible that she could have learned the entire part in only three days.

      ‘Are you ready to hear me?’ she asked.

      Armand Gautier had no choice. ‘Of course,’ he said. He gestured towards the centre of the room. ‘That will be your stage. The audience will be here.’ He sat down on a large comfortable settee.

      Noelle began to do the play. Gautier could feel the goose-flesh begin to crawl, his own personal stigmata, the thing that happened to him when he encountered real talent. Not that Noelle was expert. Far from it. Her inexperience shone through every move and gesture. But she had something much more than mere skill: She had a rare honesty, a natural talent that gave every line a fresh meaning and colour.