The Final Act (#4 Bestselling Spotlight Series) (5 page)

Chapter 6

The big house seems empty when I arrive. But the lobby lights are on. I push open the large door leading into the marble-floored entrance hall.

M
y eyes land instantly on a small table, right in the centre.

Artfully displayed in an antique vase is a light pink rose. It’s such a soft colour
, it’s almost white, but the pink tint gives the petals a delicate hue.

It’s lovely. I move towards it instinctively, plucking it out of the vase and inhaling the fragrance.

There’s a handwritten card next to the rose, and I read the message.

Soft pink. For admiration. Because you are worthy of more admiration than you could ever know.

I am smiling, deeply touched. What a lovely thing to write. And roses again. The Berkeley calling card.

Oh James. You are more worthy of admiration than you realise
too.

I turn the card to see
there’s more writing.

These are measured

words that
first made me,

fall in love
with you.

Find them,
to find your

next clue
, my darling.

It’s a treasure hunt! I feel myself grinning. I
love
treasure hunts. How did he know? I re-read the card, thinking about the words carefully.

The words that first made him fall in l
ove with me? What could they be? I think over our conversations when we first met. When did he first fall in love with me?

James
first told me he loved me in his apartment in the Berkeley Studios. I play back our conversation.

We’d just talked about his past. His being sent to boarding school after his mother’s death.
Are those the words he meant?

I read the clue again. Measured words. Measured. I frown, thinking hard. I don’t really measure any of my words. They just come out.
In fact, after James told me about being blamed for his mother’s death, I remember being angry. Furious even.

Certainly my words weren’t carefully chosen.
And measured would be planned, wouldn’t it?

As in…
a script?

Hmmm.
The movie script we’re now working on. I guess that would have measured words. Where would a copy belong? That could be anywhere. With any of the actors, for a start. Or in his studio maybe.

He can’t mean the movie script, I decide. There are too many places a copy co
uld be. Then another possibility occurs.

Wait
. That isn’t the only script we’ve worked on.

A
thought bubbles up.

The first words I ever read to
James… were from Romeo and Juliet.

Suddenly the clue makes sense.

Measured words
. Shakespeare writes in iambic pentameter. Every line has an exact amount of words. Measured.

I look back to his clue.

These are measured

words that first made me,

fall in love
with you.

Find them,
to find your

next clue
, my darling.

It’s written in iambic pentameter. Five syllables to every line. Like Shakespeare.

I break into a wide beam of pleasure.

So that would mean… He fell in love with me when we very first met?

I feel
a little dizzy with emotion.

So
James loved me from the very first. It’s almost too much to take in.

I’m smiling, remembering that first audition. The way I felt, being close to him. I hold the card against my heart, closing my eyes at the memory.

Did I love him too then? I think part of me did.

Thinking back to our first meeting brings back so many feelings.

I was so nervous, and Berkeley’s manner threw me completely. It’s funny to think how I was back then. Since I’ve met James, I feel like a different person.

I definitely feel older.
Am I wiser? I think so.

I return my attention to the clue.

Ok. So. Now we’re getting somewhere. The logic part of my brain is kicking in again. Shakespeare. So where would Shakespeare belong?

In a library?

Berkeley Hall has a library. James showed me it on a tour of the house, so he knows I’m aware of its existence.

I’ll bet that’s where he means.

Pocketing the clue, I head towards the library.

Almost as soon as I’m through the door, I realise I’ve guessed right. A flash of colour reveals another rose, tucked into the book shelf. This one is a soft lavender colour.

I tug the bloom free. There’s no note, and then I see a copy of
Romeo and Juliet
next to the flower.

I pull out the book and see a note is tucked inside.

Lavender. For love at first sight. The book is a gift. Read it and remember I love you always. From the very beginning and forever after.

Once again I’m reeling
. I feel like an old-fashioned heroine, about to swoon from his love letters.
How does he say such perfect things?

And
James loved me, even from the first audition. That is such an unexpected and touching revelation. Though the rest of his words are even more beautiful.

From the very beginning and forever after.

For me too James. Forever.

I gaze at the message, wishing James was here so I could tell him how much I love him in return. The
play is a folio edition, bound in red and gold, and Romeo and Juliet’s words are printed in heavy type. It’s a lovely gift. Made much more so by James’s note.

I pull out my phone and send him a message.

This is so beautiful. Thank you. I love you more than words can say
. Forever yours xx

Instantly my phone beeps.

Forever mine. I accept. Are you glad that you did what you were told?

I suppress a smile. Smarty pants Mr Berkeley. But of course I’m loving his romantic treasure hunt. What girl wouldn’t? I text back.

Maybe just this once.

Then I turn the card to see my next clue.

You danced the dance of love,

And wore this dress.

I couldn’t take my eyes off you.

I still can’t.

This is so incredibly romantic.
I am literally aglow with happiness.

I can’t believe that James has gone to all this trouble. And his notes. The roses will fade, but I will keep the notes forever.

I concentrate on working the latest one out. Dancing. The night I danced flamenco? But that isn’t a dance of love. James knows that. It’s a dance of sorrow.

The answer comes to me
suddenly.

The night we danced tango!

James is referring to our first date. The night we danced tango together. I flush at the memory, remembering his proximity as we whirled across the floor. Him confidently leading. Me submitting to his guidance.

I want to
show you to enjoy submission.

I raise an eyebrow
, amused by how far I’ve come since then. He’s taught me alright. I wonder if either of us ever thought how ready I would be to submit to him.

That night I was hesitant, and afraid, that James’s old-fashioned ways would undermine me as a person.
I feared submission would make me weak and degraded. But that hasn’t happened at all.

Submitting to James has
made me strong, empowered. And open to more pleasure than I knew was possible.

I study the clue again. What did I wear that night? I can’t believe that James remembers my actual outfit. I guess he pays more attention to my dress than I realised.
I picture what I was wearing at the Cathedral de Tango.

I wore my green halter neck with the flowing skirt.

My heart sinks. That dress is back at my apartment in Chelsea. Did I get the clue wrong? I’m sure I didn’t.

Then I remember. James had a parcel of my clothes sent to the studio. They would have been sent on to my accommodation here as well. So the dress will be at the little cottage where I’m staying at Berkeley
Estate.

I’m so excited by the prospect of finding the next clue, that I race across the grass and back to the clutch of cottages where the actors are housed. I wrench open the door and run to my closet.

Sure enough, my clothes have been sent on, and some member of staff has hung them all out.

Impatiently
, I riffle through the dresses, and then my fingers close on the green halter neck.

Part of me thought that James might not remember the right dress from that night. But I see instantly that he was paying close attention. Inside is another rose. Peach coloured this time.

I remove the flower, and a card, which is pinned lower down inside the dress.

Peach, for appreciation.

Because
every day you show me something new

To make me appreciate how lucky I am to have you.

I am grinning again, and I can’t resist sending him another quick text.

You sure know how to make a girl feel loved. xx

My phone beeps.

With you it’s eas
y
Now get on with the treasure hunt, so I can get MY prize!

Oh. His prize.
Hmmm.
I guess he must mean me. So I’ll be seeing him as soon as I finish my hunt. The thought makes my heart leap. I can’t wait to tell him how happy he’s made me. This urges me to solve the next clue.

I turn the card.

In Mauritius
we don’t just say I love you.

We say ‘Mo Content Toi’.

It means: ‘You are the place where my heart feels at home.’

You are that place Issy. And my heart is very, very happy.

I stop reading
because my eyes are suddenly blurry with tears.
The place where his heart feels at home
. I love that he’s written that. Because he’s found a way to explain how I feel about him too.

When I’m around James, it’s as though
I’ve come home. Like my heart has found a place to be.

I feel my whole body sigh aloud, in love for him. Now all I want to do is be in his arms.

So solve the clue.

I wipe my eyes and read the rest of the card.

So come to another place for secret hearts.

And I’ll tell you all my secrets.

All his secrets! Does this mean he’s decided to open up to me? Surely it must. The thought prompts a wave of love. He meant what he said earlier, that I was breaking down his armour. James is ready to take the next step. To bring us closer.

The realisation brings another surge of urgency to track him down. I turn my attention back to the words.

A place for secret hearts.

Secret hearts.

My mind runs over all the places this could be. It must be somewhere on the estate. Suddenly the answer presents itself as easy.

The secret garden. The walled off part of the grounds which James showed me earlier. He told me that lords and ladies would go there for private time.

That must be it. The place for secret hearts.

Quickly, I race away from the cottages and head for the stables, and the walled garden.

As I near the long red
-brick wall, I see a flickering of light on the underside of the tree branches, inside the garden.

I guessed right
!

James has organised some kind of lighting inside.

I follow the wall around, worrying that the entrance might be hidden too. But unlike the children’s book, the door isn’t covered over by ivy. It’s an ordinary looking wooden door with a surprisingly domestic round metal handle.

I turn it and open my way into the walled garden, with no idea of what might be inside.

And I gasp in amazement when I see what James has made.