Chapter 3
"Here we are." Charlotte anxiously stood in front of the secretary.
Margaret eyed her and then looked at the three members of the staff that were wearing the actor's costumes for the official presentation of the movie's wardrobe.
"William is busy with a call. I'll tell him that you are here." Meg rose and opened the door after a soft knock. She allowed them in when he said so.
Elizabeth was almost as nervous as Charlotte. This was her first real 'assisting' experience and she was anxious to see how it would come out. As she had been told by the others, Darcy's reactions were sometimes unpredictable. She liked Charlotte, she liked the outfits and wished that this first test would come out well. She entered the office and blocked the sight of the costumes until he finished his call. Charlotte said that the first impact is very important and she wanted Darcy's full attention on them for the presentation.
Darcy hung up the phone and Charlotte made her triumphal entrance. The production designer and photography director were there too so all three men observed the show with unreadable expressions. There was a long silence before Darcy spoke.
"Is that Farrell's outfit?" It was obvious that it was and he didn't sound very pleased with what he was seeing.
"Yes, well, I ..." Charlotte's confident smile crumbled.
He exchanged looks with the others and then said, "He looks like Indiana Jones."
"Well, it has a similarity but …"
"He only needs the bloody whip to look just like him." He interrupted her.
Charlotte bit her lip. Thank God she forgot the whip in her office.
Darcy observed Mike, the best boy, dressed like intrepid adventurer Mitch Farrell and said, "I want a lighter shirt and brown trousers. The hat looks fine, but I want to see it on Charles before making a decision."
"William," Charlotte tried to defend her creation, "a lighter one will get dirty immediately and …"
"Then take 100 shirts with you. Charles is blonde and that color will make him look too monochromatic. He'll be crossing the jungle, so sweat and dirt will be part of the character. Lighter shirt, brown trousers and leather accessories. And remove the epaulettes, he looks like a boy-scout."
Charlotte opened her mouth to protest but Darcy's expression told her that his position was inarguable. As for Elizabeth, she observed the scene in front of her eyes thinking that his attitude was not only being despotic, but arrogant too. Charlotte had a point, and he didn't care to listen to it. So 'arrogant' and 'unapproachable' were added to her Darcy Description List.
Darcy closed the subject and then his eyes turned to the two girls from the staff that were modeling Miss Victoria's dresses.
"This is the dress she'll use when the ship arrives," Charlotte pointed at the beautiful white dress, in a Victorian style with a very tight bodice and a draped bustle skirt. "The London dresses are similar, more adorned, one in blue and the other in yellow." The model wasn't tall enough for the dress, but it would help them to visualize how the character would look like.
Darcy observed them carefully. "Is that the 1905 fashion?"
"No, actually it's a little earlier, 1895, but you said you didn't want it historically accurate so I took a little license. They used tighter bodices and corsets in 1890 and blouses weren't so fluffy."
"Something is missing," he pointed out.
Charlotte quickly opened the white parasol that matched the dress. Cindy, the receptionist-model, rested it on her shoulder and turned around for him to see.
"Cindy," Darcy smiled at the girl's sportive attitude, "you'll have to grow a few inches to be able to fit that dress." The girl giggled.
"And this is the jungle outfit." Charlotte pointed at the other girl.
This would be the clothes that Caroline would be wearing good part of the movie. It was quite simple, a creamy blouse and a semi long skirt in the color of khaki, very early century explorer type, and brown boots.
"And the underwear?"
Charlotte walked towards his desk and showed him the chemise and the corset. She couldn't ask the girl to model these. Darcy touched the material to see how it felt. There would be a few shots of Caroline in this attire, one of them wet and he wanted to be sure that it would be provocative enough.
"What do you think?" Darcy asked Sam.
"Nice, I like it." Replied Sam.
"Well done, girls. Thank you all."
With this, the crew was dismissed and the men returned to the subject they had been previously engaged on.
"Well, how was it?" Jane asked anxiously.
"Great," grinned Charlotte as she helped Cindy out of the dress. "He liked the dresses though I'll have to make some changes in Farrell's outfit."
"I don't understand," said Elizabeth. "Didn't he approve the sketches?"
"Yes," replied Charlotte. "So?"
"Well, he is changing something he already approved."
"He's the director and the associate producer. He can change whatever he wants. Anyway, this came out great, had he disliked the dress, I would have been in trouble."
"Is he always like this?" Elizabeth had to ask.
"How?" Charlotte chuckled.
"So ... bossy."
Jane laughed. "Elizabeth, when you sit in the cinema to watch a movie, what you see is what the director and the producer imagined and William is both. He has the right to be bossy."
"And he's right," added Charlotte, "Charles Bingley will look too plain on screen with a khaki shirt and it's not a big change. White might make him look larger, but the man is so hot that no one would notice."
"He looked yummy in the last movie he made," said Jane. "Great body."
"I didn't see it, what was it called?" Elizabeth asked her.
"'In Sight of the Devil', he played a policeman that works undercover inside a band of drug dealers. If he can shag that way on screen I can't imagine how it would be in real life Charlotte filled the blank.
"I hope he's nice to work with," there was a little apprehension in Elizabeth's voice, "and this Caroline, too. I have never worked with actors."
"I never worked with a star of Bingley's caliber," replied Jane, "though I heard he's very amiable. I hope he is, cause I'll be the first thing he sees when he comes to the set in the morning. Fortunately his make-up isn't elaborate."
"Last week," said Charlotte, "People magazine published this list with the most rakish actors in Hollywood and Clooney, Bingley and di Caprio were at the head of it. It said that he has slept with more than 100 women ..."
"At the same time?" Teased Elizabeth.
"Don't be silly," laughed Charlotte. "More than 100 women and that he is very proud of it. Only the list of women he had been seen with during this year had 10 names, and we are only in March."
"Don't believe everything you read and hear, Charlotte," responded Jane, "you should know better by now."
"I do, but the man has a reputation."
The actors arrived and the madness began. The readings were done the following morning and they lasted about three hours. 'The Secret of the Mountain' was an adventure movie, so dialogues weren't complicated or extensive. During the reading, Darcy gave the actors the first indications of how he wanted them to sound and assured them that he trusted their ability to interpret the text and transmit the emotions they felt appropriate for each situation.
During the afternoon, actors were submitted to camera, lights, make-up and wardrobe tests, interacting, for the first time, with the crew that would assist them in the next month.
"Hi, I'm Jane Benedict." Jane welcomed Charles Bingley into the make up room. "I'm doing the make up."
True to his nature, Charles' eyes brushed the figure of the pretty blonde in front of him and smiled appreciatively. "I'm Charles Bingley, pleased to meet you."
True to her nature, Jane blushed at the obvious and quite shameless scrutiny of her body. "Please sit down, this won't take long."
"Take your time, baby, I'm all yours."
Jane had never felt so nervous during a make up session. Charles was not only a handsome man, there was something about him, something that no one could describe, that made him absolutely irresistible. The bad thing about it was that he was perfectly aware of his appeal and he just loved to take advantage of it. For him, seducing was an art, a game that he loved to play whenever he had the chance. So, while Jane worked on his face, he tried to seduce her with his eyes, with his smile and even making some light comments about their future work together. Smooth talk and subtle flirting produced blushes from the girl. So she was the modest, blushing type? That was a novelty, he had not had one in the past months. They were usually the most passionate ones. He even recalled one especially, not her name, of course, but her face and her body. Well, just her body. The irony was that girl played the shy, virginal girl in public and attacked him as soon as they were in privacy. He bet that this blonde was as passionate as that one. Passionate or not, the make-up artist had a body that was worth a try. So, when Charles left the make up room, his next target was set. Jane Whatever would be his.
After Charles' came Caroline Benjamin's turn. She entered the room with a 'hi everyone' and rested her splendid figure on the make-up chair. With her, came her hairstylist, Luis Urso, her personal friend, image designer and gossip supplier who would be the cast's hairstylist on location. During the entire make-up session, rudely ignoring the people that were there with them, the pair critiqued everyone that had been introduced to them during the last 24 hours and conversed about Caroline's luck for playing Bingley's mate on screen. They left with the same rudeness they came in with and then parted for the wardrobe test.
Ted Hurst didn't represent an inconvenience and sat patiently until Jane was done with him. But one thing must be pointed out about him: it was 4.00 PM and they could already smell alcohol on him.
After the tests, Caroline and Ted rehearsed the scene they would shoot on the following day while Charles left for the choreographer's gym to rehearse the movements for the first scene they would shoot in Africa: the fight inside of Miss Stanford's bedroom. It was a very physical scene that Charles would play without a stunt double, so it demanded a lot of coordination to make it right.
The real thing began on Thursday at 6.30 AM. The crew was loaded in vans and they all headed to the Museum for the Library shot. The location was available for only one day and they only had two hours to cover and remove everything that wasn't according to the period before the actors arrived. Light switches and lamps were replaced and some of the furniture was moved aside for the scene where Professor Stanford made his archeological discovery and told his daughter Victoria about it.
Darcy's idea of using an inexperienced actress gave him some trouble in this first day of shooting. Caroline was nervous, and with long dialogues to say, missteps and mistakes happened quite often. Ted, a veteran actor, helped her as much as he could but, by noon, not a single take had come out right. With so little time to do this, everyone was apprehensive, fearing that they would have to reschedule this shot for another time or work until midnight. Everyone except for Darcy. He sensed Caroline's potential and was sure that she could make it, if only she would calm down. Helping her to get into the skin of her character took him a little more work than he expected, but his patience and talent to guide her in the direction he wanted her to go soon worked and Miss Victoria Stanford blossomed in Caroline's person. She was beautiful and her beauty was used to the best advantage, the light they designed for her made every close up look like a painting and in the end she was so radiant and inspired that Darcy even added new angles that weren't part of the storyboard.
During the shooting, Darcy's communication with the crew was very limited, almost non- existent, only exchanging opinions with the cameraman, telling Elizabeth to write down a special remark about a take or asking a technician to move or adjust something, but only with brief, short commands. His mind was completely focused in the action in front of him, in printing on film the image that existed only in his mind and there was nothing else but the actors, the light and the world that the camera was seeing. It was nearly 6:00 PM when they finished and, the actors dismissed. Some extras shots of the books were done, then some of the shelves, and it was nearly 8.00 PM when they packed up and went home.
"Well, how was the first time out in the ring?" Jane asked Elizabeth as they left the museum that night.
Elizabeth sighed in exhaustion. "This is great, though I just want to sit down and rest my feet. I arrived to this place at 7 and only rested a moment for lunch. Really, I never imagined it would be this tough."
"And we're lucky, Sam and Darcy are heading to the lab to see how it came out. I hope that everything is OK and that we don't have to repeat any part of it."
"Shoot it again?" Alarm crossed Elizabeth's features. "Does it happen frequently?"
"Hopefully, not." Laughed Jane. "Fancy a pizza?"
"I don't know," she shook her head. "We have an early start tomorrow and …"
"Why don't we go to my apartment and order something?" Jane offered. "I don't live too far away from here."
"Sure." Smiled Elizabeth.
"From Texas?" Asked Elizabeth. "And what are you doing here in England?"
"I followed my boyfriend." Jane sat back on the couch after finishing her pizza. "He was offered a position in London and he asked me to come with him. I was having a hard time finding a job at the time so I decided to try my luck here. Fortunately, I found a job on an A&E production and only two months later I was working in what I really liked. It was a great series."
"And what happened to your boyfriend?"
"One day, I came home from work early and I found him with another girl." Jane shrugged.
"What a bastard!" Cried Elizabeth. "And what did you do?"
"I packed my stuff and I left him. I was angry, hurt, but that didn't last long. I realized then that I didn't love him, and I went on with my life."
"So, why did you follow him so far away from home if you didn't love him?"
"I don't know, I thought I loved him when I decided to come with him, but honestly, I think I only needed a change of air. My family is very difficult and Hollywood is a rotten place. I thought of going to New York and trying my luck doing make up for fashion photographers or theatre, but I prefer movies much more, so Tim's proposition came at the right time. I love to create things with make up: bruises, wounds, aging, all those sort of things, not just the traditional make up." Finished Jane.
"That sounds amazing. So you will do Farrell's wounds in the movie?" Asked Elizabeth. There was a part where Bingley was injured when they escaped from the cavern, not severely, just bruises and she wondered whether Jane or another person would do them.
"Yes," Jane sipped some Coke. "It's quite easy, just a little make up, fake blood and they look just like real wounds." Jane's eyes twinkled.
"Yuck." Shuddered Elizabeth.
"And you, how is that you came to this production?"
"Coincidence. I lost my job, I was desperate and a friend of the family -that happens to be John Lucas- called us and told my mom that this position was available. I never thought I would be an assistant director."
Jane never believed what her mates were saying about Elizabeth. She was sure that they were joking about this, that it was only something they invented to pass the time, and Elizabeth's reply cleared any doubt she could have about that matter (it wasn't her business, anyway). For a second, she considered telling Elizabeth what was being said about her, but as the matter seemed to be over now -no one had ever mentioned it again after Darcy's ultimatum-, she preferred not to do it. That knowledge would only hurt her, so Jane decided to forget about the whole thing.
"Oh, my!" Elizabeth let out an exaggerated sigh. "That Charles Bingley is really something! I never saw someone that gorgeous, I thought that men like him existed only in movies!"
Jane laughed. "Well, he's an actor, isn't he? He's gorgeous, pity he's such a scoundrel. He flirted with me all the time during the make up session. He made me so nervous that I almost made a mess of his face, and do you want to know something?" Jane's tone increased the suspense and Elizabeth was dying to know. "The bastard realized it immediately and turned even more sexy than he already is. Really Elizabeth, the man can get you wet with just one look."
"You bet!" Laughed Elizabeth and Jane giggled. "Hollywood's terror, that's what I heard."
"Undoubtedly." Jane drank a little more of her Coke. "The bad thing about it is that he is so cute and so charming that he's the kind of man you can fall in love with. You know he's only playing with you, that he'll break your heart in the end, but you still want to give it a try."
"Would you?" Asked Elizabeth. Jane didn't seem this type of girl.
"No," Jane said resolutely. "I had enough scoundrels in my life already." Then, her tone became playful. "Though that doesn't mean I won't be drooling on him!"
"Who wouldn't?"
"Darcy is quite cute too, don't you think so?"
"Yeah, cute." Elizabeth wasn't very convinced about that, "though he acts as if something is bothering him."
"Why would you think that? I've known him for only a couple of months, but I think he's nice."
"I don't know," Elizabeth frowned. "He never speaks to me, and I'm supposed to be his assistant. He didn't even converse with me when he hired me. One moment he is nice, one moment he ignores me. I don't know what's wrong with him, but I think he dislikes me."
"And I think you are exaggerating. I never worked with him before, but I heard that he's always like this when he's shooting. Usually directors are so focused on the movie that they forget about everything else. Today was the first day and we were all very nervous. You'll get along fine, you'll see."
Elizabeth made a face that showed her doubts about Darcy's fondness towards her. She glanced at her watch and realized what time it was. "It's almost midnight!" She cried. "I have to be at the set at seven!" She rose quickly and went for her purse.
"Why don't you stay here?" Jane offered. She didn't realize it was so late either. "We can leave together tomorrow morning."
"You don't mind?" Elizabeth smiled. She hated the hotel where she was staying and it was too late to leave.
"Of course! You can sleep on the couch. I'll go for some blankets."
The two girls readied the couch for Elizabeth and sat to chat a little more. They were both alone in a strange city, their lives had been ones of sacrifices and misfortunes and they shared the same principles and values. Jane talked about her childhood in Texas, her conservative and old fashioned family that objected her 'artistic' career; Elizabeth told her the difficulties that she had been through and they developed the kind of friendship that bonds people for the rest of their lives. They shared their expectations about the future, their dreams, how much they wished to find someone to love and respect, and a nice job to bring some stability into their lives.
The other London scene was scheduled on the following day. It consisted of two parts, the first one, and the most complex scene of that section, was a shot of a street with carriages and twenty extras -no leading characters in this one- that was scheduled early in the morning. If Elizabeth thought that doing a scene with two actors was complicated, coordinating twenty people moving around was an even more difficult task, so more when one had only a few hours of sleep.
It was 7.15 when Elizabeth arrived at the set. Darcy was already there and acknowledged her presence with a glance and a stern 'good morning'. He conversed with Sam, drank his huge mug of coffee and then climbed on the 'dolly' to see the shot through the camera, ignoring her for the following hour. Then the extras arrived, they changed into their costumes and one hour later they were ready to shoot.
The scene was quite complex. The 'dolly' -a cart placed over rails that moved the camera along the set- would be moving along the street, accompanying the movements of the actors and carriages, without cuts, so it needed a lot of coordination and precision. Darcy explained to everyone the entire scene, the exact place where the camera would film each one of them and what movements should be done. The carriage had to cross at the exact moment, the man across the street should turn immediately after that and any misstep or mistiming would put the lens out of focus or misplace the character from the center of the action. They rehearsed movements, positions and attitudes -which were completely different for each extra- and then they started.
Making twenty people do what they had to do at the right time seemed impossible at the beginning and first take wasn't good. It took them more than half an hour to return to the original position as the carriage had to go to the end of the street to turn around. Take two had to be interrupted in the middle because an extra was out of place. An angry glance was thrown at Elizabeth because she didn't notice it before the shooting began. Take three failed because a horse dropped in front of the camera. It was past noon, the day was humid, and with such a long time in between takes, the extras became bored and hot and dispersed to go for refreshments or to stand in the shadow. As politely as she could, Elizabeth tried to keep them in place, but when she had one on his mark, another would move. Multitudinous shots were expensive, extras, carriage and horses were hired for the day, time was running short and with the departure for Africa in a few days, this had to come out right today or be re-scheduled in one month's time. Fearing they would lose the light for the other angle shot, Darcy decided to interfere and assist his assistant in her task of putting some order in the set. In his Director (with capital D) voice, extras were harangued, 'action' was called and they were able to shoot the scene. A break for lunch, the equipment was relocated and after four takes, Darcy was satisfied with the outcome.
Elizabeth helped Charlotte collect the clothes the extras used. She was about to leave when the director called her.
"Elizabeth."
She looked up at him. Would he reprimand her for her misstep during the shooting?
"I want to see you in my office tomorrow at nine. Bring your notes."
His tone was so serious that her 'yes sir!' just blurted out.
Darcy startled for a second and then chuckled. "See you tomorrow, good night."
"Good night." She replied, thinking how handsome he looked when he smiled.
'Please don't sack me, please don't sack me' was the mantra that Elizabeth repeated since she woke up until she faced the door Darcy's office. What was she thinking when she answered that stupid 'yes sir!" as if addressing a Sergeant of the army? He laughed, yes, but that didn't mean that he didn't think of it over during the night and would fire her in the morning. What if the man didn't have a sense of humor? He looked as if he didn't. That irreverence plus her late arrival (twice), plus her lack of attention during the shooting on the previous day, was enough to fire her. 'Please don't sack me, please don't sack me' she repeated.
She peered into his office with a quiet 'excuse me, good morning' and walked in when he waved her to approach his desk.
"Good morning, Elizabeth. Sit down."
Elizabeth smiled and sat in front of him. He looked quite relaxed, not in a sacking attitude. Great. "How did yesterday's shot come out?"
He smiled back. "Fine. They'll record it on VHS for everyone to see."
Margaret came into the office and placed Darcy's huge mug of black coffee in front of him. "Do you want one too, Elizabeth?"
"Yes, with milk, thank you." She smiled and glanced at Darcy's mug. Her first thought was 'too much caffeine'.
"Meg, call the Institute and tell them I'm going for Georgiana at noon. I only have an hour to have lunch with her before going to the studio so she must be ready on time." Darcy asked his secretary. Margaret left and Darcy turned to his computer to check his mail. "Now, Elizabeth, read me all the marks you made. I want to check on them before you transcript them for the editors."
Elizabeth proceeded to read the notes she took and the ones he pointed out during the shooting while he read his mail. She thought this was quite rude of him, asking her to read when he wasn't going to listen, but if he was crazy, it wasn't her problem. She was reaching the end of the first day of shooting when she heard him typing. She immediately stopped reading. This was all the rudeness she could take.
"Go ahead, I'm listening," said Darcy when she turned silent. His eyes were looking intently at the screen.
Her expression showed her doubts about that assertion. She read on with him typing or reading from the screen and when she finished, believe it or not, he pointed out all the sections he wanted to mark for the editors, added some more comments and then asked his secretary to call Sam for a meeting. Definitely too much caffeine.
"Elizabeth, you are leaving on Monday with Sam and there are a few things I would like you to look after when you get to Africa. Sam will be quite busy adapting Netherfield's set and with the construction of the pigmy's village, so I would appreciate if you help him with everything until we arrive."
"Sure." She replied.
While they drank their coffee, he told her all the things she would have to supervise in Africa. Basically, she would have to see that everything was ready for the arrival of the actors and the crew, deal with customs, hire the additional help they needed, cast the 'actors' that would play the African carriers (preferably English speakers) and some other things.
"Will, we have a problem," Sam rushed into the office and sat next to Elizabeth. "Hi, Elizabeth, good morning." Sam acknowledged her and proceeded. "The government of Mukenya will not allow the entrance of fresh fruit and vegetables to the country so we'll have to buy them there. They have this law to preserve the local flora or whatever and we must go through thousands of sanitary authorizations to get them into the country. I already informed the caterer and he said he'll be taking all kinds of products to make the local vegetables safe for us, but I still need to find a decent place where we can acquire them."
"What's wrong about buying them there? We can wash them well." Elizabeth asked.
"The place we are staying pumps water from its own well; it doesn't have chlorine or any other disinfectant. It's not that it's unhealthy, but Africa's bacterial flora is completely different than ours," replied Darcy. "We already had a problem once and I don't want anyone with dysentery while we are there. We are taking bottled water to drink but fresh vegetables are a very good source of contamination. Take the actors' diets with you and see if you can find what they eat."
Elizabeth raised her eyebrow. The actors followed special diets?
"Charles won't represent a problem, but I fear that Caroline will have to replace her chicory with some other thing," smirked Sam.
"I would prefer not to be there when that happens." Darcy smiled crookedly. "She was quite specific about her diet."
"She eats chicory?" Elizabeth wrinkled her nose.
Sam laughed. "You'll never believe what actresses and models are able to eat until you see it with your own eyes. It seems that she is following this Chinese energetic, low fat, low protein diet and all she eats are grapefruits, raw vegetables and seeds."
"And can she survive with that?" She doubted that anyone would live on that.
"I don't think so," Darcy said with a half smile, "so it will be your task to keep our leading actress appropriately fed."
"I'll do my best," she replied with a dubious expression. By what she had already seen of Miss Benjamin and by the way these two were talking about her, this Caroline was very much a cow.
Chapter 4
After nearly eight hours on an airplane, the production team arrived at the Mukenya International Airport -quite small- to wait for the cargo plane that was bringing the filming equipment and all the additional materials they'd need for the shoot. The customs process was long and tedious and it took them several hours before they could load everything on the trucks and start the three hour journey to Netherfield.
Elizabeth slept all the way to Netherfield, curled up in the back seat of Foster's Land Rover which was transporting her, Sam and Kemo, their interpreter, to the house. The rest of the crew -the gaffer, two carpenters, a painter and two electricians- followed them in a van driven by one of Foster's men. There were two large trucks and two jeeps following close behind. When the small procession of vehicles finally arrived at the manor, it was so late and they were so tired that they only had a light supper and went to bed.
Work started early for the African crew. They only had two days to build the Netherfield set, so by 7:00 a.m. hammers were banging in the dining room. The room didn't need much work, as it had maintained its original form since the house was built, but its size, which was exactly the reason why they chose it, was too big for a hotel bedroom. A false wall was built in one end, making it look smaller, but allowing them enough room for the camera and the unit to work comfortably. The large mahogany bed which was in the master bedroom was moved downstairs and the curtains were replaced by the ones that they brought from England. By tea time, the east part of the dining room resembled the bedroom of a tropical hotel and, by dinner time, only paint and lights were needed for everything to be ready for the shooting.
Netherfield was an impressive property. The house was situated in a deforested valley surrounded by mountains covered by thick jungle, resembling those southern plantations that could be seen in movies like 'Gone With the Wind'. It had columns on the front, French doors in every room and tulle over the beds to protect them from the insects. The fauna and the flora were also very exotic and Foster's staff was very careful about the aesthetic details. A group of pink flamingos adorned the lake, peacocks and deer grazed the park and all kind of tropical plants colored the garden.
Soon after breakfast, Elizabeth headed towards the small village near Netherfield, where most of the workers of the plantation and their families lived, to see if she could find the things they couldn't bring (mainly Miss Benjamin's vegetables) and hire the additional personnel they needed. She was lucky with the people, but not with the food. Among the villagers, she hired two laundresses (costumes were washed every day), the extra help the caterer requested and the cleaning staff to assist them during the shooting. Back at the manor, based on Darcy's instructions, she found eight middle aged, similar height, thin black men whom, she hoped, looked like carriers. She checked that the bedrooms for the actors and tents for the crew were ready and then went to bed, exhausted and absolutely in love with her new job.
"Here's your soda, can I get you anything else, Mr. Bingley?" The airhostess smiled brightly at the movie star occupying the first class seat.
"No, thank you ... Barbara." Charles glanced at the badge that adorned her breast. "I'm fine."
"If you need me, just press the button." She finished in a suggestive voice.
"I will, thank you." Charles smiled and glanced at her bottom as soon as she turned her back to him. "I bet you I'll get her number before we land, Will."
"I won't bet on that, I still don't know why it is that she hasn't given it to you yet." Darcy didn't raise his eyes from his book.
"She's cute, but too easy for my taste. And married. Poor bastard, I pity him."
"How do you know she's married?" Darcy glanced at the airhostess, now serving Caroline a Perrier.
"Her hand is tanned but she has this lighter mark in the place where a wedding ring goes, what means she's married. And it also means that she removed it."
Darcy snorted and returned to his book. Charles always observed these details.
"She probably doesn't know that it's better to have affairs with married women, who don't expect a commitment or words of love, just a shag."
This time he made no comment. Charles' conquests were a subject that he had very little interest in.
"You did it right this time, Darce, you managed to direct a movie without women. How many there are, three? Four?"
"Four, including Caroline."
"That leaves me only three. Carrie's not my type."
"No? She's beautiful," replied Darcy uninterestedly.
"Yes, but too egocentric," said Charles.
"And you should be the only one receiving the attention." Darcy mocked him.
Charles laughed. "You know me too well."
"I thought you decided to slow down, Charles," Darcy turned serious and closed his book. "You just can't sleep with every woman you see. It's unhealthy, you should respect them and yourself."
"I know." Charles thought back to the day that sealed his friendship with the man sitting next to him. He would never forget how much he owed him. "I don't forget that day, Darce, and I really did slow down after that, but if they don't respect themselves, why should I respect them?"
Darcy knew that arguing with his friend about this was fruitless. Charles was a womanizer, and he loved to play that role. "That's why I hired an almost entirely masculine crew," he continued with a half smile. "I'm trying to protect the women of the world from you!"
"You bet!" Charles laughed. "Though at least you hired this very pretty girl for the make up. What is her name?"
"Jane," Darcy replied, disliking the twinkle in his eyes.
"Jane, what?"
"Jane Benedict."
"Yes, Jane Benedict. Very nice indeed." Charles sighed and relaxed in his seat.
Darcy shook his head and returned to his book.
"May I have your attention, please?" Col. Foster, who had retired from the army about ten years ago, called to his guests.
The entire room turned their attention to their host.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Netherfield." The colonel began pompously. "When my good friend John Lucas asked me to lend him my house to shoot a movie, I never imagined that I would be invaded by such a large gang of people!" Everyone laughed at the joke, though no one was sure if that was his intention. "Since you are all going to stay for more than a month and occupy every room of my house, my garden, use my pool and even my hunting cottage in the mountains, I'll be forced to leave my home and find refuge in some other place. So, Monte Carlo, here I come!" The colonel laughed and the rest did too. "Now, jokes aside," he raised his glass of champagne, "I hope that you make this one great movie," he squared his shoulders, "and don't forget to put me in the credits."
With that, the party started. After an eight hour flight and a three hour trip on a bus, the party got off to a slow start. Most of the crew had had taken a short nap after putting away the equipment, though they were still tired. Once the champagne started to flow, things livened up a bit and everyone started to mingle.
"Hi ... Jane?" Charles approached the blonde that had occupied his thoughts for the past day. She was conversing with one of the sparks (electricians).
Jane turned on hearing her name. "Oh, hi, Mr. Bingley ..."
"Please, call me Charles," he smiled charmingly, "Mr. Bingley sounds so formal."
"Charles," Jane smiled too. Tom, the electrician, muttered an 'excuse me' and left, leaving the couple by themselves.
"Do you want something to drink?" He offered, "Foster is serving a very good champagne."
Jane showed him her glass with orange juice. "I already have a drink, thank you."
"Nice party, isn't it?" Charles stepped closer.
"Yeah, great." Jane stepped back.
"You are from Texas, aren't you?" he leaned over her as he took a glass from the tray a waiter, passing behind Jane, was carrying.
"Yes, and you are from Wisconsin."
He smiled his most seductive smile. "Don't tell me you got me from my accent. My dialogue teacher said I was over it."
"Actually, I didn't, I read it in a magazine."
For the following ten minutes, Charles asked the usual questions and after letting her know that he was interested in her, he came directly to the point.
"Listen, why don't we go out to the terrace for a little privacy? I'm in need of fresh air."
Jane wasn't a fool and guessed his intentions as soon as he approached her. "I'm fine here, but, please, don't feel obliged to stay in here only because of me, you can go outside by yourself," she said with her sweetest smile. Charles was the star of the film and it was not her intention to offend him with her rejection.
Charles wasn't abashed, or hurt or even disconcerted by her refusal. He liked her, she was beautiful and seemed to be a very nice person. He laughed and said, "so you are not going out there with me?."
"That's correct." Jane smiled and shook her head. She was refusing the hottest, most charming man she had ever met.
"Then I suppose that you won't be coming to my bedroom tonight either." He couldn't stop from grinning as he said that. The chemistry between them was undeniable.
"You guessed right, I won't." Jane's lips curled into a flirting smile. The attraction that existed between them was indeed undeniable.
Jane was the most beautiful and lovely woman he had ever met. "Then, Jane Benedict, at least let me offer you a new drink. The ice in your juice has melted."
Only the ice? Jane nodded her head and Charles escorted her to the buffet.
"Did you realize that we are only three women surrounded by nearly thirty men and no one is asking us to dance?"
"Come on, Charlotte, you can't expect them to ask us to dance, this is only a cocktail party!" Elizabeth laughed at her friend's expression. "Anyway, do you really want to dance with your work mates? Most of the guys here are married."
"I know, but a little fun wouldn't hurt anyone. Look at Jane, five minutes into the party and she's already hooked up with the hottest man in the world."
"Char, they are only talking, nothing will happen. You know this guy only wants a one night shag and Jane is too wise to get involved with him."
"I know, but I really envy her. He's really hot, and he looks interested in her."
"Come on, you'll have your time with him too." Elizabeth smiled suggestively. "Jane is only doing his make up, but you, you get to adjust his clothes every day. All over his perfect and muscled body."
Charlotte played along. "Yes, all over him. I'll pay special attention to his trousers."
Elizabeth giggled at Charlotte's lustful eyes. "Just be careful with his weapon."
"Elizabeth!" Charlotte slapped her arm. "I'm not touching him there! I'm a professional!"
"I meant his gun, silly!" Laughed Elizabeth. "He's carrying one, isn't he?"
"What's going on here?" Jane joined them. Charles had finally accepted 'no' for an answer and left to converse with Darcy.
"We are talking about Bingley's pistol, did he show it to you?" Elizabeth asked impertinently.
Jane leaned closer and whispered in a conspirator tone. "No, but he's quite eager to show it to me."
All three giggled.
"I thought he would never leave." Darcy sighed in relief when Col. Foster went to converse with the others.
"I've never heard so many bad jokes in my life." Replied Charles. "If that man wants a job as a comedian, he'll starve.." He sighed heavily as he looked at the group of girls that were chatting not too far from them. A very nice sight. "You certainly didn't hire many women for this movie, Darce, but I can't complain about your choices."
Darcy rolled his eyes. Was this the only thing he could talk about? "Oh, please, Charles, just give me a break, will you?"
"Relax, William, you should learn to have fun." He was just teasing his friend.
After eight hours on a plane, three in a car and almost another one listening to Foster's jokes, Darcy wasn't in the mood for fun. The only reason why he was still at this party was because he had to oblige his host. "Right, drooling on the girls of the crew. I'm the director, you know, I must show some dignity."
"Are you suggesting that I have no dignity?"
Darcy smiled. "You said that, not I."
"Jane is lovely, though very elusive."
"Don't tell me she refused you." Darcy smirked. "Wise girl."
"Yes, she did, but I can fix that." Charles ignored him and glanced at the group of girls. Elizabeth had moved closer to the buffet for something to eat. "Your assistant is quite pretty too, don't you think?"
His friend was becoming really dense on this subject and he decided to cut it short. Darcy sounded bored when he replied. "Come on, Charles, you can't fall that low. I know you've seen better, because I certainly have."
Elizabeth, who happened to be close enough to hear them, turned slightly and glanced at them over her shoulder. Charles smiled and winked, Darcy gulped and looked away. She smiled pertly at them and returned to her party. The girls conversed in hushed tones for a moment and then all three erupted in laughter. Charlotte stole a glance in the men's direction, said something else and they laughed again.
"Do you think she heard you, Darce?" Charles asked his friend.
He hoped she didn't. But for what he could see, she did.