Dreaming of Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly Page A

ideas, plus there was still much to sort out with the film. His phone never stopped ringing, unless he switched it off, which he often did when he was writing. His imagination was working at full capacity at the moment, and there wasn’t room to start imagining romantic scenarios in his own life. He had to write those of his characters’ first, but that was easier said than done, wasn’t it?
    A sudden gust of wind buffeted Adam, and he buttoned his coat. It was cold for May, and the sea was a menacing grey to match the sky. He watched as the actresses left the safety of the makeup vans, the fine fabric of their dresses whipping around their legs. They were all wearing coats, and he could see strands of hair desperately trying to escape from the confines of their bonnets.
    â€˜It’s impossible!’ Beth shouted above the wind. ‘I can hardly get my breath.’
    Sophie and Gemma linked arms and struggled along behind Beth as they approached the Cobb. The sea was whipping up some alarming waves, and they hit the Cobb on the far side and sprayed over the top, soaking anyone who dared to stand nearby.
    Teresa shook her head. ‘It’s no good,’ she bellowed. ‘We can’t shoot in this.’
    â€˜I told you,’ Beth bellowed back. ‘We should have had that lie-in.’
    â€˜Best hangover cure, though,’ Oli said with a laugh. He was wearing an enormous coat over his Captain Wentworth clothes, and his face was damp with sea spray. The other actors who were part of the Cobb scene were similarly attired, and most were bent double to try to cope with the ever-increasing wind.
    Then the rain came. There was no buildup—no hesitant drops to warn of an impending downpour—the heavens just opened and dumped their load onto the poor unfortunates below.
    Adam pulled up the hood of his coat and ran towards the nearest van for cover, as did everyone else. Bonnets and hair were flattened in an instant, and makeup rivered down each actor’s face. Dampened dresses clung to the actresses’ legs, and everyone’s face was as glum as Les Miserable’s.
    Towels were quickly passed around and the makeup girls went into standby to repair the damage, but Teresa shook her head.
    â€˜Get out of those wet things,’ she shouted. ‘Get dried, and then we’re heading out to do the Uppercross scenes.’
    Adam saw Gemma’s face fall, and he could guess why. She’d psyched herself up for the Cobb scene, and now the weather had put paid to that.
    â€˜Hey,’ he said, sidling up to her, ‘you’ll be fine.’
    She looked up at him with wide eyes, reminding him of a traffic-startled deer, but then she nodded.
    â€˜Come on, everyone,’ Teresa suddenly bellowed. ‘Get moving!’
    Adam knew that they’d hired a minibus, and it wasn’t long before the cast were battling their way along the windy Cobb and boarding the vehicle. Nobody asked him if he wanted to join them, but he hadn’t expected that they would, and he didn’t mind. He had his own wheels, and he also had an idea brewing.
    â€˜Kay,’ he said quietly to himself as he left the Cobb. Kay could come with him. She was reading Persuasion . She was bound to want to see it being filmed, and it would be the perfect opportunity to get to know her.
    Bowing his head against the wind, he walked along Marine Parade towards Wentworth House, making a couple of quick calls to the production team first, so he couldn’t be accused of skiving.
    This is a good idea, isn’t it? a little voice inside him said as he approached Kay’s. He cleared his throat and pulled down his hood, raking a hand through his hair, which he feared was even more tousled than usual, with the wind he’d been battling. Before he could change his mind, he knocked on the door.
    And waited.
    He knocked again, rapping the knocker as loudly as he could.
    He waited some more. Lucky there