Exclusive!: Hollywood Life or Royal Wife? / Marriage Scandal, Showbiz Baby! / Sex, Lies and a Security Tape

VICTORIA FIDDLED with the stem of her champagne flute and forced herself to appear interested in the dull story that a fellow actor was recounting about himself and his exploits in some obscure film which, he told her, was bound to win a prize at next year’s festival in Sundance, even though it was not making waves in Cannes. She made all the right noises and caught Anne’s eye, hoping she might be rescued.

It was only the beginning of what promised to be an interminable evening. Mercifully dinner was announced and she was able to escape.

‘Mademoiselle Woodward…’

The elegant MC showed her to her place at the central table. Why did she always have to be stuck in the most conspicuous place? she wondered, thanking him. The tables were filling up. The large room was decorated with a sylvan theme: glistening silver leaves and branches were entwined with fairylights under glittering chandeliers. The effect was rather special. A woodland fragrance had been sprayed to give the room more atmosphere. They’d even managed a soundtrack of birds twittering in the background. She sat down, along with the other bejewelled women, and plastered on a plastic smile, her mind wandering. Behind the seated diners hawk-eyed bodyguards hovered, just out of sight of the ever-rolling cameras…

‘Signorina.’ A deep masculine voice to her right made her nearly jump from her reverie. She looked up. Next to her stood a dark, handsome man with the ghost of a smile hovering about his lips.

Victoria blushed. It was as if he’d read her thoughts, knew she’d been off in a world of her own.

‘Good evening, signorina. May I?’ He raised a quizzical brow, then prepared to sit next to her.

‘Oh, please,’ she murmured, realising that she hadn’t checked the place card of her neighbour.

‘Thank you.’ He slid into the chair with a brief smile. ‘Good evening. I am Rodolfo Fragottini,’ he said casually.

‘Hi. I’m Victoria Woodward,’ she replied.

‘Of that I am well aware,’ he said smoothly. ‘In fact the whole world is aware of your presence here tonight, signorina. May I congratulate you on your success? I have not had the pleasure of seeing your movie yet, but I gather that your performance is spellbinding.’

‘Uh, thanks.’ She flashed the ritual demure smile. Why had she not created a formulated reply for these compliments that she was so bad at receiving?

‘You do not feel your performance was that great?’ he queried.

She turned, caught a swift flash of humour in his eyes and lowered hers. ‘Actually, I—Oh, I really don’t know,’ she muttered, embarrassed.

‘You didn’t seem to agree with me, that’s all,’ he said, eyes laughing as she looked up once more.

Despite her nervousness, Victoria smiled back. ‘It’s difficult to judge one’s own performance. People say it was good. I always feel it could have been better.’

‘Ah! You are a perfectionist?’ he teased.

‘No,’ she responded. ‘It’s my job. I want to do my best. I just don’t see what all the fuss is about. Oops.’ She bit her lip, realising she shouldn’t have said that.

‘How refreshing,’ he murmured, glancing at her with new interest. Here was a superstar not obsessed with her own fame and glory. A novelty by any standard. Also, she reminded him of someone. ‘Do I take it that you are not enchanted with having to keep up appearances on a permanent basis, Miss Woodward?’ he asked, placing his white linen napkin on his knee.

‘Well…’ She shrugged, glanced at him sideways and caught the flicker of mischief in his eyes. ‘It does become a bit heavy going after a while.’

‘You amaze me. I thought this was what all actors and actresses dreamed of—fame and recognition. It does not please you?’

‘Of course it does. It’s just that…’ She caught Anne’s eye and quickly stared at her plate, hoping the pill she’d taken beforehand would keep up its effect for long enough to get her through the evening.

‘Just that you don’t feel at ease in this role?’ he asked searchingly. There was something about her that struck a chord.

Their eyes met and her pulse missed a beat. ‘How can you tell?’

It was his turn to shrug. ‘I observe people. Like you, I am often subjected to the stares and curiosity of others. It can become extremely trying,’ he finished dryly.

‘Oh, my goodness, Your Royal Highness!’ An elderly woman decked in diamonds and with several obvious facelifts in her wake cooed across the table at him.

‘Good evening, Madame Jensen.’ He bowed his head in greeting.

Victoria blinked. Royal Highness? He’d said his name was Fragottini and, being her usual distracted self, she hadn’t bothered to glance at the place cards. Now she really had put her foot in it. Anne would have wanted her glittering for royalty, she reflected wryly, eyeing her lobster cocktail with a glint of humour. She looked at it and sighed. She was so sick of all this rich food, of the wining and dining. What she wouldn’t give for a good old steak and kidney pie at the Bells pub in Hetherington.

‘You do not like lobster, signorina?’

Realising Rodolfo Fragottini was politely waiting for her to start, Victoria picked up her fork and smiled briefly. ‘I’m sure it’s delicious,’ she replied, forcing herself to slip a forkful into her mouth.

‘I doubt it. These large dinners rarely are. Would you consider me very pushy if I said I think you are lying?’

Victoria nearly choked. She hastily grabbed her water glass and took a long sip to quell her laughter.

‘Better?’ he enquired solicitously.

‘Fine. Sorry.’ She cast him an apologetic glance tinged with a smile. ‘It’s just I seem to have had so many different cocktails lately I’m a bit saturated.’

‘I can understand that,’ he sympathised, rolling his eyes expressively. ‘Lobster cocktail, foie gras, quenelles. I too have to admit that I’ve had my share of rich food for a while to come.’

‘But surely you eat things like this the whole time? I mean, you’re a prince or a king or something, so I suppose you live in a palace and eat off gold plate?’ she challenged.

‘Not quite. Even we royals have had to adapt to modern times,’ he replied, tongue in cheek, enjoying the banter. ‘Actually, I rather like going to the supermarket, choosing ingredients and cooking myself.’

‘Gosh, in the royal kitchen?’

‘No. I have an apartment in the castle where I live, and I try to prepare my own dishes as much as possible. Nothing like a nice plate of spag bog,’ he added with a wink.

‘Spag bog?’ she exclaimed, spluttering with laughter and trying to remember that he was a royal. She pressed the napkin to her lips to suppress a giggle. ‘Where did someone like you learn to eat spaghetti Bolognese?’

‘At Oxford. I’m really rather good at pasta, though I say it myself. You should come and try it some time. Do you cook? Or does your Hollywood schedule not allow for such personal indulgences?’

‘You’re right,’ she sighed, ‘it doesn’t. But actually I love to cook. Or used to, until all this came down.’ She raised her hand, then let it drop in her lap.

‘And where was that?’ he asked curious about this girl who jogged his memory.

‘Oh, back in Hetherington. That’s the village where my mother lives. I do quite a lot of baking too.’

‘Where is this village?’ he asked, picking up his fork once more.

‘In England—Sussex. It’s very pretty—cottages with thatched roofs and no lighting on the streets at night. We live in a manor house just outside.’

‘It sounds wonderfully quaint. I can understand why you would want to return there.’

‘Can you? I thought people like you were trying to transform their countries into havens for the rich and glitzy.’

‘Really? Is that what you’ve heard?’ She caught the edge to his voice.

‘My agent has some idea that I ought to move to a principality called Malvarina. Apparently they have very attractive tax laws. Maybe you’ve heard of it?’ she responded.