Plain Jane in the Spotlight by Lucy Gordon Read Free Book Online

about Julius Caesar?’
    ‘Better still, Nero,’ he said, catching her mood. ‘Or Caligula.’
    ‘But Nero was a tyrant,’ Charlene objected.
    ‘Great. That makes him a true Falcon.’
    ‘And Caligula was mad. Wouldn’t your father hate that?’
    ‘Not if it made money.’
    They laughed together.
    ‘Haven’t you got two other brothers?’
    ‘Yes, there’s Leonid, who’s Russian and lives in Moscow. We don’t know a lot about him, but he must be successful because Amos always speaks of him with respect. Jackson’s different. He’s a naturalist. He’s written books and has a television series about wildlife all over the world.’
    ‘That doesn’t sound like it makes him a millionaire.’
    ‘No, he’s not. But Amos respects him, nonetheless, because the world knows him as a “serious man” doing a “serious job”. I just “flaunt myself for the press”, but Jackson “defends the environment” and that elevates the name Falcon, even if not in business.
    ‘He actually told me once that I should change my name because he didn’t want to be connected with someone “prancing around for the cameras”.’
    ‘Your father doesn’t want you to be called after him?’ she asked, aghast.
    ‘He despises what I do. He was furious when I wouldn’t take a different name.’
    ‘No wonder you feel shut out,’ she said sympathetically.
    ‘Not by the others. I get on fine with my brothers, what little I see of them. But I think Amos is just hanging on in the hope that one day I’ll change into a mini-Amos.’
    ‘You could always act it,’ she suggested.
    ‘Not if I want to stay sane,’ he said hastily. ‘This way, at least I know who I am. Or I would, if people didn’t keep wanting me to put on a performance in private as well as in front of the cameras.’
    ‘You poor soul.’ She sighed. ‘The burdens of fame. Just think of all those unemployed actors out there who must be so grateful they don’t have your problems.’
    He scowled for a moment, but then relaxed and squeezed her hand, smiling ruefully.
    ‘Yeah, right. I must be coming across as a bit of a wimp, eh? It’s your fault. You’re such a tempting, sympathetic shoulder to cry on that I gave in. But no more.’ His voice deepened and he assumed a haughty mien. ‘From now on, just macho authority and stern resolve.’
    ‘Ouch, please, no!’ she said. ‘I can’t stand men like that.’
    ‘Neither can I,’ he admitted. ‘Perish the thought that I should ever be one of them.’
    ‘Nothing could be less likely,’ she reassured him.
    He met her eyes in a look of total understanding, and suddenly she had the strangest feeling of having known him all her life. It made no sense but instinctively she was his friend, and she sensed him becoming her friend.
    ‘You see right through me, don’t you?’ he said, amused.
    ‘I guess I do. Do you mind?’
    ‘Not a bit. Know what? I think we’re going to get on really well.’
    ‘Me too. Here’s to a great evening.’
    They raised their glasses, and were about to clink when a voice cut in between them like a knife.
    ‘Well, well! Look who’s here.’
    Looking up, Charlene saw a tall, hard-faced, middle-aged man, regarding them coldly. She heard Travis groan, then say, ‘Charlene, this is Frank Brenton. Brenton, this is Miss Charlene Wilkins.’
    Brenton flickered cool, angry eyes over her, nodded, then spoke to Travis in a rough voice. ‘Some people have a gift for escaping from awkward situations. I congratulate you. You got away with it this time, but there’ll be others. That’s guaranteed.’
    ‘Nothing’s guaranteed,’ Travis said.
    ‘I think you’ll find you’re wrong. You go about inviting trouble, Travis, and such an invitation always gets accepted.’
    There was frank dislike in his eyes. His glance at Charlene was almost insulting, and an incredible suspicion came to her, making her temper flare.
    She slipped her arm about Travis’s neck, leaning her head against