I
Sean O’Brien tapped on Gilda’s dressing-room door, waited a moment, then turned the handle and entered.
Gilda was changing. She reached hurriedly for her wrap, then changed her mind when she saw O’Brien, and went to him quickly.
“Sorry,” he said, smiling at her. “I should have waited a little longer.”
“Is it all right, Sean?” she asked, her great green eyes dark with anxiety.
“Of course.” He took her in his arms and kissed her. “You should lock the door, kid. Anyone could have walked in.”
“I thought I had. What happened, Sean?” She moved back to the dressingtable while he watched her, thinking how beautiful she was.
“Manchini won’t worry you again. I’ve had a scare thrown into him, and he scares fast.”
She slipped into a simple white evening dress that made her look, to O’Brien’s eyes, much more seductive dian when she was wearing her nightclub finery.
“I don’t know what I should do without you,” she said, going to the dressing-table and sitting down.