‘The one that sat on your lap? Is that how they got the picture?’

He groaned. ‘You’ve seen it? Yes, it was in the newspaper, wasn’t it? I’m finished.’

‘No, she’s a bit blurred. You can sort of vaguely tell what she’s up to, and the fact that she’s hardly wearing anything, but the only face you can see is yours.’

‘Yeah, me cuddling a nearly naked girl,’ he groaned. ‘Actually, I was fairly tipsy by then and I just sat there and let her…well… And I’m paying for it. I’m supposed to be virtuous in private as well as in front of the cameras.’

‘And you’re not,’ she said sympathetically. ‘Not below the waist, anyway.’

‘Right,’ he said, relieved to find her so mentally in tune.

‘Well, I have the answer,’ she said. ‘The perfect solution to all your problems.’

‘Tell me.’

‘It’s simple. All you have to do is take up residence in a monastery. There, your life will be unassailably righteous, your career will be protected, and the studio profits will be safe.’

He stared. ‘You…you…’ Then he saw the wicked glint in her eyes and joined in her laughter. ‘You evil hussy!’ he choked. ‘I ought to…oh, but it was a good joke. You really had me scared for a moment.’

‘Well, at least you’re laughing,’ she said.

‘Yes, but it’s no laughing matter. I could lose so much.’

Travis’s phone rang. He answered quickly and seemed on edge.

‘Mom, it’s all right. Honestly. I can handle it. Stop worrying, I’ll call you later.’

He hung up, looking harassed.

‘She thinks I’m going to be brought down by scandal,’ he said. ‘When she was making films nobody could have survived what’s happening now.’

‘A film actress? Hey, that’s it. I thought you reminded me of someone, and now I can see. Julia Franklin.’

Julia Franklin had been a promising film actress some thirty years ago. For a while she’d shone brightly, and her old films were still shown on television.