Tracy Corbett - The Summer Theatre by the Sea

Published by AVON

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

The News Building

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins 2018

Copyright © Tracy Corbett 2017

Tracy Corbett asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Ebook Edition © April 2018 ISBN: 9780008221935

Version: 2020-01-23

For my other family,

The Quince Players

Contents

Cover

Title Page TRACY CORBETT THE SUMMER THEATRE BY THE SEA

Copyright Published by AVON An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd The News Building 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins 2018 Copyright © Tracy Corbett 2017 Tracy Corbett asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins. Ebook Edition © April 2018 ISBN: 9780008221935 Version: 2020-01-23

Dedication For my other family, The Quince Players

The Isolde Players Present The Isolde Players present A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare The characters in the play: Hippolyta (Queen of the Amazons) – Glenda Graham Hermia (in love with Lysander) and Peaseblossom – Lauren Saunders Lysander (loved by Hermia), Philostrate and Pyramus – Daniel Austin Demetrius (suitor of Hermia) and Thisbe – Nate Jones Helena (in love with Demetrius), Snout and Wall – Paul Naylor Oberon (King of the Fairies), Egeus and Snug – Barney Hubble Titania (Queen of the Fairies) – Sylvia Johns Puck (servant to Oberon) – Kayleigh Wilson Nick Bottom (a weaver), Theseus and Mustardseed – Tony Saunders Moth and Cobweb (fairies) – Freddie and Florence Saunders Directed by Jonathan Myers Backstage crew – Quentin and Vincent Graham

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Acknowledgments

Keep Reading …

About the Author

Also by Tracy Corbett:

About the Publisher

by

William Shakespeare

The characters in the play:

Hippolyta (Queen of the Amazons) – Glenda Graham

Hermia (in love with Lysander) and Peaseblossom – Lauren Saunders

Lysander (loved by Hermia), Philostrate and Pyramus – Daniel Austin

Demetrius (suitor of Hermia) and Thisbe – Nate Jones

Helena (in love with Demetrius), Snout and Wall – Paul Naylor

Oberon (King of the Fairies), Egeus and Snug – Barney Hubble

Titania (Queen of the Fairies) – Sylvia Johns

Puck (servant to Oberon) – Kayleigh Wilson

Nick Bottom (a weaver), Theseus and Mustardseed – Tony Saunders

Moth and Cobweb (fairies) – Freddie and Florence Saunders

Directed by Jonathan Myers

Backstage crew – Quentin and Vincent Graham

Thursday, 5 May

With a certain amount of apprehension, Charlotte Saunders watched her boss adjust the front of his pale-pink tie, his matching silk handkerchief folded into the pocket of his pinstriped suit jacket.

‘He said you assaulted him.’

Charlotte felt her indignation rise another notch. ‘I did no such thing.’ Why was she getting the third degree? It should be Dodgy Roger in here getting it in the neck, not her.

Lawrence raised a knowing eyebrow. It was a trait she’d become familiar with. It usually preceded a right royal bollocking. Fortunately for her, she’d rarely been on the receiving end of one of his rants. She was his protégé; the grad student he’d spotted at an exhibition and taken a chance on. She couldn’t believe her luck when he’d offered her a position with his high-flying design company – a position most designers twice her age would kill for – and now it was under threat, all thanks to Dodgy Roger.

‘It was hardly assault, Lawrence.’ She felt her cheeks colour. ‘I tapped him on the forehead with my notebook. He was asleep on the job.’ As she’d already told him.

Lawrence reacted with a disappointed tut. ‘He also said you called him a moron.’

She cringed. Not exactly her finest moment.

‘A poor choice of words, I admit, but I was upset.’ Charlotte straightened in her chair, wishing she’d stopped off to buy painkillers on her way over. The pounding in her head was getting worse. She wasn’t sure whether it was the same headache as yesterday, or a new one.

When it came to using CAD, SketchUp or Photoshop, she was an expert – all those late nights studying and unpaid internships had culminated in a first-class honours degree in Interior Design. But nowhere amongst space planning and selecting soft furnishings had it covered dealing with Neanderthal workmen who knew they could get away with murder because the boss was family and the young designer they’d been assigned to work with was still trying to prove herself in a highly competitive industry.

Lawrence’s other eyebrow joined the one already raised. ‘And stupid.’