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‘Go on. Liam’s waiting,’ Kate said, nodding her head over to where Liam was standing with Greg and Albert.
‘We’d better join them,’ Lulu said, scooping Sophie up to join her in her direction of travel. ‘Don’t want them getting ahead of us, do we?’
‘I really don’t think I …’ Sophie looked over her shoulder to mouth obscenities at Kate, but her back was already turned, and all Sophie got was a mouthful of fur trim from Lulu’s coat.
Lulu patted her back as she coughed. ‘Are you all right, honey? I hope it isn’t your voice.’
‘I’m fine,’ Sophie said, thinking she was, in fact, distinctly not fine and plotting how she could get away with murdering both a pregnant friend and a Hollywood legend without becoming a suspect.
Chapter Ten
The four of them sat down in a row of chairs that had been left out. Sophie turned her legs slightly to the side to accommodate Lulu and her oversized fashion choices.
‘Why don’t we sing through the audition piece together a couple of times as a practice to warm you all up properly, and then you can each sing it through as your audition after that?’ Liam suggested.
Sophie’s face grew warmer by the second as she desperately willed her body to relax and calm down. She unclenched her fists. It was just singing; she did it all the time. And yet, Sophie dreaded the music starting. With just four of them, there was nowhere to hide, even when they sang as a group. And then afterwards … Sophie couldn’t even think about that yet.
The first time through, she listened and felt her way roughly through the notes. Then the second time she sang a little louder. The inevitable third time would come, though, and Liam would expect her to sing it alone. She felt sick and her mouth clamped shut as if defiant about letting any notes out. Her jaw ached from the tension.
‘Lulu, do you want to start for us?’ Liam said.
Lulu nodded and stood graciously, taking her time to get into position before she began. When Liam started playing, she sang through the piece perfectly, having thought about how she would stand and gesture to put on a convincing performance. There was something about her that commanded respect and you could see she was embracing every minute, performing as if she were at the Albert Hall with an audience of thousands. Liam smiled as she sang. It made Sophie’s anxiety rise further. How could she compete with that?
At the end, Lulu took a slow, theatrical bow and even gestured towards Liam and the piano as if they should applaud his musicianship too, like you would in the theatre.
‘Great job, Lulu. That was wonderful!’ Liam said, clapping as she finished.
‘Thank you,’ she said, sitting down to watch the others take their turn.
Albert from the rotary club was next and he sang the entire piece an octave too high, his eyes bulging as he realised the top notes he’d need to reach. It was tuneful but very, very high. By the end he was standing on tiptoes to get the notes out. Nevertheless, he too performed as if his life depended on it and even did a little tap dance during the four-bar instrumental.
When he finished, he curtseyed and Liam said, ‘That was …’ He grappled for the right word, ‘an excellent effort. The dance was … inspired.’
‘Thanks,’ Albert said, grinning. He flushed with pride and sat down next to Lulu. They held hands, waiting for Greg to take his turn.
Greg’s voice was lovely, but it was the voice of an older man, thin and tired. Sophie willed him to do well – he was one of the nicest people she knew – but she had to admit, it wasn’t the best singing she’d ever witnessed. Poor Greg – he’d tried so hard.
Sophie was so busy congratulating Greg on his efforts when he came to sit back down that Liam’s voice startled her.
‘Miss Law … I’m mean Sophie.’ She looked up at him as he held out his hand to offer her the stage.
This was it. She tried to ignore the fact that her legs were wobbly and stood up, making her way over to the piano. Slowly, she turned to face her audience of Lulu, Greg and Albert. Each one of them was grinning and she could feel the encouragement coming off them in waves. But the butterflies in her stomach were having a Christmas party, and she was genuinely concerned that she might just be sick right there on the floor in front of them. Her palms were warm and sweaty and her throat was dry. This was going to be a disaster.
The sentiments her friends had said as they left the hall echoed in her head. They all had faith in her; they knew they could count on her. Why couldn’t she have the same faith in herself?
Her right knee was shaking out of control, and she swallowed a thousand times as Liam played the opening chords. She was determined to be ready and give a good performance. She just hoped her voice would hold out and not give away her fear. Opening her mouth, she began to sing.
A tiny sound came out. It was in tune and in time. Sophie was pleased that her voice remained even. By the end of the line, she had even started to relax.
‘Come on, honey, give it some!’ Lulu shouted.
Sophie hesitated but closed her eyes and imagined she was in the flat alone. She sang a little louder, and she surprised herself when it sounded good. The echo in the empty hall enhanced her natural singing voice and it sounded better than she expected. She sang louder still, letting herself go and relaxing into the music until she sang with complete abandon and enjoyed every single second, hitting the final high note with all of her power, the finishing echo causing everyone to wait in silence until the final reverberation had disappeared.
Albert’s mouth dropped open. Lulu grinned from ear to ear and gave Sophie a thumbs up before applauding loudly and whistling through two fingers. Greg nodded in the way a father might to show how proud he was of his daughter. Liam didn’t take his eyes off her. She knew she had impressed him. And she was glad. It was about time that she said or did something he couldn’t argue with.
She realised she had tears in her eyes. She was truly proud of what she’d done. And judging by her audience’s reaction, she’d done something right. They’d descended into cheering and whooping, and Lulu gave her a standing ovation.
‘Well done, everyone,’ Liam said. ‘That was excellent.’ He flicked through a notebook he had balanced on the top of the piano. ‘Are you happy for me to email out the results this evening? It’ll probably be about half past ten by the time I get home.’
