orchestra can see him.’
Aware that Marcus could never keep up with the terrifying syncopated cross-rhythms if the musicians went at Rannaldini’s pace, Julian was utterly ignoring Rannaldini, playing at a slower tempo, and the RSO stayed with him.
After two days of responding with the docility of dressage horses, they were suddenly raising two hooves to Rannaldini. Abby — very dear because she was now departed — had been sacked unfairly. This was their rebellion.
Overjoyed, astounded, Marcus realized they were doing to the mighty Rannaldini what they had done to Abby in the old days. They were following the soloist. He felt a great surge of confidence. Like shoals of goldfish, released from a tiny tank into a great river, like a door opening and sunlight pouring in on the darkness, the notes were flowing gloriously away from his fingers.
Rannaldini was insane with rage. The leader, whom he’d fired in New York and would certainly fire again the moment the concerto was over, was refusing like an overworked barman to let his eye be caught. But, being on camera, Rannaldini couldn’t betray his fury. Short of thrashing Julian with his baton he could do nothing.
‘I ’ave never seen anything like it,’ murmured Pablo to the other judges. ‘I ’ave waited many, many years for that sheet to meet his Vaterloo.
To avoid public humiliation, Rannaldini had now readjusted his beat to Marcus’s joyfully dancing fingers.
‘Nearly there,’ murmured Flora to Rupert. ‘Only one more fence to jump.’
And perfectly controlled, but racing faster and faster like a winner on the home straight at Cheltenham, the orchestra launched into the final tutti, followed by Marcus’s last euphoric helter-skelter up the keyboard leading into the last crashing chords, accompanied by Davie Buckle’s tumultuous drumroll, and it was all over.
Marcus bowed his head as if he were in total trance. There was a long, stunned silence, broken by Flora once again leaping to her feet.
‘Bravo, bravo,’ she screamed bringing her hands together in clap almost as noisy as the final chord: a flash of lightning which was followed by the most deafening thunder of applause, as stamping, cheering, yelling, the entire audience rose to their feet.
For a moment, Marcus gazed at them in bewilderment, the colour stealing into his face. Then he smiled more radiantly than any sunrise, and getting unsteadily to his feet, holding the edge of the piano for support, bowed low as the applause grew more and more delirious. Then, giddy, he straightened up, and fell into Julian’s waiting arms.
Unable to speak they hammered each other’s backs, listening to an even sweeter sound: a manic rattling of bows on the backs of chairs.
Unfortunately for Rannaldini, Marcus was blocking his exit, and Rannaldini was forced, because he was on camera, to hold out his hand.
Marcus looked at it for a second. Then, deliberately rejecting it, he said quite distinctly: ‘That was for screwing up Flora and Abby and cuckolding my mother.’ Then he added as an afterthought, ‘And for trying to destroy my father,’ and stalked off the platform.
How could Marcus have rejected Rannaldini’s olive branch? thought Helen in horror. I’m seeing Rupert all over again.
‘That was worth a bloody gold,’ crowed Rupert as he and Taggie fought their way out to Marcus’s dressing- room. ‘Absolutely no doubt who the audience want to win.’
Marcus was waiting for them, smiling apologetically. ‘I’ve probably screwed up my career for ever, but God, I enjoyed that.’
He was so soaked in sweat, yet burning white-hot, that Taggie needed ovengloves to hug him.
‘You were wonderful,’ she said tearfully.
But what really made Marcus’s evening, almost his whole life, was Rupert’s face. He’d only seen that blaze of elation when his father had won big races, or major show-jumping classes in the old days.
‘You were fucking fantastic,’ Rupert told him, then stopped to listen in wonder to the accelerating stamp of feet from the hall. ‘I only got applause like that at the Olympics.’
‘You’ve got to go back again, Marcus,’ an NTV minion popped his head round the door. ‘You took it so fast, we’ve got a couple of minutes to fill before the break.’
Going out of his dressing-room, Marcus collided with an outraged Howie Denston.
‘You’ve blown it, you stupid fucker. How could you screw Rannaldini like that? He controls everything. The jury won’t touch you now — you’re blown out of the water, finished.’
Howie was followed by a tearful Helen.
‘Oh Marcus, how could you do that to Rannaldini? What must he be feeling at this moment?’
‘Natalia’s boobs, probably,’ said Marcus curtly. ‘He’s a bastard, Mum, the sooner you chuck him the better.’
And leaving a frantically mouthing Helen, he went back to face the ecstatic crowds and because Rannaldini had refused to return, bringing the orchestra and then Hilary, Peter and Simon to their feet and even kissing little Noriko’s hand.
‘Hey, lay off,’ yelled Cherub from the gallery and everyone laughed.
‘For God’s sake, get them off the stage,’ an NTV official was yelling to Nicholas, ‘or we’ll be into another hour’s overtime.’
‘That’s your problem,’ said Knickers cheerfully. ‘That was absolutely marvellous, Marcus.’
‘He was always so sweet and polite,’ sobbed Helen.
Taggie put an arm round her shoulders.
‘He’s been under a terrible strain, so have you. Let’s all have a huge drink,’ she added to Rupert, who was already opening bottles from a crate of champagne, which he had magically produced.
When Julian at last brought the orchestra off the platform, he was accosted by a maddened Rannaldini, ‘D’you realize,’ he spat, ‘that you have just lost the chance of leading what will become the greatest orchestra in the world.’
‘I’d far rather work for the happiest,’ said Julian coldly and walked straight past him.
SIXTY-NINE
Up in the jurors’ room it was pandemonium.
‘He had a memory lapse in the first movement,’ intoned the Chinese judge who still had hopes of Han Chai.
‘The boy’s a genius. I never heard it so well played, he has a delicateness and a strongness the others have not,’ said the big Ukrainian.
‘The last two movements were impeccable, and so lyrical,’ said the French feminist, ‘Rannaldini sabotage Marcus the whole time.’
‘His manners to Rannaldini were most disrespectful,’ snapped Lili, seeing her Steinway, and her promised concert with the new super orchestra sliding away. ‘He wouldn’t even shake the Maestro’s hand.’
‘I prefer Natalia,’ agreed Ernesto, who had changed sides after Rannaldini offered him a Cartier watch and trials for all his pupils. ‘She and Rannaldini interacted so charmingly together.’
‘That’s because she has beeg teets,’ said Pablo, who was still sulkily searching for his
‘Can’t we have a serious drink, Blodwyn?’ grumbled Bruce Kennedy.
‘Not till you’ve finished judging,’ said Lady Appleton, pouring him a glass of Evian. ‘What d’you feel, Hermione?’
‘I would prefer Natalia,’ urged Hermione in her deep voice. ‘And it would be more politically correct to give it to a woman.’
This support had been drummed up by Rannaldini. While Natalia had been resting that afternoon, he had
