Too strong. She felt imprisoned by it. There was a moment when she felt the pressure tighten. He released her just as suddenly. It left her feeling unbalanced. She hoped she was not going to faint. The woman with him bustled forward: frizzy hair, tied back in an effort to tame it, horn-rimmed spectacles. She carried a clipboard like a shield before her. ‘Where will Clive be speaking from? That microphone over there? Have you tested it?’ She was making for the speaker’s table, as if to try it for herself, when Clive Stroud put out a commanding hand to grasp her arm. ‘This is my agent, Gina Alford. My nanny, really.’ He beamed at both of them. The woman’s face softened in its warmth into an enormous smile. ‘She’s the one who looks after me, makes sure I’m always where I’m supposed to be, and that I stay out of trouble. Gina, meet … Suzie … Fewings.’ He said her name slowly, as though savouring it. ‘I’m sure the two of you have been in touch about all this.’ ‘Of course,’ said Gina Alford, returning to her businesslike crispness.
