In no rush to eat, they found themselves strolling along Brook Street in the West End of town. Gavin told her Rourke’s townhouse was nearby in Hanover Square. “That’s not Rourke’s, is it?” She paused to point to the Palladian façade of a large red brick mansion. Gavin smiled. Seeing the city through Daisy’s eyes was proving to be a magical experience. In high spirits after her audition, she was eager to take in as many new sites as she might. “That’s the Claridge Hotel. It’s something of a London institution.” She mounted the front steps and peered inside the long window to the chandelier-lit lobby. Turning back to Gavin, she said, “It looks very grand. Can we go in?” He hesitated. If he took her inside, he would likely encounter half a dozen people he knew. Even so, it wasn’t as if it was a crime to be seen dining á deux with an old friend, even if that friend wasn’t old at all but rather a dazzling young actress with a bright future and a notorious past.
