Sons and Daughters logo
    Written by: Don Battye   Produced by: Posie Jacobs   Directed by: Gaye Arnold

The front door opens at the mansion and Andy and Ginny head inside. Andy is saying, "You know? I can't take you seriously! Sticking it in a stool right under their noses...?!" Ginny assures him, "It's safe. Don't worry." She goes and knocks on the door of May's room. May opens it and, looking surprised, comments to Ginny that she's not due for a lesson. Ginny, stepping inside, explains, "No, no, I just left something here--" She breaks off as she realises the piano stool isn't there. She gasps in horror, "Where's the piano stool? What have you done with it?" May smiles, "I've sold it - so I could buy this." She shows Andy and Ginny her new hat. Andy snarls at Ginny, "You've been having me on." Ginny, however, insists, "I haven't - honest. There was a a stool and it was in the stool." Andy looks at May and demands, "Where is it, who did you sell it to and when did you get rid of it?" May suggests curtly that he could say 'please'. Ginny suggests curtly to Andy, "Get out - leave it to me." She grabs his arm and he tries to struggle free. Ginny, though, repeats, "Get out. I'll handle it." Andy leaves the room reluctantly, heading through the gap in the bookcase.

Next door, Alison is talking on the 'phone in Fiona's room when Andy appears suddenly. Alison stares at him and, hanging up the 'phone, demands, "What are you doing here? Come on, get out." She goes and opens the door and lets Andy out into the hallway. He immediately goes and stands outside May's door.

A short time later, in May's room, May is saying to Ginny, "I don't know what all the fuss is about - it's a perfectly ordinary piano stool." Alison has joined them and she asks, "You mean the one we took to the furniture shop?" May nods, "Yes." Ginny asks, "What shop was it?" Alison prompts May quickly, "You remember: the one in Carlingford." May comments, "Was it? I have no idea where we went." Ginny snaps at Alison, "Stop trying to confuse her." May, looking thoughtful, tells Alison, "I think you said it was in Ryde." Alison says quickly that she has to go.

Andy is standing outside in the corridor, his ear to May's door, when Glen comes in through the front door. Andy turns and looks at him and mutters, "What are you sticking your nose in for?" At that moment, Alison emerges from May's room. Glen pulls her to one side and says quietly, "I know where the tape is. Ginny's hid it in May's piano stool." Alison whispers back, "Yes, I know, but May has now sold the stool to buy a hat. She took it to a furniture shop. Ginny's in there now trying to find out what's going on." Glen asks Alison if she knows where the shop is. Alison retorts, "Yes - I drove her there." Glen sighs that May will have told Ginny the name by now, then. Alison, however, replies, "With any luck, she won't remember." Glen suggests that they'd better get going. With that, he and Alison head off towards the front door, Alison saying gleefully to Andy as they do so, "Be very frustrating being left in the dark..."

In May's room, Ginny is telling May, "You see, I've got to move away from my place and start up somewhere else. I was hoping to buy a stool like yours - it would be good to put my music in - and Andy was going to take me around a few shops to see if I can find one." May, looking thoughtful, murmurs, "Now what was the name of the shop...?" Ginny says eagerly, "If we drove you, could you take us there?" May nods, "I imagine so." Ginny declares, "Good." She then calls to Andy, who comes back in from the hallway. He says immediately to Ginny, "Listen, I hope you're getting somewhere because Alison and Glen charged out of here grinning like two idiots." Ginny cries, "Oh no... Alison drove May to the shop. That's where they'll be heading." Andy retorts, "We've got to get there before them." Ginny nods, "Yeah, right." She then turns to May - who's picked up a book and is sitting reading - and tells her that she wants to make sure they get the stool before anyone else does. May shrugs, "Alright." She stands up and says that she thinks she'll wear her new hat. Andy mutters to Ginny, "Will you get her out of here?" May puts her hat on and then starts looking around for her handbag and gloves. Ginny finds the bag and hands it to May. May then remembers where she put her gloves and she picks them up and starts putting them on. As Andy guides her to the door, May tells him, "I hope you're not going to drive too fast." Andy stands there, a pained expression on his face.

Alison is driving herself and Glen towards the furniture shop. The car approaches a junction, but Alison heads straight through it. Glen looks at her and gasps, "Hey! You just went through a 'Stop' sign. Slow it down a bit." Alison, however, retorts, "What if May's remembered? I'm not taking any chances, Glen. I want that tape." She puts her foot down.

In his open-topped car, Andy is tearing along, but Ginny warns him to watch his speed, as they don't want to get picked up. Andy reluctantly lifts his foot off the pedal slightly. He asks which direction to turn: left or right. May indicates to the left.

A short time later, Andy makes a right turn out of a road - and he, Ginny and May spot Alison and Glen standing by Alison's car at the side of a road, a police car parked in front of them. Andy laughs in delight. May asks what's going on. Andy smiles, "We're winning!"

By Alison's car, a policeman is writing down some details. Alison says to him curtly, "Look, I know you're a public servant, but do you have to be quite so slow?" The policeman just ignores her. He walks off and joins another officer standing nearby. Glen mutters to Alison, "You're tempting fate. He could book you for something else." After a few seconds the first officer walks back over and hands Alison a ticket. As she and Glen then climb back into the car, Alison mutters at the officer, "I suppose you're going to follow me for the next hour, are you?" Glen warns quickly, "Alison, shut up." They put their seatbelts on, Alison starts the car's engine and she pulls away, giving the policemen a wave as she does so!

In his car, Andy grins as he says to Ginny and May, "Did you see the look on her face?!" Ginny cackles, "Serves her right, smart cow." Andy laughs, "We're going to win for sure!" May, however, cries out suddenly in horror as her hat goes flying off her head and out onto the road. Ginny asks her what's wrong. May gasps, "My hat, my hat's blown off. Stop the car. Stop it." Andy retorts, "No time." May, however, cries curtly, "Stop the car at once or I'll stop giving you directions." Andy puts his foot on the break and pulls to an emergency halt. Ginny climbs out and runs towards the hat as Andy starts reversing.. She picks it up and hands it to May. May looks at it and cries, "The flower's missing." She starts climbing out of the car herself to go and fetch it. Looking annoyed, Andy mutters, "I don't believe this."

As Andy, Ginny and May eventually pull up outside the furniture shop, Alison and Glen are already emerging from the shop, Alison saying to the owner, "It was a piano stool with a removable seat." Andy runs over to them and tells the owner quickly, "I'll pay double what she offered." The man, though, shrugs, "Too late. I've sold it." Andy demands in horror, "Who to?" The man replies, "Search me. Just someone who came past." Alison snaps, "Damn." Everyone walks back to their respective cars, looking annoyed.

In another car, David is driving Caroline, Debbie and Craig towards the country house in Sunbury. Debbie is laughing, "It's the best place I've ever been." Craig points out, "Only 'cos I was there!" Caroline comments, "I bet you went mad in the shops, Debbie!" Debbie assures her, "Not too much!" She adds, though, "There was this gorgeous inflatable fish I got for Robert: it's got these really big 'poppy' eyes." David chips in, "You're going to have to wait a while to give it to him: Beryl's taken him to London." Debbie remarks in surprise, "For how long?" David replies, "A few weeks." Debbie smiles, "I hope they send us a card." Caroline comments, "We didn't get one from you, I notice!" Debbie tells her, "There wasn't time. We did get some really good photos, though!"

A while later, back in the kitchen at the country house, Debbie is showing David and Caroline some photos. When she's done, David heads off to the lounge room to check if there are any messages. Left alone with Debbie and Craig, Caroline says, "Before I forget, I want to thank you both for being so marvellous, sending me little gifts and letters when I was in jail." Craig tells her, "I wish we could have done more." He goes and puts his arm round her, but she recoils away quickly, saying sharply, "Excuse me - I'd better go and see if there were any messages for me, too." She walks off, leaving Debbie to ask Craig in concern, "Do you think she's alright?" Craig shrugs, "Don't know. It's hard for us to understand, I suppose." Changing the subject, Debbie suggests that they'd better unpack.

In the lounge room, David is sitting with his hand on the telephone, looking annoyed. Caroline walks in and, seeing the expression on his face, asks what's wrong. David replies grimly, "The police called. They've found my truck at the bottom of a quarry. It's a write-off." Caroline asks, "Do you think Wayne's behind it?" David retorts, "What do you think? Wayne--" He breaks off as Debbie and Craig walk in. Debbie queries, "Are you talking about Wayne Hamilton?" Caroline replies in surprise, "Yes. How do you know him?" Debbie explains, "He was up at Noosa. It was amazing: him and Susan stayed in exactly the same hotel. We ended up doing a lot of things together, too. It was good seeing Susan again." She then tells David, "He asked a lot after you, as well: what you were doing... how things were going..." David glances at Caroline. She then suggests to Debbie and Craig that they might like to get their unpacking done. They take the hint and leave the room. When they've gone, Caroline asks David, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" David mutters, "What do you reckon? First the market garden, now this." Caroline points out, "The business is next. You should do everything you can to save it." David shrugs, "I don't know what he has in mind, though." Caroline suggests, "I'd go so far as to hire a guard dog, quite frankly." David sighs, "Maybe. I'll think about it on the way to the police station." Caroline asks, "Are you going to tell them about Wayne?" David, though, points out, "I've got no proof." He adds, "It'll be interesting to see what they say about the truck - but odds-on there'll be nothing to connect it to Wayne. It's making it very hard, Caroline." With that, he heads out of the room. When he's gone, Caroline reaches into her handbag and takes out a newspaper cutting. On it is a photo of a beaming Wayne under the headline 'Society Wedding'. Caroline stares at the photo and then growls, "You won't have that smile for much longer, by God..."

May, Glen and Alison walk into Fiona's room at the mansion, May commenting sourly that Andy is a very rude young man: he didn't even have the good grace to drive her home. Alison glares at her and snaps, "You're home now, alright?" Glen suggests to May that she have a rest. May, however, retorts, "I don't feel like a rest. I feel like--; oh I don't know how I feel, but I don't feel like a rest. I see no reason why we all couldn't have gone and looked in some other furniture shop." Alison snaps, "Because we wanted that particular stool." May says tersely, "Nobody's told me why. It's a perfectly ordinary piano stool. A trifle antique, perhaps, but no prize item Sotheby's wouldn't have looked twice at." Alison stands there looking annoyed and growls, "Quite frankly, May, I am fed up to the back teeth with that stool." Glen chips in quickly, "How about a cup of tea? That always seems to calm things down." May nods more calmly, "Yes, that's a good idea." With that, she heads across to the bookcase. When she's out of earshot, Alison mutters, "One more minute and I would have strangled her." Glen comments, "Along with me, I suppose." Alison, however, assures him, "No, it wasn't your fault we didn't get it. I'm just as much to blame." Glen sighs, "So much for keeping Wayne in check." Alison, though, tells him, "Let's not throw in the towel just yet." Glen comments, "Revenge dies hard, doesn't it?" Alison, however, explains, "It's not just that. I promised Beryl Palmer I'd do all I could to ease the pressure on her. It was partly a moral obligation." Glen remarks in surprise, "I didn't think you two got on." Alison replies, "We don't - but I do still have some sort of conscience. She did manage to bring home one or two points. Sure I want to fling mud in Wayne's eye, but it's more important to somehow ensure Beryl and her child's safety." She then curses, "God! There must be some way to stop him. Little Miss. Ginny certainly made the wrong decision, didn't she? And if I know young Andy Green, she's going to regret it - well and truly..." Glen stands there, looking concerned.

Ginny is with Andy in the lounge room at Dural, snapping, "I don't care what happened. You hand over my demo tape or else!" Andy retorts, "Or else what?" Ginny snaps, "I did what I was supposed to do. How was I supposed to know she'd sell the damn stool?" Andy growls, "Everything I have worked for out the window because you go and stick a tape in the most stupidest place you could think of." Ginny snaps, "Nobody found it." Andy retorts, "No - including us." Ginny tells him curtly, "The deal was I showed you where it was and I got my demo." Andy, however, retorts, "The deal was you hand over the cassette and you got the demo. No cassette, no deal. Goodbye, sweetheart, if you don't want any more trouble." Ginny glares at him and snaps, "All I want is my track, and I'm not leaving without it." Andy stares at her and then says nastily, "OK - if you want it that bad, how could I say 'no' to a lady?" With that, he walks over to his briefcase, which is lying on the bar, opens it and takes out a cassette. Holding it out to Ginny, he says curtly, "Here you go, 'star'. Happy listening." Ginny grabs it off him and storms out, leaving Andy with a nasty grin on his face...

Glen is sitting in Fiona's room at the mansion, reading a magazine, when there's a knock on the door. He calls, "Yeah?" Ginny walks in. Looking at the expression on her face, he asks, "What's the problem?" Ginny sighs, "You know." She then goes on, "I'm sorry. You were right: I should've listened to you. I suppose now the tape's gone for good you won't want to know me." Glen, however, replies, "We were friends, right?" Ginny nods at him. Glen tells her, "Well I can't see any reason why it shouldn't stay that way." Ginny sits down and sighs, "I was really dumb." She then changes the subject and asks eagerly, "You want to hear my demo?" Glen comments in surprise, "You got it from him?" Ginny retorts, "I would've broken his leg if he hadn't!" She then takes the tape out of her bag and adds, "It's only a demo, don't forget, but it's got a pretty good sound." She puts the tape in a machine on the coffee table and presses 'Play'. A tuneless female voice bursts out of the speakers. Ginny stands there, looking horrified. Glen looks at her, sympathetically. Ginny turns and switches the tape off, looking hurt.

Unseen by either Ginny or Glen, Alison was standing in the doorway, and she muses, "So... that's the famous demo tape. Pretty obvious what Andy's pulled on you, isn't it? Smart Little Miss. Ginny has fallen right on her smart little face. Looks like Andy's got his own back by letting you hear how hopeless you really are." Glen warns that that's enough. Alison, however, retorts, "No it's not. She's a no-hoper; always has been. There's not a chance in the world she's ever going to be anything else." Looking at Ginny directly, she adds, "The only star you're ever going to be is a star failure. One of the biggest." Tears welling-up in Ginny's eyes, she picks up her bag and runs out. After a few seconds, Glen goes after her. Alison stands in the room, looking pleased with herself.

Out in the corridor, Glen catches up with Ginny and tells her, "It's alright. Calm down. It's not the end of the world." He puts his arm round her and goes on, "There are plenty of things you can do with your life. Being a singer's not all it's cracked up to be, anyway." Ginny just bursts into tears and sobs, "It's all I ever wanted to do..." With that, she runs out of the mansion. Glen heads back into Fiona's room and demands of Alison, "Just what the hell was the point of that?" Alison retorts, "It served her right." Glen points out, "That girl just had everything she ever dreamed go right out the window." Alison, however, snaps, "For heaven's sake, nothing I say is going to worry her for long. She's got the hide of an elephant." Glen retorts, "Bull. You know that's rubbish. You've read her diary and so have I. That kid's got more real feelings in her little finger than you've ever had; she just doesn't know how to express them. Even more, she doesn't trust anybody to know about them." Alison stares at him and says curtly, "You'd fall for anything, wouldn't you? I suppose you burst into tears when you saw what I'd done to the hovel she lives in." Glen exclaims in surprise, "You what?" Alison shrugs, "I had good reason to." Glen growls, "You'd justify anything, wouldn't you? Even when you were trying to help out the Palmers you didn't give a damn about Ginny's feelings. And you think you're better than Wayne..." Alison retorts, "I sincerely hope so." Glen goes on curtly that the bus was all she had. He then asks, "Have you ever lost everything you've ever had?" Alison retorts, "Yes - as a matter of fact I have." Glen suggests, "Then you should know a damn sight better." He continues curtly, "Think. Just think. She's going back to what's left of the few things she had that were hers with every last shred of self-respect and pride totally shattered - and all because of you. You really think you're better than Wayne Hamilton?" Alison snaps, "Yes, I do." She stares Glen as he challenges, "Then prove it. I don't care how you do it, but prove it: prove you're not the cold, selfish, hard-bitten bitch I think you are."

 

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