Veronique loved acting. As a child, her dressing up box would have put the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens to shame. From silk kimonos and richly plumed Native American headdresses to glitzy 1920s fashion and trendy Sixties outfits, face paints, false teeth, wigs, glasses and gaudy jewellery Nikki’s armoury was endless.

 

Her obsession did not end there, for she was fascinated by people’s accents and inflections, and could mimic them all within minutes of meeting someone. Lisps and stutters, giggles, laughs and snorts, she kept them all. In fact, her skill became so precise that she had earned the nickname Le petit perroquet, the little parrot.

 

Every time she sat at her dressing table, she asked her reflection the same pressing question, but tonight presented her with a new opportunity. For tonight Nikki could stand where usually only Veronique was permitted. And tonight she would be Nikki, the Southern Belle.