Sentence:  At the same time , however , I <WSD>availed</WSD> myself of the services of that great English actor and master of make-up , Sir Gauntley Pratt , to do a `` quickie '' called The Mystery of the Mad Marquess , in which I played a young American girl who inherits a haunted castle on the English moors which is filled with secret passages and sliding panels and , unbeknownst to anyone , is still occupied by an eccentric maniac . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  use to one's advantage