The Party Girl's Invitation (17 page)

“Very industrious,” Crystal murmured, cringing inwardly. How on earth was she going to fob off the landed gentry with orange squash decorated with bendy straws and parasols?

“Did we get any mixers of any kind?” she asked, rather faintly.

“Um, no. There’s always whisky and water though. Don’t suppose it does much for gin or vodka, though.”She frowned.“We thought we did quite well there. Only it was the chocolate fountain that we had the most trouble with.”

Crystal raised her eyes to the heavens. What on earth had they done to the machine? She hoped they hadn’t decided to put hot chocolate in it or something. The large fountain cost a fortune and she’d had to pay a hefty deposit and sign a waiver form to say they would pay for any damage.

“Trouble, Lolly? What trouble did you have with it?”

“Well, the man was going to show us how it worked and everything but because we didn’t have any of the chocolate balls to go in it, he couldn’t show us anything. We have read the book from cover to cover and we still don’t really know how to operate it.”

“Thank heaven for small mercies,” Crystal replied uncharitably, before she had chance to reign in her thoughts.

Lolly looked a bit hurt.

She took her cousin by the shoulder and gave her a big hug, to demonstrate that there were no hard feelings. She laughed, “What I should have said, is, so long as it is still in one piece then that is fine. I’ve used one before and we’ll get there between us.”

“You haven’t put anything in it, have you?” she asked sharply, as another thought came to mind. Knowing Aunt Vera she might just have thought it looked like a giant cake mixer and have batches of fruit cake in it by now, anything was possible.

“No, no,” Lolly replied. “It’s round here by the back door, dad is still trying to connect up the emergency generator at the moment, to put the power back on.”

“What?”Crystal yelled. “Don’t tell me the power is off, please, please don’t tell me that?”

“Um, yes. Since about eight o’clock this morning. Half of Bath is out, didn’t you know?”

Crystal rubbed her forehead. “No, Lolly, I didn’t. Our power comes from the other direction entirely. We have working electricity.”

She thought fast. Lights, chocolate fountain, heaters and colossal power amps for the band. Her uncle’s emergency generator was never going to run that lot.

“Any idea when the power is likely to come back on?”

“Um no. The phone works off the electricity too, and my mobile is flat. I haven’t had a chance to find out. The man who delivered the flowers thought it might be tomorrow if we’re lucky. They’ll connect up the city first, they always do. Farms and outlying areas are always given the lowest priority. Most are self-sufficient, like us, with our own generators and stuff. Dad thought we might be able to borrow a couple of spares off the neighbours if we need them, though.”

“Good thinking,” Crystal replied.“Where is the generator Lolly? If we start that up in the barn it will drown out the sound of the band, especially if we need to use more than one.”

“Hmm. Hadn’t thought of that,” Lolly stated, quite baldly.“Did think we might have supper by candlelight though, that would certainly cut out the need for so many lights.”

There was a health and safety nightmare, Crystal thought, but wisely kept her opinions to herself. Instead, she went for the practical approach. “Well, it does sound like you’ve been busy here today. Let’s take a look at the progress so far, shall we?”

As they cornered the building, heading for the paddock, Crystal involuntarily closed her eyes, she just couldn’t bear to look. ‘Let’s just hope that there is a tent there’, her more rational mind prompted, whilst her pessimistic side jeered, ‘no hope, not with Aunt Vera and Lolly in control’.

When she did manage to peek out from behind closed eyelids, the scene that awaited her, quite simply took her breath away.

The whole vista was purely and simply, a blanket of dazzling white. A path had been cleared through the snow, to the door of the marquee, the path was lined with outdoor solar lights and the marquee billowed in the centre of the field with its candy striped linings, chosen to match the hunt colours, flowing in the breeze, standing stark and proud against the pure white backdrop. The tent people had done a good job yesterday, she thought as she heaved a sigh of relief.

“We had to clear the snow first thing this morning, before we could do anything else.” Lolly advised. “Tent looks good though, don’t you think? The hunt will be pleased to see their colours displayed like that. I suppose you learned all the fancy stuff while working in LA?”

“Yes.”Crystal smiled. “It’s amazing what a large corporate budget can do, but I did learn a few tricks of the trade. This will be our best ball yet, Lolly. Just you wait and see.”

Lolly glowed with pride. She wanted to show Reginald just what a good corporate wife she would make. This was her very first attempt at showing off her abilities. He thought he was just coming to dinner tonight to meet her mum and dad. She hadn’t told him about her involvement with The Hunt yet either, some city types were a bit sensitive on these matters. She’d told him it was a black tie dinner, so that he would turn up in a suit and then she’d hired him a black and red cape and some fangs so that he could be Count Dracula for the ball. She just knew that once he’d met the Colonel and the Major and some of the other hunt chaps, he’d fit right in.

Now though, as the day wore on, she was getting nervous. She was beginning to question her hasty decision to keep him in the dark. What if he took umbrage at being misled? Had she made a big mistake? Lolly wasn’t too sure. She was so pre-occupied with her own personal concerns, that she failed to see the satisfied gleam in Crystal’s eye as she stepped inside the tent for the first time.

The caterers, the florists, the fitters and her relatives had all done her proud. The inside of the marquee looked sensational, all laid out in pristine order; she could imagine it tonight with the band playing, the waiters serving the food and the diners enjoying the ambiance, all dressed up in their costumes with good feelings and bonhomie riding high. She closed her eyes for a moment. Yes, flickering candlelight would just about work. They needed to work fast though, if they were to lay the tables with nightlights in a way that would be safe as well as practical.

“What do you think?”Lolly asked, cautiously.

“Fabulous,” Crystal replied honestly.“Where’s Aunt Vera? I need to go and say an extra special thank you for making such a huge effort.”

“Over the other side of the barn, checking on the chickens, I expect. We were a bit late getting around to them this morning, what with the comings and goings, and the snow and stuff.”

“Right.” Crystal snapped back into professional mode. “So, we have double rations of champagne for everyone, that should keep most people happy. The champagne won’t get too hot if we stack it outdoors, the snow will act as a natural cold room and if we can come up with a theme for the cordial and the lack of spirits and mixers, then we might just be off the hook. We can say that there’s not a traditional bar tonight due to the weather and most folk will understand, but we have to put something in place to fill the gap. Then there’s the power supply to contend with and the lack of chocolate for the chocolate fountain. Can we put anything else in it, I wonder?”

“I wouldn’t suggest it, if I were you. We’ve got the rugby crowd and the hunt supporters here tonight in full measure, that lot are an explosive combination when you mix them together. They’re excitable enough on the best of days. Mum suggested hot punch, but we thought the fruit might get stuck in the mechanism. What do you think?”

“That’s an absolutely brilliant idea, we don’t have to put lumps of fruit in it at all, we can serve the fruit on the side. Have we got enough red wine? I can call the manufacturers and check, maybe get them to give me a few tips. It works with champagne, so I don’t see why warm wine should be a problem. It will smell really nice if we lace it with cinnamon and orange. Like a kind of mulled wine? That might get rid of some of the orange squash too. We don’t have much time left now though, to get it sorted out. What time are the band due?”

“I asked the flower man to give them a call and let them know the problems we were having. I asked them to get here early so that we could work it out. He didn’t know where Devil’s Bottom was. I hope he managed to follow my instructions and found the right house. He seemed like a nice chap, and he’s got tickets himself for tonight, so I expect he’ll get the message through to them, one way or another.”She glanced over her shoulder, towards the doorway. “Oh look, here comes the chef, probably saw you arrive. They’ve been having problems too.”

“No kidding,” Crystal murmured. Why did the Hunt Ball always fall apart at the last moment? This was the fourth year that she’d been involved with it now, and each one had given her grey hairs. She plastered a professional smile onto her face, and turned to meet the head chef.

She held out her hand. “Hi, Chris. Long time no see? How are you doing? Good to see you back here, and in charge.”She turned on the charm, a bit of flattery worked wonders in her job.

Chris ceased glowering and proffered his hand. He’d always had a soft spot for Crystal and they’d worked together many times in the past.

“Ar’ternoon, ma’am. Glad to see you’ve arrived.”He cast a disparaging glance out over the snowy fields. “Soddin’ weather this is, it be givin’ me problems a’right.”

“Hmm, I’m sure,” Crystal replied, noncommittally. The last thing she needed to do was wind him up any further. “So which bits of the menu are covered and sorted, and which do we have problems with, then?”

“Starter’s fine. I always keep enough staples in, to cover the most obvious disasters, as you well know. Salmon were poached and cooked yesterd’y and it’s cold enough in the van to keep that lot at the right temperature ‘til it needs to be served. Pudding’s not too bad either, we can switch the ice cream bombes and the sorbets for melon balls and fruit salad, ’specially if those posh skewers you ordered aren’t needed for the chocolate fountain now. But when it comes to the main course, we’re scuppered, unless we can get the power back on.”

“My uncle is working on that now. What time do you need to start?”

Chris sucked at his teeth as he pondered the question. “Most of the preparations is done off site, so there’s only minimal heatin’ and stuff to be done ’ere, as you know. So long as we don’t ’ave to do it by candlelight, you’ve got another hour at most before we need to get started. That smart tent, out back, is really handy, gives us much more space for platin’ up and servin’ out.”

Crystal thought fast.“So what time will you need the power till?”

“Till after the last of the main course is served. Why?”

“We may have to shuffle between the power for the chocolate fountain and auxiliary lighting, the food, and the band, but I think we can just about cover it. Lolly sent a message to the band to ask them to turn up early to work through the problems, so we should be OK. I’ll see if I can rustle up a couple of spare generators in the meantime. Is that OK for you? We’ll go with the menu changes that you have recommended and announce it at the start of dinner. It’s the best that we can do, right now. Keep going, you’re doing an excellent job.”

“Oh, ah. I’m used to that one, especially ’ere. We’ve never ’ad one go right yet, ’ave we?”

“It’s the name of the game Chris, it’s the name of the game. It will all come out right on the night, don’t worry,” Crystal replied, sounding more confident than she felt.

Chapter12

Party Capers

Verity climbed up into the Land Rover with difficulty, complaining loudly about the height of the step. The sexy, slinky mermaid costume, which had looked so attractive in the shop, seriously restricted her movement. The scaly tail and flippers looked very effective, but she could hardly move her feet. She grimaced as she wriggled and squiggled, trying to raise her foot high enough to cope with the gargantuan step-up into the grubby old Land Rover. Why on earth Jools couldn’t just scrap this heap of rusting old iron and purchase a more respectable car, she had no idea. She was never going to be able to dance in this stupid costume, and now it was making her itch in some very funny places. The crystal scales that she’d glued to her bosom were distinctly uncomfortable, the raffia inside of the tail felt like it was made of wire wool and her toes were turning blue with the cold in her dainty silver sandals. The pains she’d gone to in order to look good had been totally lost on Jools, he’d not even taken his eyes from her cleavage long enough to comment on the new kohl stick which she’d purchased at great expense, to rim her eyes in beautiful sea green. She’d gone to immeasurable trouble to look good for tonight, and his first words as he’d walked through the door had been, ‘Come on, we’re late’. He’d better change his attitude fast, or he’d be on his way home alone tonight.

Jeremy, meanwhile, was so busy admiring the shimmering of the tiny crystal ‘scales’ that she’d somehow managed to attach to her breasts that he had serious trouble in keeping his eyes on the road. He’d tuned out as she’d clambered very inelegantly into the vehicle, and immediately begun her moaning about the snow and the cold and the lack of heating in the Land Rover. The ‘pleasures’ of dating Verity and the servicing of her carnal desires, were beginning to be seriously outweighed by her constant carping and bitchy, bad tempered whining. Her voice really grated on his nerves and he hated the way that she thought the whole world revolved around her needs and her wants. She really was a self-centred bitch. So long as she kept her mouth shut, he decided, then they got on just fine.

He shoved the car into gear and they set off, tyres sliding on snow which had by now turned almost completely to ice. The temperature had plummeted to freezing as the sun had set and driving was now becoming perilous. There were only a couple more miles to go, so they were already almost halfway there.

She’d not even commented once, on his change of costume, he wondered if she’d even noticed. He was wearing the traditional stripy pirate top and knee breeches with a fat red silk cummerbund, all topped off by the tricorn hat and an admiral’s cape, heavily encrusted in thick gold braid. The eye patch and the cutlass were on the rear seat, right next to that bloody parcel of Crystal’s which he’d lost earlier in the week. At the thought of his sister he grinned, she might not be too impressed at his change of costume, but when Maisie had asked if she could ‘borrow’ the pirate outfit for a last minute guest, he’d had the prime opportunity to offload the dress onto some other poor unsuspecting guy. He couldn’t wait to see who turned up wearing it, poor sucker.

He wasn’t going to let Crystal know that he’d swapped, he’d just let her find out for herself. That would teach her to laugh at him, all covered in make-up and miles of satin, as he’d posed for photos for gran, at the dress rehearsal last night. He had a feeling that there was something to this fancy dress business, after all. He’d hoped for a more positive response from Verity if he was honest, but maybe later, once she’d warmed up a bit and sunk a few glasses of champagne, she might be in a more amenable frame of mind then.

He didn’t see the fox, in the middle of the road, until it was too late. The brakes locked and the tyres squealed on the icy ground as he hit the brakes in an attempt to miss it. They landed in the snow bank bordering the road with a resounding thud.

Crystal was the last one out of the house. Mark and Ruth had stopped by earlier to collect gran, and they’d agreed to drop Norma off with her sister for the night. She was waiting for Brad now, he was already twenty minutes late. She stood by the front room window with the curtains open and the light from the hallway silhouetting her figure to the world outside. ‘Cinders in rags’ did not require much in the way of a costume, and what had arrived didn’t cover a great deal at all. She’d had to dispense with a bra, as the straps on the chemise were merely two fine wisps of white ribbon and the shredded skirt of the costume was split almost to her waist. Barefoot and smudged in coal dust and grime, she conceded that she really did look like a proper waif and stray.

Brad let out a low whistle, as he pulled up in his dad’s borrowed Ford and caught sight of Crystal waiting in the front room window. It had been worth the three mile walk in the snow to pick up his dad’s car after all. His pulse tripped and his heartbeat accelerated at the vision of Crystal staring out, into the night, looking for him. He’d barely had time to put the car in neutral, before she opened the front door and stood on the doorstep, goose-bumps prickling at her uncovered flesh.

He grasped the cutlass and flipped the eye patch back into place and strutted up the front path, singing a sea shanty and doing a passably mean pirate impression.

Crystal dissolved into fits of giggles, as she took in the striped vest and knee breeches with fine red silk cummerbund, underneath a gold braided cloak and impressive tricorn pirate’s hat.

Her laughter caused her bare breasts to jiggle around beneath the thin fabric of her costume, in a very provocative manner. Brad would have had to be blind or immune to resist the challenge on offer; he was neither. With a low guttural growl he pulled her warm pliant body in towards his chest, wrapping his arms generously around her body.

Brought up short, against the wall of his chest Crystal was momentarily nonplussed. She’d always had a soft spot for Brad, and now he’d caught her unawares, he was mighty heady stuff. She ran the tip of her tongue provocatively over her lower lip and moved in closer, meeting his tongue with her own. Her pulse spiked, the hairs along the back of her neck stood on end and she shivered slightly as the full force of his kiss hit home. He returned her tentative provocation with an intensity that threatened to spiral out of control.

Crystal abandoned herself to the moment, happy to follow wherever he led. Excitement flared in the pit of her stomach.

The ringing of phone rang was an unwelcome intrusion, which Crystal was fully prepared to ignore. The caller rang off and then tried again.

With reluctance Crystal broke free from Brad’s arms to finally answer the summons, breathing hard and heart pounding heavily in her chest.

Brad ran a shaky hand through his hair as he released her, he tentatively ran his tongue over his lips, he could still taste her on his breath. He closed his eyes, he’d come close to losing it for a moment there. He heard her bark her name into the phone handset, she sounded as flustered as he felt. He cursed silently under his breath, he’d had her there, or he thought he had.

He heard her switch into party organiser mode and his spirits took a nosedive, what a time to get interrupted. She began issuing instructions down the telephone, rapidly firing directions off in a tone that brooked no argument. He pitied the poor person on the other end of that raft of instructions. Crystal sounded very pissed off.

The moment was broken. As Crystal hung up, she looked apologetically in his direction. “The pressures of leadership,” she quipped. “Burnt dinner and candles which won’t light, just to mention a few of the things that I’ve had to attend to today, you wouldn’t believe the half of it. Come on, we’re late, and I’ll be missed, I’m afraid. We are really going to have to leave now.”

As he helped her into the car Brad was silently cursing his luck, he’d had her all to himself just then, alone in the house, as well.

Crystal was silent for a few moments, she too was contemplating exactly what might have happened between them, without interruption. Would she have gone ‘all the way’ with Brad tonight, or not, given the opportunity? He certainly turned her on. Quite honestly, she just didn’t know. There was certainly something about him which appealed to her senses on a basic and primal level, but she had a feeling she’d just had a lucky escape. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she had a feeling that a relationship with Brad was just not meant to be.

They drove the five miles to the ball in silence, neither one knowing quite what to say next, so by tacit agreement neither was able to break the quiet reflective mood.

Lolly met Reginald at the door to the farmhouse, resplendent in cascades of glittering crystals, her dark hair fashioned into a sleek chignon and liberally dusted with a heavy layer of fake white snow. As the Ice Queen, she glittered and sparkled in an effective interpretation of a queen who ruled over a cavern of ice. Now all she had to do was explain the fancy dress situation, carefully, so as not to upset him. Though, looking at his face, he didn’t look overly impressed.

Later, she couldn’t say precisely how she’d worded it, but he flatly refused to put on the cloak or wear the fangs. There was no way he was being manipulated, he’d stated in cold, clipped tones, hands thrust deep into the pockets of his trousers, as he’d stared out of the front room window and into the night. He wouldn’t even look at her, he merely glowered out of the window and rattled the loose change in his pockets, while a facial muscle worked overtime, high on his cheekbone.

Trying hard not to cry, Lolly glanced out of the window and had been relieved to see Crystal arriving with Brad. She’d had enough of this silly party, enough of other people’s problems and enough of the constant carping of the caterers and the band, enough quite frankly of the whole damned thing. And now Reginald didn’t love her anymore and was looking like thunder at her and her silly, silly costume. She’d not even introduced him to her parents yet.

Reginald bent down to pick up his car keys, intending to head off into the night. He got much the same view that Brad had been granted earlier in the evening, as Crystal walked in front of the car headlights and waited for Brad to switch off the engine and lock up the car.

In an amazing volte-face, he’d retrieved the fangs from the table and stuffed them into his mouth in two seconds flat, then, in a purely dramatic gesture, he whipped the cloak out from between Olivia’s nerveless, trembling fingers. With a deft flick of the wrist he twirled it around one brisk spin, and landed it over his shoulders in one smooth motion.

“Come on,” he growled, “I’m here now, regardless of my best intentions to stay well away, so I may as well give this thing a go, I’ll give it my best shot. Just don’t expect too much, Olivia, OK?”

As Lolly emitted a strangled sob, he continued, “It’s your party Olivia, you’ve arranged this and you’ve brought me here under false pretences, so let’s get on with it shall we, and try to look like you’re enjoying yourself, the startled maiden look really doesn’t go with the Ice Queen sophistication. And do stop looking like a doe in the headlights, I’m really not going to ravage you here, on your parents’ front room floor. Terrified virgins are really not my type.”He stopped and glowered at her, expression brooding, looking like a real live version of ‘The Count’, evil sneer and all.

“Oh, and another thing, the name is Jazz, Olivia. My name is Jazz. Only my corporate colleagues in London call me Reginald. Here, I’m Jazz, short for Jasper, for your information only, but don’t you dare try calling me that, either.”

Lolly’s jaw dropped, and she let out a shaky sigh. She’d never seen her Reginald like this before, so cold and calculating, so utterly, utterly, in control. It was quite frightening, really. She wondered what troubles she’d unwittingly unleashed, with her schoolgirl planning, did anyone ever truly know the person that they fell in love with? Little by little, as Jazz stalked from the room and she followed along timidly in his wake, the scales fell from her eyes and she came to the sudden and catastrophic realisation, that he was no more her cool and respectful lover, than she was the sophisticated and elegant debutante that she’d portrayed to him. Crystal had warned her, told her not to jump to conclusions, she’d told her to take things slowly, and how right she had been.

She gulped inwardly and squared her shoulders, she had the whole of this horrible, horrible night to get through, before she could go quietly to her room and snivel into her handkerchief and she’d do it with pride and grace, because at the end of the day, that was all she had left now. She’d determined her own fate.