Jess sighed. ‘She’s so beautiful; it’s hard to imagine she’s in her eighties.’
‘My mum told me all about her and said I should look her up on the internet, which I did,’ Izzy said. ‘She was stunning when she was young, but I think she had quite a tough time of it when she disappeared.’
Daisy wasn’t going to confide in them about Lydia’s past. ‘She’s a lovely lady,’ was all she’d say.
Jess finished her drink and placed her empty glass on the tray. ‘Come along, we’d better keep going otherwise we won’t be ready on time.
Daisy couldn’t imagine what still needed to be done to the room. Jess must have seen her confusion and said, ‘Table decorations. Sit there and watch,’ she said, looking very pleased with herself. ‘We have three different decorations with us, so that there’s a variation to the settings.’
Daisy watched as Jess and Izzy took out square glass vases in assorted styles and placed them in the middle of the tables all around the room. In the taller vases they placed huge white feathers, three in each one. In the shorter ones, they placed cream-coloured candles, draped with golden strings of beads, and they filled the shortest vases with pearls of all sizes, pushing a small candle into the middle of the arrangement.
‘Wow, that looks so impressive,’ Daisy said, impressed with the transformation of the tables. ‘I’m beginning to feel like I should be dressing up for this party.’
‘We will be,’ Jess said. She looked Daisy up and down. ‘If you need to borrow a dress for tonight say so. We always dress up to fit into whatever occasion we’re hosting and have several flapper dressers each. You’re about the same size as Izzy so you’ll probably be OK.’
Izzy clapped her hands. ‘You can come back to our cottage with us, if you like. We can help you get ready.’
‘We’ve got some gorgeous head-dresses you can choose from, too,’ Jess added. She looked at Izzy. ‘I think the black one with the peacock feather will look perfect with Daisy’s hair. Although we’ll need to tie your hair up: put it in a tight chignon at the back. I think it’ll look very dramatic. What do you think, Iz?’
Izzy nodded. ‘Yes. Daisy, you’re going to look gorgeous.’
Daisy couldn’t help getting excited at the prospect of dressing up in something so different to anything she’d ever worn before. ‘OK,’ she said. ‘I’d love to.’
‘Brilliant,’ Izzy said. ‘Now we’d better get on, otherwise we won’t have time to go and change.’
Daisy, having seen what they’d done with the tables, helped them check that everything was exactly as it should be. She was distracted by a sound coming from the pathway to the side of the building, when she spotted Gabriel walking round, joined by the tall man that had arrived with the girls.
‘That’s Ed,’ Izzy said quietly. ‘Oh, you met him at the Sunset Concert too, didn’t you?’
Jess leaned over to Daisy and whispered. ‘It’s like love’s young dream with those two since they hooked up.’
‘Hah,’ Izzy said. ‘You can talk. You and my brother drive me nuts with all your mooning about.’ She turned to Daisy. ‘One minute she’s besotted with my brother, the next with Ed’s. I think she just likes the attention from both of them.’
Daisy laughed. These girls were so much fun. She was loving being in their company and realised she was feeling happier than she had since Gabriel’s revelation at the concert. ‘What do you think they’re carrying?’ she asked.
The three girls stared out of the window and watched as brass stands were placed by the entrance of the orangery, five in a row, then a chain was linked to each one.
‘Oh, wow, it’s for a red carpet,’ Jess laughed, as Gabriel unrolled one between the two linked rows. ‘This is going to be a brilliant party.’
Daisy thought so too. She was so busy watching Gabriel and Ed setting up the red carpet, she almost bumped into two waiters carrying through a huge cake. ‘Oh, sorry,’ she gasped, quickly moving out of their way as it teetered slightly on the tray they were carrying.
They set the three-tiered cake down on a circular table near to the back wall. Each tier was different. The top one was white and circular, the middle one silver and square and the largest one at the bottom square with rounded edges and gold with pearl beading. She’d never seen anything like it before.
Two barmen carried in trays of glasses and arranged them in order on a table near to where the cake stood.
‘I think we need to get out of here now,’ said Izzy studying the room. ‘It looks like we’ve covered everything and they’ll want to be bringing in the food and booze soon.’ She checked her watch. ‘Come on, Daisy, let’s clear these hampers away into the van and go back to the cottage and make ourselves glamorous.’
‘Here, we’ll give you a hand,’ Gabriel said, coming into the room and helping with their boxes and hampers. He took one of the hampers from Daisy’s hands, his finger grazing her own, sending shockwaves through her body. She glanced up at him and for a few seconds everything was blanked out as they locked eyes and stared at each other.
‘Er, you guys,’ Ed said, shaking his head. ‘We need to get a move on.’
Daisy could feel the blood rushing to her face. She looked away and hurriedly picked up another basket to carry. Everything was soon safely in the van.
‘You’re going?’ Gabriel asked, when Daisy stepped up to the vehicle. He looked, Daisy thought, rather disappointed.
She told him about the cottage and the girls lending her an outfit for the party. He smiled. ‘That’s brilliant. I’ll see you later then.’
As the van wended its way along the south coast, Daisy looked out at St Aubin’s Bay with its wide curved beach and Elizabeth Castle sitting proudly in the middle of the sea. The sun sparkled on the almost still water and she wondered why she hadn’t taken the time to come out and investigate more of this island by herself before now.
‘We live in Rozel,’ Izzy said. ‘Have you been there yet?’
Daisy shook her head. ‘No, I haven’t seen much of the island at all so far. I only arrived a few weeks ago and have been working as many hours as I could since then to try and save up.’
‘What are you saving for?’ Jess asked stretching her arm out of her own window and yawning.
Daisy had to admit that she wasn’t certain yet. ‘I want to go travelling again, but most of all I want to be able to rent my own place at some point.’
‘Do you think you’ll stay over here?’ Ed asked.
She shrugged. ‘I do like it here,’ she said thinking of Gabe. ‘But there’s so much I haven’t seen yet. I was told that it’s only an hour by boat to St Malo and there’s a train there that can take me straight to Paris in only a couple of hours.’
‘That’s right,’ Ed said. ‘If ever you want somewhere to stay when you’re travelling in France, let me know. My family have a home there.’
Jess and Izzy giggled at this comment, but Daisy wasn’t sure why. She assumed it must be some standing joke between them.
‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I’ll remember to do that.’
They drove past the town and up over Gorey Hill, past Mont Orgueil Castle, and up over another hill. ‘I’ll never find my way around this place,’ she said. ‘The roads are so narrow and windy it’s hard to know where I am.’
‘We get lost sometimes,’ Jess said. ‘Even though the island’s not very large, they say that there’s about two hundred miles of roads what with all the tiny lanes.’
‘I can’t see how that works,’ Izzy said.
‘Nor me,’ Jess agreed.
The van turned right eventually and down a long hill, getting narrower at the bottom. Daisy spotted the sea only a slightly darker blue to the sky, and at the bottom a beautiful stone breakwater. ‘Is this Rozel Harbour?’ she asked, intrigued.
‘It is,’ Jess said. ‘The cottage is right here,’ she said parking next to a tiny garden at the front of a pretty white building.
‘Oh, it’s beautiful. You live he
re?’
The girls nodded. ‘It was my Gran’s home,’ Jess said. ‘She left it to me when she died and we live here and run our business from here too.’
Daisy followed them out of the van and stood silently at the entrance of the pretty cottage. ‘You’re so lucky.’
‘We are,’ Jess agreed, locking the van and waiting for Daisy. They walked inside and Jess waved Daisy into the little living room.
‘Ed, will you get Daisy and yourself a drink while Jess and I go and fetch a couple of dresses for her to look at?’
Sitting down opposite Ed with a cool glass of orange juice, Daisy asked, ‘Do you live here too?’
‘No, when I’m in Jersey I have a place at the manor where I’m a groundsman. The rest of the time I live in France with my parents: they have a business there.’
‘Oh, right,’ she said.
The girls soon reappeared carrying several dresses each. They hung them all from the pelmet over the front window.
‘Well, which one do you like best?’ Jess asked smiling. ‘Take a couple upstairs and try them on if you’d prefer. You can shower too if you want.’
‘What about you, Ed?’ Izzy asked.
‘I don’t think they’ll suit me,’ he joked. Shaking his head, he added. ‘I’ve left my suit upstairs. I’ll go and changed and leave you three to get ready.’
Daisy chose three fringed dresses: a gold one, a pink one, and a black one. After a quick shower she decided on the black dress and hurriedly put it on and headed downstairs, her curly hair still damp.
‘You look stunning,’ Jess said. ‘Wait there while we go and change and have a look in those boxes, where you’ll find the headdresses.’
She picked up each of the headbands, all decorated differently with an assortment of beads and feathers. Unable to wait, she tried on the peacock feather one she thought most suited her dress and staring at her reflection in the mirror couldn’t help smiling. She looked so different, sophisticated somehow, and she loved it.
Someone walked into the room behind her. She turned to see Ed. ‘Looks lovely,’ he said. ‘The girls will be delighted you’ve found one you like.’
Jess and Izzy followed him in moments later. ‘Wow, you look fabulous,’ Jess said. ‘I knew these dresses would suit you.’
They lent her red lipstick and eyeliner to go with the outfit. The effect was startling.
‘What do you think?’ Izzy asked when she didn’t speak for a few seconds.
‘I like it,’ she said honestly.
‘You look very sophisticated,’ Jess said. ‘It really suits you.’
She thought it did too, but didn’t like to say so. Maybe this summer in Jersey was going to be the time that her life truly did change for the better. ‘You both look amazing,’ she said smiling at Jess in a red dress and Izzy in gold. ‘I think this party is going to be great fun.’
‘Me too,’ Izzy agreed, linking arms with her and Jess. ‘Come on, Ed, take a picture of us three. I want to post it on our website; it’ll be good for advertising this style of party.’
Jess nodded. ‘Good idea.’
Daisy hated having her photo taken, but didn’t dare upset the girls by saying so. They’d been so generous to her and letting them take a picture of her was the least she could do.
Ed took his phone and waved for them to stand a little closer. ‘Smile, girls,’ he said, taking several pictures. He handed the phone back to Jess.
‘We look gorgeous,’ she said.
Daisy and Izzy laughed. ‘If you say so yourself,’ Izzy giggled.
Ed looked at his watch. ‘We’re going to have to get a move on if you girls don’t want to be late.’
‘Shit,’ Jess said, seeing the time. ‘We need to be there before everyone else,’ she said, eyes filled with panic. ‘We can’t be late.’
‘We won’t be if we leave right now,’ Izzy said, picking up her bag and the car keys. ‘Come on.’
They arrived at the hotel and parking the van, hurried into the orangery. The only person there was Gabriel, doing a last-minute check of the room. A trio were playing lively music in keeping with the era over in one corner of the room near a temporary dance floor. Daisy felt like her namesake in The Great Gatsby when Gabriel turned around and smiled at her.
Her stomach flipped over and her breath caught in her throat. He looked incredible. He’d slicked back his hair, showing his tanned face off to perfection, and wore a dinner jacket, with a white shirt and bow tie. He walked over to join her. Daisy cleared her throat and tried to think of something coherent to say.
‘You look incredible,’ he said his voice catching. ‘So…’
‘Over the top?’
He laughed. ‘I was going to say glamorous.’
‘Oh,’ she said, embarrassed by her instinctive reaction to be negative. Too many years being told she shouldn’t forget who she was. She was beginning to realise that her mother had been wrong on many levels.
‘Thank you,’ she said when he didn’t say anything further. He didn’t speak but stared at her. She was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable by his silence. ‘Is anything wrong?’ she asked. Maybe her lipstick had smudged, or something.
He shook his head. ‘No. I was just – well, you look stunning.’
Daisy couldn’t take her eyes away from his. She had no idea how long they stood like that: seconds, minutes, but it was only when she realised someone was tapping Gabriel on the shoulder and he looked away to see who it was that she was aware they were still in the middle of the orangery, now filling with guests.
He rested his hand on her bare shoulder. ‘Sorry, I’ll just have to go and deal with this,’ he said. ‘It seems our party hosts have arrived. I must greet them.’
‘Of course,’ she said.
She spotted Izzy and Jess, smiling and chatting to other staff members and several guests who were making their way into the room. The red carpet gave them all something to talk about as they walked in. She saw Luke arrive with his wife, Bea. He looked a little uncomfortable in his dinner suit.
‘So, what do you think?’ She looked up to see Ed holding out a glass of champagne to her. ‘They know how to put on a party here, don’t they?’
She nodded. ‘The girls are very good at dressing a room. You must be very proud of them.’
He smiled. ‘They certainly do.’
The room was filling fast and getting noisier. Daisy tilted her head in the direction of an exuberant couple who had just arrived and were holding up their glasses to a group of friends. ‘They were in that period drama from last year,’ she said, amazed at how different the couple looked without their powdered wigs.
‘They’re probably good friends with Francesca and Rick,’ he said. ‘In fact, I’m surprised those two haven’t come back for tonight. Maybe they didn’t have time to catch the ferry.’
Daisy looked out of the glazed wall overlooking the garden to the orange glow formed by the garden lights in the dense fog. ‘It’s still terrible out there. What a shame when there’s usually such an incredible view of the bay.’
‘I think it looks eerie,’ Izzy said, coming to stand next to them. ‘As if tonight is part of a hazy dream, where anything’s possible.’
Daisy could see what she meant. ‘It’s like we’ve been transported back in time to the twenties.’ She liked the idea.
‘Everything seems to be going fine here,’ Izzy said, looking around the room.
They spoke for a little longer until raucous voices could be heard coming along the pathway towards the party. She saw a couple who she recognised from many films, walking hand in hand. Gabriel followed them, his head bent slightly as he said something amusing to his grandmother.
The glamorous couple stopped at the door, letting Gabriel and Lydia walk ahead into the room. Gabriel called out for everyone’s attention.
When Daisy saw who was standing there she gasped and turning to the woman standing next to her, said. ‘That’s Brynmor Wensley Morgan, and his wife Soraya
,’ she said unable to believe that she was in the same room as the great actor she’d seen in so many films and had never been able to afford to watch at the theatre.
The woman looked at her as if she was nuts. ‘I take it that you’re new here, otherwise you’d have probably come across them both before. They’re good friends of the family.’
Daisy shook her head. ‘Yes, fairly new,’ she whispered.
Gabriel held his hands up to quieten the excited chattering in the room. ‘Dear friends, we’re here tonight to celebrate fifty years in the business that is show, for this amazingly talented couple that all of us know and most of us are lucky to consider as close friends.’ He held up his glass in a toast. ‘I’d like you to join me in raising your glasses to our fabulous hosts: Bryn and his lovely wife, Soraya.’
The guests cheered and raised their glasses, chanting their hosts’ names as the couple made their grand entrance into the packed room.
‘Bryn would like to say a few words,’ Gabriel said stepping back to let the larger-than-life actor and his wife speak.
Daisy watched Gabriel. Living with his theatrical parents seemed to have given him a confidence she couldn’t imagine possessing.
‘And,’ Bryn continued, bringing Daisy back to the present as his clipped, strong voice carried easily to everyone in the room. ‘To celebrate half a century in the business that Soraya and I love so much,’ he arched an eyebrow dramatically. ‘Despite neither of us getting the merest sniff of an Oscar, Soraya and I would like to thank you all for travelling here tonight through the inclement weather to enjoy our special evening with us.’
The guests clapped and Bryn and Soraya took a bow, laughing and giving each other a quick peck on the lips.
Soraya clamped her free hand over Bryn’s mouth as he opened it to speak, and said. ‘I’d like to thank The Encore, and the girls from Lapins de Lune, and especially the divine Gabriel,’ she lifted her hand in a mock whisper. ‘Who really should have become an actor and delighted us all on the screen as well as in this hotel. You’ve all worked very hard to make tonight possible.’
The Jersey Scene series box set Page 103
