Having a Ball

by Rhoda Baxter

  The woman in the catsuit whispered something in the man's ear.

  "My wife wants to know if that means that Pete from Triphoppers isn't coming?"

  "He is, but we can't guarantee a meeting with him. All I can do is promise to try."

  Lady Beryl grabbed Stevie's arm. "A word." She dragged Stevie away from the Farriers. "You are not thinking of letting those people in, are you?"

  "The tickets are genuine."

  "Yes, but they're not the sort of people we want here. Just look at what that woman is wearing."

  Stevie looked Mrs Farrier was, a good two decades younger than he was, had big blonde hair that didn't match the colour of her plucked eyebrows. Red high heels and a matching red diamante belt set off her mustard yellow catsuit. She was what Stevie's friends would call 'Chav totty'.

  "I mean, they're so...nouveau riche." Lady Beryl spat the words out with distaste.

  "They still have a valid ticket. We have to let them in."

  "But what will Lord Grayingham say? And the Major?!" Lady Beryl's voice was clearly audible to the Farriers now. Mr. Farrier was starting to go red again.

  "I'm sorry Lady Beryl. I have no choice." Stevie strode back to the couple. "I will do my best to introduce you to Pete," she said. "I'm sorry you got caught out by Mr. Howerd, but we really didn't promise anything of the sort."

  "I only paid that stupid sum because Cherry here is so keen on Pete," said Mr. Farrier, his voice softening slightly. His wife, if she was really his wife, slipped a hand into his.

  "I'm sorry."

  "I'll be complaining to eBay."

  "So will I, Mr. Farrier. So will I."

  "I suppose we're here, we may as well stay." Mr. Farrier looked into his wife's eyes. She gave him a delighted smile.

  "Wonderful," said Stevie. "Why don't I show you to the bar." She ushered the couple into the house, giving the fuming Lady Beryl an apologetic smile over her shoulder.

  In the bar, Olivia and Tom were eating their way through a plate of nibbles. Vienna was decorously perched on a chair. Tom's eyebrows rose as Stevie led the guests in, but he maintained his composure. Mrs. Farrier simpered a little and flicked her hair.

  "You got any beer," said Mr. Farrier, putting himself firmly between his wife and Tom.

  "I do indeed." Tom produced a bottle and pint glass.

  Mr. Farrier took the bottle and picked up a glass of champagne. "Here you go love."

  Mrs. Farrier took the glass. In her high heels she towered above her husband.

  "There's access to the garden through there." Stevie pointed to the library. "Or the disco is through here." There were muffled sounds of Abba.

  "Ooh, let's dance, Bill." Mrs. Farrier trotted forward, dragging her reluctant husband behind her.

  "What," said Tom, "was that?"

  Stevie quickly outlined what was going on.

  "Phew," said Olivia. "He made a tidy profit from that."

  "I know. I'm furious," Stevie said.

  Tom grinned. "Are you annoyed that someone sold the tickets on? Or that you didn't think of auctioning them in the first place?"

  Stevie allowed herself a moment to relax. "Both," she admitted.

  Olivia laughed. "I like this girl."

  Vienna had been listening to all this in silence. "It takes a lot of money to make designerwear look that cheap." She sounded thoughtful.

  Tom gave her a suspicious glance. "Vienna..."

  Vienna grinned and slipped off her seat. "Back in a minute." She disappeared after the Farriers.

  "Vienna." Tom called after her. "Come back here." When she didn't stop, he swore.

  "What?" said Stevie, alarmed by Tom's reaction.

  "Think about it," said Olivia. "He's been ripped off. She's a litigation lawyer..."

  Stevie stared at him. Surely, he didn't mean that Vienna would encourage the Farriers to sue? "But that would reflect badly on Evelyn." She turned back. "Your Mum!"

  Tom scowled and nodded his head.

  "That woman has no scruples." Olivia finished her drink.

  * * * *

  Text from: Alice's phone

  To: Stevie's phone

  OMG! HE'S HERE!!!!

  * * * *

  Stevie rushed toward crowd of people in the hall. At its centre was a group of giggling girls, who were being held back by a stern-faced woman, and Pete, who was looking mildly amused.

  "Will you sign my bra?" Veronica lifted her top to expose a white lacy bra.

  Pete took a step back. Stevie scanned the room for the journalist and photographer, but didn't see anyone who looked likely.

  "I'm sorry, I don't sign underwear." said Pete. "I'll sign your top, if you like." He took the marker pen from Veronica, who pulled her top down with a pout. "If you could let me have your shoulder. It's much easier to write on shoulders."

  "What's your name?" he said.

  The girl shot a glance at Stevie and muttered, "Veronica."

  Stevie grinned. The girl was clearly regretting having lied about her name, but couldn't back out now without losing face.

  Pete wrote something on the girl's shoulder. "There. Anyone else?"

  He spotted Stevie. "Hello Stevie," he said, with what seemed to be relief. "I'll be right with you."

  Stevie grinned. "Take your time."

  Pete's guest sidled up to Stevie. "I'm Sharon. From Triphopper's PR department."

  They shook hands.

  "Is Cause Celeb here?" Sharon looked round the room.

  "Not yet," said Stevie apologetically. She had hoped the reporter would be here before the celebrity. Now she was beginning to worry that the reporter wasn't coming at all.

  Sharon frowned. "We came on the understanding that they would be here."

  "Oh, they will be," said Stevie.

  A flash went off as one of the girls took a photo. Stevie motioned Alice to take one too. If all else failed, they could pass them on to Cause Celeb themselves. Alice seemed to spring into life out of a daze. She pulled out her camera and started snapping away.

  Having signed several shoulders and a few pieces of paper, Pete handed the pen back and smiled at his audience. "Tell me about this charity."

  The other girls looked at Alice, who opened her mouth, but managed to produce only a squeak.

  Veronica sighed, tossed her hair and stepped in front of Alice. "It's a charity based in Sri Lanka." She guided Pete to the display and talked him through it. Even though it was obvious that she was merely reading what was on the boards, she kept talking with supreme confidence.

  Stevie was impressed. It took a lot of bravado to pull that off.

  When Veronica had run out of things to read off the board, Stevie stepped forward. "Hi Pete."

  "Stevie. Lovely to see you again." He shook her hand and kissed her on the cheek.

  "Thanks for coming. Shall I show you round?"

  "Yes, please."

  Stevie sent Alice off to get some drinks and ushered them into the library. The others followed, giggling.

  * * * *

  She was half way round showing Pete and his whispering entourage the garden when she remembered the Farriers. "Oh," she said. "There's another fan I'd like you to meet, if you can possibly bear it."

  Pete shrugged. "All publicity is good publicity. Lead on."

  "Wait here," she said. "I'll just go get them." She went into the disco, where Mr. and Mrs. Farrier were dancing to Blondie. She caught Mrs. Farrier's eye and mouthed "Pete's here".

  Mrs. Farrier immediately grabbed her husband's hand and dragged him over.

  When they got back to Pete, he was talking to a woman with a cascade of red hair. "Stevie, this is Amber, from Cause Celeb."

  Amber turned round. "Hi. You must be the organiser."

  "I am." Stevie shook her hand, feeling weak with relief. If the magazine had failed to send anyone, she would have lost all credibility with Pete. Remembering her guests, she added, "I've just got to introduce someone to Pete." She introduced Mr. and Mrs. Farrier. The
lady in question giggled and went bright red. Her husband stepped up and gave Pete a firm handshake.

  "Farrier," he said.

  "Pete Gosling."

  Stevie couldn't help thinking that Pete was utterly charming. So far he'd been mobbed by teenage girls, glowered at by Lady Beryl and was currently being alpha-male eyeballed by Mr. Farrier and he was taking it all in his stride.

  "I'm from up North myself," Pete was saying.

  Mr. Farrier seemed to soften a little. "Whereabouts?"

  "Near Knutsford."

  "Posh."

  Pete laughed. "Very middle class, I think."

  Stevie left them chatting and turned to Amber, who was taking photos of Pete with a handheld camera. "Is there no photographer?"

  "No." Amber lowered the camera and gave Stevie a funny look. "This isn't high profile enough to merit it." She took another photo, the flash went off.

  "Who're you?" said Mr. Farrier, glaring at her suspiciously. "Why are you taking photos?"

  "This is Amber." Stevie stepped in smoothly. "She's from Cause Celeb magazine. She's covering Pete's visit to us."

  Mrs. Farrier spoke. "Are we going to be in Cause Celeb?" she said. Her voice was unexpectedly deep and melodious. Stevie had been expecting something more high pitched and squeaky. She glanced at Amber.

  "Could be," said Amber. "Depends how the photos turn out." She looked Mrs. Farrier's outfit up and down and raised the camera again. "May I?"

  Mrs. Farrier put her arm through her husband's and posed. She was a very pretty woman underneath all the makeup and, apparently, used to posing for the camera. Her husband, on the other hand, appeared stiff and false.

  Stevie stepped next to Pete. "Can I get you another drink?"

  "Please. Better still..." He gave a swift glance toward Sharon, the PR woman, who was watching Amber carefully. "Where's the bar."

  Gathering that he wanted a moment's quiet, Stevie said, "Just a second."

  She went to Sharon and said, "Those girls over there are very active members of the Triphoppers forum."

  "And?"

  "If you wanted to canvas opinion on what the fan base is into, they'll happily tell you. Veronica, in particular, could be a mine of information. And she'd probably be very amenable if you asked her to post nice things on the forum--things that are better coming as a buzz from inside, rather than as part of a press release, for example."

  Sharon eyed the girls thoughtfully.

  Stevie could almost see the cogs whirring in her mind. "I'll introduce you."

  A few minutes later, with the Sharon talking to the teenagers and Amber writing down the Farrier's details, Stevie managed to get Pete out of the room without any of them noticing.

  He took a glass of wine and sank into a chair, gratefully. "Fans are great. But it can be hard work. Especially the young ones."

  Stevie smiled. She had reservations about his young fans.

  "So," said Pete. "Marsh tells me this is your first gig,"

  "You've seen him?"

  "I had dinner with him and Jane last week. Your email meant that I had an excuse to get back in touch with Jane, which was good because I'm terrible at keeping in touch. It's very exciting news about the baby."

  So they told him, a relative stranger, a mere few weeks after they'd told her. Stevie pushed the thought away. "Yes. It is."

  Feeling the need to change the subject, she said, "Thank you so much for agreeing to come, it means a lot to us...to the charity."

  Pete waved her thanks away. "We need the publicity, frankly. I'm not Ashby, he's the one the fans are really after. The rest of us do what we can with smaller things like this. It's all part of the job."

  "Your PR person seems pretty good."

  Pete laughed. "She is. Her boss, Mike, is a pretty ruthless PR man. I don't always agree with his methods, but they do work."

  Stevie thought of the magazine campaign that had nearly destroyed Jane and Marsh's relationship. Ruthless it certainly was. She was about to comment when she noticed that she no longer had Pete's attention. He was staring at the door. She turned.

  Vienna had just undulated in, with another plate of canapés in her hand. She stopped in the doorway, one foot ahead of the other in a perfect pose, and locked eyes on Pete.

  Pete stood up.

  "Er...Pete, this is Vienna. Vienna, this is--"

  "Pete Gosling. I know." She held out her hand. "I'm Vienna Jansen-Verlag. Delighted to meet you."

  "Likewise."

  Vienna handed the plate to Stevie, who took it out of surprise. Vienna opened her clutch bag and produced a business card. "My card."

  He scanned it. "You're a lawyer?"

  "Yes. And we do have a few clients in show biz." She gave him a charming smile and slipped her arm through his. "So Pete, tell me about yourself."

  Stevie watched them leave and took the plate of canapés over to the bar. "I guess these were meant for you."

  "Yes, until Vienna saw something more interesting." Olivia helped herself to a meat patty, holding it delicately between forefinger and thumb.

  "So that was the famous Pete," said Tom.

  Stevie was surprised that he didn't seem overly bothered about Vienna's flirting with Pete. Perhaps he was still annoyed with her.

  Tom was watching her intently.

  "What?" Did she have lipstick on her teeth?

  "Nothing. I just can't believe you pulled that trick off. I take it the reporter is here too."

  "She is. In fact--" Stevie spotted Amber coming in, her head turning as she looked for Pete. "Here she is now." She waved. "Amber. Over here."

  "Where's Pete gone?" Amber said.

  Stevie glanced at Tom. He was best placed to know where Vienna was likely to have gone.

  "Garden, probably," he said. "If not, you'll have a hell of a job finding them in this house."

  "Do you want to go look for him?"

  "Actually, I need to get some details off you first. Like your name?"

  Stevie handed her a card.

  "How do you know Pete?" A pen appeared from nowhere.

  Stevie hesitated. The obvious answer was that her sister in law was Ashby's ex. This piece of information might have been interesting enough for Amber to resurrect the old story and make the piece more substantial than a small item in a back page. It would give Stevie's career a decent boost. But Jane had been upset by the idea of her contacting Triphoppers in any capacity. Mentioning her to someone from the press would cause even more upset. Did she really want to deepen the rift between her and her brother, just when things were looking like they might be getting better?

  The pause was long enough for Amber's eyes to light up with suspicion.

  "Sorry," said Stevie, hoping to buy time. "What was the question again? I got distracted there."

  "How do you know Pete? Is there a mutual acquaintance?"

  "Oh. We met at a wedding. My friend, his friend. I got talking to him and he was so nice and said I should contact him whenever... So I did." She laughed, in what she hoped was a convincing manner.

  Amber scribbled something down. There was a burst of noise as someone opened the door to the disco. As the door swung shut, the noise dropped.

  "That's one sound proof door," said Amber. "This is an impressive house."

  Stevie grabbed the chance to change the subject. "Let me show you round."

  * * * *

  By the time Stevie finished walking Amber round the house, it was well and truly dark outside. They had been all over the public areas of the house, but failed to spot Pete. Stevie was beginning to think Vienna had taken him to Tom's room.

  The garden was lit up as it had been the night before. Stevie felt a small rush of sadness as she thought of her close encounter with Tom just twenty-four hours before.

  Amber was looking round. "Wow! This looks stunning."

  "All Tom's work. You know, the barman."

  "A man of many talents, clearly." Amber seemed distracted. "Your name... It's Stevie Winfield,
right? Are you by any chance related to Jane Porter's husband, Marshall Winfield?" She raised her eyebrows.

  Bugger. Stevie had hoped she'd got away without bringing Jane into it. If this woman decided to follow up what Jane was doing now, both Marsh and Jane would be unbelievably upset. On the other hand, Amber had clearly done her research and lying to her would be pointless.

  "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am," said Stevie. "It was at their wedding that I met Pete."

  Amber nodded. "Thought so." The notebook was back in her hand. "And how are Jane and Marshall now?"

  Happy. Expecting a baby. "Fine." Stevie kept her eyes on the garden, wishing there were some way she could escape this conversation before she inadvertently gave something personal away. Why on earth couldn't Lady Beryl pester her now? When she needed her to?

  Her eyes fell on the gazebo. She could just make out two figures, their heads close together. One of them moved and the fairy lights gleamed off a sheet of blonde hair. "I think we've found Pete."

  Amber narrowed her eyes and peered. "So we have," she said, a thrill of excitement in her voice. "Wait here." Amber took off her shoes and disappeared down the metal steps.

  Stevie wondered whether she should make a noise and warn the couple. She thought of how much trouble her brother had got into with his firm when his picture appeared in Cause Celeb. Would Vienna get into as much trouble? It would serve her right.

  She smiled as the flash went off, illuminating Pete and Vienna's embrace. They both turned, startled by the sudden light.

  Stevie drew back out of sight.

  Amber reappeared. "Fabulous," she said, her eyes shining. She retrieved her shoes. "Let's go back in."

  Stevie rather thought she'd forgotten all about the conversation about Jane and Marsh.

  Chapter 18

  Pete left soon afterwards, taking Vienna with him. He thanked Stevie before he left, showing no sign of being upset at being snapped by Amber. Amber retreated to the bar and was soon chatting to Tom and a few other guests who had left the dark garden to stand around near the bar instead.

  "Stephanie."

  Stevie turned to find Lady Beryl bearing down on her like a galleon in full sail. "Lady Beryl."