fuss but they were always prepared. If their gentleman escort wanted to stay too late at the party or had a little too much to drink, a lady quietly and discreetly made other arrangements and kept the cash to do so about her person at all times. Men, said Granny Georgia, momentarily less ladylike, Never Thought of That.
Bella chuckled. ‘I’ve got enough cash to get me home.’
Lottie clicked her fingers. ‘That reminds me, you’ll need the minicab company’s card.’ She dived into the hall drawer and with a flourish produced a dog-eared bit of pasteboard. ‘Put this number into your phone now.’
Bella complied. And while she was at it, she checked her incoming messages. No, nothing from her mother, so no surprise there. Her father hadn’t got back to her either, but he was probably up a mountain somewhere. And she knew Granny Georgia was in Brazil saving the rain forest until Christmas. But she was a bit hurt that her brother Neill hadn’t even bothered to leave her a message.
Lottie was oblivious. ‘I have an account. You won’t have to pay cash. Just say Hendred Associates.’
‘Hendred Associates?’
‘Well, I’m not going to be working for someone else all my life. Establish the brand early and keep it cooking,’ said Lottie blithely.
But later, in the back of the minicab, she said more soberly, ‘Tonight I’m sort of on duty, Bella. Networking stuff. I may even have to go on somewhere. I’m sorry, on your first weekend home. But I can’t get out of it. Will that be OK?’
‘Fine,’ said Bella, who was beginning to feel the effects of a day’s unaccustomed shopping, on top of the jet lag. ‘I’ll probably push off earlyish anyway. What do we do? Should I text you when I want to leave?’
‘Good plan. And we can spend all tomorrow together.’
‘Sure. So who are the people giving this party?’
‘My boss. The Big Boss, I mean. Not my team leader.’
‘Coo,’ said Bella, impressed and just a bit wistful. ‘Your career must be really whooshing along.’
Lottie snorted. ‘Career, nothing. This is pay-back for personal services.’
‘What?’
‘Whoops! Sounds bad, doesn’t it? Memo to self: don’t say that to my mother. Actually, his idiot Number Three Son came into the agency for work experience in the summer. I was the one who drew the short straw and had to mentor the little toe-rag. Believe me, that family owe me.’
‘Ah.’
‘The party will be OK, though. Big Cheese is pretty much the last word in contemporary PR. He doesn’t do anything but work, but his wife is into charities and the arts and all sorts of groovy stuff. The kids aren’t all bad, either. And their parties are legendary. There should be some interesting people there. You’ll have a good time. Promise.’
She was right.
The party didn’t seem unduly posh, in spite of what Lottie had said. It was in a very smart house, though, in a very smart part of town, with some amazing artwork on the walls. But it all seemed friendly and casual, with dancing in a big, darkened room in the basement and people talking in every other room in the house, except the kitchen. Some were even sitting on the stairs.
Bella didn’t know anyone but it didn’t matter. She danced a bit, and talked a bit, and drank more than she had in nearly a year. The Oxfam dress fitted in nicely, neither too showy nor too casual, and the new shoes, not much more than sparkly gold straps atop four-inch heels, attracted enough envy to make Bella’s spirits fly. She had a great time until about three hours into the party when she suddenly realised that her head was ringing and she could not feel her feet any more.
‘Air,’ she said, and fought her way up the darkened stairs from the basement to the ground floor, where French windows opened on to a handsome terrace.
But it looked as if someone was giving a speech out there and Bella hesitated. Seeing this, one of the circulating waiters took her by the elbow and directed her through a small doorway. She supposed he thought she wanted to go outside to smoke and shook her head to tell him she didn’t. But then she saw that the door led into a small courtyard, a small empty courtyard, and she thought: Lottie’s right. Sometimes the Lord provides.
She slipped outside.
It was utterly quiet. That was the first thing that struck her. In every room in the house there had been music – fierce, danceable