Having a Ball (23 page)

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.

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."

"I have some questions to ask you. Who is that woman with the red hair
that's taking photos of people?"

"That's Amber. From
Cause Celeb
."

"The magazine that's like Tattler?"

"That's the one."

Lady Beryl drew herself up to her full height. "She has not taken a photo
of me and my husband."

"Oh dear," said Stevie. "I'm sure she meant to. Why don't you go ask
her?"

"What? And
beg
to have my photo taken? No Stephanie. You will
ask her."

Stevie sighed. "Okay. She's in the bar. You find Lord Grayingham. I'll ask
her."

"I would prefer to be photographed in the library," said Lady Beryl. "We
shall wait in there."

Stevie considered running off to a different part of the house. She was
tired and in desperate need of a sit down and stiff drink. But she knew Lady Beryl
would eventually catch up with her and she was too tired to think of an excuse as to
why she hadn't found Amber, so she dragged herself into the bar and tapped the
journalist on the shoulder.

Amber laughed when she explained the situation. "You'd be amazed how
often that happens. We usually just take a haphazard photo and it keeps them
happy." She stood grabbed her glass and her camera. "Lead me to them."

"Before you go," Tom said. "It's nearly midnight. I'm going to do last
orders. Is that okay?"

Midnight. Oh good. Only a few more hours to go and she could go to bed.
"Yes, that's fine. Thanks for keeping it going for as long as you have." She gave him a
grateful smile and ushered Amber towards the library.

Once the photo of Lady Beryl and Lord Grayingham, who was red in the
face and wobbly from drink, had been taken, Amber made her apologies and said
good-bye. Stevie found Amber's coat for her and saw her to the door.

"I'll tell you something," said Amber. "I didn't want to come to this, but
I'm glad I did. It's been fun. And..." She patted her pockets to check that she had
everything. "I think I've found the perfect place for my Mum and Dad to come on
their thirtieth wedding anniversary. I spoke to the bar guy. Tom, is it? Sounds like
it's pretty reasonable room rates for such a lovely house."

"Brilliant, I'm glad." Stevie felt happy that Evelyn's plans were working
out as well. She waited with Amber until the taxi arrived and waved her off.

Standing outside the house, she felt reluctant to go back in. Every spare
minute she seemed to be wanted by somebody. Still, this was her job. She had to get
on with it. She went back inside and shut the door. She was just wondering whether
she could take her shoes off and carry on with her duties bare foot, when her phone
rang. She checked the display, it was Evelyn. The food was all gone, so there
couldn't be anything important that Evelyn wanted now. She ignored the call.

Simultaneously, Lady Beryl's voice shouted "Stephanie!"

Stevie groaned. The last thing she wanted to do was to talk to that old bat
again. All she wanted was five minutes peace.

"Stephanie? Where is that girl?" Lady Beryl was getting closer.

Spotting the door to the coat cupboard, Stevie darted in and shut the door
behind her.

The only light in the cupboard was a thin line from under the door. After
a few seconds, Stevie's eyes adjusted enough for her to step over the few items on
the floor and find a wall to lean against. As the cupboard took up most of the space
underneath the large staircase and only had a coat rail in it, there was plenty of
room. She slipped off her shoes and closed her eyes with relief. Outside she could
hear Lady Beryl.

"Where is she? I told her something like this would happen. I warned
her."

"Actually, I need to speak to her as well." That was Tom's voice. "If I see
her, I'll tell her you're looking for her."

"Why aren't you in the bar, anyway?"

"Bar's closed. I called time."

"Well that's a mercy. I don't want that man to have a drop more."

Stevie groaned. This didn't sound good. It sounded like Lady Beryl was
going to blame her for Lord Grayingham's inebriation. That was hardly fair. She
should get out there and sort it out, regardless. But two more minutes wouldn't
hurt, surely?

"I'm going to try the kitchen." Lady Beryl clumped off.

There was a brief silence, followed by a faint beep.

Stevie opened her eyes and stared at the darkness. It was nice in this
cupboard. Calm. Besides, she couldn't very well walk out without Tom asking her
what she was doing. She might as well stay put for a few minutes. She wriggled her
toes and leaned her head back.

Her phone rang, making her jump. She clutched at her bag and tried to
fish it out. Outside, footsteps approached the cupboard. Stevie stared at her phone.
It was Tom, phoning her. She quickly cancelled the call.

The door opened. "Stevie?" Tom peered into the gloom. "What are you
doing?"

Stevie sighed. "Hiding from Lady Beryl. "

Tom glanced over his shoulder and slipped into the cupboard. "She's
looking for you, you know," he whispered.

"I know. I know. I just wanted a couple of minutes to myself." She bent
her head and turned her phone on to silent. When she looked up, Tom was staring
at her, his face ghostly in the light of the phone.

"Poor thing. You've been running around all evening. Have you had
anything to eat?"

Stevie had to think about that. She realised she hadn't eaten since
lunchtime. No wonder she was feeling awful.

There were footsteps outside. "Normally, Stevie would do this," said Lady
Beryl. "But she's disappeared at the moment." There was a scrape as someone put
something into the collection box. "Thank you very much. Your donation will be
much appreciated. Did you have a coat?"

Tom started and put his hand out to catch himself. His arm dislodged a
number of coats and hangers, which crashed to the ground.

"What's going on in there?" Lady Beryl said. Footsteps approached the
cupboard.