CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The late afternoon light decided to call it a day, fading into a frosty twilight. As December deepened, the days had a cosy winter’s glow that Lily loved, and it made the craft shop’s Christmas lights all the more festive.
Somewhere in the afternoon, Ivy had offered everyone a sip of her homemade ginger wine. ‘There’s a wee tipple of whisky in it,’ Ivy told them.
Toasting each other for the festive season, the ladies enjoyed sampling Ivy’s potent concoction.
‘I didn’t know if we’d be celebrating ,’ said Heather, bringing a bottle of champagne out of her craft bag.
Two other members had similar ideas, and soon the party notched up into the dancing around the shop zone.
‘We’re not blootered,’ Ivy said, as she changed the music to suit the livelier mood.
Mirren nodded. ‘No, we’re cheery.’ This was true.
The others cheerfully agreed.
Lily had taken two small measures of the ginger wine, and continued to finish adding the chiffon to the dress. She stood up and shook out the layers of chiffon. ‘Do you want to try this on now, Ivy?’
‘Yes.’ Ivy sounded excited as she hurried away to put it on.
‘I’ve added the sequin trims to the straps,’ Lily called through to her. ‘But you’ll be able to finish the sequin scattering. I’ve made a start on it to show you the design.’
Ivy stepped out wearing the dress, holding out the skirt, beaming with delight.
All the ladies stopped what they were doing to admire it.
Ivy gave them a twirl.
There were gasps all round.
‘Oh, it’s gorgeous,’ said Heather.
‘What a great job you’ve made of it,’ Mirren remarked to Lily.
Mari admired the chiffon skirt. ‘Imagine dancing around a ballroom wearing a dress like this.’
Ivy started to waltz in the space near the window, wearing low–heel pumps. ‘I should’ve taken lessons from Frazer. But I’ve always managed to dance okay with Bob.’
‘What are the main steps for a waltz?’ Mari said to Lily. ‘What did you learn first?’
‘The box step,’ Lily told Mari. ‘Frazer said it’s the basic step of the waltz.’
‘Is it tricky?’ said Heather.
‘Not really.’ Lily started to show them what she’d learned, and soon several of them were attempting the box step, laughing and giggling.
‘Step forward, then step to the side and bring your feet together,’ said Lily. Then step back, to the side and bring your feet together.’
The ladies were enjoying trying the sequence of steps.
‘The tricky bit is you now have to include the turns as you do these steps,’ said Lily, and showed them what she’d learned.
The laughter notched up a level as some of them turned the wrong way, mixed up their steps, and couldn’t dance for giggling. But eventually some of them were getting better at it.
‘Frazer is always going on about posture.’ Lily emphasised how she kept her core strong and shoulders back but relaxed.
Mirren straightened her shoulders. ‘I’m needing to improve my posture anyway.’
The fun continued, and so did the dancing...
Frazer had popped round to the theatre to talk to Huntly and Niall about the choreography for their new show, giving them a copy of the routines he’d planned.
Heading back to the studio, he should’ve taken one of the shortcuts through the narrow closes, the route he’d taken the previous night there and back with Lily.
But he didn’t.
He walked away from the theatre and headed down the street, taking the longer route, telling himself he wanted to get a breath of air before going back to the studio.
He knew fine he was telling fibs as he walked down towards Ivy’s craft shop. It was only a short walk down the street from the theatre.
The Christmas craft afternoon would surely be finished, he told himself. It was almost five, though the early darkness made it seem later.
From a distance, he saw the glow from the front window of the craft shop shining out on to the cobbled street. Walking nearer, it looked like there was a lot of activity inside.
Were the ladies waltzing?
Frazer blinked, thinking it was a trick of the light. He thought they’d be knitting, sewing and having tea and cake.
But there was Lily, in the thick of the frivolity, waltzing with a woman wearing a blue ballgown.
He saw Mirren too, and Heather and Mari. All dancing — trying to do turns while doing the box step. What was going on in the craft shop?
Frazer continued on, keeping far enough back so he wouldn’t be seen peering over at them. They were all lit up in the window.
‘Oh, look,’ said Mirren. ‘There’s Frazer walking by.’ She smiled and waved, urging him to come over.
Muttering to himself, he walked over.
‘Frazer!’ Heather exclaimed, as he stepped into the shop.
The music was lively and so was the atmosphere.
‘I was just on my way back to the studio from the theatre,’ Frazer explained. He glanced at Lily, hoping she wouldn’t wonder why he’d taken the scenic route.
‘This is Ivy,’ Heather said to him. ‘She owns the craft shop.’
‘Pleased to meet you, Ivy,’ said Frazer.
Ivy’s cheeks glowed with festive cheer. ‘Lily was showing us how you taught her to waltz. She made my ballgown too.’
‘Very nice,’ he said.
Lily stood beside Mirren, sensing Frazer had taken a deliberate detour, but kept her thoughts to herself.
‘A few of us are going to your Christmas Eve ball,’ said Ivy. ‘We’re trying to practise waltzing. Could you take a few minutes to show us your technique?’
Ivy and the others looked hopeful at Frazer.
He smiled tightly. ‘Certainly.’ He took Ivy in hold and danced for a few minutes with her, correcting her stance and showing her how to turn.
This started a reaction from several women each wanting a chance to waltz for a minute or two with Frazer.
Unless he was mistaken, Lily was trying not to smile.
But then seeing how delighted the ladies were to dance with him, he started to smile too.
Heather was the last one to waltz with Frazer. ‘That was great. I’m certainly booking lessons for the New Year.’
By now, the ladies were packing their bags, putting their coats and jackets on and getting ready to leave.
Bert drove up and parked outside the shop to pick Mirren up and take her home.
Mirren eyed another one of the craft kits as she put her coat on. ‘Lily,’ she said quickly. ‘I’ve always wanted to try goldwork embroidery. Should I indulge and buy that kit? You’ve got more common sense than me. What do you think?’
Lily sighed and shook her head. ‘I think you’ve got plenty to do with your knitting, sewing and needle felting. And it’s such a busy time of year.’
Mirren nodded firmly. ‘You’re right. I’ve got enough for now.’ She buttoned her coat, smiled and gave Lily a hug. ‘Enjoy your dance lesson tonight.’
Lily waved her off and then whispered to Ivy as Mirren headed out. ‘I’ll take that goldwork kit.’
Frazer waited to walk Lily back to the dress shop. Stepping outside, she buttoned her coat up against the frosty evening. But it felt refreshing, and having indulged in Ivy’s ginger wine and a glass of bubbly, she breathed in the fresh air. And started to hiccup.
‘Sorry,’ she said to Frazer as they walked away from the craft shop. ‘The fresh air has given me the—’ She hiccupped.
Frazer smirked.
‘I only had ginger wine, and a glass of champagne,’ she started to explain, hearing herself make excuses while continuing to hiccup. ‘Say it. Say what you’re thinking.’
‘I’m saying nothing.’ He pressed his lips together, but then smirked again.
‘I’ll be fine once I have my dinner. I plan to make something tasty but easy.’
Frazer grinned at her.
‘Not toast,’ Lily said firmly.
Frazer held his hands up, and failed to stifle a smirk.
She took another deep breath of the cold night air. And hiccupped.
Frazer stopped. ‘I’m having a light dinner at the cafe,’ he said. ‘Come with me. Have something to eat. Then we can go next door to the studio for your lesson.’
Lily paused and looked round at him. ‘I need to go back to my flat to get changed.’
‘You’re wearing a dress. Your shoes are at the studio. You don’t need anything else.’
‘I can’t go to the cafe when I’ve got the hiccups.’
‘Give me your bag.’ Frazer took her bag and slung it on his shoulder. ‘Now turn around and let’s head back this way to the cafe.’
Lily followed his lead, taking a shortcut through a close.
‘Walk as if you’re doing one of your modelling shows on the runway. Swing your arms. Remember your posture. A strong core, but relax your shoulders.’
Lily walked with poise, breathing calmly, easing any tension, and the hiccups started to ease off. ‘It’s working.’
‘Keep it up until we get to the cafe,’ he said.
As they walked along, he frowned and peered in her craft bag that was packed full. ‘What’s in this?’
‘My embroidery, a Christmas robin design in an embroidery hoop, that I didn’t get a chance to do. And my knitting. I’m planning to knit a new blue woollen hat.’
‘There’s a large ball of white wool in the bag.’
‘With a white pom pom.’
‘Ah,’ he said.
‘But I didn’t knit a stitch,’ she said.
‘What’s this?’
‘A goldwork embroidery kit that I’ve bought for Mirren’s Christmas. And there’s a needle felting kit that I was tempted to buy, but Ivy gave it to me because I helped make her ballgown.’
‘Needle felting?’
‘Yes, to make a needle felted robin.’
‘Okay.’
By now, Lily realised she’d stopped hiccupping. ‘That was clever of you, Frazer. You kept me talking until the hiccups were gone.’
Frazer shrugged. ‘Ready to have dinner now?’
They were approaching the cafe. It looked busy, but he’d booked a table for himself earlier.
Lily nodded. ‘All this fresh air has given me an appetite.’
Frazer opened the door and they went inside. Staff welcomed them in and they were shown to the table he’d booked at the window.
Menus were handed to them by a member of staff. ‘Would you like a warming glass of mulled wine while you decide your order?’
Frazer smiled at him. ‘Thank you, no. But we’ll have a pot of tea.’ A knowing glance was exchanged between the two of them.
‘A pot of tea coming right up, Frazer.’
Lily read the menu. ‘Everything looks delicious.’
‘What did you have to eat at the craft shop?’ he said, trying to vary what she’d had and help select something for dinner.
‘A frosted cupcake. There were other cakes, but I was too busy sewing and I didn’t want to get cream meringue, jammy doughnut or chocolate log on Ivy’s dress.’
‘And for lunch?’
‘Mirren and I sort of skipped lunch because we were busy with customers, and we wanted to get a few dresses mended before we closed for the afternoon. But we closed early so we could go to the Christmas market together. We had a hot chocolate as we browsed the stalls. It was fun.’
Frazer nodded thoughtfully.
‘But we did have tea and snowballs when we listened to you on the radio this morning,’ she said.
Frazer blinked. ‘I wasn’t sure if you’d listened to the show.’ And heard him mention her.
‘Yes, we tuned–in. Others were listening in too. Ivy heard the show. And Heather says that they were all listening at the theatre, so Huntly and Niall heard your interview. But I was surprised when you mentioned me. I didn’t expect you to do that.’
Frazer smiled. ‘I wanted to mention you during the show. I’m glad you tuned in.’
‘You sounded great, and came across so well on the radio,’ she said, as the pot of tea was served.
‘Yes, a great interview on the radio this morning, Frazer,’ the member of staff said, and then left them to peruse the menus.
Frazer poured two cups of tea.
She added milk and stirred her cup thoughtfully. ‘It sounds as if you have lots of exciting plans for your studio in the New Year.’
‘I do. The Christmas Eve ball is just the start of it. I was inundated with calls after being on the radio show. People wanted to know about the dance lessons, and what other events we’re having. Christmas has always been a busy time of year for me. Now, it’s looking busy into the New Year.’
‘I heard you saying you’re planning a winter ball in the New Year. A ceilidh dance night near the end of January, and dance parties in the spring.’
‘That’s the plan. I need to schedule a date for the winter ball, get the posters printed, and start making the tickets available now.’
She almost told him to keep a ticket for her, then remembered the timing. She could’ve left Edinburgh by then.
‘You sound so organised,’ she said.
‘I’ve learned that it’s easy to drift away from your dreams until they’re so far out of reach you’ll never get them back. I’d rather be happily busy.’
Lily nodded and drank her tea.
Frazer studied the menu. ‘I can recommend the light roast dinner.’
The staff member came back over to their table. ‘Can I take your order?’
‘I’ll have the light roast dinner, please,’ said Frazer.
‘Make that two,’ Lily added.
The staff member nodded, took their menus and hurried away.
While they waited on their order, Frazer changed the subject. ‘You made a lovely dress for Ivy.’
Lily explained what had happened. ‘So I added layers of chiffon to create a skirt. I loved Ivy’s sewing machine. I enjoy getting the chance to try out new machines for my dressmaking.’
‘Is it better than the one you mentioned you wanted?’ he said.
‘Oh, yes. It whizzed through the tasks and suited me well.’
‘Will you buy that sewing machine instead now?’
Lily shook her head. ‘No, not at the moment. Maybe further down the line.’ She didn’t elaborate. She didn’t have to.
Frazer chided himself again for highlighting her financial restrictions. It was sensible of her. And silly of him to be so thoughtless. But she didn’t seem to mind.
Their dinner being served up rescued him from any further faux pas.
‘This looks tasty,’ she said. The roast dinner included a selection of mixed vegetables, peas, carrots and courgettes, a savoury gravy, and roast potatoes.
Frazer nodded and they both tucked in.
He spoke about her lesson. ‘We’ll go over the waltz this evening, and a few other dances. If you’ve reached the instructional level, you’re ready for the quickstep.’
‘How quick is it?’
‘You’ll need to be nifty. But it’s exhilarating. I’ve been practising with Victoria. It’s one of the dances we’re performing at the ball.’
Lily brightened. ‘I’d love to see you dance to your full ability. I’ve seen your videos, but dancing live, that will be great.’
‘People have requested that I perform one or two numbers. And Victoria and Dougal. We’ve had numerous requests for dances that are fast or dramatic. So Victoria and I are doing the quickstep. We’ve danced that before, so we need little rehearsal, which is a bonus.’
‘What dance is Dougal performing?’
‘The Paso doble, with Victoria. It’s wonderfully dramatic. Guests at the ball will love it I’m sure.’
Lily ate her dinner and nodded. ‘The performances will enhance the evening.’
‘Now I just need to find someone to accompany me for the opening waltz.’ Frazer glanced at her, and then concentrated on his food. ‘I would’ve invited Heather or Ivy to dance with me, but they haven’t started lessons at the studio yet, and I want someone currently learning.’ He tried not to smile.
Lily stared across at him. ‘Okay. I’ll waltz with you for the opening of the ball.’
Frazer looked at her and smiled.
She sighed. ‘It’s nothing compared to waltzing on stage in the spotlights last night at the theatre.’
Frazer leaned back in his chair. ‘If you’d prefer not to, it’s fine.’ He sounded genuine.
‘Nope, I’ll do it.’
He could hear the determination in her tone. ‘Thank you, Lily.’
They continued to enjoy their dinner.
‘Where do you buy your waistcoats?’ she said, admiring the one he was wearing with his white shirt. ‘They’re classically tailored.’ Her tailoring background came to the fore.
‘I bought them a few years ago when I had a suit made bespoke,’ he said. ‘I haven’t bought a new one for a while. I should. I like wearing waistcoats for dancing.’
‘The two I’ve seen you wearing were both silk–backed. So stylish. I appreciate quality tailoring.’
‘Is that something you’ll expand your business into?’
‘No, I’m just making conversation.’ She glanced out the window. ‘It looks like a Christmas card scene outside. Everything’s frosted and sparkling.’
‘Thankfully we only have to pop next door.’ He checked the time. ‘I have a spare hour before your seven o’clock lesson. I was only planning to have one course for dinner. I like to eat light before dancing. Would you like to finish your tea and extend your lesson?’
‘Two hours of dancing?’
Frazer nodded. ‘Why not?’
Lily couldn’t immediately come up with an excuse. And she was in the mood for dancing. But two hours of it?
‘We can start earlier, and if you want, we can finish earlier.’
This seemed like a sensible suggestion. ‘It would give me time to do my dressmaking later.’
‘Win–win.’
Lily drank down her tea. ‘Let’s make a frosty dash to the studio.’
The freezing air cut through her floral dress as she stepped out of the warmth of the cafe. ‘I should’ve put my coat on,’ she squealed and tucked into Frazer to shield herself from the frosty air.
He’d grabbed her bag and slung it over his shoulder, and wore his coat, knowing from experience how cold it would be.
Frazer wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. ‘Hurry inside before you turn into an icicle.’