Chapter Forty-Five
Rory stepped out onto the catwalk and the bulbs started flashing. He could see that popinjay at the far end turning and preening for the cameras, and he wanted to march up to him and knock him off the end and into the photographers.
Clem’s admonishment was still ringing in his ears. He would never have said this was a load of nonsense to her directly. He could see how very seriously everyone was taking it, but in his mind, they were taking it all too far. They were just clothes, after all. Admittedly, when he had put on the dinner jacket that she had designed, he was impressed with how well it fitted. He had even been tempted to check himself out in the mirror and had found himself doing a few James Bond poses for a laugh. He looked good. What he couldn’t bear was all the noise and the touching. Everything was dark and claustrophobic. Outside, it was a glorious breezy day in September; in here it felt like an airless, sweaty cave.
He began to walk. If anyone had told him he would be walking during London Fashion Week he’d have laughed his head off. But then he met Clem and all bets were off. Now he just wanted to get this over and done with. Otto explained just how important this show was to Clem and he had been savage when he heard how Clem had been tricked into losing her last collection. When Otto had asked for his help, he was immediately on board. His initial response had been to find the man and drag him through the gutters. Otto had had a different idea and Rory agreed. The fact was he would do anything to help Clem, but walking down a catwalk seemed a step too far.
He had been told repeatedly how to do this and it had gone in one ear and out the other. For the love of God, he knew how to walk or at least until five minutes ago he did. Now he wasn’t sure.
Taking a deep breath he strode along the catwalk towards Storm, the photographers were going wild for his furious expression and his clenched fists. As he got to the end of the runway, he just stood next to Storm and glared out across the darkened room. He was supposed to shake Storm’s hand but he knew he’d be tempted to crush it, so instead he simply ignored him. As Storm turned and walked away, Rory couldn’t help but let a small derisive smile twist his lip. Let Clem shout at Storm first for not shaking hands – see how much he enjoyed that.
It was at that moment that his phone began to ring, just as there was a lull in the soundtrack. His heart sank. Everyone in the room fell silent as they listened along with Rory in disbelief to the sounds of Postman Pat.
It was the ringtone he had picked for Ursula, his sister-in-law. His nephews loved the show and it always made him laugh. Recently they had been ill and, with Hector working away, Rory had been helping out and running errands whenever he could.
When Clem had come back from Norfolk and told him about her own nephews’ near-death experience, his heart had been in his mouth and he fully understood Clem’s distress. Now listening to the ringtone, he knew he couldn’t ignore it and he hoped to God that Clem would understand. If the children had fallen ill again and he ignored this call, he wouldn’t forgive himself.
He drew his phone out of his pocket, and the entire audience fell silent as the sound crew killed the music.
‘Hello hen, is everything okay?’ He nodded and the audience tried to work out if this was part of the show.
‘Little wee scamp. Sounds like he is on the mend. Look now, I’m a bit tied up at the moment. Can I call you back later?’
The journalists were scribbling frantically and everyone had their phones out recording this adorable interruption.
‘Okay, give them a kiss from me and tell them I’ll read to them tomorrow night. Take care now and I’ll call you later.’
Rory hung up and slipped his phone back in his pocket. The room could have been empty for all the noise anyone could hear. Rory cleared his throat.
‘Um, sorry about that. My nephews have been ill. You know how it is. Anyway, sorry again. Let’s get back to work, hey?’
He ran his fingers through his hair, causing his fringe to fall forward across his roguish smile, and the cameras exploded in a flash of lights and everyone started clapping and cheering. Surprised, Rory gave them a small wave and walked back towards the staging area. Clem was going to kill him.
As he ducked behind the curtains, Clem was just staring at him, clearly trying not to lose it.
‘Give. Me. Your. Phone.’
He handed it over meekly and waited for the explosion. ‘Now go and stand over there and wait for your second pass.’
Rory went and stood in line for his next turn on the catwalk, Storm was standing in front of him furiously ignoring him which suited Rory just fine. Hadid Galant, a small, black woman had walked out in a huge, pink rococo ballgown. Everyone had to make way for her, as her skirt was easily three foot wide and covered in pearls. Instead of a powdered wig, Clem had piled up her dreadlocks into a magnificent black beehive, threaded with jewels and pearls to match the gown. Hadid was being greeted by more gasps, and then Paddy followed her out and the two girls grinned and curtsied towards each other at the far end. There was an almost boisterous feeling in the air as Paddy was greeted with enthusiastic applause.
Hadid came off the catwalk and swayed towards Storm and winked at Rory as she walked past. Her huge, precious skirt had meant that everyone had to move away from this staging area to protect the antique garments.
‘Hello Highlander. Drinks later?’
Just before he could stutter a reply, Paddy came dashing over and stood beside him.
‘You were fabulous; are your nephews okay? Don’t worry about Clem. She’ll forgive you, especially after what happened to Leo and Will.’
He smiled at her friendly expression.
‘How soon do you think that will be?’
‘Maybe the day after hell freezes over or maybe she already has. My sister blows hot and cold like that. Whoops, our turn. That she won’t forgive.’
The music was now running towards a crescendo. What had been a classical soundtrack for the historical couple, as Storm and Hadid walked out, had now blended cleverly into one of Clem’s favourite drum and bass pieces, and the crowd was loving it.
Rory escorted Paddy up onto the catwalk, where the two of them followed the two examples of historical finery down the stage. As they passed Storm and Hadid, Hadid gave him another lusty wink. The photographers caught everything including Storm’s cold shoulder. Rory ignored them both and walked towards the end of the catwalk, where he took Paddy’s hand and kissed it. She dimpled and gave him a quick curtsy. As he looked around, he could see clouds of smoke already drifting through the chairs. The dry ice for the final showpiece garment was beginning to take effect, and Paddy and Rory began to walk back. The soundtrack had begun to change and with the smoke creeping around the audience, the music seemed to build up the atmosphere in the room.
‘Was that okay?’
‘Shush.’
Rory shushed but was comforted when Paddy gave his hand a small squeeze and then they were off the catwalk. Paddy turned to Clem, who was busy with the wedding dress and when Paddy tried to talk to her, Rory watched as Clem dismissed her without even looking up. Clem’s face was fixed on the audio-visuals and special effects and was muttering under her breath. Rory wasn’t sure why but he suddenly felt all the tension in Clem’s body rolling towards him. He was uncertain why this next section was so important, but he knew that for Clem, this was critical.
The gallery plunged into an abrupt silence and darkness fell, followed by a trumpet voluntary calling out across the room.