CHAPTER THIRTEEN
‘So it was Huntly I saw dashing into your shop this morning,’ Mari said, hearing what had happened from Ivy.
Mari had gone down to the craft shop to hand in a few parcels for delivery to her customers. Her stock was running low, but she still had some items available, including the vests, woolly hats and scarves. And she was working on a couple of jumpers, along with the one Niall had ordered. She’d made Niall’s jumper a priority and it was already almost finished.
‘Yes, and Huntly has ordered a large batch of the knitted cat kits for the theatre.’ Ivy had been busy assembling them when Mari had walked in.
‘You should’ve told me. I’d have come down and helped you make up the bags.’
‘You need time to work on your writing.’
‘It’s a lot of work to do by yourself,’ said Mari.
‘Och, wheesht, I’ve got my wee production line going.’ Ivy gestured to the numerous bags she’d already made. ‘I’ve been making up craft kits for years. It’s a skoosh. I enjoy it, and I’ve got all the contents I need from my storeroom through the back. And I’ve ordered in extra sets of knitting needles that’ll arrive tomorrow morning so I can finish the first big order.’
Mari sighed. ‘I’m going to have to give priority, at least for a wee while, to my writing. I’ll still teach the knitting classes, but there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything.’
‘You don’t want to run yourself ragged,’ said Ivy. ‘Playwriting should be your priority. I appreciate you continuing with the classes. But you’ll need to reduce the items you knit for sale.’
Mari nodded. ‘My work with the theatre has been more exciting, but time consuming, than I’d thought. But Huntly hasn’t contacted me today, so I assume after the fiasco with Niall’s knotted knitting, things have run smoothly.’
As she said this, Huntly phoned Mari.
‘I spoke too soon,’ she said to Ivy and then took the call.
‘Can you come up to the theatre?’ Huntly’s tone sounded urgent.
‘Yes, is something wrong?’
‘A photo–journalist dropped by. He wants to do a quick interview for tomorrow’s paper. And take some press photos of us outside the theatre.’
‘I’m on my way.’ She clicked the call off and turned to Ivy. ‘Huntly wants me to be part of a press interview.’
‘Go for it,’ Ivy encouraged her.
Giving her hair a brush through and putting on her lipstick, Mari hurried out of the craft shop and up to the theatre. A burnished sun was punching through the clouds, and she hoped it would shine long enough while the photos were taken.
Her heart was fluttering as she reached the theatre and went inside.
Huntly and Niall were coming out of the office, chatting to the photo–journalist.
Bob’s bread board had vanished from the foyer, so Huntly assumed that the boisterous baker had made it back from the depths of the wardrobe and backstage tour to continue his day of delivering cakes and sticky buns.
Wil’s dance poster had arrived by courier and Peter had pinned it up in one of the front windows, so Huntly was confident that the theatre would look great for the photo–shoot.
The photo–journalist recognised Mari immediately from the pictures he’d seen online and greeted her with a smile. ‘Marigold. Pleased to meet you. I’m interested in chatting about your new play. But can we all head outside and get the pics in the bag first.’
Niall led the way.
Huntly whispered to Mari. ‘Thanks for dashing up. He dropped by hoping to make this evening’s deadline for the paper.’
‘It’s fine,’ Mari assured him, feeling the fluttering of her heart increase as they all stepped outside.
‘Could the three of you stand at the front entrance, with Marigold in the middle.’ The photo–journalist adjusted his camera and started taking pictures as they posed together.
‘I’ll tell him you prefer to be called Mari,’ Huntly whispered to her.
She nodded while smiling for the camera.
‘The lights make a huge difference to the theatre,’ the photo–journalist remarked. ‘Are Jon and Andy joining us?’
‘Here we are,’ Andy said, hurrying out of the theatre with Jon.
Lots more photos were taken.
Satisfied he had all the pictures he needed, the photo–journalist headed back inside to get some quotes from them all, having read the copy of the play’s synopsis that Huntly had given him. He was particularly interested in talking to Mari about her playwriting, and he’d interviewed the others during times in the past. His aim was to glean an exclusive for the paper.
Mari kept her comments succinct, relevant to her writing, but she was pressed to include information about her knitting and that she’d moved to Edinburgh from the town up the coast.
Huntly wanted to protect her from the onslaught of prying questions, but Mari was well capable of speaking up for herself, and he knew she’d have to get used to being in the limelight.
The photo–journalist finished the interview with more photos, this time showing Mari standing holding the knitted cat she’d made alongside Andy, wearing his costume and posing with Fluffy.
‘Right, I’ll go and get this written up for the deadline. It’ll be in tomorrow’s edition of the paper.’ Waving, the photo–journalist left the theatre.
‘Phew!’ said Mari. ‘That was intense.’
‘You did great,’ Andy told her.
The others agreed.
Huntly stepped closer to her. ‘You really did.’
Mari smiled at him, and felt the knots in her stomach start to unwind.
Jon checked the time. ‘I’m off to get ready for dinner with Scarlet.’
‘Have fun,’ Huntly said to Jon.
Everyone peeled off in different directions. Jon hurried away for his dinner date, Andy headed through to wardrobe to change out of his costume and tuck Fluffy back in props, Niall had a business call to make and walked back to the office, and Mari sat the knitted cat on the display they’d set up in the theatre’s shop in the foyer. Huntly watched her, wondering when he should make that date for dinner at his house.
‘Mari,’ Huntly called to her, as she was leaving.
She turned and looked round at him.
Huntly walked towards her. ‘Are you busy this evening?’
‘I’ve nothing special planned. Was there something you wanted me to do?’
‘I wondered if you’d like to have dinner at my house.’ He was aware that it was an impromptu invitation, and was prepared for her refusal or polite excuse to keep this for another time.
‘Okay,’ she heard herself accept. There was no specific reason why she shouldn’t, except from putting her heart in jeopardy yet again from having an intimate dinner for two with him.
‘I’ll pick you up at seven,’ he suggested, trying to sound light, when the weight of the consequences weighed a ton. Had he just overstepped the boundaries of where friendship ended and the possibility of romance began? Of course he had. He knew this, and yet he wasn’t prepared to unwind the predicament he’d put himself in. Put both of them in.
Her acceptance without hesitation preyed on him as she smiled and left the theatre. He watched her walk away, the sunlight casting a glow on her silky strawberry blonde hair, feeling his heart ache just looking at her.
‘Huntly,’ Niall said to him. ‘The radio show want to know if we can take part in their live chat show rather than a recorded interview.’
‘Yes, that suits me,’ Huntly replied.
From the office he heard Niall confirm that they’d take part in the interview during the live show. They’d been interviewed before, and it had gone well, so the host was keen to invite them on to talk about the new play that was part of their autumn and winter schedule.
There was nothing they needed to prepare as they were both capable of discussing their theatre business, especially as they had Mari’s new play to chat about as a hot topic. He could sense the momentum building. Bringing Mari into their dramatic world was a great move. The new play had huge potential to be one of their biggest successes.
But what about Mari and him? Where should he draw the line between business and romance? He was already coming close to breaking his own rule of not becoming romantically involved with anyone he worked with. And yet, that rogue element in him, the fire that made him forge on when others might forgo challenges, burned bright in his heart for Mari.
No one watching Mari walk calmly away from the theatre in the lovely glow of the sunlight would guess how her heart beat with excitement. Dinner with Huntly at his house. Part of her wanted to enjoy seeing his lovely garden while the flowers were still in bloom. A cold spell could nip their beauty in the bud. The weather this time of year was particularly unpredictable, though not as fickle as her feelings for Huntly.
On one level, she’d found him attractive since the first moment she’d seen him. But she’d forced herself to be sensible. She really didn’t want to become romantically involved with anyone when she was trying to forge a new life for herself in Edinburgh. Plans and practicality clashed. She’d tried to keep her options for her career open. But meeting Huntly threw her senses to the wind.
Shaking her doubts and daydreams from her thoughts, she decided to go back to her flat and get some writing done before it was time to get dressed for dinner.
Sitting with her laptop near the window, she saw the sunlight slowly fade to a dusky amber and then deepen towards a gorgeous golden hour glow.
She’d surprised herself with her ability to become steeped in her story, working on her play. The heightened feelings from all that had happened recently seemed to have helped with her creativity rather than hindered it.
Closing her laptop, she got dressed for dinner, deciding that if she was going to be pottering around in his garden in the evening, a flimsy dress wasn’t the right outfit to wear. Instead she put on a pair of burgundy velvet trousers, low heel black shoes, and a soft pastel pink jumper that helped give her pale complexion a rosy glow.
Brushing her hair smooth and silky, she wore subtle but flattering makeup, including a deep rose lipstick.
Her tweed jacket and bag were ready to pick up when Huntly arrived.
Despite peeking out the window every few minutes as seven o’clock approached, she missed seeing him drive up in his expensive silver car, and jumped when he rang the doorbell.
Grabbing her things, she turned the lights off and opened the door to find him standing there smiling down at her. Wearing a light blue shirt that made his eyes look even more like the colour of sapphires, formal dark trousers and a matching waistcoat, he was an assault on her heart.
‘Ready to go?’ His deep voice resonated in the calm night air.
‘Yes,’ she said lightly, smiling to hide her feelings for him.
He led her down to his car that was parked outside the closed craft shop. On such a lovely evening, the eateries were alive with social activity, but she was happy to be whisked away in Huntly’s expensive car.
Neither of them noticed the black cat with green eyes sitting in the shadowed doorway of the old–fashioned shop watching them leave. A lantern light glowed from inside the shop. They didn’t see that either. Then Spindle’s sleek outline disappeared into the night. And the light in the shop flickered out.
Settling back in her seat, Mari gazed out the window as Huntly drove them through the heart of Edinburgh.
‘I love the feel of the city at night,’ she said.
‘So do I. Edinburgh looks gorgeous in the autumn, and there’s a richness to the evenings at this time of year. Winters are wonderful too. I remember one time it snowed in autumn, when the leaves on the trees were bronze and gold, but gilded with snow, sparkling like something out of a fairytale.’
‘That sounds magical,’ she said with a sigh.
‘Maybe it’ll snow in late autumn this year.’
‘I wish.’
Huntly drove on, cutting through the heart of the city and headed towards his house, a traditional mansion surrounded by a garden with trees. Solar lights edged the pathway leading up to the house. The trees provided privacy around the edge of the property, many of them evergreens that would retain the density of their branches even in the heart of winter. Flower beds with an array of blooms, particularly roses, looked lovely.
He pulled up outside the front entrance and they got out of the car.
Huntly opened the boot and lifted out the two bags of fresh groceries he’d brought with him to make their dinner.
Mari stood for a moment and breathed in the heady scent of the greenery and flowers, and the potential that the night ahead held for both of them.