Chapter Twenty-Six
Like most large country houses, the approach to Malbury Hall was via a long, curved driveway.
Up until they reached the point they turned off the main road, Rosie’s nerves were more or less under control, but as they covered the last half mile, she felt a surge of excitement.
It was as if she had driven through a portal into a different universe, one infinitely more exciting and sparkling than the one she left behind a short time ago, and she was determined to enjoy herself this evening.
Emma had been a staunch ally and loyal friend over the last couple of weeks and had not only come with her to buy her outfit, but had given her lots of advice, support and encouragement.
Go in there like you own the place, she had texted last night and that was precisely what Rosie intended to do.
A man in a navy cap directed them to the designated parking area. It was a roll call of expensive cars, all in pristine condition, and Rosie smiled as she parked her sensible red Ford Focus in amongst all the Mercedes, Audis, Porsches and the odd Aston Martin.
If her car wasn’t exactly dressed for the occasion, Connor certainly was.
The dress code on the invitation was cocktail attire and she had to admit he looked absolutely stunning in a dark grey tailored Hugo Boss suit and white dress shirt.
He had clearly shaved this morning, and the lack of stubble emphasised his lean face.
She had also noticed he seemed rather preoccupied – not his usual self – and Rosie hoped the party might lift his spirits.
‘Ready to go in?’ he asked.
Rosie ran her hands down the front of her dress to smooth out any creases. Connor took her hand and kissed it. ‘Tonight you look ravishing, Florence.’
As soon as she had seen the dress, she knew this was the one she wanted.
It was jade green, with a wide sweetheart neckline and nipped in at the waist. The only bit she wasn’t keen on was the skirt.
It hung there but there wasn’t anything special about it.
However, she’d known exactly how to fix that.
Now, as she got out of the car, her handiwork became obvious, and she was pleased with the overall effect.
Rosie tucked her hand under Connor’s arm and with her head held high, she walked confidently round to the entrance.
The solid-looking front door of Malbury Hall looked like it could have come from a medieval castle.
According to the information she’d found online, Malbury Hall was built in 1620 by the wealthy Malbury family whose ancestors originated from France.
In keeping with many buildings of the time, it displayed many fine examples of Jacobean architecture and was particularly famed for its ceilings, richly decorated with strapwork.
Rosie made a point of looking up and admiring the ornamentation, which was partially hidden behind large birthday banners and garlands of flowers and greenery.
The melee of people all waiting to greet their hostess was reminiscent of a wedding reception line, but Rosie was happy to play along as though she did this sort of thing every day of the week.
‘That’s Henrietta, light brown hair, blue dress,’ whispered Connor as they got closer. ‘And I’m guessing the bloke next to her is her fiancé, George.’
‘Connor Forbes! It is you! What a surprise!’
Rosie noted that she didn’t say whether it was a good or bad one.
Connor politely kissed the hostess and introduced Rosie, who got a slightly less effusive greeting.
They then accepted a glass of champagne from a passing waiter carrying a silver tray laden with tall flutes, and made their way through the wood-panelled hall into a large reception room.
Thankfully, there were already plenty of people milling around – Connor had been right to say they didn’t want to be too early – and he pointed out people he knew and introduced them to Rosie.
She couldn’t help wondering what Simon would say if he could see her now, mingling with all these people.
He would probably recognise lots of them.
Rosie enjoyed the sight of all the elegant cocktail dresses on display, some of which were more successful (in her opinion) than others.
One woman was wearing a chiffon dress in a garishly bright shade of orange, but in a bizarre way it somehow suited her.
Rosie was introduced to a large, broad-shouldered man called Bear, which she presumed was some sort of nickname, and a very pompous man called Troy, who barely said hello before he had wandered off to greet someone else.
‘He’s a right tosser,’ Connor muttered in her ear, and her sudden snort of laughter sent champagne bubbles up her nose.
Someone was walking round taking photographs and Rosie hurriedly composed herself before posing with Connor. She hoped Henrietta might let her have a copy of the photo and made a mental note to ask her later on if the opportunity arose.
They had worked their way round most of the room saying hello to people when Connor turned at the sound of someone calling his name.
‘Ryan! I’m so glad you made it!’ He touched Rosie’s arm. ‘Rosie, this is my good friend Ryan, and this must be…’ He paused delicately.
‘Sarah. My fiancée.’
‘Aha, I see you’ve been upgraded,’ said Connor with a smile. ‘Last time I met Ryan, you were still on girlfriend status.’
The woman smiled and Ryan put his arm protectively around her waist. ‘That’s because, my friend, we are going to be three.’
‘He proposed while we were on holiday,’ added Sarah with a nervous giggle.
Congratulations were exchanged and then Connor introduced Rosie.
‘Where did you two meet?’ Ryan asked.
Rosie and Connor had worked out their story beforehand.
This party might be Connor’s normal stamping ground but it was something of an adventure for her, and she had been happy to invent an appropriately exotic meeting place.
However, having become better acquainted with certain elements of Connor’s past, Rosie was aware that any information publicly aired would become fair game for social media gossips, so Connor wanted to keep it grounded in facts, and the fewer the better.
‘We met at a concert. We were both with other people but we happened to end up sitting next to each other. We got chatting and found out we lived near each other, so afterwards I gave him a lift home.’
Sarah clasped her hands together. ‘Oh, that’s so romantic! And did he kiss you goodbye and sweep you off your feet?’
The memory of that kiss still brought a rush of heat to her cheeks and she lowered her gaze and smiled.
Before anyone could press further, Connor smoothly steered the conversation away and after a few questions about wedding plans, he seemed far more interested in what Ryan was doing work-wise.
With Connor and Ryan now deep in conversation, Rosie realised she ought to make an effort to talk to Sarah. However, before she could think of anything to ask, Sarah said, ‘Sorry if this sounds nosey, but I’ve been admiring your dress. Where ever did you find it?’
‘Thank you. I bought the dress in a boutique in Haxford, but the skirt was too boring so I added a few godets.’
‘Just like that? You make it sound so simple.’ She lowered her voice. ‘Actually, I’m not entirely sure what a go-day is, you must think me very ignorant.’
This was more familiar territory and Rosie happily explained how you needed to cut triangular pieces of the same or a contrasting material, then you cut a slit in the skirt to the right height and stitched in the additional material, making it hang as a fold within the skirt.
Unlike last time she had cut up a dress, she had applied absolute precision to this job, and had inserted six godets, equally spaced around the skirt, of alternating royal blue and dark yellow satin so that as the skirt moved, the swish of colours gave the impression of a peacock tail.
‘Well, the effect is stunning. You are very clever.’
‘I wanted to be a fashion designer when I was younger so I learnt how to make clothes.’
‘But that’s fabulous! And that’s what you do now, is it? Design clothes?’
Rosie shook her head. ‘I’d like to, but you’ve got to pay the bills, haven’t you? Actually, I work in Pennewicks, the clothing store, which is a lot less exciting. You probably haven’t heard of it.’
Before Sarah could answer, Ryan interrupted. ‘Excuse me, gorgeous ladies. Connor has seen someone he needs to talk to, so I’m in charge of looking after you two for a few minutes.’
Sarah pretended to give him a withering look. ‘You’re in charge? Not likely!’ The two women laughed, but Rosie noticed Connor was looking rather serious all of a sudden. ‘Excuse me. I’ll just be a moment.’
Rosie watched as he hurried across the room, edging impatiently between groups of people. For the first time she noticed the dark-haired woman heading purposefully towards him. Rosie watched as they exchanged a few words, before disappearing into the hall.
Rosie gestured discreetly. ‘Who was that?’
Ryan looked distinctly uncomfortable. ‘Do you know her?’ Rosie persisted.
Ryan nodded. ‘That’s Stefania Russo.’