Chapter 26
26
Saturday morning dawned clear and dry. After a busy couple of days, neither of the kids were in the mood to be sociable so Dylan agreed they could have a chill-out day in their rooms. He’d hoped that would give him a free day to spend with Sadie but they were just finishing a late breakfast when he got a text from Ziggy asking him whether he was free to lend a hand for a couple of hours. A combination of the clear, sunny weather and the estate being closed for three days between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day had brought the crowds out in force and there was already a queue of cars snaking through the village and threatening to cause chaos in the area.
‘Of course you must go,’ Sadie urged him.
‘I know, but I was looking forward to a bit of time just the two of us,’ Dylan said regretfully even as he was getting to his feet.
‘You can be my date at the dance tonight,’ Sadie said with a smile as she reached for the last slice of toast and spread butter and marmalade on it, then offered it to him. ‘You’ll need to keep your energy up,’ she added, her smile warming to something that promised him all sorts of things he intended to make good on.
‘It’s a deal.’ He bent forward to claim a quick kiss. ‘The kids are having a lazy day so I don’t expect you’ll see much of them.’
‘I’ll probably stretch my legs around the gardens in a bit, but I’m not going far so let them know they can text me if they need anything.’
‘Great. I’ll see you later.’
By the time he’d been upstairs to let the kids know about his change of plans and got back down again, Ben was waiting outside for him in one of the Range Rovers. ‘Ziggy and Rhys are sorting out the traffic, so we’re on parking duties if that’s okay?’
‘I’m happy to pitch in wherever I’m needed,’ Dylan assured him as he pulled on his belt and his nephew drove away. They reached the car park by the stable yard to find Hope waiting for them with a couple of fluorescent yellow vests with the word STEWARD printed in bold black print on the back.
Once they’d pulled on the vests, she handed them each a walkie-talkie. ‘Brace yourselves because Rhys has just opened the gates. We decided it was better to let everyone in early before the queue backed up beyond the village and started to affect the bypass. I need to go and let the vendors know, if you two can handle this?’
‘We’ve got it, sis,’ Ben assured her.
With Ben positioned near the gate and Dylan at the other end of the car park they managed to control the flow of early arrivals. Thankfully most people were happy to follow directions, but there were inevitably a couple of jokers who decided their need to park as close to the entrance as possible was more important than not disrupting anyone else. Deciding it was not worth wasting time arguing the toss with them, Dylan focused on guiding the car nearest him into the next space. ‘There’s always one,’ the driver said as he passed Dylan.
‘Always. It just makes me extra appreciative of everyone else. Have a great day.’
Their ranks were soon swelled by a couple of local teenagers who were part of the roving support crew the family had employed, so Dylan released Ben to go and open his pottery workshop. Within an hour everything was running smoothly and Hope dropped by to say she was happy for the rest of the expected visitors to self-park. She deployed the teens to the Christmas market area to litter pick while Dylan popped into the café for a coffee to thaw out. Spotting a handful of tables waiting to be cleared, he gathered the dirty plates and cups on his way past. Penny thanked him profusely and he was soon on his way again with a complimentary cappuccino.
The workshops were busy but managing, so Dylan checked in at the distillery to find Zap dealing with a long queue. And so the morning passed with Dylan moving in rotation around the stable yard, pitching in for ten minutes here and half an hour there to ease any bottlenecks that had built up. He was just leaving the distillery when he bumped into Hope coming the other way. ‘Oh, hey, you’re still here,’ she said, sounding surprised.
Dylan shrugged. ‘No one told me I wasn’t needed any longer so I’ve just been knocking around making myself useful.’
His niece smiled. ‘Well, you’ve done a brilliant job, but I think we’ve got everything in hand now. I can drop you back off at the hall if you’d like? My car’s just round the back.’
‘If you’re sure?’
‘Absolutely. You’re supposed to be on holiday after all.’
‘I should go and check on the kids at least.’ He’d texted them about an hour ago and got a thumbs up from Theo and an eye-rolling emoji from Avery. The reply he’d received from Sadie was more responsive. She’d been for a stroll around the gardens with Tara and had been heading to her room for a nap before the party that evening.
Dylan followed Hope to her car, unclipped the radio from his belt and handed it to her as he climbed into the passenger seat. The short drive to the hall was uneventful and she was soon pulling up at the bottom of the steps. Hope leaned across the centre console and gave him a one-armed hug. ‘Give the kids my love and I can’t thank you enough for stepping in at such short notice this morning.’
‘I was happy to do it.’ He smiled, feeling a little bashful. ‘It was nice to feel like I was doing something to help the family, even if it was only for a couple of hours.’
‘You’ve helped us all more than you can ever know just by coming back. Even with Monty acting up, Mum is happier than I can remember her being since Ben came home last year.’
Dylan couldn’t hide a grin. ‘I’m not sure your mum’s good mood has all that much to do with me.’
Hope narrowed her eyes at him for a moment and then a slow smile spread across her face. ‘Tell me more.’
Dylan opened his door and backed out of the car. ‘I know nothing.’
‘Hmm.’ Hope was leaning across the seat staring at him as though she wished she had mind-reading skills.
Laughing, Dylan closed the door and jogged up the steps.
The ballroom had once again been transformed for the evening’s entertainment. The walls had been covered in black backdrops covered in tiny sparkling lights and a DJ booth had been mounted on the stage, flanked by large arrays of disco lights that flashed pink and gold and green. Disco balls hung from the base of each of the elaborate chandeliers, their crystal magnificence hidden under more carefully draped black cloth. Headphones covered a table on the right of the door and everyone was instructed to help themselves to a set and gather on the dance floor. Dylan took a pair and handed them to Sadie. She was looking particularly lovely tonight in a silvery top covered in crystal beads that shone with the colours of the aurora borealis when they caught the light at the right angle. She was wearing a pair of black jeans that clung to her hips and thighs and flared out at the ankles. On her feet she had a pair of pretty trainers, black with a floral design on the toes and heels. He’d also opted for jeans and a blue and white checked shirt with the sleeves folded back to his elbows. Sadie accepted the headphones with a smile, the collection of silver bracelets jangling on her wrist as she raised her hand. Dylan took two more pairs for the kids and a final one for himself. Together the four of them moved to join the other guests on the dance floor.
‘Evening, folks!’ the DJ said, moving to the front of the stage. ‘It’s great to see I’m going to have more than nine ladies dancing tonight. Now, quick show of hands, who’s been to a silent disco before?’ A couple of hands were raised, but not many. ‘Okay, well, it’s pretty straightforward. If you look on the side of your left headphone you’ll see a set of control buttons. Top is on and off, the volume buttons are left and right and the bottom one is your channel selector. We’ll have three channels in total. The first one is modern hits for the younger guests.’ He smiled and nodded at Avery and Theo. ‘The second is dedicated to everything eighties.’ Dylan and Sadie shared a grin – that was much more like it. ‘And the last one is for the rock and rollers with the best of the fifties and sixties. You can switch between the channels as you please and we’ll change them up later in the evening for something a bit more mellow. Channel one will be chill-out instrumentals, channel two will be a slow-dance mix for all you lovers out there.’ Dylan tried to ignore Avery’s sudden poke in the ribs. ‘And the last channel will be smooth classics. Any questions about how the headsets work?’ Dylan looked at Sadie, who shrugged and shook her head. It sounded simple enough.
The DJ moved back behind the mixing desk and Lydia took his place at the front of the stage. ‘The most important thing to remember is to dance like no one is watching. Don’t think about anyone else, just focus on the music and enjoying yourselves. It might seem a little strange at first because you’ll be moving in time to different songs.’
‘Wouldn’t matter if we were all listening to the same thing if you’ve got two left feet like me,’ Jon said in a wry voice, which earned him a number of sympathetic chuckles.
Lydia smiled down at him. ‘That’s the joy of the silent disco – everyone looks like they’re getting the steps wrong. We’ll turn the lights down lower once we get started so that’ll help the atmosphere as well. There’ll be plenty of refreshments throughout the evening so don’t forget to stay hydrated .’ More laughter greeted her emphasis of the word. ‘Right, that’s more than enough from me. Let’s get this party started, shall we?’
The moment she stepped back the crowd on the dance floor dispersed and people made a beeline for the tables and chairs scattered around the outside of the room. Dylan claimed a table near the back, holding out a chair for Sadie while the kids helped themselves to their own. The lights dimmed and the disco lights began to pulse and flash, casting beams across the empty dance floor. Dylan fiddled with his headset, adjusting it until it sat comfortably and testing out the channels and the volume. Taylor Swift urged him to shake it off on the first channel, while Duran Duran were singing about Rio dancing on the sand on the second. He flipped briefly to the third where The Beatles were twisting and shouting, then clicked through until he was back on the eighties mix. The DJ was bobbing around behind his desk, waving his hands in the air like he just didn’t care, but the dance floor remained resolutely empty.
‘Why’s nobody dancing?’ Avery asked, her voice loud because she was wearing her headphones.
Dylan tapped his ear to indicate she should take them off and when she did so, he said, ‘I suppose no one wants to be up first. Why don’t you start things off?’
She shook her head. ‘I’m not going up there on my own.’
Theo glanced up from where he was fiddling with his phone. ‘Don’t look at me.’
It was Sadie who came to the rescue. Standing, she held out her hand to Avery. ‘Come on, let’s show them how to party.’
Avery still looked a little uncertain but she took Sadie’s hand and let her lead her towards the front. Sadie paused at a table nearby and collected Tara and Jon, the latter looking much less enthusiastic than his wife but still game to give it a go.
Bold as brass, her gleaming cap of golden hair shining in the disco lights, Sadie strode to the middle of the floor, released Avery’s hand and began to sway from side to side. Avery moved next to her, clearly listening to something different from the difference in their pace. Off to the side, Tara and Jon faced each other, Jon moving with more grace that Dylan had expected given his earlier self-deprecating comment. The four of them were enough to spur a few others on and slowly the dance floor began to fill in dribs and drabs.
Sadie raised her arms over her head, spinning in a circle, her face lit up by a beautiful smile. She was lost in another world, uncaring about anyone or anything other than the music only she could hear. Dylan caught his breath, mesmerised at the sight. She’d transformed in just a matter of days and confidence seemed to radiate from her. She paused in her spin and looked towards where he was sitting. He doubted she could see much of him across the darkened room but when she stretched out her hands towards him, Dylan didn’t hesitate.
They danced for what felt like hours and every time Dylan thought they might take a break another absolute banger of a song filled his ears and the urge to dance took him over again. The years fell away, the music taking him back to those sweaty, booze-filled nights wired into the collective energy of a nightclub packed with heaving, shifting bodies. But his body reminded him he wasn’t eighteen any more and eventually he had to admit defeat and let Sadie lead him back to their table for a rest.
He tugged off his headphones, the sudden silence disorientating for a moment. Sadie handed him a bottle of water she’d snagged from the refreshment table, her own face shiny, her fringe damp and clinging to her forehead. ‘Thank God I wore my trainers,’ she said, collapsing with a grin into the chair next to him and taking a swig from her own bottle of water.
When he nudged Theo’s leg, his son glanced up from his phone. ‘What?’
‘Are you not having a good time?’
Theo shrugged. ‘It’s all right but the music isn’t really my thing.’
Dylan frowned. ‘You don’t have to stay down here if you’re not enjoying yourself.’
Theo lounged back in his chair and propped his feet on an empty one opposite. ‘I’m okay, Dad, really. You and Avie and Sadie are having a good time and I’m happy just hanging out. Aunt Stevie’s already been and checked on me and she said there’s a supper buffet coming out soon.’
Dylan leaned over and patted his leg. ‘Okay, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to stick around if you’re bored.’
‘I’ll wait and see what the food’s like and then I might go and game with my friends for a bit, if that’s okay?’
Dylan checked his watch; it was not quite nine o’clock. The kids had had a lazy day and there was nothing on the agenda for tomorrow until a planned trip to the village church for Midnight Mass. ‘Okay, you go up when you’re ready, but lights out by eleven-thirty?’ He doubted he’d be up that late himself but the time difference didn’t make things easy for the kids to connect with their friends and he wanted Theo to have a chance to enjoy himself.
Avery wound her way towards them and plopped down on the chair next to Sadie. ‘I’m boiling!’
‘Let me get you a cold drink.’ Before Dylan could move, Sadie was up and heading for the refreshment table. She returned with a bottle of water and a linen napkin. She handed the water to Avery, then dampened the napkin from her own bottle and folded it into a square. ‘Here, see if that helps.’
Avery took the cloth and wiped her face with a happy sigh. ‘Oh, that feels good.’
Dylan shuffled his chair closer to Sadie’s and put his arm around the back of her chair, liking the way she shifted her body to lean slightly against him. ‘You feeling okay, Avie?’
His daughter nodded. ‘Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just hot up there in the lights.’
‘Well, we can chill out here for a bit. Theo says there’s some food coming out in a minute if you want something to eat, and then he’s going to go upstairs. You’re welcome to stay with us or you can go upstairs and chat to your friends for a bit. It’s up to you.’
In the end, the kids both headed upstairs, each with a plate loaded with sausage rolls, chicken goujons and all sorts of other goodies. ‘You’d think they hadn’t eaten for a month,’ Dylan said, shaking his head as he returned to the table.
‘Oh, for a youthful constitution that still burned calories that easily,’ Sadie said, eyeing her much more modest plate.
With a grin, Dylan nudged it closer towards her. ‘Eat up, you’re going to need the energy because I intend to dance until we drop.’