Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Grandpa and I entered Frank and Maddie’s master bedroom in the east wing. We were in search of Frank’s wardrobe and, hopefully, a collection of suits.
The room, like every other in the manor house, was impressive. It was presided over by the biggest four-poster bed I had ever seen, made up with beautiful cream silk bedding. An elegant white sofa was positioned by a tall window, framed by two full-length linen curtains. On the back wall was an enormous dark wood wardrobe. There were a few arty photographs in elegant frames of Frank’s mother, who lived back in California. In her youth she had been a professional ballet dancer, so all the photos were of her in Swan Lake or The Nutcracker .
There were no photos of anyone from our family which wasn’t a surprise: none of us are professional ballet dancers.
My heart pounded against my ribcage. I was invading Maddie and Frank’s privacy by being in their bedroom. I turned to look at Grandpa. He was my moral compass and would tell me if what I was planning was wrong. ‘I thought we could borrow one of Frank’s suits, but now we’re in here I feel like it is a bad idea.’
Grandpa beamed at me, and his twinkly blue eyes shone. ‘Rachel, you think too much. Frank won’t miss a suit and it will only be for a few hours.’
We opened the wardrobe and gasped in wonder at the array of suits. There were jackets and trousers in every shade of grey and blue and a variety of fabric textures. ‘Wow – Frank likes a suit,’ I murmured.
Grandpa beamed at me. ‘Those ladies at that Senior Tea Dance are in for a treat.’
I looked around the room. ‘I can’t see any cameras.’
Grandpa grinned. ‘If there was a camera in here, I would do a little dance for Frank.’
I stared at him in shock. ‘Is that your wild side at eighty coming out again?’
He chuckled. ‘Definitely.’
That’s when I wondered whether Grandpa was the right person to use as a moral compass.
With the help of several safety pins and one of Frank’s belts, I managed to get Grandpa in a posh grey, double-breasted suit.
‘Wow, you look good, Grandpa,’ I gushed, as he gave me a twirl. He went up to the full-length mirror and stared at himself. ‘It’s a shame your nana is not here to see me in such finery. She loved a decent suit on me.’
‘She would be very proud, Grandpa.’ I placed my hand on his shoulder as he went a little blurry. Wiping away a stray tear, I croaked, ‘She’s probably looking down on us.’
Grandpa cast me an uncomfortable look and fiddled with the red bow-tie I’d found him. ‘Let’s hope she’s not able to see me at the Senior Tea Dance.’
‘What do you mean?’
He grinned and gave me a wink. ‘I’m in the mood for a bit of romance.’
I let out a silent groan. Maybe I should have followed Aunty Karen’s advice and kept excitement to a minimum. It was too late now. As we turned to leave the master bedroom, I took another look around the impressive room. Once again it felt very Frank-inspired. There were so many personal touches for him and his late mother. It was like Maddie had been forgotten.
‘Are you coming?’ Grandpa asked, gesturing towards the bedroom door.
I nodded and suppressed the familiar knot of unease.
We made our way downstairs. I helped him put on his smart black shoes. As I was tying the last shoelace my phone began to ring. I grabbed it and saw that it was an unknown number. Maybe Humphrey had been found?
A woman answered. ‘Is that Rachel, the owner of the brown spaniel? One of our regulars saw a post on Facebook about your dog.’
‘Yes, it is.’
‘We have your dog. Come down to the Senior Tea Dance in the church hall. One of the ladies has him as he turned up at her house.’
‘What?’ I screeched. ‘I am coming down now.’
‘Grandpa, Humphrey is at the Tea Dance.’
Grandpa began to clap his hands. ‘That dog knows how to enjoy himself.’
I needed to grab my car keys and they were in the kitchen. ‘Let’s go get my keys.’ We made our way into the kitchen, and I looked up in shock as I saw Ben and Tom standing sipping cups of tea.
Tom’s face lit up at Grandpa in a designer suit. ‘Great suit.’
Loving the attention, Grandpa did a twirl and then a couple of model poses that made Tom and Ben laugh.
‘I’ve borrowed it from Frank,’ announced Grandpa. ‘It was Rachel’s idea. Don’t tell him. I am off to the Senior Tea Dance to break a few hearts.’
As I snatched my keys from the island counter, I noticed Ben giving me a worried look. Inside I was a ball of nervous energy. Letting Grandpa borrow one of Frank’s suits was a risk – but what I didn’t need was a smart-ass builder looking at me like I was a naughty child. ‘Mr Baxter loves his suits,’ exclaimed Ben. ‘Do you think that’s wise – letting your grandfather borrow it?’
Irritation at Ben the builder prickled at my neck and cheeks. Who the hell did he think he was? Had I asked for his advice? I snapped, ‘You stick to building the kitchen out there and I will sort out Grandpa.’
Tom turned away to chuckle and Ben stared at me.
As I drove us into Harp Brook, I couldn’t shake an uncomfortable feeling I had about the Christmas Senior Tea Dance. Grandpa was sat in the passenger seat of my car, dressed in Frank’s suit, and practising complicated arm gestures. His movements flooded me with worry: Grandpa was not going to sit on the sidelines.
We parked the car and Grandpa was like an excitable child in his eagerness to get inside. ‘Come on, Rachel, let’s go large at the Senior Tea Dance.’
In the little hall attached to the church, a six-piece band was setting up. Chairs and tables had been set out around the edges to make a dance floor. Under the twinkly lights, I could see a lot of senior partygoers in some fabulous and colourful outfits: lots of sequinned dresses, silver shoes, and multi-coloured bow ties.
I immediately felt underdressed in my jeans, an old blue shirt, boots, and coat.
Grandpa nudged me and pointed. There was Humphrey gazing up at an older lady in midnight blue, who was sitting on her own at a table. Grandpa and I made our way through a throng of tea-dance goers.
The band started to play, and the church hall came alive. A few couples left their chairs and walked onto the dance floor. I’d been a Strictly Come Dancing fan for years and I found my gaze drawn to the dancers.
Once the band finished their first song, I joined Grandpa who was standing by the older lady. Now I was closer, I could see that her midnight blue dress really was beautiful and she had grey curly hair which was pinned up at the back.
Grandpa outstretched his hand and introduced himself. ‘I’m Eric.’ He pointed at Humphrey. ‘That’s my granddaughter’s dog and he’s been missing all morning.’
The lady beamed at Humphrey. ‘This dog is the reason I am here.’
Grandpa asked if we could sit at her table. She nodded and smiled at the prospect of our company. ‘My name’s Dorothy. My husband passed away ten years ago, and we both enjoyed ballroom dancing.’ Dorothy gave Humphrey a pat. ‘I’ve been feeling a bit lonely lately. My daughter saw this event advertised and she’s been urging me to go.’ Dorothy smiled at Grandpa. ‘But it felt too overwhelming to come here so I’d decided to stay at home and carry on being lonely.’
Grandpa gave her a knowing nod. ‘I’ve been doing the same.’
Dorothy turned to him. ‘Really?’
‘My wife passed away years ago and all I do is sit at my living room window and watch the world carry on without me.’
‘Eric,’ she gushed, her eyes dancing with excitement at him. ‘That’s exactly it – watching the world carry on without us.’ She pointed to Humphrey. ‘Well, I was having my morning cup of tea and this little chap turned up.’ She stroked Humphrey under his chin which he clearly loved. ‘I don’t know how, but he managed to get upstairs, but he did! And you wouldn’t believe this, but he came downstairs with one of my silver sandals in his mouth.’
Grandpa laughed and clapped.
Dorothy chuckled. ‘It was a sign. My daughter thinks I am mad viewing things as signs. Seeing him gently place the shoe by my feet did something to me. I rose from my armchair and went to choose an outfit.’
The band started to play ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas’ and Grandpa stood up. He offered his hand to Dorothy. ‘Shall we?’
Her eyes widened. ‘Are you sure, Eric?’
‘Dorothy,’ he said, in a suave voice, ‘I’ve been known to cut a rug in my time. This song is perfect for a slow fox-trot.’
‘Oh, Eric,’ gushed Dorothy, as Grandpa led her by the hand onto the dance floor.
To my amazement, they both assumed their positions with their arms high, like they’re told to do on Strictly . Grandpa started with his left foot forward, right foot forward and then they did a quick step to the left. They started slowly but soon they were gliding effortlessly around the floor. I leaned forward in my chair watching Grandpa dance like a pro. It was like seeing a different version of him. He and Dorothy were so good, other couples stopped to stare at them.
Grandpa and Dorothy never returned to the table until the final song had finished. They were the stars of the event, and everyone applauded them at the end. As they made their way back to the table, I sneakily put Humphrey on his lead and gave him a pat for doing something nice for Dorothy.
Grandpa and Dorothy began talking to each other as soon as they sat down. It was like they were long-lost friends.
Grandpa was clearly enjoying himself, so we stayed until the event organisers started asking us to leave. We walked Dorothy out and I noticed she had looped her hand through Grandpa’s arm.
I placed Humphrey in the back of the car and waited for Grandpa to finish saying goodbye to Dorothy. Her daughter was picking her up, so I assumed he was being a gentleman and making sure she got a lift safely.
A car pulled up and I noticed it was the lady from the gift shop. She beamed at Dorothy and Grandpa before glancing at me. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened. ‘It’s you, you’re–’
‘Maddie Baxter’s sister. We met in your gift shop. That’s my grandpa.’
The woman frowned and quickly led Dorothy away from Grandpa. ‘Come on, Mum. These are not the kind of people you should be fraternising with.’
Dorothy glanced back at Grandpa and cast him a sad look. Grandpa had hung his head. He was crestfallen.
‘Grandpa, get in the car,’ I ordered.
‘Why did her daughter take her away like that? Dorothy and I have had a wonderful time.’
I started the engine and swung out of the car park. ‘Not sure – but we will get to the bottom of it.’