Page 30 of Secrets at the Little Music Shop

I grinned back at him. ‘Yep. You won’t have to talk to anyone and even if you do they won’t hear what you say.’ I grabbed his elbow and we forced our way through some of the more decorative members of the throng into the shop.

Inside the temperature was about a hundred bodies and rising. I found that I was clutching at Ben’s arm in order not to lose him in the currents and eddies of moving and shaking that was going on. Saskia had invited some of the owners of the larger (and therefore more socially and profitably acceptable) shops which surrounded Le Petit Lapin and everyone seemed to be discussing how well their businesses were going at full volume. A uniformed waiter carrying a superciliously high tray whirled past us and Ben managed to pluck two glasses from it, handing one down to me.

‘Aw Roah an Juhu nyer yeh?’

‘What?’ I yelled at him over the noise.

‘Aw Roah an Juhu nyer yeh?’ Ben said again.

‘I can’t hear!’

‘I said, are Rosie and Jason here yet?’ Ben bellowed into my ear, causing me to step sideways and bump into a large woman who was peering into the display cabinet in the corner.

‘Can’t see them. That’s Saskia over there.’ I pointed to the bottom of the spiral staircase where Saskia had set up court, leaning against the wrought iron. She was wearing pink chiffon (it must be some kind of uniform) with matching pink stilettos and her hair up under a fine pink net with jewels studded around it. ‘Looks like she got her head caught under a gay trawler,’ I muttered.

‘That’s no way to go about getting re-stocked,’ Ben said. He didn’t seem to have any problems hearing me above the babble. ‘Drink your wine.’ He was twisting his glass around in his hands and I noticed it was empty.

‘Are you all right?’

He stopped scanning the crowd and looked down at me. ‘I’m just a bit, you know, on edge. This is the first big do I’ve been to since — well, since.’

‘No-one seems to recognise you.’ I didn’t know whether to be happy about this for Ben’s sake, or cross for mine.

‘I look a bit different these days.’

‘Yes. You were quite something in Willow Down.’ I spoke without thinking. Ben looked at me steadily, as though we were the only two people in the room.

‘You think?’

Oh, God. I started to blush round about my ankles which made my feet slippery inside the angular heels. The blush rose, peppered my spine and finally scalded its way up my face to my eyelids. Ben was still looking at me. ‘I mean — err — you, um, you were very hard. I mean — you looked hard. That’s hard as in unapproachable, sort of a bit of a nutcase, not hard as in . . . Excuse me a sec I think that’s Rosie and Jason. I’ll just let them know we’re over here.’ I fled to the safety of the doorway.

‘Jem? Woss up with you girl? Look like you swallowed somethin’ the wrong way,’ and Jason let out a filthy snigger that made people turn round to find the cause.

‘I’ve been coughing.’ I cleared my throat to add veracity.

‘Bin drinking more like. Where’s Sass then, better do the honours before I starts necking ’em.’ Jason took himself off to find Saskia and Rosie frowned at me.

‘Are you all right? You look horribly hot.’

I confessed my faux pas whilst trying to rebalance myself, leaning against a tree-trunk which, against all probability and artistic integrity, was being used as a doorstop. ‘I don’t think he noticed,’ I finished. ‘But I feel such an idiot.’

Rosie was offered a glass by the same waiter who had ignored me. I wondered how she did it. But then she did look — and this was the only word that applied — stunning. Her black curls were swept up into a style from which they cascaded down her neck in individual strands, her dress was vanilla-coloured silk which hid the post-baby bulge like a dream and she was made-up like a film star. ‘He is pretty sexy though, Jem, you have to admit it.’

I gave a half-laugh. ‘D’you think so?’

Rosie looked over in Ben’s direction. He was leaning against a wall with his head cocked, while a woman in a mesh dress talked at him. ‘Oh, yes. He’s got something. I don’t know what it is, presence or glamour, one of those show biz things. The women are all looking at him. Bet that’s bugging Jason, he’s used to being the centre of attention in crowds like this.’

She was right. Women would glance Ben’s way, look somewhere else for a second, then look back as if to check their first impressions had been right. Then their eyes would stay on him while they unconsciously fussed their hair or licked their lips. ‘He’s okay,’ I said grudgingly.

Rosie gave me a stern look. ‘Now come on, Jem, this is me you’re talking to.’

I looked at Ben again. He’d fiddled his bow tie undone and folded his arms as if to ward off the roomful of people. ‘All right yes, he’s sexy and funny and bitchy and beautiful and all that. But I don’t intend to do anything about it, neither does he. So you can cut the scheming looks.’ A thought struck me. ‘Unless you want him?’

Ben was looking at us now. He gave me a smile and I managed a blush-free grin.

‘Me? God, no. I’ve got enough trouble. Look, Saskia’s wheeling out Jase, this should be fun.’ Without elaborating on what her trouble might be Rosie headed into the crowd in order to be in hearing distance of Jason’s opening speech. I went back to Ben.

‘I was just telling Rosie about your car. She’s always wanted an R8.’

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