Page 84 of A Night with Damien Spur

‘Well then, that should be fun. Is Justin going too?’

‘No. He has too much work. She stroked his thigh. He lifted up her straying hand and kissed her little finger. ‘I really must say goodbye, Anna. It’s been lovely seeing you.’

She was adorable, but he wouldn’t see her again until her engagement party.

Chapter 27

Anna had arrived early to help her sister before the party.

Chang, courtesy of Elizabeth, was preparing the food in the kitchen with his sister, Mae.

‘So lovely to dine out in the garden.’ Anna had folded the last of the eight napkins into an origami water lily and placed it on the table bedecked with crystal, silver and flowers. ‘Suchpretty roses, Sophie, and they smell so sweet. It’s a perfect summer night. I’m glad Justin has invited Harry and James. They’re so interesting and funny.’

‘I know,’ said Sophie. ‘And their new cookery book is terrific –Dreams for Queens. My favourite recipe is called “Trans-Siberian Experience”. It’s a chocolate train with a marzipan Putin figure standing on top wearing a rainbow utility kilt and waving a gay-pride flag. There are also some lovely little fairy-themed biccies and a special coming-out cake – six layers of pink frills scattered with silver stars.’

***

All the neighbours seemed to be dining alfresco that evening. Gentle chatter and intermittent laughter wafted through the balmy air from garden to garden as the clear night sky turned indigo, illuminated by the incandescent stars.

Sophie smiled at Nicholas as he sweet-talked her over watercress soup, while Damien played his jaunty self, teasing Anna about her petit-bourgeois prejudices.

‘It isn’t right, it just isn’t right,’ she said.

‘Why isn’t it right?’ Damien asked. ‘Scotsmen wear kilts, why shouldn’t Harry wear a skirt? In ancient Egypt, the main garment worn by men was the skirt. And Roman males wore a skirt called a fustanella, similar to a kilt, for ceremonies and military occasions.’

‘Actually, you would look good in a skirt.’ Anna leant forward, her breasts tipping out of her pink lace dress. ‘You have lovely legs,’ she whispered.

Justin watched, aware of the frisson of sexual tension between them. Had they had an affair? he wondered.

Damien was being charming, but intermittently his eyes would dart to the end of the table where Elizabeth sat, to see whether she was watching him flirt with Anna. He turned to Claudia. ‘Mustbook another tarot session. Not sure where I’m going,’ he said under his breath. ‘Probably hell if I carry on the way I am.’

Claudia could feel Damien’s leg shaking under the table. Chang had offered him the soup, but he’d waved it away. ‘Not keen on the colour green,’ he said.

‘Where’s Peter?’ he asked Claudia.

‘In the operating theatre,’ she replied.

‘He’s one of the good guys,’ Damien sighed. ‘Mending broken hearts, saving lives; a noble profession.’ He glanced at Elizabeth again. She was deep in conversation with James, who was dressed in a sky-blue silk suit and Harry, who wore a pink silk chiffon skirt with a white sleeveless top and pearls.

They were discussing the merits of creating an edible massage oil.

‘Well, Harry…’ Elizabeth said.

‘Oh, do call me Harriet. I am a “she” tonight and tomorrow morning I might be a “he”, depending on how I feel.’

‘Well, Harriet, I would love to collaborate with you both in creating a really erotic and unique edible oil that smells beautiful and tastes pleasant. Most, if not all, of the products on the market leave a horrific aftertaste.’

‘Indeed!’ said Harriet. ‘Simply vile.’

‘We shall be the three witches,’ she said. ‘The alchemists whose spell invokes the sublime fusion of the senses. The magic potion, a sweet and fragrant nectar, that brings all men and women together to reach the sublime.’

‘How divine!’ Harriet shrieked.

‘We’re in!’ said James.

And so the start of a new adventure was born. Elizabeth sensed that their journeys would converge – what with her perfect nose and their culinary gifts – to create an amazing product.

‘Mmm, stunning.’ James slipped a morsel of the tender seared sea bass in his mouth, relishing the flavour of the lemonand herb butter with the creamed spinach and new potatoes.

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