Page 66 of Kiss Me at Christmas
“We don’t expect a free ride,” added Josef jovially. “We’ll earn our keep, so put us to work wherever you need us. We may be old farts, but we’re willing!”
“You may well regret offering your services, I will have no qualms about roping you all into our dramatic endeavors.” She meant it. “Please, make yourselves at home.” She turned to Carly and Ricco. “Right, you two, have you got your tour guides’ hats on?”
“We’re ready, miss,” said Carly.
“I was born ready,” added Ricco.
“Of course you were, Ricco. Now, Ken says the best place to start is next door with the restaurants and cocktail lounges, as they’ll have deliveries arriving soon and it’ll be off-limits after that.”
“Got it,” said Ricco. “Okay, everyone!” He stood straight as all eyes fixed on him and began to wave his arms like an air steward giving safety instructions. “If you’d like to follow Carly and me, we will be your guides for today; please keep together at all times and don’t feed the maintenance crews.”
There was a smattering of laughter as the two groups fell in behind Ricco and Carly. The Lonely Farts and the women’s group mingled together, clearly happy to see each other and chatting among themselves.
When the door swung closed behind the last person, Hesther said, “I’m sorry to ambush you like that. I promise it wasn’t intentional. I got a call late last night from Josef asking if you might help them too, and he soundedso desperate. I know it’s cheeky, but they have nowhere else to go since the council repurposed their meeting space and, well, it’s so easy for people to slip through the cracks, isn’t it?”
“Honestly, don’t give it another thought. This place is plenty big enough for us all and we might as well use it while we can. Perhaps if we root ourselves in firmly enough, the new owners will feel compelled to let us stay.”
“By the way, I need to thank you. I don’t know what you said to Evaline over the weekend, but it worked.”
“I’m sorry, you’ve lost me,” said Harriet.
“Several of the women in the group were visited this morning by surveyors who noted down all the repairs that needed doing and promised that the relevant tradespeople would begin work by Wednesday. It seemed like too much of a coincidence after our conversation the other evening, so I assumed it must be down to you.”
Harriet tried to play down her delight but was sure it must be written all over her face.
“I can’t take the credit for that, I’m afraid. But I think I know a man who can.”
As Hesther went off in search of the tour groups, Harriet took a moment to bask in the warm pleasure of knowing that James had done the right thing. He must have pulled some powerful strings to get things moving so quickly, and dug into the Winter coffers too. She wondered how Evaline had reacted.
Harriet could hardly wait for James to arrive. Right now, she wanted to wrangle him into a storage cupboard and show him her appreciation.
Her ardor was swiftly cooled, though, when she reentered the auditorium.What in the Charles Dickens?
“I said, leave her alone,” Billy hissed through gritted teeth. Isabel stood at his side looking uneasy.
“If you’re going to threaten me, at least have the gumption to look me in the eye.” Grace’s stance was combative; she stood with her legs as wide as her sensible tweed skirt would allow, arms crossed tightly across her chest. She was blocking the aisle.
“How am I threatening you?” Billy asked.
“Everything about you screams ‘thug.’ ”
“What did you call me?”
“Don’t give her the satisfaction,” Isabel implored, and then added, “Miserable old cow!”
“Now, now, let’s not descend into name-calling,” Ahmed pleaded.
Harriet hurried down the stairs. She noted Gideon sitting in the front row doing absolutely nothing to smooth things over.
“What is going on here?” she asked.
“An altercation about enunciation,” Douglas explained helpfully. “Grace may have been a little overzealous in her critiquing of Isabel’s performance.”
Harriet felt James fall in beside her; she could smell the cold evening trapped in the fabric of his overcoat.
“A little?” Prescilla asked incredulously. “Like Gordon Ramsay gets alittleworked up inHell’s Kitchen.”
“Oh, shut up, Prescilla!” Grace snapped. “The primary function of an actor is to convey the dialogue to the audience, and this girl mumbles like she’s got a mouth full of cotton wool.”
