Page 37 of The Island in Bramble Bay
‘It’s okay, it’s what we came for. Well, not the party but it’ll be fun. It’s a great place to have a party.’
‘It is. And I need to catch up with Ed again.’
Ever since Maggie had heard about the party she’d been panicking about what to wear. All she had was the dress that she’d worn to the signing which wasn’t really a party dress as such and most of the people who were at the signing would be at the party so it would look really sad to wear it again. Charlie had caught her rifling through her clothes trying to decide what to wear and had suggested that he could phone someone who would bring her some appropriate outfits to choose from. It seemed insane to Maggie but he insisted that people did that kind of thing all the time so she went along with it and someone called Claudia was due any minute to save her from fashion humiliation.
Just minutes after Maggie settled herself back on the jetty with her book someone shouted, ‘Someone for you Miss Maggie!’ from the back of the house.
A young woman wearing the most gorgeous fifties-style dress and a bright smile was waiting in the hallway with her hand on a clothing rail on wheels.
‘Maggie? I’m Claudia, it’s lovely to meet you.’ She held her hand out and Maggie took it with huge relief that this woman seemed like she might be on the same wavelength as her.
‘Thanks so much for coming, I’ve never done anything like this before but Charlie assures me it’s completely normal.’
Claudia laughed and said, ‘Maggie, you’ll love it. You’ll want to shop like this all the time.’
That was doubtful. Charlie had insisted she shouldn’t worry about the money as he’d sprung the party on her but she’d never afford to pay for this kind of thing normally. Besides that, it was completely out of her comfort zone. She’d never even rung a bell for help in a changing room before.
Maggie helped Claudia wheel the rail through the house until they found one of the ground floor rooms which hadn’t been taken over by party preparations.
‘How did you choose what to bring?’ asked Maggie. There weren’t a huge number of things on the rail.
‘I had Mr Mackenzie tell me your size, your colouring and what kind of clothes you normally wear,’ she said. ‘He told me you like relaxed clothes, not too close-fitting and that the most important thing was that you should feel comfortable at the party. So I’ll let you look through the rail, pick anything that jumps out and then we’ll go from there.’
‘I have no idea what people would wear to this kind of party,’ Maggie said, as she began to look through the clothes, overwhelmed by the pressure of choosing something that would look acceptable.
‘No problem,’ said Claudia gently. ‘It’s an upscale party but at a relaxed venue. You need to look sophisticated yet effortless and comfortable.’ As she talked she pulled out a white jumpsuit with a fitted top and wide-leg trousers. Maggie would never have chosen it from the rail but she had no choice but to trust Claudia. She also pulled out a dark green seventies-style maxi dress in silk which had swirling deep pink flowers around the hem. Again, the top of it was fitted with the sleeves gently ballooning at the cuff.
‘Okay, I know you’re looking at these and already thinking no, but trust me. Try on the dress first.’
Maggie pulled her top off and dropped her jean shorts to the floor before sliding the dress over her head and letting Claudia zip her up. Claudia produced a full-length mirror from inside a garment bag and stood it in front of Maggie. Then she stood behind and swept Maggie’s hair into a loose bun.
‘Oh my god, the dress looks gorgeous!’ said Maggie. It made her look slim, tall and although she would never have chosen it, it made her feel amazing. Claudia was clearly an expert.
‘It’s a good start. It looks great with your hair colour but I think maybe it’s too dark for this event. Let’s try the pants.’
The jumpsuit was made of the softest jersey which draped beautifully. The bodice crossed at the front, not too low, it was sleeveless and the high waist made Maggie look like she had the longest legs in the world. Claudia rummaged in a bag and pulled out some mustard coloured wedge sandals which Maggie put on and loved straight away. She never wore heels but they were really comfortable.
‘I think this is it,’ she said with a questioning look at Claudia who smiled back at her.
‘Great decision, Maggie. It’s the perfect choice. Chic, comfortable and you look like you’re the hostess of the party. That’s important.’
‘But I still love that other dress. Could I buy that as well only I’ll pay for that myself.’
‘The dress is yours but Mr Mackenzie wants to pick up the bill for anything you want. He was very insistent on that.’
‘Thank you so much, Claudia. I don’t know what I would have done without you. I was so nervous about tonight but I think it’ll be okay now,’ she said confidently.
‘It’s been my pleasure.’ She handed Maggie a card. ‘Here’s my number, give me a call whenever you think I can help. Oh, and wear your hair down, it’ll look better with that outfit. You’ll kill it tonight.’
34
HANDING OVER THE party arrangements to a company had its benefits but it hadn’t stopped Charlie from being nervous. It was a long time since he’d entertained on such a large scale and he worried about how it was going to go. He had gone along with Ed’s suggestion that they celebrate the merger with the whole company but he had no idea why he’d thought it was a good idea to host it himself. The guys at High 5 worked hard and partied hard so they deserved it but did he want that in his house? Still, it was just one night.
He had wanted to talk to Maggie about the offer Ed had made him but he’d decided to wait until after the party when they were alone again and a line had been drawn under the whole business side of the trip. He had all but made the decision but wanted to talk it through with her, after all, they’d agreed not to keep anything from each other.
He went up to the bedroom to get changed for the party, expecting to find Maggie up there too but she wasn’t. Maybe she was still with the stylist; he’d barely seen her today because when he wasn’t answering questions from the party organisers he’d been on the phone to shipping companies trying to organise the removal of his stuff to England.
Once he’d changed into a fresh pair of jeans, a pale blue shirt and a navy blue linen jacket he went to find Maggie. As he walked along the hallway, she came out of one of the other bedrooms, looking stunning. Her hair was shining in chestnut waves and she had a glow about her which could only come from her knowing that she looked amazing.
