Page 44 of The Way We Are Now

‘You going? You look lovely.’ Mary stroked at my long dress with her pudgy little hands.

‘I am,’ I said. ‘With your big brother.’

She shook her head. ‘He going with Susannah. Who you going with? D’you want to come with me? I find you some stuff like this.’ Mary removed the garland of red and silver from her fair hair, offering it to me.

‘That’s really kind,’ I replied, laughing. ‘It would go really well with my dress but looks much better on you.’

‘Where Theo?’ she asked.

‘Well, I came with him. He’s gone to put on a posh frock.’

‘Silly, boys don’t wear frocks.’ She giggled and that seemed to satisfy her, but then she asked, ‘So who Susannah going with?’

‘I don’t know,’ I said honestly, praying that the upmarket blonde wasn’t going to turn up and whisk Theo away. ‘Maybe…’ I got no further as a soft knock came at the open door and a head appeared round it.

‘Oh, there you are, Mary. Maureen said I’d probably find you here…’ The girl from down below was now here in front of us, but stopped short once she saw the missing Susannah wasn’t actually in situ. ‘Oh,’ she said once more, staring at me. ‘Sorry, I didn’t realise…’

‘It’s fine, really,’ I started.

‘Susannah not here,’ Mary said. ‘Anna going to the ball with Theo. Not Susannah.’

I held out my hand. ‘Hi. I’m Anna. I’m Theo’s guest tonight.’

The girl looked me up and down, but didn’t take my hand and, when once more there came another knock on the door and Theo put his head round, I immediately saw why. The girl blushed to the roots of her hair, hiding her face as she bent to fiddle with the already immaculate sash on Mary’s princess dress.

‘Hi, Bridget,’ Theo said easily. ‘How you doing?’ He leaned down to kiss her cheek, and she smiled adoringly back up at him, obviously in a bit of a state. He turned to me. ‘Wow, you look fabulous, Anna. Doesn’t she look gorgeous, Mary?’ He bent to pick up his little sister, kissing both her cheeks before throwing her over his shoulder while she giggled and screamed in delight.

‘I going to ball,’ she squealed. ‘Me too.’

‘Of course you are.’ He replaced Mary back on the floor before turning back to the girl. ‘I hope you’ve got an invite, Bridget?’

‘Your dad said it was OK. Not sure what your mum will think though.’

‘Well, someone needs to keep an eye on Princess Mary when the handsome prince is looking to fit the slipper.’

There was only one handsome prince here and both Bridget and I knew it, both of us utterly captivated by the man in the glorious scarlet tailcoat, white shirt, waistcoat and bow tie. I felt lust course through every bit of me and knew I was staring.

‘You OK?’ Theo asked, slightly embarrassed. ‘I guess all this get-up…’ He pulled at the lapels of the red coat.

‘I think you look lovely,’ I said, unable not to.

‘Bridget, how about if you get yourself ready and we’ll take Mary off your hands for an hour?’

‘You sure?’

‘Absolutely.’

Bridget offered up another look of adoration towards Theo and, without another glance in my direction, she left the room.

‘So, shall Mary and I show you round, Anna?’

‘We go look at horses?’ Mary pleaded.

‘Absolutely,’ Theo said, patting his sister’s blonde head. ‘I want to see if McCallister is fit again.’

‘He is, he is,’ Mary crowed. ‘Graham and me been looking after him.’

‘You OK in those heels?’ Theo asked me. ‘It’s a bit of a walk to the stables.’