‘Up,’ he said in a gruff voice, and the doors glided shut.
Oh,Emme thought, realising she still had a lot to learn.
The lift doors opened onto a luxurious landing and the man indicated for Emme to leave first. She headed to a large modern door, which a maid opened immediately. Her outfit wasn’t that dissimilar to Emme’s, although she wore a white frilled pinafore over the top of her more staid black dress.
‘Glasses!’ said the man over Emme’s shoulder.
‘And I’m here to help Catalina,’ Emme said.
‘Go through to the kitchen.’
Emme entered the Kivvi chalet and looked around in awe. A baby Steinway sat on a Persian rug that looked faded but probably cost a fortune, while the walnut wood of the high-vaulted ceiling let the Swarovski chandeliers shine.
It was like the Harrington home on steroids. Vintage mid-century French armchairs sat atop plush cream rugs while sturdy timber and steel hardware fused the traditional with the modern. No wonder Lexy was so excited about attending this party. This was no red-and-white-checked cutesy chalet; no clichéd antlers on the wall. It was the most luxurious home Emme had ever stepped in, and considering she’d been living at the Harringtons’ for weeks now, that was saying something.
‘Whoah,’ she whispered to herself, as she headed to the kitchen, which was buzzing with Cat shouting orders. Tiago was wearing a shirt and a bow tie, which Emme playfully tugged on each side. ‘Looking sharp, Tiago,’ she said, straightening it. His dimples sank as he smiled.
‘Why thank you, ma’am,’ he said, as if Emme herself were the Queen. Lydia from The Cheeky Blinders was also on hand to help, in a white shirt and short black skirt, her blonde fringe dipping into her soulful eyes, along with the Kivvis’ head butler Gerard, who was getting very sniffy about the extra staff milling around his territory.
Cat looked up.
‘Wow,’ she said, appraising Emme. ‘My dress looks better on you!’
Emme gave a quick and playful curtsey while Tiago laughed and Gerard scowled.
‘What can I do?’
Emme examined the rows and rows of beautifully presented canapés on baking trays covering every marble surface in the vast kitchen.
‘Help me decant those three trays onto these slate boards please. Keeping uniformity in size and alignment. We have thirty minutes to go.’
‘Sure thing.’
‘T, do you have the napkins?’
‘Sí jefa!’ he saluted. He had counted out stacks of forty little black square napkins and put them in piles on the worktop.
‘The order of service is up on my chalk board there– that’s the order of rotation,’ Cat directed. ‘Emme and Tiago, if you take the canapés out in rounds in that order, and keep coming back for more before you move onto the next canapé. It’s very important you stick to that order.’
‘Yes chef!’ Emme said with a smile.
‘Lydia and Gerard are already on drinks. Gerard, the frozen ice balls need to be left to the last moment, yes?’
He nodded quietly.
‘Damn rosemary slowed down the freezing process,’ Cat lamented.
‘But they’re so beautiful!’ Lydia said, taking one out. A perfect sphere with a sprig of rosemary and a redcurrant inside each ball made for festive ice cubes; raspberries set in jelly and frozen would be going into the champagne.
‘Put it back!’ Cat said, half angry, half flirtatious, as Lydia returned the ice ball to the freezer. ‘We need all the ice we can get. It’s going to be busy.’
Tiago, Lydia and Emme exchanged mischievous smiles while Gerard continued to line up his glasses: champagne flutes, martini glasses, coupé cups, whisky tumblers and highballs for the children and the teetotallers.
Emme had an excited feeling about today.
At 2pm the party was under way, with Tiago and Emme circulating the canapés amongst the best and brightest of Kristalldorf’s high society. The Kochs, the Sommars, the Herwegs.
‘Hej!’ said a cheery man as he sauntered into the kitchen. ‘This all smells wonderful Catalina. You’ve excelled yourself.’
