Anastasia steadied herself with her palms on the island and took a few deep breaths.
‘No.’
‘What are you doing here?’ Cat asked, as politely as she could. Lydia watched while she unsheathed balls of decorative ice and put them in two balloon glasses. Samuel and Karius Sommar had specifically asked for gin and tonics. Emme came in with another silver platter of empty glassesand placed it on the island, looking from Anastasia, whose head was hung between her shoulders, to Cat, piping bag in hand and furious.
‘Are you OK?’ Emme mouthed.
Cat nodded.
‘Yes, desserts now, please,’ she said, indicating a silver tray of chocolate mousse in delicate shot glasses, with a homemade pistachio truffle atop each one.
Gerard filled a long glass with ice and water from the filter tap and placed it next to Anastasia, who looked like she was trying to regain her balance.
‘Here you are, ma’am,’ he said, reverently.
‘I said NO!’ Anastasia bellowed, swiping the glass off the edge of the smooth marble surface, along with the silver tray of empty glasses Emme had just laid there. There was an almighty crash, which made everyone in the kitchen jump. Everyone except Cat, who continued to pipe with an unsteady, shaky hand.
‘Hold off one second,’ Lumi whispered in Viktor’s ear, as she went into the kitchen to see what all the noise was about.
‘Ah, Anastasia, is everything alright?’ she asked, calm and fragrant, while Gerard got to work with the dustpan and brush. Lumi had noticed Anastasia, prowling around the party like a pinball bouncing from bumper to bumper, and she meant to mention it to Walter and ask if everything was alright, but she had been so preoccupied by his declaration, by the fact his marriage was over, by his decision to sell Snowbell, Aster and Orchid, that she hadn’t had the chance to tell him.
‘My husband’s about to do a speech,’ Lumi said, putting her palm on Anastasia’s back. Anastasia’s hands, weighed down by diamonds, seemed to grip onto the air above the kitchen surface.
She looked up with a slow and furious furrow, but Lumi Kivvi had a serene authority about her. Something about Lumi’s voice reminded her of calm during turbulence, somewhere in the depths of her childhood. It wasn’t comforting enough.
‘Would you like a coffee?’ Lumi asked, as if it was going to happen anyway. ‘Gerard, get Mrs Diamandis a coffee and I will ask Teresa to see to this,’ she said, nodding at the floor.
‘Very well, ma’am,’ Gerard nodded, clearing a few sharp shards away first.
‘Macarons,’ Cat said, handing Tiago a plate of her beautiful creations. ‘Make sure you find Miss Stella first…’ Cat added. Lumi met her eye with a grateful smile.
Gerard busied himself with the coffee, Lydia left with a tray of drinks and Tiago and Emme picked up the first dessert platters.
‘I understand you and Catalina are friends,’ Lumi said warmly, trying to distract Anastasia from whatever the hell meltdown she was having. ‘Teresa said you called by to see her.’ Anastasia looked up at Cat, slowly and deliberately, on the other side of the kitchen island, piping more ganache into macarons.
‘Who’s Catalina?’ Anastasia said blankly, while the chef tried not to cry onto her patisserie.
Emme returned to the main throng and began another clockwise rotation with a tray of chocolate mousses inglasses, while Tiago went anticlockwise with the first rows of macarons. As she worked the room, Emme heard snippets of conversations. Bill Harrington was discussing hedge funds with a bored-looking Oscar Goodall. Mads Christensen was telling Frida Alm about the song he had written for the Danish Eurovision entry next year. Boutique hotelier Dirk Detzer was asking Dimitri Diamandis which Greek island was best to start with, as he had never been. And Lexy was fawning over Priya Kapoor’s earrings and showing her the almost-as-ostentatious pink ruby on her right hand. All these conversations stopped when Viktor chinked a fork against a crystal glass and called for attention around the piano.
Where’s Tristan?Emme thought, as she quietly continued to circulate.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?’ Viktor said, his small fuzz of tobacco-coloured hair in a whirl above his thinning pate.
The pianist paused ‘Für Elise’,and children started to reappear from the games room. Stella Kivvi shooed a few children out of her bedroom and down the stairs to the throng growing around the large open living space. Emme weaved quietly, silently offering desserts in delicate shot glasses. ‘Where’s Lumi?!’ Viktor almost barked.
‘Here!’ she said cheerily, coming out of the kitchen, one arm around the waist of a swaying Anastasia Steinherr, who she deposited next to Dimitri, while Gerard deftly followed with a strong black coffee. Vivian shot Lysander a concerned look across the room. Lumi looked back behind her and beckoned Cat to come out of the kitchen and show her face, as was tradition during the speeches. Lumialways reminded Viktor to thank the staff. Cat put her tea towel on her shoulder and feigned a smile, despite feeling wretched on the inside.
Guests gave a little cheer as Lumi joined her husband at the piano and promised not to break into song.
‘I’ll leave that to the experts,’ she nodded across the room, towards Frida Alm.
Viktor didn’t laugh at his wife’s joke, but paused to get his words together, looking at his impeccably shiny shoes for a moment.
‘Good people of Kristalldorf, thank you for coming to our annual Christingle, and may I say they get more wonderful every year.’
Aapo had rounded up Mika and Stella and they stood close to their parents, while guests gave a grateful clap and cheer.
Lumi tapped the small of Viktor’s back and he seamlessly thanked Teresa, Gerard and the team, and Catalina in the kitchen for her excellent catering. There was polite applause, and Cat gave a bashful nod. Emme and Tiago, silver platters in front of them as they passed each other, exchanged an amused look. They really were invisible today.
