‘Mostly they do,’ said Lizzie, finding some steel she didn’t know she had. She tried as hard as she could to look pleasant.
‘Well, as you’re a friend,’ David said, ‘I could let you have them for …’ He took an amount off the price which wouldn’t count as a discount if Electra had been a dealer.
Electra put her hand on Hugo’s arm in what seemed to Lizzie to be a gesture of ownership. ‘What do you think, Hughie?’ Electra asked. ‘Would you get them for me?’
He seemed undecided.
‘I think I deserve something after dragging round after you while you bought ancient coping saws or whatever it was.’ Electra’s voice was beginning to sound less persuasive and more insistent.
‘I can maybe do a little bit better than that on the price,’ said David, his foot pressing against Lizzie’s in some silent message. He gave a new figure.
‘Oh, please, Hughie!’ said Electra. ‘I’ve got this darling little frock that I bought at another stall. It’s brand new – couldn’t wear anything anyone else had sweated in – but it just needs a little something to make it extra special. Here …’ She took the bags Hugo was holding and began to delve into them.
While Electra was hunting through her purchases, Lizzie wondered why, if she wanted the buttons so much, she didn’t just buy them.
Eventually Electra took out a dress that had stylised daisies on it. It looked modern and attractive, but the buttons down the front did indeed let it down a bit. She showed the dress to Lizzie. ‘It’s this!’
‘You don’t think the buttons you’re considering buying would look better on something a bitplainer?’ said Lizzie. ‘The buttons are like daisies. You might have too many daisies if you add more.’
Electra snatched back the dress, not at all happy that her taste had been questioned. ‘We’ll have the buttons, and the price you first offered, but I want you’ – she stabbed at Lizzie with a manicured finger – ‘to sew the buttons on for me now.’
‘Hang on, Electra,’ said Hugo, embarrassed by his girlfriend’s demanding attitude. ‘We’re buying buttons, not a sewing service. Lizzie may not have a needle and thread.’
‘It’s OK,’ said Lizzie. ‘I never go anywhere without my sewing kit.’ Just for a second, her eyes met Hugo’s. She felt an electric charge going through her. She knew it was a one-way effect, that he was just looking at a young woman he’d inadvertently put in a tricky position, but it still made her joints turn to water.
She rummaged at her feet and brought out her bag. ‘Here we are.’ The home-made cloth bag that contained her sewing things made her feel like a particularly unsophisticated Girl Guide.
‘Great!’ said Electra. ‘Pay the man, Hughie, and then let’s get on.’ She glanced at David. ‘We’re meeting some friends for drinks soon and I want to change first.’ Then, looking down her nose, she turned her attention back to Lizzie, who had already started removing the buttons on the daisy-covered dress. ‘Ten minutes long enough?’
‘I’ll need a bit longer than that,’ said Lizzie.
‘We’ll come back and see how you’re doing in half an hour,’ said Hugo. ‘There’s no huge hurry.’
‘And I want them sewn on properly! I’ll be furious if one of them comes off after we’ve paid so much for them.’
Hugo took her arm and hurried her away.
‘That was a nifty bit of salesmanship,’ said Terry. ‘And a handy service to be able to offer button-buyers. Not that you sell a lot of buttons, I don’t suppose.’
‘She’s quite a difficult person,’ said Lizzie tactfully, threading her needle.
‘She’s a bitch,’ said Alexandra simply.
‘She is,’ David agreed. ‘And when you’ve done that, Lizzie, I’ll give you some really pretty buttons. Much nicer than those. The ones I have in mind are antique, for a start.’
He rummaged about at the back of the stall and then produced a battered leather box. ‘Here.’
Lizzie gasped as he opened the box. Six large buttons glittered against the velvet lining. ‘Are those diamonds?’
‘I’ve never seen those!’ said Alexandra indignantly, looking over Lizzie’s shoulder. ‘Have you been keeping secrets from me?’
‘Certainly not. I’ve only just bought them,’ said David, getting out his magnifying glass and peering at them even more closely.
‘They are so pretty!’ said Lizzie. ‘What can you see down that glass?’
‘You mean his jeweller’s loupe?’ said Alexandra.
‘I suppose so,’ said Lizzie impatiently. She just wanted to know about the buttons.
