‘Can I take your coats?’ said Alexandra. ‘Oh, you’re not wearing any.’
Electra smiled. ‘Easier to make a quick get away without.’ Although she’d smiled to indicate she was joking, no one was fooled. She was wearing a two-piece with a stand-up collar in oyster satin. It was knee-length and, with her elegant upswept hair, large pearl earrings and matching choker-length double strand of pearls, the clasp at the front, she could have come from the cover ofVogue.
Lizzie forced her smile a bit wider. ‘And you don’t want the ladies’ cloakroom?’ Then, realising she’dasked Electra if she wanted to use the lavatory, she hurried on. ‘Then do come upstairs.’
Blushing at her gaucheness, and feeling her long dress and daisy earrings made her look like a child who’d got into the dressing-up box, she led the way up to the drawing room. There she could pass her guests on to the young men who were waiting, bottles open, ready to serve. They were guests, but they had duties.
Why had Electra been so keen to come? Lizzie asked herself, listening to Electra swishing up the stairs behind her. She wasn’t going to enjoy herself. Hugo probably wouldn’t either. Probably no one would; the dinner party was a horrible idea, she concluded.
Still, she had been trained as a hostess by her mother from an early age, and didn’t follow her heart and run from the room.
‘Electra,’ she said, ‘this is Ben, who’s studying at the Royal Academy of Music; Philip, a childhood friend of Alexandra’s – sorry, Philip, I should have found out what you’re doing now! And Luigi and Piers, who are friends of Meg’s. Guys? If you could kindly serve drinks, I’m going to pop down and get some canapés. Meg hasn’t let them leave the kitchen until people were here to eat them hot.’
‘How delicious,’ said Electra smoothly. ‘I can’t wait to try them. Is the champagne vintage?
This gave Lizzie a little reason to smile as she left the room. What Electra was about to be served withcertainly wasn’t vintage; in fact it wasn’t even champagne. It wascrémant, a sparkling French white wine made outside the area that was allowed to use the name; David had been put on to it by a wine merchant friend of his. Lizzie had thought it was delicious when they’d all had a glass as a pre-party stiffener, as David had put it.
In spite of what David had said about going out for the evening, when Lizzie got down into the kitchen, she found him helping Meg add cod’s roe to little tartlets filled with cream cheese.
He looked up when Lizzie arrived. ‘I know! But I couldn’t abandon Meggy, could I?’
‘I’m so grateful, David,’ said Meg, spooning the jewel-like fish eggs on with a mustard spoon. ‘I should have kept it simple, like everyone said.’
‘It’s OK,’ said David. ‘I love food too. I understand your need to experiment and stretch yourself.’
‘We’d never have been able to manage without you being chums with most of the food sellers of Soho,’ Lizzie said, wishing she could stay down here in the cosy kitchen instead of going back to where Electra, so beautiful and cold, was, in her imagination, turning the drawing room into a snow palace.
‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,’ said David. ‘Now, are you going to take this up?’ he asked.
They heard the doorbell ring and at just the same moment, Luigi, Meg’s friend, appeared in the kitchen.
‘Oh, Luigi!’ said Meg. ‘Can you be an angel and take these up? I think Lizzie should answer the door.’
‘My pleasure,cara,’ said Luigi, taking three plates of canapés in a way that revealed him as a professional as he swept from the room with total confidence.
Luigi, Meg had told them, had been very keen to attend an English dinner party. They had met when Luigi’s restaurant had provided the food at an event when Meg was serving and Luigi had been sent to make sure it all went well. His usual job was a head waiter but the restaurant was being redecorated and so he was doing catering jobs until it reopened.
The girls agreed he added some much needed Latin glamour to the event, although Meg confided to Lizzie he might not remember he was a guest. ‘Not that I really mind,’ she added. ‘As long as everyone is happy.’
Lizzie went up to open the door. It was Vanessa, looking flustered. ‘Am I late? I was supposed to come with Hugo and Electra but they were so early and I’d only just got out of the bath.’
‘Perfect timing. Come with me.’ Lizzie took Vanessa’s wrap and hung it up. ‘Drinks are upstairs.’
‘Did it matter I couldn’t bring Ted?’ Vanessa asked, although Lizzie had known Ted wasn’t coming for several days.
‘Not at all. There are several nice men for you to choose from. Only Hugo is spoken for and you’re hardly going to want to be partnered by your brother. There’s an absolutely gorgeous Italian for a start but the one I picked out for you is called Piers and seems really nice.’ Lizzie couldn’t remember what he did apart from part-time waiting, like Luigi and Ben.
‘Sounds promising!’ said Vanessa. ‘It’s not that I loved Ted or anything, but it is extremely galling when a man leaves you, and not the other way around.’
Vanessa’s words were nonchalant but Lizzie had the impression she was actually a lot more hurt than she was willing to admit.
Meg finally appeared at the party. She came up the stairs with a plate of canapés in each hand. She was wearing cigarette pants and a white silk blouse and ballet shoes. She had a red apron on top of her clothes which Lizzie had made for her that afternoon out of an old skirt.
Lizzie knew Meg would need to wear what she called a pinny, and she wanted it to be faintly presentable. Meg didn’t really care and had argued that, actually, she should just stay in the kitchen and produce the meal. She had been metaphorically jumped on by the entire household except Clover the spaniel.
Ben, Lizzie’s partner, whom she had got to know a bit, stepped forward. ‘Would you like me to pass them round for you?’
‘Oh yes, please!’ said Meg. ‘I have more to bring upstairs.’
