Page 75 of The Importance of Being Emma
~~MARK~~
While I talked to Jane, I kept a close eye on Emma and Churchill; at least, as much as I could without seeming rude. Then Henry joined us, in a flap about timings and wanting Emma to call everyone through to dinner.
‘I’ll get her for you,’ I said, suddenly aware that she was clinging to Churchill in a most suggestive manner. Needless to say, it was exactly how I’d have liked her to cling to me. So I interrupted them, then immediately regretted it; I must have sounded like a pompous old fart. And I wondered what Churchill meant about other agendas; could he sense that mine was to keep him away from her for as long as possible?
Emma’s voice came across the public address system, clear and confident. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, dinner’s about to be served. If you haven’t already done so, please look at the seating plan in the far corner and find out who your partner is. Then, in your pairs, form an orderly line by table number and we’ll go through into the Marlborough Room. Thank you.’
As soon as she finished speaking, people surged to the back of the room, anxious to see the plan. I hung back, in no hurry to join the crush.
Elton sidled up to me. ‘I don’t need to look at the plan, someone said we were on your table. Gusty’s gone to the Ladies, but she’ll be back in a tick.’
Before I could answer, Kate arrived with Harriet in tow. ‘Hello, you two,’ she said brightly. ‘Waiting for your partners?’
Harriet looked distinctly uncomfortable; I couldn’t tell whether it was because of Elton, me, or the outfit she was wearing, which I could only describe as two black net curtains held together by large, vicious-looking gold safety pins.
‘That’s right,’ Elton said. ‘Gusty won’t be long, she’s—’
‘Oh no, Philip,’ Kate put in, with a peal of laughter. ‘You’re not allowed to sit together, I’ve deliberately split couples up so that they have to be sociable.’
Elton smirked. ‘What a great idea, can’t wait to see who you’ve got lined up for me. And Gusty won’t mind a bit, she’s always more than happy to network.’
At that moment Emma hurried up to us, her face pale and set. ‘Kate, I need a word about the seating plan. In private.’
Kate smiled at her. ‘In a minute, Emma.’ She turned to me with an apologetic look. ‘Slight change to the original plan, you’re partnering me now.’
‘Delighted,’ I said automatically, wondering what was bothering Emma; maybe Kate had slipped up and she’d not been paired with Churchill.
Kate turned to Elton. ‘Philip, you’re with Harriet. It’s the first Highbury Foods party for both of you, I thought you could compare notes.’
The effect on Elton was instant; his features froze in an ugly mask. ‘For fuck’s sake, I can’t possibly partnerher.’
We all stared at him.
‘Gusty knows no one here except me,’ he went on, his voice rising to a petulant whine. ‘It wouldn’t be fair to split us up, Iinsiston us being together.’
Emma moved forward. I saw her hand start a swift upward swing and knew that in a couple of seconds she would slap Elton’s face. Even though the wanker deserved it, I couldn’t let her do it.
‘Harriet,’ I said, stepping quickly in front of Emma, ‘I’d love you to be my partner — it’s the first time here for me, too. Kate, would you mind?’
Kate let out a long breath. ‘Not at all, I’ll partner Terry. Which means you can partner your girlfriend,’ she added, with a dismissive nod in Elton’s direction.
I gave Harriet a reassuring smile. ‘Shall we lead everyone in to dinner?’
As she came to stand at my side, blushing and giggling, something made me glance across at Emma.
She was looking straight at me, as if waiting for my cue . . . Her lips mouthed ‘Thank you’, then curved in a dazzling smile that made my heart pound like a drum. For a moment we were the only people in the room, sharing a secret, understanding each other perfectly, bound by old indestructible ties.
Perhaps the evening would be tolerable after all.
* * *
~~EMMA~~
Philip seemed unaffected by his outburst, devouring four courses with obvious relish.
Some of us weren’t quite so relaxed. I merely picked at the meal I’d been looking forward to for weeks; Harriet was even clumsier than usual, dropping her cutlery with monotonous regularity and giggling every time Mark retrieved it; Kate barely spoke, as if she couldn’t trust herself to be civil to anyone; and even Mark seemed to have lost his appetite. He made up for it in wine, though, and I couldn’t blame him. We were on the Table From Hell.
With the normally talkative Terry hampered by a silent Saint Jane on one side and a glowering Kate on the other, it was left to Flynn, Gusty and Tom to keep the conversation going. Gusty was more obnoxious than ever, boasting constantly about Maple Grove being ‘something big in Bristol’.
