Page 26 of The Vintage Dress Shop in Primrose Hill
‘Come in.’
Charles’s office was absolutely, perfectly Charles.
It was less an office and more of an inviting but elegant space. The walls were a deep, smoky grey, almost black, as were the floorboards, which were mostly obscured by aPersian rug that looked old, which probably meant it was an antique; its intricate pattern was picked out in soft blues and faded pinks. One wall was lined with books, their spines adding to themélangeof colours in the room.
There was a leather Chesterfield couch the colour of butterscotch and two wing-backed armchairs, one of them upholstered in a vivid peacock blue and the other – Sophy blinked her eyes because she had to be seeing things – in a moquette that she recognised because it also adorned the seats of the Victoria Line tube trains.
There was a desk and a leather chair, and a MacBook, looking quite incongruous and out of place in this room that seemed to hark back to another age.
‘This is lovely, Charles,’ Sophy said, slowly turning a circle as she tried to take it all in. There was always something new to look at: a collection of three black jet art deco figurines on a shelf; a Chinese vase of vivid pink peonies on a little brass end table; a stack of vintage editions ofVogueon Charles’s desk. ‘It doesn’t feel at all like an office, it’s as if I’d wandered into your living room.’
Charles didn’t smile, but he ducked his head and looked pleased as if Sophy’s opinion on his workspace was very important to him. ‘Well, I like it,’ he said. ‘And I do want people to feel comfortable. It’s a very intimate business when you’re buying a piece of jewellery. It should feel special when you choose your engagement ring or a pair of cuff-links or a necklace to mark a birthday or an anniversary.’
When Sophy and Cress had turned sixteen, only three weeks apart, Mike and Caroline and Cress’s mother Diane and her new partner Aaron had taken them to Tiffany on Bond Street.Thefamous Tiffany (Cress had been so overcome that she’d burst into tears as soon as they’d got through the door). Though their matching silver keychains had been the least expensive items in the store – and they still hadn’t come cheap –Sophy had felt so special just standing in that gorgeous shop with its walls painted the unmistakeable Tiffany blue. Even the staff had recognised the significance of the occasion and treated them like they were royalty.
‘I know exactly what you mean,’ Sophy said, and she was glad that she and Charles were on the same page, despite what had happened and the crass thing she’d said.
If it hadn’t been for that awkward moment, then Sophy wondered if she and Charles might even have moved from being acquaintances and sort-of colleagues towards being friends. He was still looking at her so warmly like he didn’t hate the sight of her, and oh, actually now it was starting to feel a little awkward.
‘Why don’t you sit down?’ Charles suggested as if he too had sensed that the moment had got a bit weird. ‘Are you ready to play dress-up?’
‘Yes, but… look, what I said on Friday night, I’m so sorry. It’s just that you’re so beautifully dressed all the time. Also, you know so much about fashion,’ Sophy gabbled. ‘But I’d hate you to think that I think that there’s anything wrong in being gay or non-binary or identifying any way that you want to. I really didn’t mean it like that…’
‘You just jumped to conclusions,’ Charles reminded her gently, not that she really needed the reminder. ‘Oh, it’s OK. I’m teasing you. Stop looking so stricken. I get this all the time.’
Sophy let out a tiny sigh of relief that Charles didn’t think she was an awful, homophobic person. ‘It’s also… when I’m talking to you, you listen. Like, youreallylisten as if you’re actually interested in what I have to say. Is it any wonder that I thought you were not into, um… women?’
Charles shook his head, face despairing, eyes dancing. ‘Is the straight man bar really that low that you think because a man is a good listener and knows his Balenciaga from his Balmain that he’s gay?’
‘The bar isn’t low so much as on the floor,’ Sophy said sadly, thinking, as ever, of Egan, who would make a winding-up motion with his hands when she’d been talking for longer than a couple of minutes. And who never noticed what Sophy was wearing, unless it was to complain that she either wasn’t showing enough flesh or she was showing too much.
‘I do hope you haven’t been torturing yourself over this,’ Charles mused. ‘It’s cool, we’re cool. Now, are you ready to be showered in semi-precious gems?’
‘Oh, yes please!’ Being showered in semi-precious gems instead sounded like a splendid way to kill some time.
She perched on the edge of the Chesterfield as Charles disappeared through a door hidden in the panelling behind his desk. She could hear him shuffling about, the sound of drawers being opened and closed. At one point – she strained her ears – he seemed to be muttering.
Finally he emerged, laden down with intriguingly shaped boxes. He sat down next to Sophy on the couch and placed the boxes in the space between them. Then he began to open them all. The little ones had rings nestled inside them. Small flat boxes for bracelets, larger ones for necklaces.
Sophy didn’t think she’d ever seen such colours. She touched the tip of one finger to a large oblong-shaped pink stone on a delicate silver chain. ‘Is that a pink diamond?’ she asked reverently.
‘Sadly, not. Far too rich for my tastes,’ Charles said, gently lifting it from its satin-covered resting place. ‘This is tourmaline. It comes in all different colours but the pink and the green are the most popular. Do you want to try this on?’
Sophy didn’t even have to think about it. ‘Go on then.’
She expected Charles to hand the necklace over but instead he leaned forward to place it round her neck, his fingers brushing against her skin as he fastened the clasp without even having to look at what he was doing. He’d be similarly skilled when itcame to getting a bra on and off, Sophy bet – exceptwhyhad she just thought that? She could feel her cheeks heating up. Or maybe that was because Charles was adjusting the position of the necklace, one finger dipping into the hollow of her collarbone, and he hadn’t taken his eyes off her. It occurred to her that though they might have cleared up the whole issue of his preferred sexual orientation, they’d yet to discuss the second part of her damning statement on Friday night. That if he wasn’t gay then Sophy would most likely fall in love with him.
And here was Charles pretty much doing everything he could to make Sophy do exactly that.
‘Perfect,’ he announced, reaching for a small hand mirror on the end table next to him. ‘That looks perfect on you, Sophy.’
Of course, it wasn’t Sophy who was perfect. It was the necklace. But she took the mirror from Charles and sighed a little because the necklace was so beautiful and there was something about it that made her sit with her back a little straighter, her demeanour more poised than usual. She also had a hectic glitter to her eyes that matched the gleam of the necklace, and she didn’t want to be big-headed or sound like Keira Knightley simpering inLove Actually, but she thought that she looked quite pretty.
‘Perfect,’ Charles said again.
‘This is really gorgeous.’ Sophy couldn’t stop touching the stone. ‘So, when you say it’s semi-precious, does that mean it’s not very expensive?’
‘Not very expensive.’ Charles pressed his lips together but failed to hide his mischievous smile. ‘I mean, you’ve only got about ten grand worth of semi-precious stones round your neck.’
