by Smith, Ava
“You were really cute,” she remarks as she continues to stare at the picture.
Daniel glances at her. “That was a long time ago. When I was 12.”
She puts the photo back and focuses on him. By now he has started to mix a herb concoction using a mortar and pestle and he begins to add a series of ingredients that really smell.
“Will it work?” she asks glibly.
“You have bruises on your arm correct?”
She glimpses at her arm and replies, “They’ll clear up in a week.”
“With this, they’ll clear up in a day.”
Daniel puts the mortar down and scoops up some of the green gunge with his hand.
Her eyes widen but Daniel remains calm and tells her, “Please.”
She rolls back her sleeve and Daniel carefully removes the bandages before pasting the gunge gently on the bruised parts of her arm.
“How does it feel?” he asks her.
“Really good.”
“Trust me, by tonight, you’ll be back to normal.”
She watches him work and a few seconds go by before she has the courage to say,
“You’re a man of hidden talents, Mr MacGregor.”
“And you’re a woman of dark secrets, Miss Mitchell.”
She stares at him, wondering how much he knows.
He speaks as he works, “You know I’m a good judge of character. And usually I work people out pretty quickly. But with you, it’s like you wear a mask. No one knows who you really are.”
“What if I do? Mask wearing keeps the wolves at bay!”
Daniel laughs. “Yes, it does.”
“Anyway, we all wear masks, don’t we? I mean you play the dutiful son.” He looks up sharply and Sarah suddenly acts sheepish. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean...”
“Do you always say what you think?”
“Mostly. Why do you think I’m so popular?”
Daniel takes a moment before confessing, “I play the dutiful son because... it makes me feel like I belong. Like I’m part of the same clan.”
“The same species!” she states quickly.
“I never thought of it that way. But yes.”
Sarah looks at her arm again. “Is this your own recipe?” she asks.
He shakes his head. “My mother was a genius potion maker. And this was one of her proudest inventions.”
“You must miss her very much? I mean it’s obvious,” she comments cautiously.
Daniel lowers his eyes. “Every day. But as they say, time heals everything.”
He hasn’t spoken of his mother in years simply because no one has asked about her. He wipes his hand firmly on a tea-towel and is in danger of rubbing away some of the skin. Sarah watches him for a while and touches his hand and Daniel stops wiping. She moves in and gives him a gentle kiss on the lips before drawing back. Daniel moves in and kisses her properly and she wraps her arms around him as the kiss continues lingeringly with no end in sight.
“Will the young lady be staying for dinner, sir?” someone says.
They turn to see Hargreaves standing by the door and immediately pull away.
“Hargreaves. Your timing is perfect!” utters a red-faced Daniel.
Sarah looks at Daniel and then at Hargreaves.
“Err, no I can’t. My uncle is ... well, he’s expecting me,” she says.
“Some other time,” Daniel acknowledges respectfully.
Sarah wraps the tea-towel around her arm and prepares to leave.
By late afternoon, the sunlight sweeps across the countryside and makes the whole place glow again. Daniel and Sarah drive home together and the mood is so relaxed they glance at each other and exchange childish grins. Once again he parks the car outside her beautiful home.
“Thank you for today. It was nice of you to show me the house,” she says.
“You’re welcome.”
Sarah leaves the vehicle and Daniel drives on but he continues to glimpse at her in the wing mirror of his car.
CHAPTER 14
Daniel returns to his London home and collapses on the sofa. He looks at his hands and observes the remnants of green paste still present around his fingertips. He has never mulled over green paste before and he certainly would never admit that he is falling in love. He is very much like his father in that sense. He stays besotted for an hour before remembering he has a job to do. So he prepares a quick dinner, drinks some wine and plonks his notebook down on his desk. Barely a minute passes before he strides over to a cupboard and starts to rummage through his collection of CDs. He can’t find what he wants so he proceeds to search every drawer and every shelf. Two hours later he delves deep into the back of the oldest sofa in the house and pulls out the CD for Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.
“Perfect!” he declares proudly.
It was actually a Christmas present from his father, of all people, and Daniel has never listened to it. Since learning the story of Swan Lake he has purchased several classical tracks online and bought the DVDs for ‘“Amadeus”’ and ‘“The Last Night of the Proms”’. Soon Tchaikovsky’s haunting melody envelops his entire house and Daniel’s pen moves with the tempo. In one hour he manages to scribble ten pages of crucial notes.
His phone rings and he picks up. “Sarah.”
There’s a pause on the other end. “It’s not Sarah, it’s me.”
Daniel composes himself and turns off the music with the remote. He tries to sound jovial to repair the damage.
“Claudia I was... just working. How are you?”
There’s no answer. “Claudia?”
Claudia finally replies, “I called you several times.”
“I know, I was at the theatre,” he says coolly.
Daniel can hear her sobbing on the phone before she retorts, “No you weren’t!”
She hangs up and Daniel stares blankly at the wall. He accepts his situation with a resigned, “Damn it.”
The next day, the dancers warm up for rehearsal as usual. Sarah sits on the floor in her dance outfit and examines her arm; there are no bruises at all and she looks noticeably relieved. A shadow comes over her and she looks up to see Elizabeth standing just ahead.
“I was worried with your absence yesterday,” she mentions softly. “Nice to see you’ve made a miraculous recovery.”
Sarah can’t tell if Smith is being genuine or sarcastic and while she ponders Daniel barges into the room.
“I have something important to say,” he shouts out.
Felicity speaks from the side. “Mr MacGregor.”
Daniel glances at her. “One sec.”
“Mr MacGregor, this is not a cafeteria where you may come and go as you please.”
Daniel holds her with his gaze.
“This won’t take long, Mrs Powell. But it’s something I have to do.”
After seeing the stern look on her boss’s face Felicity gestures for him to continue.
He turns back to the dancers, saying, “I have lots of faults. I’m selfish, egotistical and crude. But I assure you I’m only like this some of the time.” A few sniggers are heard and Daniel continues, “Other times I’m much nicer: which is why I’ve decided to invite all of you dancers to an all-expenses paid cruise on my father’s private yacht.”
Many of the dancers babble amongst themselves and a few of them smile, although Robert appears uncharacteristically subdued.
“The dress code is formal. Timing is punctual and attendance is compulsory. Is it all right if they break early just for today?” Daniel asks Elizabeth.
“No,” she replies.
Several dancers plead with her by saying, “Please, Miss Smith. Please. Just this once.”
Elizabeth thinks for awhile and responds, “If they work ten times as hard tomorrow...then yes.”
The dancers cheer and Emily hugs Robert. Daniel turns swiftly to Sarah and winks at her as a broad smile crosses her lips. The dancers immediately begin to discuss the party with each other and as usual Sarah doesn’t join in. A f
ew of them glance at Sarah and snigger. It’s obvious to the 21--year-old that her inability to attend anything evening related was being discussed. Sarah gives them all a hard-hearted stare and marches out a second later. Daniel is on the verge of following her when he hears Felicity say,
“May I have a word, Mr MacGregor?”
It forces him to stay in the room while Sarah walks away.
Sarah makes her 45 minute journey home by bus and by foot and a myriad of thoughts enters her head. The most important of which is How am I going to tell him? There’s no way Victor will allow her to go especially since it’s after 6.00pm. She walks past one of only two houses on her street and glances at the rooftop. There are several birds perched on it already and at first they watch her in silence, then one by one they start to screech. Sarah marches quickly to her home which is a good half mile away. To make things worse the wind picks up and she has to fight her way through a stubborn breeze. Little by little the birds increase their voice and seem to screech, “Don’t go!”, “It’s too dangerous!”, “They’ll find out!” Sarah glances at them as if she knows what they’re saying and walks faster. After several seconds the noise becomes unbearable so she stops and clasps her hands around her ears.
“I’ll go if I damn well want to!” she cries.
The screeching stops right then and there and it is so quiet one could hear a pin drop. Sarah looks cautiously to the rooftop to see the birds are still watching her. Soon after, the brood fly away together, all 99 of them and she takes a deep breath and walks on. The instant she enters her home she sprints to her room and shuts the door. The clock on the wall reads 5.15 and Victor will be home by six. Her uncle’s imminent arrival troubles her and she rushes into the bathroom and splashes water over her face. Staring into the mirror she recalls how everything in her life has been planned so that her secret won’t be revealed. The fact that she’s 21 and has never gone to a party, attended a rock concert or been on a date suddenly bears down on her like a ton of bricks. She steps away from the mirror and mutters to herself,
“It’s now or never!”
Half an hour later, the grandfather clock in the foyer strikes 5.45 and Victor strolls into the house. He checks the letters one by one and sneers at a couple of the bills.
“Sarah, time to go,” he calls out.
There’s no answer so he turns slowly to the stairs. He walks and then runs up them and flings open Sarah’s bedroom door. He finds the room empty and a note attached to the mirror which reads ‘“No need to worry”’ and Victor’s eyes gradually begin to flare.
CHAPTER 15
Daniel is in his London home putting on his suit and tying his bow tie. He looks at himself in the mirror and draws in a huge breath. He hasn’t told anyone other than the dancers about the evening and he did this on purpose. He wants her all to himself. He leaves the room and runs downstairs, but when he opens the front door, he finds none other than Claudia standing in front of him. She wears an elegant evening gown and is obviously going with him. Daniel tries not to look too surprised and says to her,
“I’m glad you’re here. Really.”
They leave the house together but for the entire journey to the harbour Daniel fidgets with the many gadgets in his car. He presses a button that makes the top go down, but when Claudia frowns at him, he presses the same button again to make the top go up. Daniel appears to be all right after this but minutes later Claudia shouts out,
“Daniel, red light!”
He slams his foot on the brake and the car screeches to a halt just as another car crosses their path.
They’re both thoroughly startled and he turns to Claudia, asking, “Are you okay?”
“Actually, I was about to ask you the same question!”
“I’m sorry,” he tells her.
He drives a little more carefully and when they arrive at the harbour Daniel immediately spots John’s yacht moored nearby. Apart from that one outburst Claudia has remained quiet throughout the whole journey and has not mentioned anything to Daniel about him not inviting her. This is unusual behaviour as far as Daniel is concerned which is one of the reasons why he’s so restless. They get out of the car and make their way to the yacht which happens to be truly magnificent. A miniature Queen Mary with all the conveniences the modern billionaire would need. John usually does the entertaining and it took a lot of persuading from Daniel to allow him to use it.
However, the dancers of the Odette Carmichael Theatre are blissfully unaware of such details and they begin to arrive in dribs and drabs, all formally attired as requested by their host. The instant they walk inside the yacht they are treated to a grand experience. A chandelier lights up the main room while an eight-piece orchestra plays in the background. To top it all there is an array of delicious foods lining the table. The dancers appear to be in awe as more than a few of them dash around like five-year-olds at a funfair. At this point Daniel is dancing with Claudia, she smiles at him and he smiles back. All looks well except that he keeps glancing at the clock on the wall as it’s now nearly 6.40.
“I know what the message is about,” Claudia says to him out of the blue.
“What message?” Daniel asks frowning.
“The message you gave to Hargreaves to give to me. And I agree.”
“Really?” Daniel has no idea what she’s talking about.
“I think we should bring the date forward,” she says.
“You do? But I thought you wanted a summer wedding?”
“April is practically summer. And I’m sick of waiting. I want it all to happen now.”
Daniel steps back. “That’s not the message. The message was how you and I are... How we can no longer...”
“You want us to split up?”
Daniel looks sheepish and Claudia goes berserk.
“You selfish man!”
“Claudia!”
“You selfish, horrible man! How dare you do this to me in front of all these people?!”
Several people watch discreetly as Claudia grabs Daniel by the arm and drags him to the side.
“We’re engaged. So we have to get married. And what possible reason could you have to cancel?”
“Because I don’t love you anymore!” Daniel utters loudly.
Claudia doesn’t say a thing and merely makes her way to the exit when she feels the yacht moving. She hastily looks out of one of the windows to see that the yacht has pulled away from the harbour and the cruise is well under way.
“Wonderful!” she states realising she can’t leave.
Daniel, meanwhile, has his hands in his pockets and looks miserably at the clock. Over in the corner, Isobel and Robert observe Daniel looking glum and Claudia looking angry so it’s not long before they put two and two together.
“The prince pines for his Swan Queen!” remarks Robert.
“Maybe she just hates yachts?” Isobel sniggers.
Their faces turn serious when they themselves look to the doorway. Hushed whispers reverberate round the room and Daniel looks across. His eyes widen when he sees Sarah standing by the door. She wears a royal blue off the shoulder gown with tiny beads on the side, pearl drop earrings and a pearl necklace. Her hair is worn down as usual but she’s added a curl to it which makes it wavier than normal. The entire room stares at her and everyone starts to talk at once. Sarah glances at Daniel and walks over to Anne. Claudia also fixates on Sarah and downs a glass of sherry in one gulp. As for the two troublemakers, they see things more clearly now.
“Somebody’s smitten,” Robert tells Isobel.
Isobel shakes her head. “He’s not just smitten. He’s obsessed.”
“You’re deluded.”
“Want a bet?”
Robert takes a moment and responds, “Done.”
Isobel saunters to the centre and tells an unsuspecting crowd.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Daniel MacGregor luxury cruise.”
Robert looks round and sees everyone clapping.
Isobel
continues. “I’d like to begin by thanking Mr MacGregor Junior for being such a wonderful mentor.”
The crowd begins to murmur and clap again.
“In fact, sources tell me that not only is he a good leader, but a good dancer. So I’d like to offer him a challenge.”
Isobel marches over to Daniel, grabs him by the arm and drags him to the centre. “What are you doing?” Daniel asks softly.
“Just play along,” Isobel replies. She speaks to the crowd again. “The challenge I offer Mr MacGregor is the chance to dance with any one of the beautiful ladies in this room. Any single one. With one exception – she must be a dancer.”
By now the whole room is intrigued but Daniel shakes his head and mumbles, “This is impossible. I can’t...”
“Are you afraid?” Isobel asks.
“I’m not afraid.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
He stares at Isobel a moment. “No problem. I’ll do it.”
Everyone gasps at the news and Isobel mutters deviously, “Good. But remember you must only choose a dancer, not a novice. So, Mr MacGregor, who will it be?”
Daniel takes a breath and starts to walk down the long line of dancers as Claudia watches keenly from the side. He passes Amy, Emily, Joanne and stops when he comes to the very last dancer... Sarah.
“Would you like to dance?” he asks as the crowd watches with bated breath.
“I’d love to dance!” Sarah answers promptly.
More murmurs follow and Claudia glares at Daniel as he and Sarah walk to the centre. They look at one another as though they haven’t seen each other in years and everyone in the room notices the infatuation. The music begins and they start to dance, taking tentative steps that become more energetic as the music intensifies; as they move round the hall Daniel twirls her and dips her and all with seemingly little effort.