Restoring Grace (31 page)

‘
I think we
should do something immediately, almost
a dummy run to see how it goes,
and then ask the posh people.'

‘I wouldn't quite describe Graham as posh.’

Ellie suppressed her
irritation, annoyed that she
couldn't tell Grace why they needed
to do something immediately rather than wait until all the people she
considered important could come. As far as Ellie was concerned, as long as Ran
Frazier came, no one else mattered, and all this secret-keeping was very
wearing.

‘
I've got an
idea!' she said, giving a good impression
of someone in a comic with a
light bulb over their head.
'If we made a
poster tonight, I could take it down to Bath
tomorrow. It's not too far for people to come, I don't
think.'

‘You're very keen about this, Ellie.
Considering all the
cooking you'll have to
do,' said Grace, looking suspicious.

‘
But it'll be fun!' Ellie was so relieved about not having
to
covertly acquire picture-restoration skills and then
apply them to precious old masters, she was feeling a bit
giddy.

‘Dem,' said Grace. 'Can you come and eat, now?
And will you want more toast?'

‘And I really want to know how you got on at
college,' said Ellie, feeling she couldn't nag Grace any more just now.

‘It was OK,' said Demi, coming to the table.
'And I saw Rick at lunchtime. We had a chat. He was riding his motorbike. Very
cool!’

Ellie laughed. 'It is very
cool on the back of it, I can tell
you. You
definitely need leathers. I used to borrow one of
Rick's
mate's girlfriend's. So it was OK, going back?'

‘Yeah, quite good actually. It was nice seeing
everyone again.'

‘So, Grace, do you know what wines you'll
have?' Ellie tugged the conversation back to what was uppermost in her mind.
'Or shall we set a date first?'

‘
I haven't
really thought about it,' said Grace. 'I've
hardly had a minute to
myself what with running round after Demi and Flynn's cat.'

‘What's it called?' said Demi.

‘Cleopatra, I think.'

‘
I wish we
could have an animal,' said Demi. 'We've
got lots of room.'

‘
I'll think
about it,' said Grace. 'An animal would make
the house more homely.'

‘
So would
furniture,' said Ellie. 'Did you say you had
a table we could put people
round?'

‘You'd think after a day of clearing out
cellars you
wouldn't want to think about
inviting umpteen people
for a six-course dinner,' said Grace, sliding
the kettle across to the hot part of the Rayburn as if she'd been doing it all
her life.

‘It was only one cellar, and we can't afford to
hang around.'

‘
Well, can
we at least wait until Edward's money comes
through? I spoke to him about your computer today,
Dem, and he's
going to set up a standing order as soon as possible.’

The light bulb went on
again. 'I tell you what,' said Ellie.
'I'll
pay for all the food for the first one, and you can pay
me back later. After all, if we charge enough, we'll get
the
money back straightaway.'

‘
No, I can't
let you do that. I have got some money,
after all. You'll just have to be a bit economical when you
plan
the menus.'

‘
I'm used to that! I could write a book called
A
Million Ways with Mince.’

Grace frowned in mock
reproof. 'I don't think we
need go quite as downmarket as that.
But thinking how
much to charge is
important. How much will people
spend
on an evening out?' Grace crinkled her forehead.
'I don't even know how
much a cinema ticket is these
days. What
would be reasonable amount to ask people
to pay?'

‘Well,' said Ellie, 'my parents go out to
restaurants for
meals and they spend sixty
quid easily, and you're
offering "education".' She emphasised
the word. 'People love that.'

‘
But I'm
not offering food cooked by a professional chef! With health and safety
regulations, in fact, the whole idea
is probably illegal.’

Ellie was not going to be defeated by a few
rules. 'I know! We won't charge people, we'll invite them and suggest they make
contributions, then you're not actually selling anything. It would just be like
having your
friends round for dinner.' So
anxious was she to get Ran into the house she'd have invited him for a dinner a
deux
with
Allegra if she thought she'd get away with it.

‘What?' said Demi. 'Instead of bringing a
bottle they bring a twenty-pound note instead?'

‘No,' said Ellie, trying to keep calm, 'we have
a basket on the table which says "Contributions Please". They do it
in art galleries all the time, for the wine.'

‘
I think I'd
feel a bit awkward about doing that. It's
like charging for hospitality.’

Ellie patted her shoulder. 'You're forgetting
the education aspect. And the fact they get to eat in a beautiful William and
Mary house. And don't worry about the
money.
We'll ask people if they enjoyed themselves,
would they like to
recommend it to their friends or come again, and if they'd mind making a
contribution - next time - the first time being free.'

‘A loss leader,' said Demi, smearing the butter
with
baked-bean juice as she cut off the
corner. 'Like they have
in supermarkets. Media Studies,' she added in
explanation. 'We had it today.'

‘OK,' said Grace, feeling slightly bulldozed.
'Who shall we have? I could get in touch with the people who came to my
ordinary wine tasting, I suppose.'

‘
Let's set
a date first. Have you got a diary?' asked Ellie,
determined to get the day nailed down good and
hard,
so that nothing could prevent it happening.

‘Until you lot came to live with me, I didn't
have any
appointments,' said Grace. 'No
social life. Things like the
dentist, I just remember.'

‘That's all right then! Next week?'

‘
Isn't that
a bit soon? Who will be able to come at such
short notice?’

Ellie realised she should have asked when Ran
was
available. 'All right, the week after,
then. It's only a
dummy run. We can
book the proper one well in advance.'
She decided if the date they
agreed on didn't suit Ran, she would find an excuse to change it.

‘
Are you going to ask Flynn?' said Demi.

‘
Yes, have Flynn, definitely,' said Ellie.

‘Yeah. He's cool,' agreed Demi.

‘
He is?'
Grace was surprised at this. She wouldn't have
thought he qualified as
cool.

‘For an older man. He's definitely attractive.'

‘
He may not
be able to come. I'm not sure how long
he's away for,' Grace stalled.

‘
Oh, well,
never mind,' said Ellie. 'Perhaps I could
invite the picture restorer? Ran? He's interested in wine.'
Aware that she was blushing, for all sorts of
reasons, Ellie
started gathering plates.

‘Is he attractive, too?' asked Demi.

‘Definitely. Sexy, anyway.'

‘Isn't it the same thing?' asked Grace, feeling
terribly naïve.

Demi shook her head. 'Not
necessarily. Quite ugly men
can be sexy.
And quite good-looking ones.' Demi lowered
her head, alerting Ellie to the fact that there was someone
in
Demi's life she liked.

‘Do you want to invite anyone, Dem?' Ellie
asked.

‘God no!' Demi tucked her hair behind her ears
and Grace noticed a new earring halfway up her ear, where
she hadn't been able to wear one before. She
clearly hadn't
spent her lunch hour in the canteen. But Grace didn't
comment. Let Hermia or Edward worry about new piercings. Her role as
ex-stepmother did not include discus
sions
about when decoration became mutilation. She had
enough to do.

‘
What about
inviting your sister?' said Ellie, 'She'd add
a bit of class.'

‘No!' said Grace. 'We'd have to invite her to
stay the night and where would she sleep?

‘You can't say you haven't got room, Grace,'
said Ellie reproachfully.

‘No beds. No en-suite bathrooms. No central
heating. And talking of beds, could you have a word with Edward about yours,
Demi? I think I forgot to mention it when I was on the phone today and I don't
want to look like I'm nagging.'

‘Mum never cared about nagging. She did it
quite happily.'

‘No, well, Edward and I are trying to keep our
rela
tionship civilised.' At least Grace was,
probably from
habit, as much as anything.

‘So two weeks today, then?' said Ellie aware
that the
others had begun to get distracted.
'I want to start
thinking up menus. You tell me what sort of food you
want, Grace, and I'll plan it.’

Grace thought for a moment. 'Shouldn't we wait
until you've finished your work experience; you'll be far too tired to cook.
Won't that be around the end of your fortnight?'

‘No, please! I really want to—' Ellie realised
she was
sounding much too desperate, and
stopped for a breath.
'I just really want us to start making some money.’

Grace sighed resignedly, and decided not to
comment
on the fact that so far, the wine
and food idea looked like
costing money rather than earning it.

Demi's mobile phone, which was lying on the
kitchen table, growled, squirmed and then burst into song. She
picked it up, checked the name and said, 'Oh,
shit! Mum!
Do I have to answer it?'

‘Yes!' said the others in unison.

Demi sighed, got up from
the table and wandered over
so she could lean on the Rayburn.
'Hi, Mum,' she said sweetly.

‘So when's Flynn coming back?' asked Ellie. 'Do
you think that Wednesday will be too soon for him?'

‘Oh, don't worry about that,' Grace answered as
airily as possible. 'It may not be his thing anyway.' She was
aware that Ellie was inspecting her closely, and
while she
was not averse to confiding in her, she knew perfectly
well that Ellie was trying to match-make between
her and
Flynn. And as she had no idea how she felt about him,
 
she didn't want to raise Ellie's hopes. Time
for a distraction. 'Listen, I'm just popping out to the garden. There's a shrub
I planted years ago, and I want to see if it's flowered at last. Want to come?'

‘Yes,' said Ellie. 'I'd love some fresh air.
I've been breathing dust all day’

The two women wandered
out of the back door, up the
garden to where a flight of steps in
a low wall led to a circular lawn surrounded by shrubs. In the middle was
an ancient sundial. Even on a cold spring evening,
it was
a pleasant spot.

‘
Here it
is,' said Grace, looking at what seemed to Ellie
to be some dry sticks
protruding from the ground. 'Still
not
flowered. How long do I have to wait? Still, gardening
is all about being patient.' She glanced at
Ellie, who was
inspecting a patch of crocuses under a tree clearly
wondering if she had this necessary quality.

Ellie wandered back over
and peered at the sticks. `So,
why don't you think this dinner
party would be Flynn's thing? He's interested in wine, he's sure to be
interested in food. And he's definitely interested in you.’