The Fashion Princess (7 page)

“Perhaps I could do a really big spread on you in
Buttons
and
Bows
, to keep your name in the fashion arena,” suggested Bryony over lunch. “It would make up for me not getting the interview with Ned Carew and also show him that you don't need him to succeed.”

“How kind. That sounds good. We could hook up again back home, after Fashion Week,” suggested Tallulah.

Soon the conversation turned back to the Clara Hughson slot, which was all news to Tallulah.

“This will be a show like no other!” stated Berry. “We can showcase Saffron's designs
and
our ideas too!”

“Yeah!” agreed Poppy. “Clara really liked our designs.”

“It's all going to be incredibly tight, time-wise,” said Bryony. “Let's see – we've only got a couple of days to pull it off.”

“Well, if I can help in any way, I'd be very happy to do so,” said Tallulah. “I can sew pretty well after all these years of watching seamstresses.”

“Thanks – that would be awesome. Do you think you could also model in the show too?” asked Berry shyly.

“Of course I could, if that's any use,” said Tallulah modestly.

Throughout lunch all the girls chatted excitedly about ideas for the mini-show they were to produce. Meanwhile, under the pretext of needing the loo, Orlando excused himself from the table;
when he came back, he looked very pleased with himself indeed. Poppy and Berry knew he was up to something – they just didn't know what . . .

AFTER LUNCH THEY
waved goodbye to Tallulah, promising to call her later, and reluctantly headed off to Ned Carew's show. Much to the girls' surprise, Orlando seemed to know the route rather well.

Poppy and Berry sat next to Saffron and Bryony in the front row even though none of them were very excited about the show now that they knew what a dreadful man Ned was. As the girls chatted, no one noticed Orlando sneaking
off to check on his latest bit of mischief – an invisible trip-wire across the runway.

Just then, the lights dimmed and Ned Carew made his entrance. His eyes were watery and his face was bright red – he was probably still burning up from all the hot chilli pepper and mustard on his brunch! He waved to the cheering crowd and made his way to the podium to introduce the show. But as he neared the stand, as if in slow motion, he tripped, arms and legs flailing. He fell flat on his face.
Splat!
It also became clear that he was wearing a wig. His hair was tilted to one side, revealing an expanse of polished head which wasn't nearly as tanned as his face.

There was a moment of silence, followed by nervous giggling from the crowd. Ned dragged himself up and glared at the audience. He tried to regain his composure, and some minders dashed over to help him to the microphone. He began to talk, but sadly for him, someone had snipped the wires.

Orlando grinned with complete satisfaction as Ned Carew swept furiously from the stage.

“Heads will roll for this!” the designer screeched. “No one makes a fool of Ned Carew!”

Everyone was starting to shift around uncomfortably in their seats when, all of a sudden, Ned's new model, Amélie, appeared on stage. She seemed rather confused and embarrassed, as if she had been pushed on from the wings. Someone must have decided that the show must go
on, but she was far from happy about it. There was no music and the audience were all chatting and laughing. She tried to sashay down the runway in a very tight-fitting sailor suit and platform shoes, with what looked like an enormous chef 's hat on her head. The audience clearly thought the whole thing was rather ridiculous now that all the cool trappings of the fashion show had fizzled away. Before long there were even some boos. Amélie's face began to crumple. Her debut was proving to be a disaster and she was furious. She turned and sped back up the catwalk so fast that she nearly tripped in her high heels.

“I quit from Ned Carew!” she cried, fleeing from the stage. “He's a loser!”

Poppy and Berry couldn't wait to tell Tallulah all about the Extravaganza. They knew that Orlando had played a huge part in giving Ned Carew his comeuppance and they were secretly very proud of him.

THE NEXT MORNING,
Poppy and Saffron woke early. They were very excited about their planned tour of New York, which Tallulah was going to come on too. They met her, Bryony, Orlando and Berry for an early breakfast at the hotel, and as they ate, they told Tallulah all about Ned's disastrous show.

“Wow! I almost wish I'd gone now,” she said. “I bet his face was a picture! I wonder who sabotaged his show – he's
made so many enemies over the years, it could be anyone.”

“Probably someone who thinks Ned's just a total idiot who deserves a taste of his own medicine,” said Orlando with a smile as he tucked into chocolate cereal with chocolate milk.

“We'll have to get back here by tea time so we can start work on our show for Clara,” said Bryony, starting to fret about how little time they had to put their show together and wondering
whether it was even possible.

“Well, we'd better get going then,” said Saffron. “I can't wait to see some more of this amazing city!”

After a scrumptious breakfast of pancakes, maple syrup and scrambled eggs, the whole gang made their way to the pick-up point for their city tour. Poppy had a camera with her and took lots of photos of all the places she'd read about in her guide book – Wall Street with its banks, Broadway, where all the theatres were, and, of course, the magnificent Empire State Building. Poppy absolutely adored the carriage ride around
Central Park – it made her feel just like a princess. But her favourite bit of the whole tour was a special surprise organized by Tallulah.

“You've all been so sweet, I wanted to do something nice for you,” she explained, “so I asked my publicist to arrange for Macy's, the best department store in town, to close down for an hour so we can have private shopping time.”

Poppy and Berry thought they would burst with excitement.

“Wow!” exclaimed Bryony. “Thanks, that's amazing! I've always wanted Macy's all to myself!”

When the party arrived at the world-famous store, they were treated like royalty. Poppy hardly knew where to start as she took in the perfumes, make-up and jewellery, clothes, shoes and accessories.