“You have to let me in! I must be on the list!” I peer inside the door, hoping to see Luke, or even Elinor — but it’s just a load of people I don’t recognize. “Please! Honestly, I’m supposed to be here!”
The woman in black sighs. “Do you have your invitation with you?”
“No! I don’t have one. I’m the… the engagee!”
“The what?” She stares at me blankly.
“The party’s for me! And Luke… oh God…” I peer again into the party and suddenly spot Robyn, dressed in a silver beaded top and floaty skirt.
“Robyn!” I call, as discreetly as I can. “Robyn! They won’t let me in!”
“Becky!” Robyn’s face lights up. “At last!” She beckons gaily with her champagne glass with one hand, while with the other she moves a pair of men in dinner jackets out of my path. “Come on, belle of the ball!”
“You see?” I say desperately. “I’m not gate-crashing! The party’s being given for me!”
The blond woman stares at me for a long time — then shrugs. “OK. You can go in. Serge will take your coat. Do you have a gift?”
A gift? Has she listened to anything I’ve been saying?
“No, I don’t.”
The woman rolls her eyes as though to say, “That figures”—then turns to the next person in the queue, and I hurry in before she changes her mind.
“I can’t stay long,” says Robyn as I join her. “I have three rehearsal dinners to go to. But I particularly wanted to see you tonight, because I have exciting news. A very talented event designer is going to be working on your wedding! Sheldon Lloyd, no less!”
“Wow!” I say, trying to match her tone even though I have no idea who Sheldon Lloyd is. “Gosh.”
“You’re bowled over, aren’t you? What I always say is, if you want to make things happen, make them happen now! So I’ve been speaking with Sheldon and we’ve been tossing around some ideas. He thought your Sleeping Beauty concept was fabulous, by the way. Really original.” She looks around and lowers her voice. “His idea is… we turn the Terrace Room into an enchanted forest.”
“Really?”
“Yes! I’m so thrilled, I just have to show you!”
She opens her bag and pulls out a sketch, and I stare at it in disbelief.
“We’ll have birch trees imported from Switzerland, and garlands of fairy lights. You’ll walk down an avenue of trees, with their branches hanging over you. Pine needles will give off a wonderful scent as you walk, flowers will magically blossom as you pass, and trained songbirds will sing overhead… What do you think about an animatronic squirrel?”
“Erm…” I pull a little face.
“No, I wasn’t sure about that, either. OK… we’ll forget the woodland creatures.” She takes out a pen and scores out an entry. “But otherwise… it’s going to be fabulous. Don’t you think?”
“I… Well…”
Should I tell her I’m still not quite decided about whether to get married in New York?
Oh, but I can’t. She’ll stop all the preparations on the spot. She’ll go and tell Elinor, and there’ll be a terrible fuss.
And the thing is, I’m sure we will end up going for the Plaza in the end. Once I’ve worked out exactly how to win Mum round. I mean, we’d be mad not to.
“You know, Sheldon has worked for many Hollywood stars,” says Robyn, lowering her voice still further. “When we meet him you can look at his portfolio. I’m telling you, it’s quite something.”
“Really?” I feel a sparkle of excitement. “It all sounds… fantastic!”
“Good!” She looks at her watch. “Now, I have to run. But I’ll be in touch.” She squeezes my hand, downs her champagne, and hurries toward the door — and I stare after her, still a little dazzled.
Hollywood stars! I mean, if Mum knew about that, wouldn’t she see the whole thing differently? Wouldn’t she realize what an amazing opportunity this is?
The trouble is, I can’t quite pluck up courage to bring up the subject again. I didn’t even dare tell her about this party. She’d only get all upset and say, “Doesn’t Elinor think we can throw a nice engagement party?” or something. And then I’d feel even more guilty than I already do. Oh God. I just need a way to introduce the idea into her head once more, without her immediately getting upset. Maybe if I spoke to Janice… if I told her about the Hollywood stars…
A burst of laughter nearby brings me out of my thoughts, and I realize I’m standing all alone. I take a sip of champagne and look for someone to join. The slightly weird thing is, this is supposed to be an engagement party for me and Luke. But there must be at least a hundred people here, and I don’t know any of them. At least, I dimly recognize the odd face here and there — but not really well enough to bound up and say hello. I try smiling at a woman coming in, but she eyes me suspiciously and pushes her way toward a group standing by the window. You know, whoever said Americans were friendlier than the British can’t ever have been to New York.
Danny should be here somewhere, I think, peering through the throng. I invited Erin and Christina too — but they were both still hard at it when I left Barneys. I expect they’ll be along later.
Oh come on, I’ve got to talk to someone. I should at least let Elinor know I’m here. I’m just elbowing my way past a group of women in matching black Armani when I hear someone saying “Do you know the bride?”