“So romantic!” A woman in an evening dress, who was standing right next to them, caught her partner’s arm. “Don’t you think it would be lovely, Brad, on the wall in your study?”
“Yeah. It’s something different. None of our friends have anything like
it.”
Fleur took a deep breath. Nothing ventured... “We can do that for you if you’re really interested.”
Brad nodded. “Yeah, I am. Something original for Sylvie and me.”
Why hadn’t she thought of this sooner? For a moment Fleur regretted making the offer, when she wasn’t sure that she could fulfil it. But Rick leaned over, whispering that he was sure that one of the bags he’d loaded into his car this morning had marker pens and card in it. Hadn’t she brought it over here with everything else this afternoon?
Of course. Rick turned to chat with Brad and Sylvie, and Fleur went to get the pens and card. By the time she returned, he’d coaxed Jamie down from the ladder, and Sara had taken over his position. A chair had been fetched for Jamie, and he was sitting at the trestle table, grinning shyly, clearly having been instructed not to move.
Rick drew her to one side. “I’ll call the names up to Sara. You deal with Jamie. There are a few more people interested in having him create something they can take away with them tonight.”
“Okay. How much do you think? Or do we just let them put something into the hat?”
He whispered the price, and Fleur yelped in surprise.
“That much?”
“Jamie’s got a lot of talent and these are unique artworks. It’s a great investment. I said it would be extra for a signature.”
“Are you sure about this, Rick?”
“Yeah, a signed piece is always more valuable. And, look, there are a few people who seem to agree with me.”
Rick had a point. A queue was forming and Brad already had his checkbook out.
“Okay. Nothing ventured, I suppose...”
* * *
An hour and a half of relentless smiling, which turned out to be harder work than Rick had thought it might be. He’d had to help Sara move the stepladder more than once, so that she could fill the top half of the wall, and the pile of card at Jamie’s side was diminishing nicely. The top hat was overflowing with cash and checks.
Pamela had joined them, unable to stomach more than half an hour of chitchat and eager to help. When Fleur had to go, muttering something about dancing, she took over as Jamie’s point woman.
Fleur disappeared for five minutes and then Rick saw her again next to the fire pit, tapping a jam jar with the back of a knife and calling for silence.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming and for your generosity this evening...” A murmur ran around the crowd. Clearly they were having a good time, and reckoned it was well worth the cost.
“Our artists and magicians are going to take a break now, but they’ll be back with you later. In the meantime, it’s my very great pleasure to introduce See the Beat.”
A hearty round of applause greeted the dancers as they ran from all four corners of the warehouse. Fleur and some of the other helpers cleared a space for them, and the heavy rhythm of rap music started to echo through the building. They used the bricked-in fire pit as their backdrop, street dancing to shouts and applause from the spectators.
Fleur was watching the dancers, and Rick walked across to her. She took his arm, and he felt the rhythm of the music swaying through her body.
This was her world. Taking the ordinary and making magic out of it. Channeling her own talent and that of others to make a night to remember, pulled together on a shoestring. Maple Island seemed a long way away at the moment, and even though she’d be returning with him in the morning, she’d be gone again soon. Seeing all of this, Rick wouldn’t have wanted anything else for her.
The dancers had retreated to one side of their arena, and the music changed. A Latin American beat, which they clapped along to, encouraging their audience to do the same. A man cartwheeled across the empty space and fell to his knees in front of Fleur.
It was such a shock that Rick let her go. The man took hold of her hand and led her into the center of the stage, and they started to dance, their steps based loosely on a salsa. The smile on her face, the way she moved...
It didn’t help that her partner was handsome. He wore a waistcoat with no shirt underneath, and his muscled arms looked strong around her waist. And he was engaging her in the kind of moves that were sure to put stress on her newly healed hip and knee. The sooner Rick could discreetly put an end to this, the better. He wondered whether a gentleman’s “Excuse me” might be in order.
“Steady on, buddy.” Alex’s voice sounded in his ear, and a firm hand clapped itself on his shoulder. Another, smaller hand slipped into the crook of his elbow. Rick looked and saw Maggie grinning up at him.
“She’s leading, Rick. Can’t you see?”