face. Suddenly we were both laughing.
Adam looked at me. ‘So, are you interested?’
‘I’m interested.’
He beamed delightedly. ‘
Great
! This calls for something stronger than coffee. How about a champagne cocktail?’
‘I don’t know. I’m driving.’
‘Better still, join me for lunch.’
‘Well….’
‘Don’t say you’re going to turn your future employer down?’ He gave me a mock stern look and I laughed. ‘All right, you’re on. But I warn you, I could eat a horse!’
CHAPTER EIGHT
KATIE
We couldn’t really have chosen a worse time to start our hiring business at Fantaisie. Ascot was over and so were all the other fashionable summer functions. Imogene was a bit depressed about it at first but I suggested that we buy some cocktail and ball gowns to begin with. Advertising was important but Imogene was nervous about spending money.
‘We should have a website,’ I told her.
She stared at me. ‘Have you seen what these website firms charge?’
‘I bet I could find someone to make you one,’ I said. ‘There are lots of students living round my way and they’re all familiar with computers. They’d be glad to earn some pocket money.’
Imogene looked doubtful. ‘Well, see what you can do. They’d have to come here and do it to my precise specifications. I couldn’t have any cock-ups.’
‘’Course not.’ I’d already thought of someone actually. Danny Harris, my landlord’s young son. He was studying computer programming at college and I knew he’d welcome the challenge. I was right. He came up to the King’s Road one evening with me and built us a super website right there in the back office. Imogene was delighted.
Meanwhile, I managed to keep up my own design and dressmaking business when I could find the time. There had been a flurry of summer weddings and I was getting quite a reputation for my wedding dresses. The problem was, would I be able to keep upwith the work once the hiring business took off?
Once the website was up and running we started to get enquiries and our ball gowns began to go out. We weren’t setting the world on fire but we soon recovered our initial outlay and began to make a profit. It wasn’t a bad start but Imogene was still cautious. She was reluctant to buy in any other kind of stock for hiring until the spring.
‘It would all just hang there, dead money,’ she said. ‘And I need to buy in new stock for the winter – to sell.’
I couldn’t argue with her. We’d pulled off the bank loan which had enabled her to pay off her debts and she’d also re-mortgaged her house to buy new stock. The next twelve months were going to be crucial for Fantaisie – which meant my future as well as hers – and I had to admit that she had far more to lose than I did.
At home I was busy with a gown for the smartest wedding I’d dressed yet. I’d already made the two bridesmaid’s dresses, blue silk with a voile overlay, and the bridal gown was what I considered to be the best I’d designed yet. It was a close fitting style, made in ivory-watered silk with long sleeves in cobweb-fine lace. Falling from the waist at the back was a waterfall train with two cream roses nestling at the waistline. It was going to look wonderful as she walked down the aisle and I was so proud of it. The bride, Carole, who was reed slim and very pretty, looked beautiful in it but on the evening when she should have been having her final fitting she arrived looking upset.
I took one look at her tearstained face and my heart sank as I guessed what she was about to tell me. ‘Carole. What’s wrong?’
‘I’m sorry, the wedding’s off,’ she said. And burst into tears.
I made coffee and sat her down with a box of tissues and bit by bit the whole story came out.
‘Ian just walked out,’ she told me. ‘He says he can’t go through with it – that he’s made a mistake.’
‘Are you sure it’s not just wedding nerves?’ I asked. She shook her head.
‘He says
Adam looked at me. ‘So, are you interested?’
‘I’m interested.’
He beamed delightedly. ‘
Great
! This calls for something stronger than coffee. How about a champagne cocktail?’
‘I don’t know. I’m driving.’
‘Better still, join me for lunch.’
‘Well….’
‘Don’t say you’re going to turn your future employer down?’ He gave me a mock stern look and I laughed. ‘All right, you’re on. But I warn you, I could eat a horse!’
CHAPTER EIGHT
KATIE
We couldn’t really have chosen a worse time to start our hiring business at Fantaisie. Ascot was over and so were all the other fashionable summer functions. Imogene was a bit depressed about it at first but I suggested that we buy some cocktail and ball gowns to begin with. Advertising was important but Imogene was nervous about spending money.
‘We should have a website,’ I told her.
She stared at me. ‘Have you seen what these website firms charge?’
‘I bet I could find someone to make you one,’ I said. ‘There are lots of students living round my way and they’re all familiar with computers. They’d be glad to earn some pocket money.’
Imogene looked doubtful. ‘Well, see what you can do. They’d have to come here and do it to my precise specifications. I couldn’t have any cock-ups.’
‘’Course not.’ I’d already thought of someone actually. Danny Harris, my landlord’s young son. He was studying computer programming at college and I knew he’d welcome the challenge. I was right. He came up to the King’s Road one evening with me and built us a super website right there in the back office. Imogene was delighted.
Meanwhile, I managed to keep up my own design and dressmaking business when I could find the time. There had been a flurry of summer weddings and I was getting quite a reputation for my wedding dresses. The problem was, would I be able to keep upwith the work once the hiring business took off?
Once the website was up and running we started to get enquiries and our ball gowns began to go out. We weren’t setting the world on fire but we soon recovered our initial outlay and began to make a profit. It wasn’t a bad start but Imogene was still cautious. She was reluctant to buy in any other kind of stock for hiring until the spring.
‘It would all just hang there, dead money,’ she said. ‘And I need to buy in new stock for the winter – to sell.’
I couldn’t argue with her. We’d pulled off the bank loan which had enabled her to pay off her debts and she’d also re-mortgaged her house to buy new stock. The next twelve months were going to be crucial for Fantaisie – which meant my future as well as hers – and I had to admit that she had far more to lose than I did.
At home I was busy with a gown for the smartest wedding I’d dressed yet. I’d already made the two bridesmaid’s dresses, blue silk with a voile overlay, and the bridal gown was what I considered to be the best I’d designed yet. It was a close fitting style, made in ivory-watered silk with long sleeves in cobweb-fine lace. Falling from the waist at the back was a waterfall train with two cream roses nestling at the waistline. It was going to look wonderful as she walked down the aisle and I was so proud of it. The bride, Carole, who was reed slim and very pretty, looked beautiful in it but on the evening when she should have been having her final fitting she arrived looking upset.
I took one look at her tearstained face and my heart sank as I guessed what she was about to tell me. ‘Carole. What’s wrong?’
‘I’m sorry, the wedding’s off,’ she said. And burst into tears.
I made coffee and sat her down with a box of tissues and bit by bit the whole story came out.
‘Ian just walked out,’ she told me. ‘He says he can’t go through with it – that he’s made a mistake.’
‘Are you sure it’s not just wedding nerves?’ I asked. She shook her head.
‘He says
Similar Books
