‘Haven’t you ever been in fancy dress before?’ Georgie asked innocently.
‘Give them here.’ He unbuttoned the shirt, scowling as he tried to stuff them in until finally she took the cushion and expertly slotted it inside the gaping top, then she patted the round, soft stomach and stood back to have a critical inspection.
‘You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?’
‘Everyone should do something ridiculous at least once in their life. Have you ever done something ridiculous, Pierre?’
‘I can think of at least one thing.’ And ridiculous didn’t come close to describing it, he thought, not least because the woman had been on his mind every second of his day in London. If that wasn’t the definition of a ridiculous situation, then what was?
‘You’ll need to stick the beard on as well,’ Georgie said abruptly. She turned away and walked out of the room.
The younger classes were all assembled back in the hall and in their school uniforms and, from the hassled expressions on the teachers’ faces, had not been little angels. Georgie clapped her hands and without looking around, announced, with suitable levels of excitement, that Father Christmas was now going to be entering the hall so they needed to now shh. Magically, they did, and from behind her came the sound of Pierre entering the room, his voice booming out as he played his part. He might have been a reluctant volunteer but Georgie had to take her hat off to him. He made an excellent Santa. Where old Mr Blackman had followed the traditional routine of calling the children up one by one to have a little chat before he handed over the present, Pierre shouted for them all to sit around him. Instant mayhem, but with that intangible cloak of authority that seemed to make people want to obey him, he held the thirty-odd children mesmerised. He was funny and chatty and gave a touching little speech about remembering the meaning of Christmas, for which he earned a hearty round of applause.#p#分页标题#e##p#分页标题#e#
Afterwards, pupils safely out of the building, he was surrounded by the teachers. The female ones, Georgie was disgusted to note, had begun to titter as he pulled off the beard and stepped out of the outfit, under which he was wearing a pair of faded denim jeans and a short-sleeved white tee shirt that made him look even more dangerously sexy.
She hovered on the sidelines, observing the effect he had on the women. Oh, good grief! Was she like that? They were positively drooling! Even Mrs Evans, who was at least sixty and a grandmother!
‘I’m going to head off now,’ she said awkwardly. ‘Janice, will you make sure to lock up?’ Had anyone even heard her? A lone voice emerged, telling her that that was fine and see her in the morning. She swore she also heard someone giggle something about hunk. Huh!
And she had to face an uncomfortable dinner with the man who now had zero to say to her and would probably yawn his way through the meal until he could decently leave.
He would be passing by for her at seven. Georgie knew this because she had phoned Didi only to discover that Pierre had not yet returned. Nearly six in the evening and where was he? She felt a rush of jealousy tear through her and she had to grit her teeth through Didi’s perfectly jolly conversation, which concluded with telling her that her date would be swinging by at seven and, not meaning to spoil the surprise, but they would be going to that smart new fish restaurant that had opened up in the city.
‘Does that mean my wardrobe won’t make the grade?’ Georgie joked.
‘Don’t be silly!’ Didi was horrified. ‘Darling girl, you look beautiful in whatever you wear!’
‘I know what you’re saying, Didi. No need to stress. Um…are you sure Pierre will be coming at seven…um…it’s just that it’s six now and if he’s not back yet…from wherever…’
‘Oh, course he’ll be back in time! I think he may just have popped down to the local for a beer. You know what men are like! Doesn’t matter how devoted they are, they still need a bit of down time now and again! Charlie, as you well know, was fond of telling me that his Fridays were sacrosanct. Said he needed his weekly injection of male sanity.’
Georgie had other ideas about the nature of the sanity Pierre might have needed. The faces of several of the pretty young teachers sprang to mind.
And of course he was free, single and unencumbered! He could do as he wanted. She sourly gave voice to her jealousy. She called it disappointment.
She raided her limited wardrobe and decided that she was now free from the constraints of having to dress for him, either because she needed to be seen to make an effort by Didi, or because she just wanted to prove to him that she didn’t care what he thought of her. She would dress for herself…and for the clientele of smart diners who would be at the restaurant.