A Dangerous Affair Chapter 19

Henry's guests are strange

By the time they had finally finished at the office and Stephanie had arrived home through the rush hour traffic, she found that she only had forty five minutes until the limousine that Henry was sending for them was due to pick them up. She jumped in the shower and enjoyed the feel of the hot water as it warmed and relaxed her, but she didn’t have time to linger in there. Wrapping a towel around her, she rushed into her bedroom and flung open her wardrobe. She was a little unsure of what to wear but she didn't have enough time to think too much about it so she grabbed the first dress she could find. It was made of a silvery material with sheer mesh and beaded lace detail on the bodice. The simple neckline ran to her shoulders, where the material scooped and fell to half way down her back. She ran a quick brush through her hair a few times until it shone, but she decided to leave it down, adding a pair of long shimmery ear rings and tucking her hair behind her ears to show them off. She looked chic and elegant in her long sleek dress and that was good enough for her.
 
Stephanie was amazed to find that she was ready early, so she stood in her lounge, looking at her watch and fiddling with some papers on her desk. She felt restless and, for a reason she couldn’t fathom out, quite nervous. It must have been that she was concerned about Carlton.
 
Tom had arranged to meet her at her house ten minutes before the limousine was due and as promised the doorbell rang on time. She stood up, smoothed out the material of the dress over her hips and took one last glance in a mirror on her way to the front door.
 
As soon as Tom set eyes on her he suddenly lost the ability to move or speak. She was more stunning than he had ever seen her and it knocked him for six.
 
“Wow!” he said when he had pulled himself together enough, “All I can say is wow!”
 
Stephanie’s heart jittered at the look on his face, and somewhere in her sub consciousness she realised that that was the reaction she had been hoping for from him. While she had waited for him to arrive, she had almost felt as if it were a date, and the nervous feeling she had experienced had nothing to do with Carlton.
 
“Movie star or what? You look amazing! Should have brought my camera.” Tom took Stephanie’s arm and linked it with his, leading her down an imaginary red carpet and commenting as he went. “'And Miss Stephanie White is looking ravishing tonight as she approaches the red carpet, swarmed by a multitude of fans all fighting for her autograph.’”
 
She laughed and took her arm out of his, turning to close the door. “Shut up silly!”
 
He grinned and watched as she moved across the room to the bureau to collect her clutch bag. She moved like a movie star too, so graceful. He had another vision of her with her nanny who had placed a pile of books on her head and was teaching her how to walk like a lady.
 
Right on cue, they heard the sound of a car pull up on the driveway and Tom walked Stephanie back to the front door.
 
“Your chariot awaits,” he smiled, escorting her out onto the driveway. She laughed and blushed slightly, looking coyly away.

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On the way to the boat, Tom poured them both a glass of champagne from the bottle which had been left for them in the limousine. Tom smiled one of his heartstoppingly handsome smiles as he held up his glass to make a toast,
 
“To the high life Eh Stephie.”
 
They clinked glasses and Tom took the opportunity to feather one of his fingers from the hand holding his glass across her own fingertips. It was a small gesture but incredibly intimate in the enclosed space of the limousine. Their eyes met and held, and Stephanie wondered if Tom was feeling anything similar to what she was feeling at that moment.
 
Tom looked into Stephanie’s eyes and he found it hard to believe how much one woman could effect him so much. He had been fascinated with her before the night in the bar when they had first met Henry Carlton, but since they had spent more time together working on this story he had found that she was constantly in his mind. Despite the fact that she always shied away from admitting to any attraction between them, at that moment Tom got the feeling that not only was there very much physical attraction, but also the possibility of a lot more.
 
When they arrived at the boat they were escorted on board where they made their way to a top deck. The sound of people chatting and laughing mixed with the gentle rhythm of some background music. They grabbed a drink from a passing waiter and stood not far from the entrance, scanning the people for Henry.
 
“Can’t see Henry anywhere.” Stephanie said, shrugging.
 
“He’ll turn up, once he knows that you’re here I bet.”
 
She looked a little bemused by his comment as she moved across the deck. “Shall we see who’s here?”
 
He followed her to the far end of the deck where most people were gathered in a small bar area. A few people looked up and watched as they approached, but nobody spoke to them. There didn’t seem to be anyone there that they recognised from the night in the bar or in the theatre. In fact, the crowd looked like a completely different type of people, more refined, and to Stephanie’s relief, less under the influence. Tom leant against the bar and looked quizzically at Stephanie. Everybody seemed to be ignoring them. Then a lady looking to be in her late sixties noticed them and walked over from the other side of the bar to chat.
 
“Hello, I haven’t seen you two before.” She held out her hand. “My name is Madelyn.” They shook her hand and introduced themselves. “Such a lovely crowd here tonight,” the lady said, looking around with a smile. Tom glanced at Stephanie with a doubtful expression on his face. She turned away, trying not to laugh. The lady continued. “I was just saying to Jack over there that the last time I enjoyed myself so much was at crufts last month, my little Billy won an award you know.” Stephanie was finding it hard now not to laugh out loud and Tom watched her, grinning.
 
“Really?” he said with mock interest.
 
“Yes, I’ve got seven award winning dogs and I was quite the envy of crufts this year.”
 
Stephanie turned away from the woman, whose attention was now on Tom, and leant her arms on the bar, looking down and shaking with laughter. She bit her lip and glanced back up at him. He was grinning at her and nodding at the lady at all the appropriate times.
 
Stephanie mouthed to Tom, ‘shall we escape?’
 
He nodded. The woman was engrossed in her own conversation.
 
He mouthed back, ‘wait for the signal.’
 
She giggled.
 
He ushered the woman over to a buffet table to the side of the bar and she continued chatting on the way. Stephanie glanced around at them. Tom picked up a plate and the woman placed some food onto it. He turned to another woman next to them and the crufts lady was soon in conversation with her, giving Tom his chance to run. He strode towards Stephanie, grabbing her hand and rushing past the bar, towards some steps leading to a lower deck.
 
“Quick, before she notices.”
 
Stephanie laughed out loud then as he almost pulled her down the steps. She struggled to keep up.
 
“Come on Steph, before we’re busted.”
 
Then he turned and picked her up bodily to carry her down the last few steps, after which he grabbed her hand again and made a dash for the nearest corridor, hiding behind a wall. They stood flat against its surface, laughing and catching their breaths.
 
“Do you think she noticed?” Tom asked.
 
Stephanie looked at him with amusement. “I think they’ve called off the dogs now Tom, excuse the pun.”
 
He laughed. “Unusual company Henry keeps Eh? You want to explore the boat?”
 
She took his hand and smiled up at him. “Why not.”