A Christmas Romance in the Scottish Highlands (Scottish Highlands #6)

Chapter 31

ELLA

‘We’ve got five minutes until the curtain goes up!’ Mae called out, as the pantomime cast assembled onto the stage in full costume. A hush fell over them as they began to take their places.

‘Are you okay, lass?’ she asked Ella – her mouth crinkling as she studied her.

‘He’s not going to come,’ Ella murmured, patting a palm on her stomach to still her nerves and calm the ache that had seeped into every cell of her body. ‘I’ve been hoping.’ She pressed her lips together – there was no point in going over it again. Alex had ignored all her calls; it was Christmas Eve and the pantomime was about to start – and he still wasn’t here.

Instead, Henry was dressed as the prince and waiting in the wings ready to stand in.

‘Ah, Ella,’ Mae soothed, squeezing her arm as Hunter came running out of a side door carrying one of the pumpkin props.

‘Can you do some magic for me, please?’ he pleaded with Mae, putting the vegetable on the ground and tugging her glittery pink skirt.

‘What magic, lad?’ she asked, leaning down to look into the boy’s powdery white face. He was dressed in his mouse costume and fully made up. He should have been excited, but behind the glitter and makeup, Ella could see he was as unhappy as her. What a stark contrast to the rehearsal just a few days before when everyone had been buzzing with excitement.

‘Can you try turning it into Alex?’ Hunter asked seriously, pointing to Mae’s magic wand and then to the pumpkin. ‘It works with me and Maxwell – and the carriages,’ he added.

‘Oh, lad. You know it’s pretend. Just a bit of Christmas magic for the audience,’ Mae said sadly, her eyes skimming the boy’s face.

‘It’s still worth trying, though, isn’t it?’ Hunter begged. ‘My da’s on his way, but Mam said he’s going to be late and he might miss everything. Alex is only in Edinburgh, so he could get here before the end. That’s what Nana told me.’

He blinked, the long lashes the makeup department had added to his eyes made him even cuter and almost impossible to resist.

Mae regarded the child for a moment and then she shrugged. ‘Aye. You’re right.’ She waved her sparkly wand in an arc spraying glitter, then then tapped it dramatically onto the pumpkin.

Ella waited with bated breath. She couldn’t help it. She didn’t believe in magic, but she did understand the power of wishes – and was still hoping Alex was going to appear dressed in his costume, ready to forgive her. She looked left then right, and her heart sank as any lingering hope disappeared.

‘It didn’t work.’ Hunter sighed.

‘Perhaps we can try again later, lad?’ Mae suggested kindly.

‘Aye,’ the boy said, his small shoulders slumping.

‘We need to take our places, now,’ Mae told them as Aggie came racing across the stage looking flustered.

‘There’s a man in the audience – Stanley Bailey or something,’ she whispered. ‘He’s asking after Alex. He’s very keen to speak to him, but I don’t know what to say.’ The older woman patted a hand nervously on the top of her bun. ‘Should I tell him he’s not here, he might want his ticket refunded?’

‘I think he could be Alex’s best friend. He’s supposed to be in New Zealand, but perhaps he’s come to see the performance,’ Ella guessed. ‘I expect he just wants him to know he’s here,’ she said gruffly.

If only Stan had been the one to come to the rehearsal a few days ago instead of Michael Charming, things might have been different. ‘I can talk to him if you want?’ She’d like to meet the man Alex trusted. He might have some advice on how she could apologise to his friend and make him listen to her.

‘Nae, lass. It’ll have to wait until the end,’ Mae said, waving her wand at Aggie and Hunter, encouraging them to go backstage as music began to play in the main hall, signalling they were about to begin.

Her godmother paused for long enough to wink at Ella. ‘Break a leg, lass, and try to believe,’ she whispered enigmatically, before trotting away in a haze of sparkles.

Ella sighed and turned to face the curtain as it began to rise, forcing a smile on her face, even though every inch of her body wanted to curl into a ball. She could do this, go through the motions – isn’t that what she’d been doing for the last year?

And perhaps when the pantomime was over, she’d talk to Stan, then pick up Wyatt and drive to Edinburgh to find Alex and try to explain.

‘Are you ready for the first ballroom scene?’ Blair asked Ella forty minutes later. Mae, Hunter and Maxwell had just delivered her to the ball and now the scenery was being changed into a sumptuous glittering ballroom in the king’s palace. Music was playing and some of the cast members were performing a dance, distracting the audience from the props team as they rearranged the set.

‘Where’s Aggie?’ Ella asked, searching behind Blair because usually either Mae or the housekeeper helped to calm the actors before they appeared on stage.

‘Ach, she had an emergency to deal with. A costume to find.’ Blair flushed. ‘Nothing for you to worry about, lass.’ She glanced over her shoulder and grimaced. ‘I expect she’ll be here soon.’

‘Is everything okay?’ They didn’t need any more problems. Ella wriggled, trying to get comfortable in the flowing blue ballgown she’d changed into after Mae had magicked up a dazzling makeover with her wand.

‘It’s fine, lass. The play’s going well.’ Blair winced.

‘You know that’s not true. It’s lost all its sparkle.’ Ella sighed. Everyone had gone through the motions so far and nothing had gone wrong, but there was a dullness around the cast, a flatness they couldn’t seem to lift. It was turning into a disaster.

‘Aye, but the show must go on.’ Blair nodded. ‘Hopefully, the ballroom scene will wow the audience. Come on, lass, you’re on soon.’

Blair took Ella’s arm and gently guided her to the edge of the stage. Ella closed her eyes momentarily, waiting for the line that would signal she needed to go on. She knew the first thing she’d do is lock eyes with the prince.

Only instead of Alex, she was going to come face to face with Henry. She gulped in a breath of air, and when the line was delivered, she forced herself to take a step, plastering a fake grin on her face as she swept onto the stage. Then Ella stopped in her tracks as everything around her seemed to freeze.

Because standing in the middle of the sparkly palace set, dressed in a billowing Prince Charming suit and wearing almost an entire pot of glitter, was Alex.

Ella couldn’t speak – instead, she missed her line as she continued to gape, tracing every chiselled angle of Alex’s gorgeous face. It had been less than two days since she’d seen him, but it had felt like so much longer. Everything inside her began to hum, as her fractured heart seemed to fix itself.

Alex must have realised Ella had lost the power of speech, because he quickly stepped forward and took her arm, spinning her around in a circle and pulling her close so he could whisper. ‘You look stunning.’

‘I…’ Ella pulled away and pinched herself, checking she wasn’t dreaming. ‘You’re here,’ she said stupidly. ‘Mae’s pumpkin magic actually worked.’

‘Magic?’ Alex looked confused. ‘Aye I’m here. Sorry I’m late, but—’ He shrugged and then spun Ella around again before dipping her in time to the music, making everyone in the audience gasp and then begin to clap.

‘It took me a while to realise what an eejit I’ve been,’ he whispered, spinning Ella and dipping her once more. ‘I’ve got some things to say, but—’ He righted them both and tipped his chin towards the audience, flashing her a smile. ‘It might have to wait.’

‘I can wait,’ Ella said, her voice hushed, before she leaned in and kissed him on the mouth. It might be off script, but she couldn’t help herself. ‘But not for long.’

Alex grinned and nodded, then they both turned to the audience and picked up the scene.

‘We’ve not got long before you and the prince are back on stage!’ Aggie said urgently as she guided Ella into the wings, after touching up her makeup in the small changing room downstairs.

‘Where’s Alex?’ Ella whispered, desperately searching the corridor for some sign of him. They still hadn’t had a chance to speak alone, but he’d held her hand and sneaked in a couple of secret kisses when they’d been out of the audience’s eyeline. They should have a few minutes now before they were performing again, and he was asking her to try on the slipper – but the man had disappeared. Where was he? Had he changed his mind?

‘Oh, yes, I am,’ Clyde yelled from the front of the stage as he and Dane acted out one of the comedy sketches – giving the props team time to refresh the decor ready for the penultimate scene.

‘Oh, no, you’re not,’ Dane shot back as someone suddenly looped an arm around Ella’s waist before spinning her around.

‘I’m here,’ Alex whispered, pulling her closer. ‘I’m sorry, I had to get something.’

‘Finally!’ Ella wrapped her arms around his neck. ‘I’m so sorry.’ She burrowed her face into his collarbone, wondering how she was ever going to let go. ‘You need to know the picture was always for you. Your father can’t have it.’

‘He told me,’ Alex said, gently moving away, still holding onto her. ‘I should never have said all those awful things, Ella. Or believed them. I hope one day you’ll be able to forgive me.’ His eyes burned into hers and she saw the truth in them. Felt everything inside her finally relax.

‘Of course I forgive you,’ she said, hugging him again. ‘And I understand. I should never have invited your father to the pantomime. I thought he’d be proud of you. How could he not be?’ She let out a sigh. ‘How could he not understand how talented you are, how brilliant. You helped me see the truth about my stepbrothers so I could get my life back. Everyone loves you, Stan, Wyatt, Sprout, Henry, m?—’

He pressed a fingertip to her lips. ‘More compliments?’ he teased, looking delighted when she kissed it. ‘I don’t need them anymore, Ella. I know who I am and who I want to be, that’s what matters. That and being with you…’

‘I just wanted to say?—’

‘It’ll have to wait. You need to get on stage, lass,’ Aggie barked, pulling Ella out of Alex’s arms and gently twisting her around. ‘Your scene is about to begin. You need to find the glass slipper, lad – you’re going to need it.’

With that, she propelled Ella onto the stage, so Hunter and Maxwell could lead her to the small bench, ready for Prince Charming to get her to try on the slipper.

Ella sat carefully and fluffed her orange dress around herself as the mice skittered around her on the ground, keeping her company. She knew the moment Alex walked on to join them, because Hunter made a sudden squeaking noise and when she looked up, he was pacing towards her.

‘What?’ Her jaw dropped when she saw what Alex was carrying.

Some of the audience began to chuckle, and Ella had to stop herself from laughing too.

‘May I?’ Alex asked, grinning as he knelt and waved her bright pink wellington boot.

Ella snorted. ‘What are you doing?’ she whispered.

‘I picked this up from Pinecone Manor,’ he said under his breath. Then he turned to the audience. ‘I know this is a little untoward, but before we try on the glass slipper, I want to see if this fits first. It’s important you see. Part of a love story that’s a lot like this one, with two people who are meant to be together, only it takes one of them a while to figure it out.’ A few people cheered as Alex turned back to Ella and stared into her eyes.

‘I’ve been searching for you for my entire life. I just didn’t know it,’ he began. ‘Instead, I followed the wrong path.’ His mouth pinched. ‘Tried to please the wrong person. I didn’t appreciate who I was, didn’t value anything about myself because he didn’t, and I realised now – since coming to Mistletoe – that he never would.’

A male voice in the audience cheered and Ella wondered if it was Stanley.

Alex must have heard, but he didn’t take his eyes off her. ‘I didn’t see the truth – the warts, lines, wrinkles, any of it.’ He took a moment to nod at Henry who was hiding behind a piece of the scenery with Mae.

‘Until I met you. You taught me I should be proud of who I am. You gave me the confidence to express myself without feeling weak, or stupid.’ He grimaced. ‘Mostly.’

There was a small smattering of laughter from the audience again.

‘May I?’ Alex asked, nodding to Ella’s foot.

‘Um, yes?’ she croaked, watching with her heart in her throat as Alex carefully lifted her foot and slid the wellington on.

‘It fits perfectly – just like you fit me,’ he said, and Ella hurled herself off the bench and into Alex’s arms before she kissed him.

The audience began to clap and stamp their feet and above the din, Ella could hear Aggie, Blair, Mae and Henry cheering enthusiastically. While Hunter and Maxwell ran rings around the stage, squeaking and laughing as they joined in with the celebration.

Then Alex pulled back and pressed his lips against Ella’s cheeks. ‘I almost forgot my most important line. I love you,’ he said quietly, then he leaned in and kissed her again. In that moment, Ella caught Mae’s eye, and she wondered if perhaps her godmother might be magic, after all. Because right here, in front of her, was the most perfect prince she could ever have imagined. And if she got the ending she was hoping for, they were going to live happily ever after from this moment on.

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