The Billionaire's Secret Love Child(158)

*****

''Ouch, Mom, that hurt,'' Ella squealed.

''Sorry honey. I'm just trying to get these pins in. I think I need some new glasses,'' her mom said, as she held the hem of Ella's dress. ''It's a pity this party is taking place before you've got your first paycheck. You could have gone downtown and bought yourself something beautiful instead of this rag.''

''It's not a rag, mom. It was very nice of Jenny to lend me her best dress. I told her I would replace it when I got paid. It fits okay doesn't it?'' Ella was petrified. When Mike had told her about the summer party at Mr. Beljakov's, she had given no thought whatsoever to what she would wear. With two days to go , she'd suddenly realized that she didn't have a dress. Not even an old one. She'd managed to buy a couple of skirts for work, but a dress was well out of her financial reach, so she'd called her best friend and pleaded.

''It'll fit fine when I've finished with it,'' her mother said without managing to convince her daughter.

Ella looked at her mother as she knelt in front of her, trying to pin the hem of the borrowed dress. Ella felt a knot in her stomach when she saw her mom's arthritic hands struggling with the tiny pins. Her Mum had gone gray, quite suddenly after she'd lost her job. She'd thought her world had come to an end because she and her husband desperately needed the money. Ella hadn't told her mom how much her new job paid. She wanted it to be a surprise when she came home and gave her more housekeeping in a week than her mom could earn in a month at the fish factory.

''There, that's the last pin. Now go and have a look in the mirror,'' Ella's mom said.

Ella stood in her bedroom and looked at herself. ''It looks okay,'' she shouted back to the sitting room where her mom was rubbing her sore joints.

''Of course, it looks okay. You're a beautiful girl; you can carry anything off with your figure. Whoever you fall in love with, will be a very lucky man indeed.''

When Ella had first seen the dress, she hadn't been sure at all. It was made of shiny red silk, and she'd thought it too trashy. It was also low cut and showed a lot more bust than she wanted to. But after her mom's alterations, she felt more confident.



*****

''Are you okay, Ella. You're trembling,'' Mike shouted.

''It so high. I don't mind admitting, I'm scared,'' Ella replied as she stood on the roof of the building in which their office was located, and tried to prevent her dress from lifting in the wind.

''Look, it's coming. Only a couple of minutes and we'll be off,'' Mike shouted as he pointed towards a dot in the distance.

As the helicopter got closer to the landing pad, Ella didn't' know what to do. Either put her hands over her ears, and risk her dress flying up over her bottom, or keep hold of her dress and risk being deafened.

When she was safely inside the vehicle, she surveyed the damage. Her hair was all over the place, and her ears were ringing. At least, she'd been able to keep her modesty, she thought. She reached into her handbag and pulled out a mirror and a comb. While the helicopter flew over Manhattan, she did her best to fix her hair. She was less than satisfied with the result when she'd finished. The mirror was too small for hair, and it was a bumpy ride, so her hands kept moving all over the place. Heaven knows what Mr Beljakov would think when he met her, she thought.

''That's it,'' Mike said as he pointed.

Ella looked down and saw a mansion. As they got closer, she saw the most beautiful building she had ever seen. They landed on an immaculate lawn about three hundred meters away from the house. Luckily for Ella, the pilot switched the engine off before she got out, allowing her hair to stay intact. Mike jumped out first, and offered his hand, she gratefully accepted.

''Follow me,'' he said, once Ella had alighted. Ella looked around. They were on a large lawn, which was bordered by woodland on three sides. On the fourth side, there was a white post and rail fence with an open gate in it. They walked through the gate and down a path. When they rounded a corner, she saw it.

Windward Hall. Eighty-seven rooms set in thirty-three acres of land. It was built in nineteen seventeen and bought by Mr. Beljakov three years ago for thirty-seven million dollars. Ella stopped walking and took in her surroundings. She was in awe of the place. She lived in a two bedroom apartment, in a seedy part of town, and as much as she tried to imagine what it must be like to live in such a place, she couldn't. The house was white. It was built in the Tudor-Elizabethan style and had an upstairs balcony that stood on magnificent columns. The front door was enormous and had two beautiful brass coach lamps mounted to each side of it. To the left of the main house, there was a wing that appeared to house a library, and to the right, another wing that appeared to contain a swimming pool. To Ella, the most impressive feature was the giant chimney stack with more pots that she could count.

As they walked through the garden towards the house, Ella smelt the scent of roses. The borders were filled with flowers. She recognized some like sweet pea and Iris, but there were many varieties she had never seen before. She thought Mike would knock on the front door, but he didn't. He took a path to the left of the house and led her around to the rear of the property.

The rear of the house had an even more magnificent garden than the front. There was a terrace adorned with statues of Greek Gods and lawns, which stretched for as far as Ella could see. On the terrace she saw many expensively dressed people, most of them holding champagne glasses. Ella suddenly felt very conspicuous in her cheap borrowed dress. The women at the party were all wearing magnificent evening gowns and expensive jewelry. The mansion, the people, the surroundings, all added to make her feel poor and insignificant.