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"Ready?" asked Ada, preparing to knock on the ornately carved front door.
Hecate nodded. "Ready."
"We don't have to stay until the end, if it gets too crowded," Ada reminded her, fretting that Hecate would almost certainly rather be seeing in the new year curled up at home with a book.
Hecate smiled faintly. "I believe it is customary to stay until midnight, at the very least."
"Well yes, but-"
The door flew open before Ada could say anything further.
"Ada! I thought I heard somebody out here. Come on in," Mona said, kissing her. She held out a hand to Hecate. "Good to see you again, Hecate."
"You too," Hecate responded, and Ada thought she meant it. It was good to know Hecate got on with her closest friends, although Ada was still a little on edge with worry that one of them might say something tactless about their being here together that evening.
Ada had thought it would be easier to leave the nature of her party invitation slightly ambiguous. And so it had been, at the time. Now they were here however, she wished things were clearer between them. She could never make up her mind about the extent of Hecate's regard for her, and had no idea whether the possibility of this being a date would have even entered her head.
"Let me take your coats," Mona said, and Ada's fingers became clumsy as she watched Hecate shrug out of her ankle length black coat to reveal a beautifully cut charcoal suit and dark purple cravat.
Ada realised she was staring. "Hecate, you look…" So many different words came to mind that she didn't trust herself to pick one. "...Wow," she finished helplessly.
Hecate looked as though she weren't quite sure what to do with her face."It's not too formal?"
It was, a little. Nobody else would be wearing a three piece suit, but Hecate looked so fabulous that Ada was certainly not going to complain. Still speechless, she shook her head and slipped off her own coat, smoothing her new velvet party dress and trying to pretend that Hecate's eyes hadn't widened at the sight of it. The dress clung more tightly to Ada's curves than her usual style and she knew it was flattering. It had seemed like a reasonable thing to wear, at home in front of the mirror, but here with Hecate's gaze on her it felt dangerously revealing.
Ada became aware that Mona was speaking again, and that she hadn't caught a word of it.
"Sorry, dear, what was that?"
Mona glanced between them. "I was saying that there are a few fans of Hecate's books here tonight. They're under strict instructions not to monopolise her, but they can be a bit overenthusiastic so do let me know if she needs rescuing."
"Ada will take care of me," Hecate said at once, with such conviction that Ada had to swallow a lump in her throat.
"Indeed I will," she managed, linking her arm through Hecate's and steering her into the drawing room as Mona rushed to answer another knock at the door.
Ada felt self-conscious again when Hecate stopped in her tracks, craning her head to examine their surroundings.
"An attractive room," Hecate observed approvingly, running an eye over the decor. "Nicely preserved."
"Actually I had it gutted and rebuilt from scratch. It was in a very poor state when Mona moved in and all the original fittings had to be scrapped."
Hecate swivelled back to face her."This is your work?"
"Yes, about ten years ago now. I think I could do a better job these days but I'm still quite proud of it."
"Ada, it's beautiful."
Ada gave a self-deprecating shrug. "I do enjoy working with large houses. There's so much scope for the imagination."
It turned out Mona's guests were so in awe of meeting an author that they were, on the whole, very respectful, and Hecate seemed to be having a good time. But when Ada returned from a trip to the bathroom, she found Hecate cornered by Egbert Hellebore, the pompous local MP, who by the sound of it was attempting to explain Hecate's own book to her. She saw Hecate give what was obviously a blistering retort, saw Hellebore keep talking regardless, and was just opening her mouth to intervene when a small whirlwind happened somewhere in the region of her knees. She looked down to find herself being embraced, first by Mona's granddaughter Maud and then, inexplicably, Mildred Hubble, who went on to greet Hecate with equal enthusiasm.
"Mildred! What are you doing here?"
"She's my best friend!" Maud said importantly. "I sit next to her at school."
Ada spotted Dimity and Julie waving from across the room. Dimity raised her eyebrows at Hecate's presence and gave Ada an extremely unsubtle wink.
Hellebore's flow of words had stalled at the interruption and he stood radiating disapproval towards the two little girls.
"Shouldn't you be with your parents?" he asked.
Maud shook her head. "They said we could come and talk to Ada and Hecate."
"It's not your turn any more," Mildred added. "You should go and find somebody else to play with."
Hellebore looked as though he expected the adults to defend him, but Hecate stared back stonily while Ada offered, "I think Mildred does have a point."
Reddening, he turned and left.
"That man was boring ," Mildred observed, slightly too loudly.
Hellebore's shoulders stiffened as he strode away, and Ada exchanged amused glances with Hecate, who muttered "I couldn't agree more."
"Ssh," Maud hissed, with an anxious glance at the retreating MP. "Grandma says he's important. He's in the government."
"What's a government?" asked Mildred, pirouetting and grabbing onto Ada's skirt to steady herself.
"I don't really know," Maud admitted. She pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. They were new, and rather too big for her.
Hecate cast a malevolent glance in Hellebore's direction. "People who like telling everyone else what to do," she snapped, while Ada was still mentally trying to translate politics for four year olds.
Mildred's face cleared. "Oh, like Ethel Hallow. She thinks she can boss the whole class about just because she has a pony."
Hecate smirked. "That sounds exactly like our government." Ada chuckled and squeezed her arm, having to resist the temptation not to let go.
"Cats are better than ponies anyway." Mildred inspected Ada's feet. "You wore your cat shoes!"
Ada winked. "They are my favourites."
"I've got mine on too!" Mildred announced, although she was skipping around so much that Ada had to take her word for it. She seized Maud's hand and they danced away together.
"Sugar rush," Julie mouthed, indicating her disappearing daughter. "Sorry."
The party continued pleasantly enough. Ada talked and laughed, ate and drank, all the while giddily aware of Hecate pressed by her side. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to lean her head against Hecate's shoulder as the clock ticked past their usual bedtime, but she caught herself just in time. She was sure Hecate would not welcome public displays of affection even if they had been a couple.
Sugar rush over, the little girls had long since collapsed onto a pile of cushions in the corner, and were now curled up fast asleep. Ada couldn't help envying them a little. She was not looking forward to the next part of the evening.
Midnight drew near, and Mona shepherded everyone toward the big bay windows ready for the firework display set up in the garden. Ada sighed as the countdown began, trying to ready herself for the inevitable awkwardness of being one of the few people in the room whose lips were not plastered to somebody else's. It wouldn't be her first time in this situation but it felt worse because she was standing here with Hecate, who she would happily have kissed all night, if only, if only…
The clock struck. Fireworks filled the sky. Hecate took Ada's face in her hands and kissed her very deliberately on the mouth.
Ada couldn't help the little sigh that escaped her as Hecate pulled away. Hecate's eyes were filled with anxiety, mixed with something deeper that made Ada feel that just maybe it might be ok to lean in and kiss her back. She held her breath, searching Hecate's face for any kind of signal.
"Happy New Year!" Malcolm Spellbody finished kissing his wife and enfolded Ada in a clumsy hug, pecking her on the cheek. Mavis hugged her next, then Mona, and then somebody whose name Ada couldn't remember. Someone pushed a glass of champagne into her hand. The party seemed too loud, too bright suddenly. There were faces everywhere, crowding her in, and none of them was Hecate. When she finally managed to extricate herself from the throng, Hecate was nowhere to be seen.
Ada eventually located her in the garden, standing alone with her arms folded tightly against the cold. She was staring upwards, and at first seemed not to notice Ada's presence.
"Hecate, you'll freeze out here with no coat on!"
"The smoke is clearing now," Hecate murmured inconsequentially. She didn't take her eyes off the sky. "You can see the stars again."
Ada followed her gaze. The fireworks that had first dazzled and then blotted out the night sky were gone, and myriad constellations were glittering back into view.
"They're very beautiful," she whispered.
Hecate nodded, and turned to face her at last. "Ada…"
"Yes?"
There was a giggling scuffle behind them, and Mona's teenage neighbour stumbled out into the garden, wrapped around another girl. They disappeared into the bushes, already kissing passionately.
Hecate frowned and pursed her lips. "I think we'd better go back inside."
They left the party not long afterwards, slipping away after a quiet goodbye to their hostess. Their footsteps echoed in the frosty air as they made their way down the dark street. Neither of them suggested calling a taxi.
Ada fumbled in her pocket. "Oh bother, I've lost a glove."
Hecate slowed. "Would you like to go back for it?"
"...No," said Ada glumly. "I've just realised what their puppy was ripping to shreds in the corner earlier."
Without comment Hecate took off her own right glove and slipped it over Ada's fingers. Her bare fingertips brushed the inside of Ada's wrist for a moment, making her shiver.
"There."
"What about you?"
"I can put my hand in my pocket."
Ada found herself wondering how it might feel to have Hecate slide an arm around her waist and warm her hand in Ada's coat pocket instead. She wished she had the courage to suggest it. Hecate was walking slightly closer than usual, though there was plenty of space on the pavement. Her arm bumped gently against Ada's shoulder as they turned a corner.
Click, click, click, went Hecate's heels on the flagstones. They sounded like the ticking of a clock. Ada had a sinking feeling that if they managed to reach home without discussing what had happened between them tonight, it would somehow be too late, and things might remain unsaid forever. She pictured a future where this evening's kiss became nothing but a vaguely unsatisfying memory, and all at once she couldn't bear it any more. Something had to be said. She took great lungfuls of freezing air, letting it burn in her chest, hoping it would give her courage. She couldn't find the right words to bring up the subject with any kind of subtlety, so in the end she simply said "Thank you for kissing me at midnight."
Hecate said nothing. They walked on in silence.
"It- it was very kind of you," Ada continued after a while, now wondering why on earth she'd started this conversation, and how best to end it.
"I wasn't being kind."
Ada couldn't speak. Something seemed to have gone wrong with her throat.
"It wasn't a pity kiss," Hecate went on. "I wanted to."
"You did?" Ada whispered.
Hecate nodded, staring straight ahead.
"...And do you still want to, now?"
Hecate's stride faltered. She did not say anything for a long while. Risking a glance sideways, Ada saw her lick her lips.
"Never mind, Hecate, you don't have to-"
"The short answer is yes."
Let's not bother about the long answer, Ada wanted to say, but didn't. She kept walking, trying not to breathe too loudly, and let Hecate decide how and when to fill the silence.
"I've wanted you for such a long time. But you had a broken heart. I knew I should let you heal. Then Penelope came back and you seemed so sad for so long afterwards. And then with us living together and-"
"Hecate," Ada interrupted. "Penelope didn't break my heart."
"I don't understand."
"She made me very unhappy, but it was Agatha who broke me. Things had been difficult with Penelope for some time, I had a feeling it might come to an end sooner or later. Just... not like that. Partners come and go, but sisters are supposed to be forever."
Hecate stopped walking and reached for Ada's hands. "Not all partners go."
"That's the ideal. But in my experience they always have."
"I wouldn't," Hecate said quietly.
It wasn't the first time that promise had been made to Ada, but it was the first time she believed it completely.
She found herself worrying vaguely about Hecate's ungloved hand, and folded it in both her own to keep it warm. Hecate acknowledged the gesture with a small smile.
"So… you're not still trying to get over your ex?"
Ada squeezed her hand.
"No I'm not. My heart is perfectly available, as it happens."
"And you do, er, return my interest?"
"Very much so," said Ada, suppressing a slightly hysterical giggle at Hecate's careful formality, and the strangeness of it all.
"You mean all this time, you would have accepted my advances if I'd…"
Ada nodded. "For most of this past year, yes I would."
"Oh." Hecate gave a long sigh. "I'm afraid I'm not always very good at reading people."
"It doesn't matter," Ada said softly. "I wasn't sure how you felt either. And I didn't want to push you into anything that might make you feel uncomfortable. ...I'm afraid we've both been a bit silly, haven't we?"
"That would appear to be the case."
"Perhaps we should start making up for lost time?"
They both moved at once, so swiftly that their mouths met with a jarring clash of teeth. Ada barely had time to feel awkward before Hecate was kissing her again, slow, deep and blissfully uninterrupted. Ada closed her eyes and let everything melt away.
Hecate pulled her closer by the belt of her coat, undid it and slid her hands inside, gripping Ada's waist in a way that made her feel quite unsteady on her feet. It was only fair to let Hecate keep her hands warm, after all, Ada thought hazily, returning the favour by exploring as much of Hecate as she could reach through so much heavy fabric. But when Hecate's fingers found the buttons of her dress, Ada forced herself to pull back.
Hecate froze. "I'm sorry. Was I- was that too much for you?"
"Absolutely not," Ada assured her, a little breathless. "But I haven't had nearly enough champagne to start getting my kit off out here. Could you hold that thought until we get indoors?"
Hecate gave her a searching glance, making absolutely sure that Ada meant what she said. Apparently satisfied, she raised an eyebrow.
"Your place or mine?"
Ada laughed and took her hand. "Let's go home."