by Rose, taylor
They had a leisurely lunch at the pub and listened to the stories that were unfolding about the Hunt. Surprise, surprise thought Brandon when they all started to talk of this one or that one falling off. The Photo Club should have plenty of action shots by the sound of it. Several of Brandon’s Fan Club were looking a little worse for wear with several wearing twigs in their hair and two clearly had had the ground come up to meet them at some stage as they were covered in mud down one side. Yet, Brandon thought ruefully, here they come. Batting eyelids and thrusting out cleavage in his direction. He was polite, appeared interested, smiled a lot and really wished they would go away so he could just look at Sophia. He was looking at her now talking to an older gentlemen and he could feel himself stirring. After a while which he felt was a polite amount of time he excused himself from the ladies and approached Sophia. She turned and smiled. Holding out a hand towards the older man she introduced him as Edward Wiser. Brandon looked a bit blank then Sophia went on to say that Edward had the gelding that she had mentioned earlier in the day and that the horse was, by some miracle, still for sale. Edward went on to explain that he had been sold but the young lass had changed her mind because Hamish, the gelding, was too slow and steady for her. Apparently she wanted more of a lunatic that would go out and do what the horses did today. Brandon thought that young girl was insane, quite frankly but each to their own.
An idea quickly formulated in Brandon’s head but he would have to get rid of Sophia first. He turned to survey the crowd milling outside the pub when he spotted Lilly coming in from the road. Perfect. He nudged Sophia just as she was getting around to asking about this Hamish horse. She turned and saw Lilly turned back to Edward and grabbed his hands in both of her with an amount of affection.
“I’m sorry Edward. Could you excuse me for just one moment? I have a daughter I need to see. Please don’t sell the horse to anyone. I would love to have another look at him, if you don’t mind.”
“No minding at all, Me Lady. He’d be off to the best of homes at your place to be sure. I’ll be holding him for you, to look at.” Edward replied.
Sophia went to greet Lilly who was now running up the path arms outstretched towards her mother.
Brandon turned to Edward Wiser “Now about that horse…..” He said,
Brandon was so excited he felt like jumping up and down clicking his heels together just for effect of what he had just done. But looking at Sophia sitting next to him at an outside table in a beautiful part of England and realized that she was looking exhausted.
“Do you want to go home? You have to get through the night of wild partying yet.” Brandon questioned.
“Yeah, I think a rest would be good.” She turned to look as Lilly who was sitting on Brandon’s knee as though she belonged there. “Come on little one, we have to go home and have some afternoon tea.”
Rachel was sitting opposite them sipping a half glass of wine. “Sof, would Lilly like to have another night at our place? We hired a couple of movies that we didn’t get around to watching last night. Apparently, having a pillow fight was more imperative than watching the DVD’s we’d hired.”
Brandon never realized how fast a little person could say “Can I? Can I? Can I?” nor did he know you could say this so many times on a single lung full of air.
Sophia laughed and gave Lilly an affectionate cuddle. “No, you’re alright, my feelings are not hurt, just because you don’t want to be seen with me. I’ll be alright.”
“Oh, mummy. Don’t be silly. I’ll give you a kiss if you let me go.” Lilly said with the cutest look on her face.
“For goodness sake, yes you can go.”
This produced a lot of jumping about and squealing by both of the little girls. Apparently this was the most exciting event going. Brandon looked on with amusement. Little girls were such strange little creatures. He finished off his drink and stood up. “Come on then ladies let’s get you to the car”. He said. Both Lilly and her friend launched themselves into his arms and started to walk out to the car park asking questions about the movies. Rachel looked at Sophia with a questioning look on her face. “Well, he’s a catch. Don’t let him go in a hurry.”
Sophia watched him walking out with two girls in his arms, chatting away and laughing. Yes he is a catch, she thought, but was she fast enough?
Brandon and Sophia drove up to the house in relative silence. It was a comfortable silence. When he wasn’t changing gears he held her hand. It was such an old fashion thing to do but she really enjoyed it. “I am absolutely dead on my feet.” Sophia said turning to look at him.
He glanced at her with a grin on his face. “Well I can’t be to blame for that. You threw
yourself at me, how could I resist?” And as soon as the words were out of his mouth he
watched her shut down, the withdrawal of her hand from his confirmed it was not the right thing to say. Then he realized his mistake. He had pulled up in the garage and Sophia jumped out of the car first. Brandon was scrambling after her. They were halfway across the courtyard when he grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.
“It didn’t mean it like that. I was just kidding around.”
“Brandon, look at you,” she said looking at him waving her hand up and down. He looked down at his feet. What was she talking about? “You are sex on a stick. Women throw themselves at you and you act as though it happens every day. I imagine you just point your finger at one of them and they come a running. So I’m very sorry to have caused you any………I’m just sorry.”
She turned around to walk inside. Brandon grabbed her again but this time he threw her over his shoulder and headed for the door. Sophia realized how this must look to all those who were working on the horses in the yard. She figured there were about fifty or so people watching them. She also quickly discovered that repeatedly telling him to put her down didn’t seem to be working. So she figured he would have to put her down before they reached the back door. Ok maybe not. He would put her down before the stairs. OK, so he didn’t and he took the stairs two at a time. Showoff. Before she knew it she was being tossed onto her bed, be it gently. He sat down beside her on the bed. When he turned to look at her his face was very serious. This is the part where he tells her it was fun but it was ending. She braced herself for the words.
“Now you need to listen to me, very carefully because I am only going to say this once. I know that woman launch themselves at me. My face draws people, but if you look it is not just woman but men too, if you care to notice. I am so used to it after all these years. I do get tired of it but I have to put on a happy face sometimes even when I don’t really want to, this week has been well overdue for me. I said earlier today that I have never laughed so much and that is true. Sophia I don’t want to look at any other woman, I have, for a long time, found that women were starting to all look the same to me. Until I saw you, you’re different and I love that.” He took a breath. He hadn’t meant to mention the L word that was not really what he had meant to say. “You fascinate me. And you have nothing to worry about.”
She sat up and touched his face with her hand. “I am so sorry for my outburst outside. I just don’t know where I stand here.”
“You stand on solid ground.” He could see just how tired she looked. He stood kissed her on the forehead and said that he would leave her to have a sleep. They agreed that he would wake her at 5pm. He left saying that he had a couple to things to do. Sophia was asleep before he reached the top of the stair, with the four dogs sprawled out on the landing outside the bedroom door. Good thought Brandon.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Pub was packed with people having a good time by the time they arrived. In amongst the things Brandon did during the weekend was to go to another village to buy more protection. He wanted to be discreet with his purchase. That’s why they were late, two items were missing from the packet already. He made his way to the bar and grabbed a couple of beers. He looked around the room and noticed that there w
as a Karaoke machine set up near the stage. It was very elaborate with its two colored lights and the lone pot plant in the corner of the smallest stage on earth. But it was looking like a really fun night with lots of laughter and jolly conversation. One of the garden workers walked up then and after ordering his own drink he turned to Brandon. “Evening Sir.” He said with a nod “I’ll be warning you this will be a night to remember. It’s the highlight of the year.” With that he blended into the crowd. Ironic that he had seen most of the world’s greatest theatre productions, knew several rock, pop and movie stars by first name yet he was truly looking forward to tonight’s entertainment.
The night was progressing in an interesting way. Brandon was really surprised to hear so many good voices from around here. There were, of course, those that had consumed a few to many drinks and should not have elected to sing. The crowd still cheered them on and nobody was rude. This was lots of fun. He had been forewarned it would be a good night. He was back at the bar picking up a beer and white wine when the crowd started calling collectively for Lady Sophia to get up and sing. Well, thought Brandon this is a turn around. He wondered if she would actually go through with this. He leaned on the bar and watched her as she didn’t hesitate and start to walk towards the stage. Well, well, well. Sophia stood on the stage and took the microphone.
“Ok, let’s get this over with.” Sophia took a breath and started to sing. The crowd went deathly silent. Brandon just about dropped his drinks. He didn’t recognize the lyrics, it was some sort of folk ballad but it was absolutely beautiful. She sang with no backup music. Brandon was memorized by her voice. He didn’t immediately register the entire pub was starting to join in with the song. The crowd started so softly it was hard to register where they joined in but it built from there. Suddenly the song took on a life of its own and it was giving him goose bumps all over. The song finished far too soon. There was several seconds of silence which was only broken by someone calling out from the crowd to Sophia “That were not too bad, My Lady.”
The whole pub erupted into protests against the statement with a high level of humor. Sophia stepped off the stage with a smile on her face and headed over to Brandon. He put his arm around her. “Wow, that was perfect. You can really sing.”
“No, I can’t that’s why the crowd drowns me out………every year.”
“Well in my unbiased opinion….’
He never finished the rest of the sentence as they both turned towards the front door to see what the sudden commotion was. Because of his height Brandon could see the disaster before Sophia could. He muttered something under his breath that she didn’t quite catch. He turned towards her, looked straight at her face, she noticed that some of the color had drained from his face as he rushed his words.
“I need you to hear me and please trust me. OK?”
Sophia looked up at him and he could see the tension on her face. She nodded her head but “OK” was all she said.
“This is not going to go well and so I’m sorry for what is about to happen. But please trust me when I say that I love you. Yes, very quick to come to that, I know, but you need to hear it. I have never said that to another woman, except my mom.” He shook his head with frustration “I know it’s crazy but you are one of only a handful of people that know the real me. Hang onto that, please.”
She realized that he was all but pleading with her, but why? It was at that moment that she saw the crowd rippling in the center of the room. What was going on here? Brandon lent down and turned her head back towards him and kissed her. He lifted his head in time to hear a familiar female voice with a heavy French accent say “Brandon, darling. What are you doing in a back water slum as this, with a little tramp of an English girl? You are embarrassing yourself darling.”
Brandon never took his eyes from Sophia’s face. He mouthed the words I love you before turning around.
“Hello, Fleur. Why are you here?” he asked.
“Darling if you insist on being silly and hiding away from me, what actions do you think I should take?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be somewhere filming something?”
Sophia took a look at the woman for the first time she looked familiar but Sophia was still reeling from being called a little tramp. Who uses words like that?
Fleur produced a very false laugh. She then positioned herself so that so she could look Sophia up and down. “My, my. She is not your type at all. What were you thinking, honestly darling?”
Brandon didn’t react but he had never wanted to slap a woman so much in his life as he wanted to slap Fleur right this instant. He did reach back and grab Sophia’s hand and gave it a squeeze. He realized that he would have to shut Fleur up or better still get her out of here. So he let go of Sophia’s hand and grabbed Fleur’s' upper arm, spinning her around and headed for the door. He realized as he walked through the crowd that the entire pub was silent and watching him and Fleur. Fleur turned towards him and said all too loudly “Darling, I love it when you are forceful. But surely you do not have to drag me out of this dilapidated, shabby little place in order to have your way with me.”
They had just reached the Pub’s door it was not quick enough though for Brandon. He was never prone to violence but for the second time in hours he was having trouble not pushing her outside. Turning Fleur around he asked her where her car and driver were. He knew Fleur well enough to know she wouldn’t have driven herself this far out of London. In fact he didn’t even know if she was able to drive a vehicle.
“Oh. I dismissed him.” Fleur said as she moved in to touch Brandon’s chest. He found himself clenching his teeth. This woman revolted him. He took a step back to get away from her. Just then the door to the pub opened. Brandon breathed a sigh of relief as Harold emerged. Harold was not looking happy but Brandon realized his own expression was probably pretty grim. Harold approached “Right what can I do Brandon?”
Fleur answered for him “You, little man can leave. We are very pleased to see each other here and we certainly don’t need an audience for that. So go away……Now.” She said waving her hand in dismissal.
Brandon was again fighting the urge to slap her. “When you said you dismissed the car, where did your driver go?”
“Oh, darling, he is on his way back to London. I knew when I found you that you would want me to stay with you, but we must find somewhere more to our standard.”
Brandon turned to Harold. “Harold I need to get Miss Marriet out of here.”
“Yes Brandon. I only have the Rover will that do?”
Brandon nearly laughed “Actually that will be perfect. Come on Fleur let’s go.”
“I knew you would want to see me again but your enthusiasm for my company is good to see.”
“Yeah, sure. Harold could you drive us to the Wobbly Boot my car is parked down there?” Brandon followed with Fleur trying to crawl into his shirt with him. It irritated him no end.
When they reached the car the look on Fleur's’ face was worth seeing as Brandon had to all but shove her into the back seat of the Rover. She didn’t seem to take a breath between the complaints about the unsuitability of the vehicle. Harold drove in silence but his displeasure was measureable.
Brandon opened the door for Fleur and told her to wait for him over at the converted barn which held his BMW. He turned to Harold and said “I love Sophia. And I never want to hurt her. I have no interest in Fleur; we went out a couple of times about 8 months ago. I went to one of her movie premieres and she seemed to think we were a serious thing. I’ll take her back to London tonight and be back tomorrow. Please tell Sophia that I never meant to hurt or embarrass her and that I am really sorry.”
Harold looked rather frosty. Which Brandon understood, he would not be happy in Harold’s shoes. But Harold then said “OK, Brandon. We’ll see you as soon as you can sort this out. I’ll try to smooth things over.”
“Thank you” and Brandon reached in to the car to shake Harold’s hand.
“Dar
ling, I am feeling lonely over here all on my own.”
Who cares, Brandon mumbled under his breath.
As Harold put the vehicle into gear he asked “Are all Hollywood movie stars this self-centered?” He drove off before getting an answer.
Brandon left Fleur at the Bar to go upstairs and pack up his few things. She wasn’t happy about it but he wasn’t taking her upstairs with him. She could wait for him. He needed to calm down a little from the scene at the other pub. Ian was downstairs unable to string a sentence together. Brandon had to admit that Hollywood movie stars were not a dime a dozen around here.
The drive back to London was long and silent. Fleur finally gave up trying to get Brandon to offer any compliments or any indication that he was over the moon to see her. She tried to play the hero for saving him from making a huge mistake with the “Little English village girl” as she put it.
When he arrived in the City center he realized that he was not going to take Fleur back to his place and he knew enough about her to know that she didn’t have her own apartment in the London. So he rang his PA and had a suite booked at 41. He intended to just drop her off but Fleur was making such a scene that he went into the hotel foyer with her. He then asked for her phone, which she handed over and he promptly rang her manager. Thankfully the woman was in London and on her way to the motel to sort out the mess. Brandon learnt from the phone call that Fleur was showing all the sign of having some sort of break down and that was why she had been flown into London that morning for a “retreat”. It seemed that her last movie had not gone so well and she was not coping with all the negative reviews. The sheer fact that she chose London with the world’s most notorious press showed that Fleur was not thinking clearly.
