by KT King
“I wouldn’t bet on it!” Lucy smiled sadly, and suggested Peony go and get her costume.
~ * ~
The scent of hyacinths and narcissus was overwhelming as Sophie and Minnie rushed into the flower shop. They ushered Linnet into the “potting shed” area amongst the ceramic vases, metal flower buckets, reels of tissue paper and rolls of cellophane.
“It’s him!” Linnet stuttered. She began to feel dizzy and sick. “It has to be him! I have to get away from here, Sophie! I have to get away! Tonight! Now! This minute. Where’s Alice? Oh, my god, my chest is going to explode. Sophie, help me!”
Sophie tried her best to stay calm. “The kids are all at the World Peace Centre getting ready for this evening,” she reassured her. “You could both go and stay there for a few days. You will be safe in the chateau with Dr G and the monks.”
“I have to get us away from here!” Linnet exclaimed again, now looking as if she were going to pass out.
“It’s okay,” Sophie told her. “Breathe deeply.” They began to take deep breaths together and Minnie found her a chair to sit down on. “Now, put your head between your legs, that’s it! Get the blood to your head again. It’s a panic attack. I know you feel as if you are going to die but you’re not. It’s just too much cortisol and adrenalin rushing through your system because your fear response has been triggered. Keep breathing. You are not going to die. It will subside. I promise you.”
“What if he tries to kill me again? What if he tries to kill Alice?” Linnet gasped.
“If you go somewhere else he’ll find you,” Minnie interjected. “He found you here, so he’ll find you anywhere, if he wants to. Running is not going to help long-term. We have to find a way to protect you for good!”
“But, how?” Linnet said, bursting into tears. “He always said he’d find me and he has. He won’t stop ‘til he’s killed us both.”
“Lancelot will find a way to protect you from him,” Minnie told her.
Linnet shook her head in despair. “The law doesn’t care.”
“Well, most laws are written and decided on by men,” Sophie admitted. “That’s why you must not let a man bully you into submission, even if the law is on their side. Wrong is wrong and right is right and the law doesn’t always know the difference. Minnie is right, if you run away every time, he will always win.”
“But what if he’s out there now?” Linnet cried. She looked at Sophie with terror in her eyes. “What am I going to do?”
Sophie could feel Linnet’s fear coming off her in waves and was almost overwhelmed by it herself, but knew she had to try to stay calm and to think straight. “Okay, look. Cubby is still outside the shop. Right now, you are safe. I suggest you stay at the chateau with Dr G for the next few days: it will be safer there. We just need to keep you and Alice out of harm’s way until we figure out how to deal with Marcus.”
Linnet nodded and let Minnie help her up off the chair. “I knew this day would come! Now, it has…”
“Let’s get you to the chateau,” Minnie interrupted, trying to stop Linnet going further into her fear again. “Pack some things for you and Alice. I’ll get Cubby to take you.”
They packed a few things and Linnet was escorted to the chateau, where she was immediately welcomed, offered a lovely room and all the support she could have hoped for. It wasn’t long before the peace and compassion emanating from every inch of the beautiful mansion made Linnet feel as if she was in a sanctuary and safe from Marcus inside its walls.
When Peony returned to the Café apartment with her costume, Sophie tried to warn her again about Marcus as she helped lace her into her extravagant ball gown. But, as Sophie had suspected, Peony was already under the influence of the Ace of Cups and love-karma had her firmly in its grasp.
“It can’t be the same Marcus!” Peony insisted, as she let Sophie pull the laces tighter. “Just because it’s the same name and they are both tall and dark-haired, that doesn’t make any difference. Marcus is a common enough name!”
Sophie tried her best to convince Peony. “Johnathon will arrest him if he sets foot in Little Eden again,” Sophie told her. “That won’t make it easy for you to build a relationship with him, will it?”
“If he is the same Marcus,” Peony replied, a little annoyed at Sophie’s implying that she had fallen for a bad man, “He has done his time for his crime and maybe he is reformed. I don’t believe anyone is really evil. I believe that we all have good within us. I believe everyone can change. Maybe he deserves as second chance. Everyone must be allowed to start afresh.”
“I think Linnet gave him far too many chances when she was married to him,” Sophie replied. In frustration, she drew the laces even tighter at the back of Peony’s corset.
“He was lovely to me - that’s all I know! I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Besides, I just know the Marcus who was here with me yesterday, would never hurt me.”
Sophie despaired, knowing that she could not convince Peony about Marcus at this time. Bloody karma-goggles! Sophie thought to herself. Why can’t we see the truth before it’s too late? Love-karma makes fools of us all in the end.
Chapter 18
~ * ~
With Linnet and Alice safe at the chateau everyone’s thoughts were on happier things. The Twelfth Night party preparations continued to build up steam. The ballroom was festooned with white paper garlands, and silver balloons danced on the backs of chairs. Exquisitely carved silver dishes, candelabra and plates of all sizes and shapes, were displayed on white clothed tables which were set out around the edges of the room. Mrs B’s Twelfth Night cake took pride of place on the top table. Or at least it did until Cedric got away from Mr T to create chaos all around him. He managed to topple three of the tables like dominos, the last of which hit the top table before anyone could reach out and save the cake. Cedric got himself and several monks covered all over in blue and white frosting!
The cake was hurriedly replaced by an impromptu sushi tower, which was, admittedly, a little unusual, but still very grand! Mrs B managed to push the Twelfth Night bean inside a salmon-skin roll and Cedric’s calamity was forgiven.
By eight o’clock the candles were lit, the food was ready and the first guests began arriving, serenaded by Simeon Dander’s string quartet. Robert greeted all the guests with glasses of Kir Royale and the buzz of anticipation grew and grew as more and more people arrived.
Lucy and the Café staff all trooped together through the park, looking like a right motley crew! Si and Tonbee were dressed as Neo and Trinity from The Matrix. They were particularly pleased with the swish of their long black coats, but had to take off their sunglasses as Si nearly walked into a park bench! Tosha was Buffy the Vampire Slayer but was now wishing she had put on warmer clothes, and Jack’s costume sparkled in the glow of the fire torches which lit the way through the park, and he certainly stood out in the crowd. He was dressed in fine French silk decorated with gold brocade, and even managed to look gorgeous in a white powdered wig. He helped Lucy who was tottering her way along dressed as Marilyn Monroe’s Lorelei Lee; although she was starting to realise that it was almost impossible to walk in such a tight dress!
“You all look marvellous!” Robert hailed them from the entrance doors. “Come on! Come in!”
Lucy looked Robert up and down and said, “I can’t work out who you are? Are you Dorian Grey? No! I’ve got it! You’re a dapper Dr Watson!”
Robert laughed. “Wrong on all counts, my dear! I’m Algernon Moncrieff from The Importance of Being Earnest and I intend to enjoy myself tonight, in spite of everything that is happening! Let’s forget all our cares for tonight and ‘Bunbury’* to our hearts’ content!”
Lucy shook her head. “You’re incorrigible!” she said, as she kissed him on the cheek. “Now, where’s my champers?”
“Where’s Sophie?” Robert asked, when he realised she was not wit
h them.
“You know Sophie can’t do big parties anymore because of the chronic fatigue,” Lucy told him. “She would be exhausted with all these people and the noise. She’s popping in later with Stella, just to see the cake cut and find out who will be king and queen for the night. She wants to check on Linnet as well. I hated leaving her behind, but she insisted we all come and enjoy ourselves.”
The double doors to the ballroom were flanked by a champagne fountain on one side and a sparkling water fountain on the other. In the east wing there was a temporary cocktail bar. For those who wanted a quieter evening, a coffee and liqueurs bar was set up in the west wing. Everyone was in party mood and the atmosphere was ramping up. The string quartet gave way to Ginger’s band which began to play Disco Inferno!*
Tambo had many of his friends there, including Octavia and Finnbar Rodet, who came wearing their ballroom dance outfits. Octavia rarely went anywhere without wearing her ballroom outfit however, so it wasn’t really fancy dress! Blue had never seen anyone so completely covered in sequins before and was quite taken with Octavia, following her about everywhere! Joshua Huggins had been lent a Luke Skywalker costume and had already run the battery out in his light sabre. He had also managed to lose himself in the massive network of corridors and rooms, and it had taken Tambo and Alice over half an hour to find him again!
Alice was, of course, her namesake, Alice in Wonderland, and Tambo had chosen this year to come dressed as Legolas from Lord of the Rings. Elijah had decided to be Obi Wan Kenobi. Blue was a little puzzled by the idea of dressing up but he embraced it admirably and with gusto, dressing up as Yoda. Although, he found the costume a little hard to walk in! He waddled about, following his new friends and copying them as much as he could, whilst picking up English words by the dozen. The kids ran about and hid under tables, danced, chased each other, and by nine o’clock were so excited there was no way they were going to bed any time soon!
Sophie arrived with Stella at about half-past nine, and because of their late arrival, Stella made quite an entrance wearing a pink gossamer ball gown which looked like spun sugar. It was Stella’s privilege to start the evening’s crowning ceremony which began with the cutting and eating of the Twelfth Night cake. Stella gave a short speech, thanking everyone for coming, telling them that they had raised thirty thousand pounds towards the edible gardens for the new school. She cut the cake, playing along and pretending that it was perfectly normal to present a cake made out of sushi! Everyone waited eagerly to find out who would be crowned king and queen.
“It’s me!” Shilty Cunningham shouted. “It’s me!” She slinked forward through the crowd in her red satin dress (she was Jessica Rabbit), kissed Robert as she passed by him and went up to the front of the room for her coronation. She sat happily upon her throne, sceptre and orb in her hands. “I declare my king for the evening shall be…” Shilty paused and pretended she hadn’t chosen yet, looking around the room. Most of the men hoped she would choose them. Some winked, some smiled, some blew her a kiss to try and tempt her to pick them. Her eyes met Collins’ who had just arrived at the back of the ballroom with Varsity and Jennifer. She smirked at him, but then said to the eager crowd…“I choose Robert Bartlett-Hart to be my king!”
Robert, rather reluctantly, went to join her on the podium, and Stella placed a crown upon his head. From his elevated position he caught sight of his brother and his mother and frowned. “I didn’t think they would have the nerve to come here tonight,” he whispered to Shilty.
“Family is family, Robert!” Shilty whispered back. “This is just a minor falling out: by the end of the night you will all be back to normal.” Robert looked at her with a mixture of amazement and contempt, but they both kept smiling and waving to the guests, who bowed and paid homage to their sovereigns - just until midnight of course!
Shilty was, perhaps, the best and the worst choice for such a high position of authority. She knew how to play games all right but didn’t really have a stop button. Tage, Johnathon and Devlin cut a fine dash as the Three Musketeers and Shilty demanded they show allegiance to her by bringing her drinks and kissing her feet on a regular basis!
“I think Shilty is in her element,” Sophie said, standing away from the crowds on the mezzanine floor with India, Stella, Mrs B and Peony.
“Shilty Cunningham is a woman who takes what she wants from life and I don’t blame her!” India replied. “She has more balls than most of the men I have ever met!”
“She copes with life by taking it by the balls - that’s for sure!” Sophie giggled.
“I always wanted to have a booty like that! She must be a size fourteen at least!” Peony commented. “Women think it’s good being a size eight like me, but men are round her like a honey pot!”
“We always want to be what we are not,” Stella mused. “You are all beautiful in your own ways. Men are drawn to honey but that’s not saying much - so are flies!” They all laughed, and Sophie went to find out how Linnet was doing.
Linnet had not come out of her room all evening and Minnie had stayed with her. Sophie persuaded Minnie to join the party and have some fun. She promised to facetime Linnet so that she could see everyone’s costumes.
Johnathon and Lancelot went upstairs to look in on Linnet about eleven o’clock. She was asleep at last, thanks to the help of Sophie’s Bubble Meditation, a hand massage and a couple of herbal sleeping tablets. Sophie was sitting by the window meditating on the fire torches and the hanging lanterns down in the gardens. She greeted Lancelot, whispering, “And which vicar are you? Not the Vicar of Dibley - obviously!”
“I am Father Ralph de Bricassart, at your service ma’am.” Lancelot playfully bowed and kissed her hand.
“Ah! How very tragic! And, how very sexy!” Sophie giggled, but then she put her finger to her lips, looking over at Linnet asleep on the bed.
Sophie looked Johnathon up and down and guessed he was a musketeer. “And how is Miss Adela Huggins this evening, my dear Aramis? Has she broken your heart yet?” Sophie teased him.
“I have hardly had chance to talk to her!” he moaned. “Shilty Cunningham has us running around as her servants. But, Adela looks like…well, the goddess she is!”
Lancelot smiled. “She has come as Princess Leia!”
Sophie raised an eyebrow. “Gold bikini?”
Lancelot sighed. “Gold bikini indeed!”
“Oh! Good grief!” Sophie said. “You haven’t fallen for her too, have you Lancelot?”
“No! Of course not!” Lancelot said, looking sideways at Johnathon. They exchanged suspicious looks.
“Adela, Adela!” Sophie said, quietly, shaking her head. “To be born so beautiful! I cannot imagine what that must be like. So wise and so kind too. Which of course, are the bits that matter most.”
“Right now, in that gold bikini,” Johnathon said, “There are bits of her that matter a whole lot more!”
Sophie waved them both out of the room in mock disgust but couldn’t help smiling. They started to go back down the stairs, when suddenly, she came running out of the room calling them back. “Come quickly!” Sophie urged them. She beckoned them over to the window. They all looked out but there was no one to be seen.
“I thought I saw a man, a tall man, just now, down there, walking around to the side of the house. It might have been Marcus Finch!” Sophie whispered.
“What makes you think that?” Johnathon asked. “It could have been anyone.”
“He was dressed as Zorro. He looked up here - he must have seen the light in the window. It was creepy! He stared me in the face for a few seconds. I felt a shiver and a feeling I can only describe as, well, as if I had seen pure evil. Then, he just disappeared around the corner.”
“How would Marcus know Linnet was here?” Lancelot said.
Sophie thought for a moment. “Bloody hell!” she exclaimed, and so as not to wake Linnet, she took t
hem out onto the landing. “I bet Peony told him there was a party here tonight, she may even secretly have invited him. He may not know Linnet is here. He might just be a guest - an unofficial one that is!”
“That could be true!” Johnathon nodded, and looked worried. “I’ll check and see if anyone has seen Zorro. Lancelot, go and ask that new girl, Peony Bow, if she told Marcus Finch about tonight’s shindig!”
“What is she dressed as?” Lancelot asked.
“The Marquise de Meurteuil!” Sophie told him. “Big white wig, French ball gown, gold and silver, you can’t miss her! She did say she liked mischief, but this is ‘dangerous liaisons’ gone too far!”
After a few minutes Johnathon returned to Linnet’s room, bringing Robert and India with him. Sophie unlocked the bedroom door and let them in. India hardly fitted into the room - she was dressed as Scarlet O’Hara - her large hooped dress was a little oversized!
“You were right!” Johnathon told Sophie. “Peony did tell Marcus about tonight! She arranged to meet him in the garden and let him in through the kitchen doors. He was dressed as Zorro, just as you thought he was; but now we can’t find him anywhere! The others are looking for him. Peony insists he isn’t the same man as Linnet’s ex-husband, but until we are sure we need to get Linnet and Alice somewhere even safer.”
“And secret!” Lancelot added.
They all looked at each other. “She could come to the security office,” Johnathon suggested. “There’s a bunk bed in the cell.”
“It’s not very comfortable and there will be bad energies lingering from previous occupants. Alice would have nightmares,” Sophie replied. “And we don’t want to give Melanie any more fear to play with than she already has!”
“Who’s Melanie?” Johnathon asked.
“It’s a long story,” they all said in unison!
