The Viking and the Vendetta

by A. J. Braithwaite

  "Did you sort things out with your dad?" Ned asked.

  "Yeah, eventually," said Luke.

  "So you're going to London?"

  "Ah, well I haven't managed to wangle the trip to London yet," Luke admitted. "But at least I'm on speaking terms with him again. Pagan's mum has said she'll come down with her because she doesn't want Pagan travelling on her own, either."

  They strolled along in silence for a while.

  "As it happens, I was thinking of visiting London soon to see an exhibition at the British Museum," Ned commented. "If you still want to meet up with Pagan, I could probably come as far as Euston with you as your official escort."

  Luke stared at him. "That would be great!" he said.

  "Fine by me," said his dad when Luke put Ned's offer to him later that day. "So you're finding that there are some advantages to having two fathers, then?"

  On the next Wednesday, Luke and Ned travelled up to London to meet Pagan and her mother, Julia. The morning was clear and the neighbours were in good spirits as they boarded the train and sat down opposite each other, either side of a table. Ned had a newspaper with him, but instead of disappearing behind it, as Luke's dad would have done, he folded it open at a page of word puzzles and enlisted Luke's help in tackling them. They worked on them together as the train passed in and out of bright sunshine and dark, noisy tunnels on their way into the city.

  Half-way into the journey, a small elderly woman with a large bag joined them at their table. She started to lift the bag onto the luggage rack but was clearly going to struggle to get it above her head. Luke leapt to his feet and took the bag from her, safely stowing it in the rack.

  "Oh, thank you my dear," she said. She sat down in the seat next to Luke and bestowed a grateful smile on him. Addressing Ned, she added "Your son is a very thoughtful young man."

  Luke and Ned shared a conspiratorial smile, absurdly pleased at having their true relationship recognised by a stranger.

  At eleven o'clock Luke and Ned were waiting at Euston station for the Randalls. The crowd that had just disembarked from the Manchester train filled the left hand side of the station concourse, heading to the exits or to the Underground escalators. Some were dragging small wheeled suitcases; others were striding in a purposeful, business-like manner, while still more were ambling along in a more aimless fashion, looking almost surprised to find themselves at their destination. When Julia and Pagan emerged from the throng into a bright shaft of sunlight coming from the high windows at the front of the building, Luke could not suppress a small gasp of surprise.

  When he had first met Pagan, in June, her hair had been dyed a nondescript shade of light brown and she had been dressed in similarly unmemorable clothing. Now, the brown had been washed away and her hair was back to its natural shade of pale blonde. The jeans and baggy tops of the runaway had been replaced with a figure-hugging, arm- and leg-revealing summer dress in a pale shade of blue. In the beam of sunshine, she glowed. Luke became painfully aware that if Pagan had looked anything like this on the day they had met, he would never have found the courage to speak to her, let alone do what he had done: ask her to pick up cigarette ends for him. And if Julia had not been walking next to her daughter, Luke would have had great difficulty in recognising this radiant young woman as the person he had started to think of as his girlfriend.

  Pagan had spotted him and Ned and she pulled her mother towards them with an excited smile on her face. "Hi," she said, beaming at Luke.

  Still dazzled by her and tongue-tied by shyness, Luke was only able to offer a feeble echo of Pagan's smile and her greeting. "Hi."

  Ned and Julia were more articulate: they shook hands with each other and started talking about their journeys immediately, leaving Luke and Pagan staring at each other in silence, with Pagan beginning to looking puzzled at Luke's failure to say anything more substantial than 'hi'. After a few awkward seconds, Luke recovered his ability to compose complete sentences, although his voice came out more hoarsely than usual. "You look great," he managed to say.

  "Well, at least my hair's back to its normal colour now," said Pagan. "And I will confess that I spent a bit more time in front of the mirror today than I could when I was camping in the woods."

  "That's an understatement," interjected Julia, "I thought she was never going to leave the bathroom this morning and we nearly missed the train!"

  "Mu-um," complained Pagan, rolling her eyes dramatically.

  This exchange went some way towards reassuring Luke that, despite her considerably changed appearance, Pagan was still the same person underneath. Julia had a knack for saying the right thing. He smiled up at her in gratitude.

  "How are you, Luke?" she asked.

  "I'm fine," he replied, pleased to find that his voice had returned to normal.

  "Good. Well, I'm sure you two are anxious to be free of us. Pagan and I are booked to go back on the six twenty train tonight, so why don't you meet us back here at about six o'clock? Pagan's got my number if you run into any problems."

  "OK," said Luke and Pagan, in unison. Pagan took Luke's hand and grinned at him. They started to walk away but Pagan stopped and half-turned back.

  "What are you two going to do?" she asked.

  "I'm heading off to visit the American print exhibition at the British Museum," Ned told her, looking at Julia to see what her plans were.

  "That sounds interesting," said Julia. "Do you mind if I join you?"

  "Not at all," replied Ned.

  Pagan gave Luke's hand a slight squeeze, which Luke interpreted as a sign that she still harboured hopes of a romantic relationship developing between her mother and Ned. Luke pulled her away towards the Underground entrance, hoping that the adults hadn't noticed the soppy look on Pagan's face.

  *

  "Shall we walk down to Bloomsbury?" Ned asked Julia.

  "Yes, let's. It's too lovely to be travelling by Tube today," she replied.

  It wasn't a long walk, but by the time they reached the museum they were both feeling sticky with city heat. The interior of the museum offered a cool and peaceful refuge, although the lower floors were busy with tourists. There were fewer people in the exhibition area upstairs where the American printed artworks were on display. Ned and Julia drifted apart so that they could examine the illustrations at their own pace.

  Julia was buying postcards of some of the images from a small shop in the exhibition area when Ned caught up with her again. She packed her purchases into her handbag and smiled at him. "Are you ready for some lunch?" she asked.

  "The restaurant here is pretty good," said Ned. "Shall we treat ourselves?"

  "Why not?"

  The restaurant was running an American-themed menu to match the exhibition. "Does all this make you feel nostalgic for the States?" asked Julia, after they'd ordered. She had found out on their walk from the station that Ned had lived there for a while.

  "A little," replied Ned, with a smile.

  "How long were you over there for?"

  "Ten years, in all."

  "And what made you come home again?"

  Ned took a long drink of his water before answering. "It was a combination of factors, really. By the end of that time I was working as the deputy principal in a great school and was looking to take on a headship. I was monitoring jobs over there and over here when the post at Hawley Lodge came up. It sounded perfect: a small school which had been poorly managed for a time. It gave me a chance to throw myself into something and really make a difference."

  "And what were the other factors?"

  Ned raised his eyebrows. "Nothing gets past you, does it?"

  Julia shrugged. "Reading between the lines is my job, I suppose."

  "I knew you were the right person to take on as Hawley Lodge's counsellor," said Ned, "but I wasn't expecting you to start using your skills on me."

  "Sorry, force of habit."

  "No, it's OK. I just haven't talked about any of this to anyone before. You're not going to star
t charging me by the hour are you?"

  Julia laughed and Ned steered the conversation in another direction. "How's your relocation going?"

  "We'll be moving in to the cottage next Wednesday," Julia replied, accepting the change of subject with a smile and a nod. "I'm renting out our house in Manchester to a friend and will be leaving a lot of the furniture there, as the cottage is quite a bit smaller. It'll be fine for the two of us, though," she added, not wanting to sound as though she was criticising the new home that Ned had helped to get for them. "And the village is lovely. The only thing I know I am going to miss is my vegetable garden - I've got so used to growing my own food - but maybe I can get one of the allotments in the village."

  Ned frowned. "I've heard there's a long waiting list for those, I'm afraid. But I have been wondering about whether we should start a vegetable garden at the school. There used to be one there, in the old days when Hawley Lodge was a country house with lots of staff."

  "That's a good idea," exclaimed Julia. "Maybe the school could have a gardening club?"

  "If you're willing to run it, I think that would be great. Most kids these days have no idea where their food comes from," said Ned. "Our groundsman, Paul, would be willing to help out, I'm sure."

  "Done!" said Julia. "I would be utterly lost without a garden to potter around in."

  "I'll be back in the village next week, so will be able to help out if you run into any problems with the cottage," Ned offered.

  "Wonderful!"

  *

  Luke and Pagan were enjoying being tourists for the day. They rode on the big wheel of the London Eye and then took a boat trip down the Thames. After a hamburger lunch on the Embankment they took the Underground to Oxford Street and spent time in the shops there. Luke remembered his sisters' impending birthday and they spent an agreeable hour exploring the Hamleys toy store in Regent Street. They settled on buying additional pieces for the twins' train set, which was their favourite toy of the moment.

  "I'm sick of walking," Pagan declared, as they left the store. "Let's just go and...sit somewhere."

  Luke liked the sound of that, particularly in combination with the sly sideways look Pagan gave him when she made the suggestion. He examined the Tube map he'd been carrying all day. "Regent's Park is the next stop on from Oxford Circus."

  "Sounds great," smiled Pagan.

  At the park they found themselves a bench in a secluded area, surrounded by trees and shaded from the afternoon sun. Luke was strongly reminded of the time they had spent together in Pagan's campsite under the trees of the country club near his school when they had first met in June. The spot was improbably peaceful, with the loudest noise coming from the birds of the Park. The surrounding city and its millions of people could have been many miles distant. Pagan tucked her handbag into the Hamleys bag with the twins' toys and Luke shoved it underneath the seat. He relaxed onto the wooden bench, resting his arm along its curved back. Pagan leaned up against him, briefly resting her head on his shoulder. The scent of her hair filled his nostrils. After a few seconds, Pagan turned her face to his and Luke bent his head forwards, all too ready to kiss her. Their lips were micrometres apart when a rough voice inserted itself between them with the force of a crowbar.

  "Aw, how sweet. Now stand up and hand over your phones and cash."

  Absorbed in each other, Luke and Pagan had failed to notice the approach of two men. The one who had spoken was looming over them behind the bench. In his right hand he was holding a long knife, cruelly-curved and shiny with menace. The other man had his back to them, making sure that no-one else was approaching.

  Luke and Pagan slowly got to their feet and the mugger followed them round to their side of the bench, holding his knife close to Pagan's face as Luke handed over his phone and his last few banknotes. The man slid them into the pocket of his hooded top with his free hand. He looked expectantly at Pagan.

  "I'm not carrying any," she said, truthfully enough.

  "What's in there?" The mugger pointed towards the white Hamleys bag underneath the bench.

  "A toy train set for my baby sisters," Luke told him. "But it might be a bit advanced for you."

  There was a brief moment of stillness before the mugger responded to these imprudent words. He punched Luke hard in the stomach, forcing him back onto the bench, winded and unable to react. Then the man lunged forward, one hand bunching the neck of Luke's t-shirt, the other holding the knife against the side of the teenager's face. Luke could see every detail of the mugger's deep acne scars and the strands of greasy dark brown hair which were escaping from his hood. The man's upper lip curled into a snarl, revealing yellowish teeth.

  "Less of your cheek," he hissed, his warm breath washing over his victim. The snarl became a sadistic smile as the man pulled the knife across Luke's face, carving a gash into his skin. Luke still had no breath with which to cry out, but Pagan had plenty. As blood spilled from the wound, dripping down onto Luke's white top, she let out a piercing scream.

  For a moment, the birds stopped singing.

  Chapter Three

  "C'mon Spud, time to go," the other mugger said, looking around uneasily. The knifeman followed him as he ran off into the trees.

  Pagan ducked down and dragged the Hamleys bag from underneath the bench. She removed her handbag and dug out a plastic-wrapped packet of tissues which she ripped open with her teeth and passed to Luke, her hands shaking. Luke held the wodge of soft paper against his bleeding face as Pagan sank back down onto the seat. "It's not as bad as it looks," he tried to reassure her, once he'd got his breath back. In reply, she punched him on the arm, almost as hard as the mugger had punched his midriff.

  "You idiot!" she shouted. "What did you have to go and say that to him for?"

  Next, Pagan got her phone, first dialling 999 to summon the police and then phoning her mother's number. Help soon appeared in the form of a Royal Parks policeman, who checked Luke over and called an ambulance to meet them on the nearest road. While they waited for it, the teenagers told the constable what had happened. Pagan's phone rang and Julia spoke to her. "We're just getting to the park, Pagan, where are you exactly?"

  "I'll pass you on to the policeman, Mum and he can explain where we are." Pagan handed her phone to the officer, who gave their location to Julia. The taxi pulled up shortly afterwards and Luke was relieved to see Ned climb out of it after Julia.

  When she caught sight of Luke's blood-stained top and the drenched red bundle of tissues he was holding against his cheek, Julia cried out in horror. Pagan had not mentioned the knife attack in her call.

  "Oh my God! What's happened to you? Are you alright?"

  The adults rushed over to them and Pagan's self-possession fractured. Tears began dripping down her face as freely as the blood had run down Luke's a few minutes earlier. She was gathered into a motherly hug by Julia while Ned stopped in front of Luke and took hold of his chin, tilting his head sideways and gently removing the bloody paper to examine his injury. Luke looked up at him, feeling dangerously close to tears himself. His neighbour's face was grave.

  "How did you get this?"

  Ned's level voice calmed Luke down enough to allow him to describe the mugging and to explain that the mugger had sliced his face open with a knife. He didn't go into detail about the exact circumstances which had provoked the attack. As he talked he was watching Ned to gauge his reaction to his tale. He could see a puzzled frown forming on his neighbour's face and was sure that he was not entirely satisfied with Luke's explanation. Julia did not seem to notice any problem with it, however; she released Pagan and bestowed a hug on Luke instead. "You poor thing. What a terrifying experience."

  He was spared from any further questioning by the arrival of the ambulance.

  "You seem to be developing a taste for riding in these things," Ned remarked.

  He accompanied Luke to the hospital, while Julia and Pagan were driven around the area in a police van, to see whether Pagan could spot the muggers. It wa
s arranged that they would all meet up at one of the local police stations, once Luke's gash had been treated.

  Luke and Ned waited in the Accident and Emergency department. Above their heads was a stern notice warning against the use of mobile phones. Ned looked up at it and commented, "I should phone your parents and tell them that you're in hospital. Again. Will you be alright on your own for a bit?"

  "Yeah, fine," said Luke.

  Ned left the building and returned five minutes later.

  "How did they take it?" asked Luke

  "Your mum was all for getting on a train and coming up to London herself," replied Ned. "But I persuaded her that you were quite OK and we would probably be home before she could get here."

  The deep cut in Luke's cheek was sealed with thin strips of adhesive dressing. Ned didn't say much but Luke was grateful for his company. He wasn't in the mood for conversation, anyway. Once he had been patched up they took a taxi to the police station where they were reunited with the Randalls, whose hunt for the muggers had been unsuccessful. Pagan and Luke's statements were taken (neither of them mentioned Luke's rash words to the mugger) and, at last, the four travellers were free to return to Euston.

  On their way back into the station Luke's injury and bloody top attracted some startled glances from passers-by. Pagan was uncharacteristically quiet and didn't hold Luke's hand as she had earlier in the day. Luke thought she was probably still annoyed with him for making the situation with the muggers worse than it needed to be. He felt shy of her again and furious with himself and their attackers for spoiling what could have been a perfect day.

  The Manchester train on which the Randalls were booked was long gone and already half way to its destination, but Julia persuaded a sympathetic train company employee to let them use their tickets on a later train. The four of them parted company. Julia and Ned shook hands again. Her smile was warm. "See you next week," she said.

  Pagan's goodbye to Luke was more muted. She just said "Bye, then," and turned away to walk towards the platform entrance. There was no smile to accompany her words and certainly no hug or kiss. Julia compensated for her daughter's coolness by patting Luke's shoulder and giving him a sympathetic look.