‘Oh yeah. I forgot.’
‘I’ll be back sometime tomorrow,’ said Renelle. ‘But I don’t want anyone sleeping in my room tonight or messing with my stuff.’
Eden clenched her mouth shut. Why would any of them want to go through Renelle’s stuff or sleep in her room? Fortunately, Madelaine came out of the bathroom and answered in her typically calm manner.
‘Of course. I’ll make sure that no one goes in there. We’re out most of the day anyway. The rugby match this afternoon and then drinks at the pub.’
The bell rang and Renelle rushed off. They heard the distant murmur of voices and then the door slammed.
‘Goodbye, Renelle. Have a great time. We’ll be sure to search through all your things. Bloody cheek. Who does she think she is?’ Eden rummaged through the meagre contents of the fridge and then dropped two slices of bread in the toaster. Madelaine wandered around their small open-plan kitchen and living room area, coming to a halt next to the counter top. Her nails beat a jarring rhythm on the Formica surface as she stared into space. Eden suffered the irritation for a moment before placing her hand over Madelaine’s.
‘Sorry, didn’t realise I was doing that.’
‘What’s up?’
Madelaine picked up the damp dishcloth and swished it over the crumbs, sending most to the floor. ‘Nothing.’
‘Oh come on, you can’t fool me.’
‘It’s just stuff at the Old Vic.’
‘I thought this term’s production was going well?’
‘It is, mostly.’
‘Is there anything else wrong?’
‘Everything’s fine, I told you.’ Madelaine crossed her arms over her chest, the fingers of one hand playing a tattoo against the opposite arm.
Eden sighed and let it drop. She’d talk to Madelaine later.
The university team won their match that afternoon, with both Gareth and Laurence scoring tries. The group celebrated hard and by the time they stumbled back to the girls’ flat late that night they were laughing at everything.
Madelaine tried several times to get the key in the door, giggling louder at each missed attempt. Behind her Mitch and Gareth kept up a running set of instructions, as if she was playing blindfold darts, until Eden pushed past them and grabbed the keys. In the lounge they slumped on to the old sofa and chairs, and Spike pulled a small leather case from his pocket.
‘Ooh, I’m up for a puff on an AstroTurf woodbine.’ Madelaine’s words were slurred.
Gareth nuzzled her hair and then kissed her neck. ‘Mads, don’t bother trying to keep up with the slang. You get it beautifully wrong every time.’
Madelaine giggled and kissed him. ‘But I need to be up with the latest stuff, you know, for when I’m a famous actress.’
‘When you’re famous,’ said Spike, ‘you can call it whatever you like and everyone will copy you.’ He reached over and handed her the joint.
Laurence stumbled over his words as he told them about a girl he’d met at the jazz club earlier in the week. So that was why he was keen on going back again. In another mood, Mitch or Spike might have teased him about the club and its generally older membership, but tonight he got to the end of his tale before Mitch said, yet again, that he wanted to go and see the new Matrix film.
‘I like Keanu Reeves. We’ll come with you.’ Madelaine poked Gareth in the ribs. ‘Won’t we?’
Gareth nodded and mumbled something in agreement.
Damn. Mitch’s strategy of including the others to see the film appeared to be working. Why couldn’t he just go and see it on his own?
‘I want to be in a film with amazing choreography.’ Madelaine tried the final word a couple of times before pronouncing it correctly. ‘Spike, write a film for me where I can do stuff like Carrie-Anne Moss.’
Spike frowned at her for a moment, considering her words.
‘That’s it.’
‘Really.’ Madelaine pulled away from Gareth to check whether Spike was teasing her.
‘Not the Matrix bit exactly. I’ve had an idea floating around my head for a while now, and I’ve just realised how it can be done.’ Spike stared into the distance, screwing up his face. ‘Is there any paper here? I want to write a few things down so I don’t forget.’
‘Renelle’s got some pretty notepaper.’
‘Eden,’ said Madelaine in a warning tone.
‘Oh yeah, we’ve got to keep out of her room and away from her stuff or she’ll burst her brain and it won’t be pretty.’
‘So we’re going to the cinema next week?’ said Mitch. ‘We can do the Tuesday cheap night.’
‘Okay. Whatever.’ Eden couldn’t be bothered bitching about it anymore and wandered off to the bathroom.
By the time she got back, Laurence was stretched out on the couch and looked as though he was settled in for the night. Spike wasn’t in the lounge, but appeared minutes later with paper and a pen he’d found. He sat at the table, writing furiously, lost in his film world.
‘You’d better get Madelaine to her room or you’ll end up carrying her,’ said Eden.
Gareth checked Madelaine, curled up next to him and nodded his agreement.
Eden grabbed Mitch’s hand. ‘Come on, we might as well go to bed as well.’
One afternoon two weeks later Eden and Madelaine were flopped on the couch. Eden read lines for Madelaine as she practised her role.
‘I’m never going to remember all this.’ Madelaine snatched the sheets of paper from Eden yet again.
The front door slammed and there were muffled snivels as footsteps hurried along the scuffed wooden floor. Another door banged shut.
Madelaine looked up, frowning. ‘That must be Renelle. Doesn’t sound good. We’d better go and see if she’s okay.’
‘S’pose so. Flatmates and all that crap.’ Honestly, Renelle could be such a drama queen.
Madelaine tapped on the door. ‘Are you alright?’
‘No, I’m bloody not.’
‘Anything we can do?’
A fresh storm of sobs drowned anything she might have said. Madelaine pushed open the door. Renelle lay face down on her bed, her head buried in the pillow, but she gave a loud sniff and pushed herself up when Madelaine sat on the bed. Eden stood in the doorway.
‘What happened?’
Renelle took the tissue that Madelaine handed her and dabbed at her eyes, but her shoulders still heaved with sobs and she couldn’t stop the occasional loud gulp escaping. It took several minutes and a lot of shoulder patting from Madelaine before she spoke clearly enough for them to understand.
‘They’re kicking me out.’
‘Who’s kicking you out of where?’
‘Uni.’
‘What the –? Why?’
Renelle gulped and sniffed a little more. ‘Bernadette Featherstone’s accused me of having an affair with her husband.’
Eden frowned. ‘What? Dirty Damien?’
Madelaine flinched at the nickname Spike had coined.
‘Yes, Damien Featherstone.’ Renelle swung her legs over the edge of the bed and sat up. Her face wrinkled with disgust. ‘I wouldn’t sleep with him. He’s bloody ancient.’
‘Not that old,’ said Madelaine.
‘He must be forty,’ said Eden.
‘They can’t chuck you out.’ said Madelaine.
Renelle buried her face in her hands, making it difficult for Eden and Madelaine to hear her. ‘They can. I’m here on a scholarship. There’s something in the agreement about not doing anything that could be construed as bad publicity. Bernadette Featherstone is the daughter of Lord Smyth something or other. He donates heaps to the university. I told them I wasn’t having an affair but it didn’t matter what I said, they didn’t believe me.’
‘Even they need some sort of proof. They can’t chuck you out because of Mrs Featherstone’s suspicions.’
‘She found a letter, but I didn’t write it. The panel were so up themselves,’ said Renelle. ‘They didn’t listen to me. It was like
they’d already made up their minds, or been told what to do. They said this sort of behaviour would bring the scholarship into disrepute, but if I left quietly it wouldn’t go on my record.’
‘If they’re wrong, you should fight,’ said Eden.
‘But–’ began Madelaine.
Renelle interrupted her. ‘I haven’t slept with him, but if I fight this I’m not going to win and it’ll stop me getting a place anywhere else. I don’t want to go back home. Mum and Dad will be upset, and I can’t even imagine telling them what’s happened. Dad’ll get angry and want to come down and hit someone.’
Eden thought the other two were accepting everything too easily. ‘So this letter, did you see it?’
‘Briefly. It wasn’t signed.’
‘Then how can they say it’s you. Is it your handwriting?’
Renelle took a deep juddering breath, frowned, marshalling her thoughts. ‘The message was handwritten, but printed, not cursive, on one of those blank note cards of mine.’
‘Those cards come from WH Smith’s stationery. They could belong to anyone,’ said Eden. ‘Is it your writing? People’s printing is different.’
‘It’s not my handwriting. I wrote some sentences to show my printing was different, but they said I could have disguised my writing for the note.’
‘Why are they so sure it’s you?’
‘Because one of my address stickers was on the back of the note. Not properly, kind of folded over.’
‘Bloody hell, that does make it difficult,’ said Eden.
‘It wasn’t me. I didn’t write the note and I’m not sleeping with him.’
‘It must be someone else then. Have you taken the blank cards anywhere? You might have dropped one of them.’
‘I haven’t taken them anywhere.’
‘Uni lectures, the library, given some away, that sort of thing?’
‘I said no.’
Eden wasn’t happy with Renelle’s tone; what the hell was she insinuating? ‘So you think the card must have been stolen from here.’
‘They’re always in my room,’ said Renelle.
Madelaine made a fluttering movement with her hands. ‘Did you get a chance to read any of the note?’
‘Kind of.’
‘What did it say?’
‘I can’t remember exactly. It looked made up.’
‘That doesn’t make sense.’
‘It was really short, just a few sentences. No greeting or signature. It looked… well, made up. Pretentious, like someone tried too hard. It wasn’t like a normal letter telling someone what you’ve been doing.’
‘Pretentious,’ muttered Eden. ‘So, let’s get this straight. You’re not having an affair with Featherstone and you didn’t write him a letter, but a note was sent to him on one of your cards that have never been out of your room and with your address on the back.’ Eden enunciated each of the words clearly.
Renelle nodded and an unpleasant silence followed.
‘What are you implying?’ asked Eden eventually.
‘Renelle’s not implying anything,’ said Madelaine. ‘Can’t you see how upset she is?’
‘I understand Renelle’s upset, but she’s making pointed comments about her note cards being taken from her room.’ Eden faced Renelle. ‘Do you think it’s one of us? Or more to the point, do you think it’s me?’
Renelle clamped her mouth shut, but a faint flush stained her cheeks.
‘You do think it’s me.’
‘Of course she doesn’t,’ said Madelaine. ‘There must be some other explanation.’
Renelle’s narrowed, glinty-eyed expression said she didn’t agree with Madelaine.
‘Think about all the people who visit us,’ said Madelaine. ‘We had a party a few weeks ago. There were loads of people from uni here. Any of them could have taken one of those notelets.’
‘Or Spike,’ said Renelle. ‘Pretentious writing is right up his street.’
‘So you don’t think it’s any of the others,’ said Eden. ‘As far as you’re concerned only Spike or I would make up a letter just to get you into trouble. Well, thanks a bunch. I’ll be honest, you irritate the hell out of me, but I would never stoop so low as to do something like that.’
‘Renelle doesn’t mean it,’ said Madelaine. ‘For goodness sake, she’s being chucked out. She’s upset. Let’s try and figure out what we should do next.’
Eden stomped out of the room, grabbing her bag in the hallway.
Eden strode along the streets, pushing past people who got in her way. Trust Renelle to accuse her and Spike. Bloody cheek. She took the long way around, but she was still in a foul mood when she reached the guys’ flat, and banged on the door.
‘What’s up?’ asked Mitch, as soon as he saw her expression.
She filled them in on the past couple of hours.
‘Blimey,’ said Gareth. ‘That’s tough on Renelle. And you and Spike,’ he added hurriedly.
Gareth rang the others and they all congregated at his flat. Madelaine arrived just as Eden finished telling them what had happened.
‘Any more news?’ asked Gareth.
‘Not really,’ said Madelaine. ‘I get the impression that Renelle was kind of hijacked at this meeting and didn’t take it all in. Every now and again she comes out with something she’s just remembered. It sounds as though Lord whatshisface, Bernadette Featherstone’s father, saw the other scholarship panel members earlier in the week, they discussed everything and pulled Renelle in for the meeting.’
‘Featherstone’s slept with heaps of students,’ said Spike. ‘This is probably the first time his wife has had any proof.’
‘That’s an awful thing to say about one of your tutors,’ said Madelaine.
Spike leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. ‘I know you like to think the best of people, and I don’t deny that he and I have had our differences, but I’m telling the truth. He’s slept with some of his students and there’s plenty more hanging on his every word who would sleep with him.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, really. Come up to the campus some time. He likes inviting attractive female students to his room.’
Eden gave her a tired smile. ‘It’s true, Mads. Renelle, or whoever, would just be the latest in a long line.’
‘We all know what he’s like,’ said Laurence. ‘But as you said, perhaps it’s the first time his wife has found out. Or maybe an annoyed boyfriend sent it anonymously to Featherstone hoping to get him in trouble but it backfired.’
‘Then why go to the trouble of making sure it had one of Renelle’s stickers on the back?’ said Gareth.
‘That could have been an accident if someone swiped one of the notes without looking too closely,’ said Spike. ‘It might not have been about Renelle at all. I’d bet money that she does take those note things to lectures.’
‘But someone wrote the letter,’ said Mitch.
‘What about the thank-you note she gave to him a couple of weeks ago. Could that have been misinterpreted?’ suggested Madelaine.
‘Or perhaps Dirty Damien’s wife got the idea from the note and bought some exactly the same and wrote it herself.’
‘This is all getting a bit far-fetched.’ Gareth looked around the group.
‘Did Renelle remember anything else?’
‘She thought the letter was written recently,’ said Madelaine.
‘How could she possibly tell that?’ said Eden. ‘She probably said it to make out it happened the weekend she was away at the wedding.’
‘Eden.’
Eden pulled a face at Madelaine. ‘It would be like her to do that.’
‘What did we do that weekend?’ asked Spike.
‘Played Cardiff and beat them,’ said Gareth and Laurence at the same time.
‘And afterwards we went to the pub,’ added Mitch.
It took them a while longer to remember the rest of the weekend.
‘So everyone stayed overnight at our flat,’ said Madel
aine.
‘Except Renelle who was away at her cousin’s wedding.’
‘Sunday morning we went out for a late breakfast to fight the hangovers. We ended up at the Downs for the afternoon and called in at a bar on the way back.’
They all nodded in agreement with Gareth’s summary.
Spike looked around the group. ‘None of us would do something like that on purpose, and I include myself. I don’t like Renelle, but I wouldn’t be that spiteful.’
The expression that crossed Mitch’s face told Eden he didn’t believe Spike.
5
Lexie Wyatt
Nettleford, Dorset
2018
‘Was Renelle getting sent down the bit of trouble you alluded to earlier?’ Lexie asked Eden as they sat on the park bench in the shade. Eden certainly was a piece of work, summing up such an event in that off-hand way. When Eden nodded, Lexie asked a second question for confirmation. ‘And all this happened before you knew Helen, before she moved into the flat?’
‘That’s right.’
‘What did you do next?’
‘I stayed with Mitch that first night. The next day I went back to the flat to see Renelle but we ended up in another argument. She told me straight out that she believed it was either Spike or me that had written the letter. I spent the rest of the next week at Mitch and Gareth’s place. I knew it made me look guilty but I was so angry with her.’
‘What happened to Renelle after that first meeting with the panel?’
‘They were set on her leaving. However, they did say they wouldn’t make anything public if she left quietly. They agreed that if asked they’d say she’d realised she didn’t want to continue with her studies at Bristol.’
‘And Renelle left?’
‘Yes. She stayed in the flat for a bit. Madelaine spent heaps of time with her looking at all sorts of courses to find out what she wanted to do. Much to everyone’s surprise, Renelle decided on a stage and theatre make-up degree and got into a course in London. It was totally different to what she’d been doing, but it was a good choice, she has a real talent for it.’ Eden sounded sincere in her compliment of Renelle’s talents.
The Worst Lie Page 4