Dory's Avengers

by Alison Jack

  ‘Oh, thanks, Max,’ said Dex, taking the page from the young man. ‘What can I get you? On the house, of course.’

  Max accepted a bottle of lager, then turned to Alan. ‘Why don't you form a breakaway band?’ he asked. ‘Call it the Applethwaiters or something like that?’

  Alan laughed at Max's band name suggestion. ‘Form a band with whom, Max Sweetie?’

  ‘People from the village,’ replied Max. ‘That's why I came up with the name, which I know is rubbish by the way.’

  ‘Good. So we've got a guitarist; we just need a singer, bassist, drummer, keyboard player…’

  ‘I can play drums,’ said Max unexpectedly. ‘And Matty can sing, as you well know Al.’

  ‘Cool idea, Max,’ said Matilda, eyes shining. ‘I'm sure someone can learn to play bass, and we don't really need a keyboardist…’

  ‘I used to play piano,’ Dex interrupted.

  ‘Stop, the bloody lot of you! Yes, this is all very fine, but it's not much use being able to play instruments if we've no instruments to play.’

  ‘There's a piano in our house,’ said Louis, thinking of the grand piano in the cold, unused living room and feeling a bit foolish as he added, ‘It's a bit big, though.’

  ‘I've got a keyboard somewhere,’ said Dex. ‘I think Georgie used to play on it when she was a kid so I don't know how good it'll sound, but then we're not talking about playing the Royal Albert Hall, are we!’

  ‘And I've got my drums,’ added Max. ‘It'll be good to get them out and give them a blast again.’

  Smiling round at everyone, the treachery of his former band mates forgotten in the excitement of something new, Alan said, ‘I think this could work. I love it! Well done, Max!’

  As usual, Max felt delighted to be praised by one of his new friends.

  ‘I'm not working with the Applethwaiters name, though,’ Alan continued. ‘Any name suggestions?’

  ‘The Anti-Sponsors?’ said Abi.

  ‘The Unsponsored,’ countered Matilda.

  ‘The Underclass!’

  ‘St Benedict Sucks.’

  ‘Dyer Sucks Harder!’

  ‘Not in a good way,’ said Alan, winking at Dex. ‘What about: Dyer's in the Closet?’

  ‘Can we move away from the Dyer theme, please?’ asked Abi, grimacing.

  ‘How about: Theo's Avengers?’ Louis suggested.

  ‘You know, I quite like that, but we could hardly go public with it,’ said Alan. ‘May cause us some bother, not to mention Theo himself.’

  ‘OK then, Dory's Avengers.’

  ‘Who's Dory?’

  ‘I know,’ said Abi, grinning. ‘That's what Louis used to call Theo. Theodore – Dory. No Sponsor would ever know who we meant by Dory; we could just say we're sticking up for the rights of John Dory fish or something.’

  ‘I love it!’ said Alan again, clapping his hands and laughing with delight. ‘Fish have rights too you know, Mr Sponsor. Ha-ha!’

  Dory's Avengers became the focus for Louis and his friends that autumn, taking their minds off the fact that the time still wasn't right to actually do anything to rescue Theo. The keyboard that Dex had mentioned turned out to be little more than a child's toy, but luckily the newly Sponsored Pink Pound members felt so bad about their desertion of Alan that they let Dory's Avengers have some of their old instruments.

  ‘Don't know why they're persisting with the Pink Pound name,’ grumbled Alan as the familiar keyboard and bass guitar of his old band were unloaded from Chris Farrell's van and brought into the pub. ‘I was the only one who's gay.’

  ‘Get over it, Dad!’ Matilda grumbled back. ‘The Pink Pound is so last season.’

  As soon as the keyboard was in place, Dex and Georgie both made a beeline for it, each trying to stake their claim to be the band's keyboard player.

  ‘No, Dexter, I do not want to play bass. You play bass! Listen to this Al…’

  ‘Get off it! My idea, my keyboard…’

  ‘Piss off, Dex!’

  ‘Piss off yourself, Georgia!’

  ‘Shut up!’ yelled Alan. ‘You want to be in the band? You audition. Dex, play something!’

  ‘Oh yeah,’ grumbled Georgie. ‘We audition and you choose your boyfriend.’

  ‘You audition and we choose whoever's better. Not just me, the whole band chooses. Dex my love, play something, please!’

  Dexter turned out to be a far more accomplished keyboard player than his casual suggestion had made him out to be, and was the obvious choice for the band. Georgie ended up playing bass, which she actually found she loved. For weeks after the brief audition she was often to be found in the bar with Alan, learning chords and playing techniques. Dex also took his role in Dory's Avengers seriously and spent every free moment in the pub practising his playing. Max's drum kit had taken up residence in the bar along with Dex's keyboard. Max played with rather more enthusiasm than skill, but once he was persuaded that he didn't have to hit every part of the kit at least twenty times a minute he turned out to be perfectly competent at keeping the beat. Bit by bit, Dory's Avengers came together.

  It was during that autumn, as his motley band of avengers was attempting to turn a cacophonous din into beautiful music, that life began to change for Theo himself. Rather to his own surprise, Lord William found himself, in quiet moments, thinking more and more often about his son. Whenever yet another of his grovelling Sponsors had been seen out of the house by Mooreland, whenever one or other of his household staff had said all the right things to him, Lord William found himself yearning for the company of someone who'd actually argue with him. Rosanna always appeared to be blunt and outspoken, but was she really? Thinking about it, Lord William couldn't ever remember her disagreeing with him on anything important, not like Theo did. Lysander was the same; yes, he could be cheeky, but he never actually disagreed with Lord William. The only person in His Lordship's world who had the nerve to tell him he was wrong was Theo, and to his amazement Lord William found he liked it. As a result, he was visiting his son's room more and more often, to Theo's obvious dismay.

  ‘You again, Your Lordship? I was hoping for a quiet day of looking out the window. I haven't had an opportunity to do that since…hmm…let me see…yesterday?’

  ‘Can't you just be nice for once, Theodore?’

  ‘Not sure, Your Lordship. Can you?’

  To Theo's surprise his father started to laugh. It didn't take Theo long to realise that his father's increased visits coincided with a distinct improvement in his treatment; his back, although scarred, had healed from his summer flogging, and for two months there'd been no repeat of the painful experience. If only Dyer's cameras-off time could be brought to an end as well, then Theo's life would be positively comfortable.

  Dyer's cameras-off time did come to an end, quite dramatically, a few weeks before Christmas. Alone in his office after a particularly grovelly Mortimer O'Reilly had departed, Lord William was in need of some more stimulating company and flicked on the security monitor to see if Theo was awake. Theo was indeed awake; in fact, he was parading, stark naked, in front of his security camera. There was no other way to describe it, Theo was putting on a show. Smiling and winking at the camera, Theo stretched his arms above his head, giving a full frontal view of his body to whoever may be watching before sliding his hands seductively down his bed post.

  ‘Theodore, what are you playing at?’ murmured Lord William, switching off the monitor and making his way downstairs.

  In the security room on the ground floor, Stephen Dyer sat alone in front of his own monitor, trousers round his ankles, eyes fixed on Theo. His breathing was ragged and his hand moved faster and faster between his legs. This was his secret, his closely guarded secret – he knew the ridicule he'd suffer if it became common knowledge that he found Theo attractive. More than attractive, actually; he fancied the young man so much it had become a physical ache. Over and over again, Dyer denied his true sexuality. He wasn't gay; of course he wasn't; he just enjoyed the sig
ht of Theo St Benedict naked. Enjoyed it very, very much…

  It was unfortunate for Stephen Dyer that just at the moment Theo's show and his own right hand brought him to climax, the door of the security room opened and in walked Lord William. Taking in the scene before him: the chief of security masturbating in front of a large screen on which His Lordship's naked son was blowing a kiss at the camera, Lord William composed himself with remarkable speed.

  ‘Which are Theodore's keys, Dyer? These ones? Thank you. Now, if you'll be good enough to make yourself decent and clean up the mess you've made, I'd like to see you in my office.’

  Leaving Dyer looking as if he wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole, Lord William went back upstairs, all the way to the fourth floor and Theo's room. Finding to his relief that his son had put some clothes on, Lord William said, ‘Bracelet, Theodore.’

  Eyebrows raised, Theo lifted his trouser leg to reveal the electronic security tag clipped firmly to his ankle. Lord William removed the tagging bracelet and laid it down on Theo's bedside table.

  ‘Follow me!’

  ‘What, out there?’ asked Theo, waving a hand vaguely towards the open door.

  ‘Yes, out there.’

  Too surprised to think of his usual smart answer, Theo followed Lord William out of his bedroom and walked freely down the stairs for the first time in nearly ten years.

  ‘Sit down, there!’ commanded Lord William when they'd reached his office. Theo, being Theo, completely ignored the seats in front of his father's desk, and headed instead for a large armchair. When a timorous knock sounded at the door a few minutes later and Stephen Dyer entered the room, Theo was comfortable and relaxed in the large chair. Not as good at hiding his surprise as the St Benedict father and son, Dyer started violently at seeing Theo in the armchair; long legs stretched out in front of him, hands clasped over his stomach. So calm. So devastatingly good-looking…

  ‘Sit down, Mr Dyer! Thank you for, er, coming so quickly.’

  Not having anything like Theo's nerve, Dyer sat down exactly where instructed and waited fearfully for the difficult interview to commence. Catching his father's innuendo and failed attempt to disguise a snort of laughter as a cough, Theo had a fair idea what had happened. Oh boy, he thought, I am going to enjoy this.

  ‘No problem at all, Your Lordship, and I can explain…’

  ‘Yes, Dyer, I would like some explanations. Theodore, would you be so good as to explain why you were prancing around naked in front of your security camera?’

  ‘It amuses me, Your Lordship. I believe it amuses other people too. Did you enjoy the show?’

  ‘No. However, you are correct in your assumption that it was entertaining to a certain member of the household. Were you aware that Stephen here masturbates over you?’

  Dyer spluttered and went crimson. Smiling, Theo said, ‘I thought there was a distinct possibility, Your Lordship, yes.’

  ‘Don't you mind?’

  Theo unclasped his hands and spent a few moments looking at his fingers. Finally, he said, ‘It beats being buggered on a regular basis.’

  Tick-tock went the grandfather clock into the deafening silence that followed Theo's statement. Lord William's frown deepened as he grasped the implications of his son's words; Dyer looked absolutely petrified. Only Theo remained calm, continuing his study of his fingers before raising his head to smile at the two older men.

  ‘Stephen,’ said Lord William quietly after a while. ‘Have you been sexually abusing my son?’

  Tick-tock, tick-tock. Please let me wake up from this nightmare, thought Dyer.

  ‘Stephen? I'm waiting!’

  ‘I, er, I thought it would be all right, Your Lordship. I thought, er, that you, er…’

  ‘You perhaps thought I'd totally given up on my son? What gave you the right to make such an assumption?’

  ‘Well, er…’ Once again Dyer broke off, waving helplessly at the iron rings on the wall where Theo had taken so many beatings.

  ‘Ah, I see. So, because I have ordered you to punish my son when I see fit to have him punished, you thought you could take matters into your own hands any time you wished. No wonder there've been times when the camera's been off in Theodore's room. I should have questioned it sooner.’

  ‘With respect, Your Lordship, I thought…er… Theodore…’

  ‘Lord Theodore, Dyer.’

  ‘Yes, Your Lordship. I thought, er, Lord Theodore enjoyed it.’

  ‘Do you enjoy it, Theodore?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Do you fancy men, Theodore?’

  ‘No, Your Lordship. I see many nice-looking people walking by outside, and it's always the ladies who catch my eye.’

  ‘Do you fancy men, Dyer?’

  ‘No, Your Lordship, I'm no bender…’

  ‘Yet you seemed to find my son extremely sexually stimulating a short while ago!’

  Lord William was silent for a while, leaving Dyer to suffer more of the clock's infernal ticking. Finally, his boss spoke.

  ‘I've always been happy with your work, Stephen. You carry out your duties with enthusiasm and an attention to detail which I find pleasing. Therefore I'm not going to take this matter any further. I rather think this interview has been punishment enough for you.’

  ‘Thank you, Your Lordship,’ stammered Dyer, looking for a second as though he was going to throw himself from the chair and prostrate himself at Lord William's feet.

  ‘However, Dyer, I can't have you in charge of the security in Lord Theodore's room any more. If you would be so good as to find Lee Fellows and ask him to come and see me, I shall make arrangements for him to take charge. Also, any abuse of Lord Theodore must stop, immediately. If he needs punishing, it shall be carried out on my orders and my orders alone. Understand?’

  ‘Yes, Your Lordship. Thank you, Your Lordship.’

  ‘At all times, Dyer, remember that Lord Theodore is my son and not your sexual plaything. Now go! Send Fellows up!’

  Dyer almost ran from the room, so great was his anxiety to be away from Lord William's disgust and Theo's obvious amusement. Chuckling to himself, Lord William muttered ‘Sycophant’ as the door closed, causing Theo to roar with laughter.

  ‘Couldn't have put it better myself, Your Lordship.’

  ‘Why didn't you tell me?’ asked Lord William. Theo didn't reply; he just gazed steadily back at his father in silence until His Lordship said, ‘You're driving me mad with your constant chatter, Theodore. Make yourself scarce, will you!’

  Rising slowly from his comfortable armchair, Theo said, ‘As you wish, Lord William,’ and strode from the room. Theo wasn't surprised in the slightest to find Dyer hovering at the top of the stairs. Grabbing hold of Theo's lapels, Dyer slammed the young man into the wall.

  ‘You little fuck! Don't think this is over…’

  ‘Get your hands off me, Dyer! Didn't you hear Lord William? The abuse stops, now! Unless you want me to inform His Lordship that you are disobeying his orders, I suggest you remember that.’

  As Dyer reluctantly let go of Theo's collar, Theo smoothed his clothes and continued.

  ‘Good. Now, I believe Lord William instructed you to find Lee Fellows. Don't you think you'd better carry out His Lordship's wishes? Oh, and one more thing; it's Lord Theodore to you, not ‘‘you little fuck’’.’

  Dyer watched Theo return to his bedroom, finding everything about the way the young man moved almost irresistibly sexy. Sighing as he realised there would be no more fun with Theo, Dyer's mind became more confused, angry and resentful than ever.

  ‘I don't want him, I hate him,’ he said to himself as he went off in search of Fellows. ‘I don't fancy him. I do fancy him, I do NOT fancy him, I hate him! I want him so much…’

  In the run-up to Christmas Theo's life continued to improve. Lee Fellows was instructed to give him the run of the house rather than keeping him confined to his bedroom, and Theo thrived in his new-found freedom. He still had to wear a security tag to
prevent him from leaving the house, but Theo was quite used to restrictions on his freedom. Roaming around the big, old house, he found a wealth of new experiences to keep him amused as the days passed. The staff of the household, so long wary of the fourth floor and the crazy St Benedict boy, were pleasantly surprised to discover that Theo was actually a completely sane and highly entertaining young man. Marina was absolutely delighted to have day-to-day contact with her brother, and the two of them were often to be found together.

  ‘Watch this, Mari,’ Theo would say, sometimes grabbing fruit from the fruit bowl to show off his expertise as a juggler, sometimes producing a battered old guitar from his room and playing a series of well-known songs for them to sing together. On occasions, Lord William almost found himself joining in with the singing. Theo was completely enrapt by television, watching everything from old spaghetti Westerns to the latest goings on in the land of soap operas. His favourite programmes, however, were children's cartoons, and the house often rang to the sound of Theo's infectious laugh as he watched the antics of the various characters. With the exception of Stephen Dyer and the furiously jealous Lady Rosanna, everyone in the St Benedict household agreed that it was a far happier place with Lord Theodore free from his room.

  In the weeks following Stephen Dyer's humiliation, Theo found himself the owner of a whole new wardrobe of clothes thanks to Lord William's declaration that his son couldn't go around ‘looking like a tramp!’