by Alison Jack
‘Don't you DARE use naughty words at my daddy,’ said Jenny, waving her hands furiously at Gideon and diffusing the tension in the room a little.
‘I'm with Gideon on this one, and God knows how I hate the Sponsors,’ Abi put in, sobering up a little. ‘Also, bear in mind that, if Lysander was close enough to Theo to receive this note from him, he must have news to tell us. Chase him out of Applethwaite with pitchforks later if you must, but first I would like to listen to what he has to tell us.’
‘A good point, well made,’ Chloe said. Chloe and Abi had got on well from the moment they met, recognising immediately the strength of character they shared. Helping herself to champagne and giggling again, Abi noticed that Chloe and Cameron were also getting on well, for somewhat different reasons!
‘OK, Dad, it's down to you. What's going on in London with Theo? We want to hear everything too, not an edited version.’ Louis accepted another glass of champagne from Abi with a smile, then sat her on his knee to listen to Lysander's story.
‘What about Genevieve?’ Lysander began, but was hushed by both his children.
As Jenny protested that she was grown up enough to stay, for once letting the use of her full name go unchallenged, Louis said, ‘Jenny's young, but she's strong. She stays.’
All eyes were still on Lysander as he started to share his news, but they were a little less hostile now. Nicola stayed by his side as he spoke, and he wondered in an unusually humble moment what he'd done to deserve such devotion from his wife.
‘OK, this is what I know. Something changed His Lordship's mind about Theo recently. No, young lady, I don't know what the something was.’
‘Actually, I was going to ask you not to call that evil piece of shit His Lordship while you're with us,’ said Chloe. ‘You're not with your bunch of kiss-arse Sponsors now.’
‘Er, it's Chloe, isn't it? Point taken, Chloe. I'll compromise by calling him WSB.’
‘I'd rather you called him a piece of shit…’
‘A few minutes ago you were mistrustful of me. Works both ways you know. What would my life be worth if it got back to WSB that I'd called him…what you said?’ Chloe nodded slightly, conceding the point to Lysander.
‘Right, I digress,’ Lysander continued, warming to his task now he was on the familiar ground of addressing an attentive audience. ‘A few weeks ago Theo just started appearing around the house. I believe he's still restricted from leaving the house, but he can wander around it and talk to whomever he wants.’
‘He must love that,’ said Louis, grinning.
‘He does. He particularly loves watching cartoons.’ Tapping his fist on his bottom lip, Lysander remembered awkwardly the trouble that Theo's cartoons had caused at Lord William's soirée. Louis and his friends had asked for an account of everything, but dare he include that bit?
‘Marina loves it too. It's been so nice to see her coming out of her shell; she's a lovely girl. Theo's amazing. All he's been through; he's still bright, humorous, entertaining…’
‘We know,’ said Louis, looking abruptly at the ceiling when his father cast him a quizzical look.
‘The members of the household love him; they really love him. All apart from Rosanna, and that horrible man that heads security.’
‘Dyer,’ said Dex, adding, ‘I'm going to have to wash my mouth out now I've said his bastard name!’
‘Yes, him. By the way I should have said used to head security. Now it's headed by some bloke called Fellows. Dyer's been demoted, and I think that may have something to do with Theo.’
Matilda, Abi and Cameron leapt up to exchange high fives, before Abi grabbed another bottle of champagne and yelled, ‘That calls for celebration!’
When the youngsters had calmed down a bit, Lysander continued.
‘No, Dyer's not happy at all. Thank you, Abi; I will drink to that. I've never liked the man, and from what I've seen he's taken every opportunity to make Theo's life miserable. However, no more. Theo's life has improved, and that scumbag has been demoted.’
‘Hear, hear!’ said Max.
‘What?’
‘Just agreeing that Dyer's a scumbag.’
‘He's your boss, isn't he, Maxwell?’ asked Lysander, raising his eyebrows. ‘Looks like I'm not the only one treading on thin ice! My theory is that WSB is actually sick and tired of his kiss-arse sponsors, to use Chloe's phrase. The only person who dares challenge him is Theo, and I think His… I mean WSB enjoys that. Theo's gained his freedom through his sheer nerve.’
At last I seem to have said something right, thought Lysander, watching his audience sharing smiles at the mention of Theo's nerve. However, Lysander's relief was shortlived and it was his own son's question that shattered it.
‘What about the torture – has that stopped?’ Noticing his father tapping his fist against his bottom lip once again, Louis added, ‘Tell us everything, Dad!’
‘The torture seemed to stop for a while, but I don't know for sure. What I do know, I'm afraid, is that Theo took a beating a couple of nights ago.’
‘Details,’ said Louis relentlessly.
‘WSB was hosting a soirée. He likes to have a little get-together after his festive family photo has been taken. By the way, the photo includes Theo this year. I'm afraid I rather, erm, screwed up.’
The eyes in the room were hostile again.
‘When I arrived, WSB was getting pissed off with Theo's insistence on watching television. I'm afraid Theo does go a little far in antagonising his father sometimes…’
‘Don't you DARE blame Theo for his torture!’
‘I wasn't, Matilda. Theo was watching cartoons, laughing like a kid. Actually I found it contributed nicely to the festive mood of the evening, added a sparkle that's been missing since Isabelle…’ Lysander coughed, trying not to catch Chris Farrell's eyes, then continued: ‘WSB clearly didn't agree. He told Theo to turn the cartoons off; and without thinking, I stuck up for Theo.’
‘That's cool, Dad…’
‘No it's not, Louis. Hear me out, then decide whether or not you want to fetch your pitchforks. I opened my big mouth and told WSB that Theo should be allowed to watch cartoons as he'd missed out on a huge chunk of childhood. WSB hauled me over the coals a bit. That's fine, I can deal with it. Sadly, Theo got involved. It ended up in a short but spectacular row between WSB and Theo. Theo told WSB a few home truths about his failings as a father. WSB had him…’
‘Flogged unconscious? The bastard!’
‘I don't know if Theo ended up unconscious, but I hope for his sake that he did. I've witnessed one of these floggings, but I didn't witness this one. Couldn't help but hear it though; it seemed to go on for ever…’
‘When did Theo give you the note, Dad?’
‘As he walked from the room to take his punishment. He was so dignified, Lou. I tried to apologise, but he took my hand, said it was OK…and slipped me the note.’
‘He was that cool when knew he was being led off to be flogged?’ asked Matilda, eyes like saucers. ‘This Theo is my kind of man!’
‘Unlucky, Max,’ murmured Alan, knowing full well that Max had been repeatedly trying to win Matilda's affections.
‘Anyway, that's all I know,’ said Lysander, before adding, ‘No, actually, there's a bit more. WSB called me back to his house the morning after the soirée. I was expecting one hell of a grilling, but just as I'd sat down Theo appeared.’
‘How did he look?’
‘Defiant! Theo's good at that. He walked in, Marina in tow as usual, turned on the telly and started watching cartoons.’
‘What did His Lordshit do?’
‘He commented that Theo never learns. He actually sounded proud, too. Like I said, Theo's life is far from ideal but it's improving.’
Lysander finished speaking, and tapped his fist nervously on his lips as he waited for a barrage of abuse. What he actually got amazed him.
‘You stuck up for Theo, Lysander. I think that took some nerve,’ said Jess, and most peopl
e around her started nodding their agreement.
‘Yeah, you stood up to His Lordshit,’ said Chloe, finding she was developing a slight admiration for Louis's father. ‘I bet none of his other lapdogs would do that.’
‘Don't be too hard on yourself, Dad. Theo wouldn't blame you.’
‘How do you know?’ asked Lysander hoping to catch Louis off guard, but his son just smiled.
‘Is Theo hot?’ asked Matilda, successfully breaking the tension in the room as everyone laughed.
‘I'm no expert,’ Lysander replied. ‘But why not have a look for yourself?’
Crossing over to The White Lion's computers, Lysander booted one up. Once online he called up a popular search engine and typed in ‘St Benedict Christmas’.
‘By the way,’ Lysander said to Dex as he looked through the options on the screen, ‘how do you manage to get Internet connection in here?’
‘What being as the inn's Unsponsored you mean? The account's in Chris's name. He's Sponsor-endorsed. Pro Spo.’
‘So don't even think about trying to give Dex any Sponsor hard sell,’ added Alan. ‘The answer remains no!’
‘No hard sell, Alan; I was merely curious.’ Turning his attention back to the list of options for St Benedict Christmas, Lysander soon found the images he wanted.
‘Excellent, they're on,’ he murmured, clicking on the recently taken photos of Theo. ‘Here you go, Miss Santiago. Judge for yourself!’
Everyone crowded around the screen, jostling for a place to get a good look at the latest pictures of the St Benedict siblings.
‘Looks like Theo and Lady Rosanna want to kill each other,’ Dex said, amused at the failed attempts of the photographer to get a nice family shot for the Christmas card. ‘Can't see any of these being suitable for the Sponsored season's greetings.’
‘Not the ones with Lady Rosanna in, no. But look at these.’
Lysander flicked through the natural, unposed shots of Theo and Marina, taken after the evil eye of Rosanna had left the scene. Once again everyone crowded around him to get a better look.
‘Oh yeah,’ said Matilda, staring at the photographs of Theo, ‘he's hot.’
Lysander woke late the morning following Louis's birthday, rather hung over but feeling happier than he had done for a long time, warm and comfortable in his own bed. A fire had been lit in the bedroom and it was flickering away cheerfully, casting a pleasing glow around the room. Nicola was sitting on the bed beside him, smiling as he woke.
‘Nikki! You look…’
‘Compos mentis? Yes, I've had a little antidepressant dependency going on for a few years,’ Nicola said, totally understating the extent of her addiction. ‘But thanks to Louis and Gideon I'm getting through it.’
Nicola also understated the difficult few weeks she'd had leaving her dependency behind. If it hadn't been for the determination of Louis to get to know his mother for the first time in his life, backed up by Gideon's desire to rediscover his protégée Nicola Brown, she'd never have got this far.
‘Thank you for your support last night, Nikki. You were amazing.’
‘So were you. It must have been pretty scary to start with!’
‘Well, I got through it without a pitchfork in my backside,’ said Lysander, grinning. ‘Are the kids up yet?’
‘Jen's at school. Louis…well; let's just say we leave Louis to it when Abi stays over!’
Laughing, Lysander accepted the cup of tea his wife was offering to him, and they reminisced about the party the previous night. Dex had managed to get the best photos of Theo and Marina projected on to the inn's big screen, usually reserved for major sporting events, and the party had restarted in earnest. Dory's Avengers played better than ever before, encouraged by the huge photos of Dory himself moving across the big screen. Everyone got extremely drunk and raucous, which was probably a contributory factor to Dory's Avengers sounding so classic, and many a toast was proposed to freedom and the pleasures of too much champagne.
‘I take it Louis isn't training today?’ said Lysander, finally hearing the sound of movement from their son's room. ‘I think love's young dream may be awake!’
‘No he's not, Sandy. Not even Gideon's that much of a slave-driver!’ Sliding back into bed next to her husband, Nicola added, ‘I was just going to suggest that love's middle-aged dream stay in bed a little longer…’
It was well into the afternoon before everyone in the Trevelyan household was up and about. Lysander and Nicola found their son and Abi in the family room. Louis's birthday cards were displayed all around, the home-made one from Theo taking pride of place, and the youngsters were curled up on the family room sofa, drinking tea and watching cartoons.
‘It's our tribute to Theo,’ said Abi, giggling along with Louis as one of the baddies found himself squashed flat by a ten-ton weight. Leaving the young couple to their entertainment, it was Lysander and Nicola who went to fetch Jenny from school, much to the excitement of the other parents at the school gate. Lysander smiled and nodded awkwardly as the assembled company stared at him, taking a rare opportunity to get a look at a famous Sponsor in the flesh. Jenny was totally unconcerned; delighted to see her father was still in Applethwaite, she informed him that the Christmas play was to be held on Friday and asked if Daddy would be there to watch. Hardly daring to breathe as she waited for Lysander's reply, Nicola crossed her fingers behind her back and hoped.
‘Yes, Genevieve,’ said Lysander, to the delight of both Jenny and her mother, ‘I think I'll be home for a few days, actually.’
True to his word, Lysander did stay until the following Monday. Jenny's school play was a new experience for him, and one he found he enjoyed immensely. It was with regret that Lysander realised Louis had gone through school without his father ever once attending his school plays, sports days, open evenings or prize-giving days.
‘I bet you got loads of prizes,’ said Lysander to his son later as the family ate dinner with Abi and Sarah in the cheerful kitchen. His words sounded feeble and totally inadequate as he remembered Gideon's accusation of deplorable neglect. Without replying, Sarah left the room and returned with a box full of trophies.
‘I didn't know we'd still got these,’ said Louis, starting to take his school prizes out of the box.
‘They're mainly sporting trophies,’ said Sarah to her boss. ‘Louis always was the active type, but I think there may be a ‘‘most improved at maths’’ prize from one year.’
‘Athlete of the year. Gymnast of the year.’ Lysander unpacked the trophies one by one, reading the accolades out loud. ‘One thousand metres winner. Cross-country winner. Swimming. More running. Gymnastics. More gymnastics. More gymnastics…Did anyone else do sport at your school?’
‘Of course,’ said Sarah proudly, ‘but no one was as good as our Louis!’
‘You still practise gymnastics, don't you, Louis?’
Again, Louis didn't have a chance to answer, his mother cutting in this time.
‘He does, and I've been to watch a few times. He's brilliant, Sandy; I mean really brilliant.’
‘Well you're qualified to judge, Nikki! Louis, would it be OK for me to watch too?’
‘Don't feel you have to make up for not coming to watch me at school; it really doesn't…’
‘Louis! I'd like to watch, if that's OK with you, of course.’
‘Well, I normally only train in the morning on Saturday, Dad. We go and watch Cam play football in the afternoon.’
‘Who does Cameron play for, Abi?’ asked Lysander.
‘Applethwaite Unsponsored,’ Abi replied, unable to keep the pride out of her voice. ‘He's good, Lysander; good enough to play in the top flight, but after what happened to Dad he refused to get Sponsorship.’
‘So there's an unsponsored league is there?’
‘There is indeed. Why not come along and watch the match tomorrow?’
‘Do you know what, Abilene, I'd like that; as long as I don't make the spectators run, screaming, for their homes.
’
‘You'll be my guest, Lysander,’ said Abi, grinning at Louis's father, still full of pride that her brother had rejected Sponsorship, even though it meant turning his back on a lucrative football career. ‘I'll make sure the locals behave themselves.’
The Saturday before Christmas dawned bright, sunny and cold. Snow had been decorating the fells for a few weeks, but the lower grounds were still clear and the football match was able to go ahead. Lysander woke up with a huge rush of excitement when he contemplated the day ahead, showered hurriedly, then went downstairs where Louis was already getting his kit together.
‘Breakfast, Louis?’
‘Already had it, Dad. I'd be in trouble if I tried to face Gideon's training on a full stomach! You go ahead, though, we've time yet.’
Sarah had elected to take Jenny Christmas shopping that morning, Lysander having secured a gold Sponsor card for Sarah to avoid her encountering any nastiness in the shops. Before heading into nearby Keswick, Sarah went up to fetch Gideon and deliver him to the studio to take Louis's morning training. Louis, his parents and Abi arrived at the studio just as Gideon was unlocking the door, the young couple sharing a secret smile as they entered the place in which they'd first made love. Gideon, grumpy as ever, rounded on Lysander as soon as they'd all walked through the door.
‘Bit late to take an interest in your son now, Trevelyan, and TURN THE LIGHT OFF! Don't you know it hurts Louis's eyes?’
‘Sorry,’ replied Lysander, taken aback at the barrage of abuse and snapping the lights off again. ‘Didn't think.’
‘No, you Sponsors never do. Except about making money, and making people's lives a misery…’
‘Gideon, shall we begin?’ Louis interrupted, already in his kit.
‘Hmm. Have you warmed up, Louis? Well DO IT THEN! I'LL BE HAVING TO TELL YOU WHEN TO WIPE YOUR ARSE NEXT!’
Abi and Nicola sat either side of Gideon. They were both totally relaxed in his bad-tempered company, Nicola no longer scared of the ‘Giddy bloke’ of whom she'd been so wary in her drug induced stupor. Lysander stood a little apart from the others, hovering awkwardly by the door until Gideon roared at him to sit down and stop cluttering the place up. Warm up exercises complete, Louis offered Gideon an exaggerated bow.