by Alison Jack
‘Same for me, thank you, Adam,’ said Rosanna, returning Adam's smile even as her heart contracted painfully. ‘Your mother is very well, by the way, although she misses you.’
Astounded at Rosanna's uncharacteristic thoughtfulness, Adam thanked her warmly and went off to fetch their drinks. As Faye predicted, Matilda wasn't so welcoming.
‘What the fuck do you want, Faye?’
‘His Lordship asked me to accompany Lady Rosanna…’
‘Oh yeah, and you wouldn't have the guts to say no, would you?’ snapped her daughter. ‘This is partly your fault, you know. If you hadn't been drooling over Dad all the time, His Lordshit wouldn't have singled Dex out.’
‘You're not saying anything I haven't thought myself, Matilda,’ said Faye, watching Theo wrap comforting arms around her daughter. The love Theo clearly felt for Matilda contrasted so starkly with his father's brutal treatment of Faye.
Almost as if she read her mother's mind, Matilda said, ‘Are you still letting His Lordshit knob you since he beat seven barrels of shit out of you…’
‘Matilda, I did ask you not to disrespect your mother. Hello, Faye. Good day to you, Lady Rosanna.’
Faye had to blink as Alan entered the bar, so different did he look to his normal self. Gone were his usual loud clothes, his favoured bright top, skin-tight trousers and heeled boots replaced by a simple shirt and jeans. Gone were the sparkling hair grips and the eyeliner. So vain was Alan normally that, until the kidnapping, only Dex and Matilda knew that he had bad eyesight. Usually he made sure his contact lenses were in before being seen in public, but in light of what had happened to Dex he couldn't care less if everyone saw him wearing his glasses, vanity being the least of his concerns.
‘Good day to you too, Mr Santiago,’ said Rosanna politely, causing raised eyebrows around the bar and Theo to enquire as to whether she was taking the piss.
‘No, I'm not, Theodore. Thank you, Lysander; I trust you're well?’ Continuing to amaze her brother, and everyone else in the bar, Rosanna smiled at Lysander as he handed her and Faye their drinks.
‘Now then, Mr Santiago, forgive me for putting you through this, but my father wants to speak to you about Dexter Montfiore. I'm so sorry I can't give you a heads-up concerning Mr Montfiore's state of health, but I'm not exactly flavour of the month at the moment…’
‘I understand,’ interrupted Alan, anxious to find out about Dex but intrigued by Rosanna's apparent new humility. ‘But why are you being so…er…nice…?’
Looking into Alan's eyes, so full of pain that mirrored her own, Lady Rosanna spoke the truth.
‘Because I now know what a broken heart feels like, Mr Santiago.’ Looking at her feet, Rosanna could feel everyone staring at her in amazement, and she didn't dare look around for fear of catching Adam's eye.
‘Oh. Sorry about that, Your…er…Ladyship,’ said Alan, taken aback. ‘Please call me Alan.’
‘OK, Alan,’ said Rosanna, raising her head. She didn't see any hostility in anyone's eyes, not even Theo's, and the ghost of a smile played round her lips as she said, ‘Please feel free to call me Lady Bitch.’ Patting Alan's arm as he and a few others had the good grace to look embarrassed, Rosanna continued: ‘It's all right. I deserved it. Shall I call Father and let him know we're ready to proceed?’
Ignoring the nervous lurch in his stomach, Alan nodded and Rosanna switched on her laptop. Establishing a visual link between The White Lion and Lord William's office, Rosanna stood back as her father came into view.
‘Er, Santiago?’ said Lord William, looking in surprise at Alan's unusually subdued appearance. When Alan nodded, Lord William continued with his usual lack of tact.
‘Good grief, Santiago; you almost look like a man. Didn't recognise you for a second…’
‘With respect, Lord William, I'd rather talk about Dex.’
‘Oh yes, I imagine you would. Lord William, is it now? Not Your Lordshit? It's amazing what a leveller the loss of one's bed partner can be.’ Alan didn't reply, so Lord William continued.
‘Stephen, please go and fetch Montfiore for me. Gently, now; I don't think there's any part of him you haven't already thumped!’
Laughing at his own wit, Lord William noticed that the only reaction Alan Santiago gave to his words was to blink a couple of times. Alan wasn't able to hold in a gasp of dismay, echoed by his daughter and others around them, as Dex came into view. Lord William hadn't been exaggerating; Dex's face was swollen and bruised almost beyond recognition. Despite his injuries, Dex hadn't lost any of his easy-going humour.
‘Yeah?’ he joked in reference to Alan's obvious dismay at his battered appearance. ‘You've not exactly made much of an effort yourself, Al. Why are you wearing my clothes, honey?’
‘They make me feel closer to you, Dex sweetie,’ replied Alan, looking at Dex with eyes full of love.
‘Well, leave me something to wear when I get home, OK? Why are you wearing your glasses?’
‘All the better to see you with, my dear,’ replied Alan, smiling for the first time since Dex's disappearance.
‘You know what I mean; I don't want you letting yourself go in my absence.’ Smiling back at Alan, Dex added, ‘You know I'm kidding, darling; you're a sight for sore eyes, and boy! Do I have sore eyes…’
‘That's enough, you pair of mincing queens!’ interrupted Lord William, pulling a face to register his disgust that two men could be so clearly in love with each other. ‘As you can see, Santiago, your…er…friend…’
‘Boyfriend,’ corrected Dex.
‘Shut up, Montfiore! Santiago, your…thingy…Montfiore is at my mercy. As you can also see, my mercy is in short supply. I'll be blunt here. I don't want any more trouble from you. I've got the Games coming up, as I'm sure you know, and I've got more than enough on my plate down in London. Rosanna and the Sponsors still in Applethwaite will keep an eye on you, Theodore and the other Unsponsored. If I hear of ANY insubordination, then Mr Dyer may just have to teach Montfiore an even harsher lesson than…’
‘Oh, I wouldn't recommend that,’ interrupted Alan, taking his friends by surprise as much as Lord William. Pulling something from the pocket of Dex's shirt, he waved it at the laptop's camera. ‘Do you know what this is?’
‘It's a passport…’
‘Yes, Lord William. An American passport, to be specific. Dex's American passport, to be even more specific. Dex is an American citizen, and I'm sure the American Embassy will take a very dim view of you holding him against his will.’ Lord William recovered his composure quickly, but not quickly enough for the flash of horror in his eyes at Alan's words to go unnoticed.
‘If you continue to harm Dex in any way, the American Embassy will take an even more dim view, and your Scheme won't be able to bail you out then…’
‘And how exactly do you intend to get in touch with the Embassy?’ snarled Lord William, losing his composure in the cool face of the man he had hoped to break.
‘If you hurt my Dex any more, I'll find a way.’
‘You won't know…’
‘I will know,’ said Alan steadily, trying to ignore the fact that his insides were churning even more frantically than before and hoping he was doing the right thing. Looking at Dex through the camera on Rosanna's laptop, Alan saw him nod slightly and smile encouragingly before Lord William cut off the visual link.
Realising that the contact with Dex was at an end, Alan gestured to Rosanna to shut down her laptop. Faye then touched Rosanna on the sleeve and indicated towards the door. With a brief, despairing look at Adam, Rosanna nodded and politely took her leave of the Unsponsored.
‘Thank you for the drink, Lysander. I'm sure Dexter will be all right, Alan. Surely not even my father's arrogant enough to take on the American Embassy.’
Smiling gratefully at Rosanna's words of encouragement, Alan saw the two women out of the pub and bolted the door behind them.
‘Well,’ he said, ‘who was that and what has she done with the real Lady Bitch?’<
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‘She does have her good side,’ said Adam thoughtfully, as Izzy re-joined the group in the bar.
‘It was difficult staying hidden, so near and yet so far from my daughter,’ she said. ‘Adam's right. Deep down, my Rose is a good girl.’
Theo looked as though he was about to argue that point, but caught his mother's eye and decided against it. Instead, he said to Alan, ‘What a masterstroke, waving Dex's American passport in His Lordshit's face like that. Al; you're a genius. When did you think of that?’
‘Couple of days ago, Theo sweetie,’ replied Alan, sounding more like his usual self. ‘When I was cleaning the gym.’
Louis and Gideon exchanged smiles at the memory of Alan's frenzied scrubbing and sweeping around them as Louis tried to practise his floor exercises.
‘Why then?’ Louis asked.
‘It put me in mind of that little altercation with Gideon, Louis. You remember? The day Dex first showed you the gym…’
‘When Dex pointed out that we're American, and therefore beyond the control of the Sponsors,’ finished Georgie, grabbing Alan and kissing him soundly. ‘Alan Santiago, I love you; you clever, clever man!’
‘Steady on, Mrs Farrell,’ said Alan, laughing for the first time in ten days. ‘You know I've only got eyes for your brother!’ His face becoming serious once more, Alan looked around the room.
‘I don't know about you, my sweet friends, but the time has come for me to make a break for it. Tomorrow, I'm setting off for London.’
‘How?’
‘In Dex's car, maybe? On foot? If I can just get away from Applethwaite, I can then contact Philip; I'm sure he can arrange some sort of transport south. One way or another, I'm going to London. I'm going to get Dex away from that awful man…’
‘How though, Alan?’
‘I don't know. Stamp my feet a bit? Throw a tantrum? Seduce Stephen Dyer?…No, scrub that last idea. Yuk! I really don't know. Everything we've achieved so far we've pretty much done by accident, so I thought I'd carry on the great Dory's Avengers tradition of not bothering with plans…’
‘I'm with you, Al.’
‘I'm right behind you, Dad.’ Theo and Matilda spoke at the same time, prompting a wave of support from the rest of Dory's Avengers, including Izzy.
‘Do you think that's wise, Mum?’ asked Marina in concern.
‘Well, I'm not prepared to get left behind, darling,’ replied Izzy, smiling. ‘What would I do while you're having all the fun in London? Knit a scarf? No, I think it's high time Isabelle Farrell came out of hiding.’
‘I'm not sure it's safe for Gideon, though,’ began Sarah, but her man howled her down.
‘I know it's awkward getting me and my chair around, but please! I'd go out of my mind left here. Besides, it's about time we got ourselves down to the capital; the Games begin in less than two weeks’ time. I'm not missing Louis's big performance…’
‘And I'm not big performing without Gideon,’ added Louis.
‘That's settled then,’ said Theo decisively. ‘Tomorrow we all make a break for it and descend on London. May I suggest we let our hair down tonight, enjoy one final Dory's Avengers gig, and polish off that champagne sitting in the fridge?’
‘Sound's good,’ said Alan, grabbing Theo's Les Paul and making for the stage. ‘But for tonight we're Dex's Avengers.’
Chapter Twenty-four
Lord William was brought back down to Earth with a bump following his conversation with Alan Santiago. Although he was still burying his head in the sand concerning the issue of Unsponsored continuing to spread their message on the streets of London, the issue which really should have been demanding all of his attention, he was more than a little concerned at the implications of having imprisoned an American. Beyond instructing a petulant Stephen Dyer that Dexter Montfiore was no longer to be physically harmed, His Lordship remained undecided what to do next, so Dex still found himself locked in Theo's old room for the night.
‘How could I have been so careless, yet again?’ Lord William said to himself as he finally sat alone in his office. ‘First I imprison the head of Europe Logistics UK, then I do the same to a foreigner.’ Musing wryly that keeping a prisoner used to be so easy, and such fun, Lord William took himself off to bed.
‘Why didn't you point out to me that you're American?’ asked Lord William, facing Dex over the breakfast table the following morning.
‘The accent usually gives it away, Your Lordship,’ replied Dex, eying with amusement the household cook's attempt to serve him an American-style breakfast. Prodding the rather unappetising-looking pancakes with his fork, Dex enquired as to whether he could have a bacon sandwich instead.
‘Mooreland,’ snapped Lord William to the tall, miserable-looking man standing by the door, ‘bacon sandwich for our guest, please.’ With very bad grace, Brian Mooreland snatched the plate of pancakes from Dex, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Ungrateful fuck!’ and stalked out of the room.
‘Coffee?’ asked His Lordship. Dex nodded and grinned; the vast improvement in his treatment since Alan waved the passport at Lord William hadn't gone unnoticed. His bruised body and swollen face had finally been given a chance to start healing, the previous night being the first since his capture that Dex hadn't had to endure a beating. This morning, for the first time, Dex had been invited to join His Lordship for breakfast in the dining room, his status in the household suddenly having been elevated from prisoner to guest.
‘If I'm a guest, Your Lordship, am I free to leave any time I wish?’
‘Not sure, Dexter. I've invited you to stay in my home indefinitely. It would be churlish, don't you think, to leave at the first opportunity? Perhaps you're not yet au fait with British etiquette…’
‘I'm au fait enough to know that guests are usually permitted to have some say in the length of their stay. However, I appreciate the effort you've made to ensure my comfort since yesterday.’
‘You need to understand that you are still at my mercy. I could ensure your discomfort any time I wish. Your…er…friend…’
‘…Boyfriend…’
‘Don't split hairs, Dexter! Your friend may hold proof of your nationality, but while he and your passport are in the north of England then your country's embassy remains blissfully unaware of your situation.’
‘So why are you treating me like a guest all of a sudden? And why the realisation that my name's Dexter? I was convinced you thought it was really ‘‘faggot’’…’
‘Why all the questions, Dexter? I'm not an unreasonable man; I like to treat my guests with respect.’
‘What, just in case your guest's boyfriend happens to drop in on the American Embassy…’
‘…Which is highly unlikely, is it not? I suggest you don't antagonise me, Dexter; I can quite easily instruct Mr Dyer to teach you some more manners, as you seem to be a very slow learner…’
The conversation was interrupted by the ring of Lord William's mobile phone. Concern crossed His Lordship's face as he looked at the caller ID, and in his anxiety to answer he inadvertently switched his mobile on to speakerphone mode.
‘Fellows,’ said Lord William by way of a greeting, ‘why are you calling? Where's Lady Rosanna?’ Lord William had left strict instructions that security in Applethwaite was to concentrate on guarding the incumbents of The White Lion, while any contact with London could be dealt with by his daughter.
‘Your Lordship,’ replied Lee Fellows, his nervous voice clearly audible to Dex as well as Lord William, ‘I'm sorry to say that…the Unsponsored in The White Lion…well, they've gone. They vanished in the night, and they've taken Lady Rosanna with them…’
Realising that Dex could hear every word of the conversation, Lord William snapped that he would ring Fellows back and cut off the call abruptly. Lord William knew in the back of his numb mind that his companion wasn't the ideal person to turn to at that particular moment; nevertheless, he looked appealingly across the table at Dex.
‘Wel
l,’ said Dex, thanking the miserable Brian Mooreland who was handing him the requested bacon sandwich, ‘that kind of changes everything; doesn't it, Your Lordshit?’
It had been Theo who'd come up with the idea that perhaps Rosanna's change of heart could be used to the advantage of Dex's Avengers. Putting his guitar down to enjoy a champagne break with the rest of the band after an hour and a half of nonstop playing – the music enjoyed from the street by Mortimer O'Reilly – Theo noticed that the money man wasn't the only one hanging around outside. Her brief encounter with Adam earlier in the day had only served to enhance the pain Rosanna had been suffering since their split, and she felt as though the walls of the Applethwaite Guesthouse were closing in on her. Finally, she decided to take a walk along the village street to The White Lion; even just knowing Adam was close by offered her a tiny bit of comfort, and there was always the chance she might actually see him.
As it turned out, Rosanna saw more than just Adam. Mortimer O'Reilly drifted off in the direction of the Applethwaite Guesthouse as soon as the band finished playing, offering to walk Lady Rosanna back and buy her a drink.
‘No thank you, Mortimer; I'd rather stay out a little longer,’ she replied. ‘It's a lovely evening…’
‘Are you sure it's wise, staying out here alone?’
Laughing, Rosanna gestured at the security men surrounding The White Lion. ‘I'm sure I'm adequately protected, Mortimer,’ she said. ‘Thank you for your concern, though.’
Mortimer walked away, wondering once again what had brought about the sudden improvement in Rosanna's character, once so rude and haughty. By the time he arrived in the Sponsored sanctuary of the guesthouse, Mortimer had decided that Rosanna must have always been more like her lovely mother than she'd seen fit to let on until now.
Rosanna's lovely mother was watching her daughter from the window of The White Lion Inn, concern overwhelming her. Rosanna was clearly still hurting at having lost Adam; and, although Izzy realised that this hurt was making Rosanna a better person, she still hated watching one of her children suffer so much. Joining his mother on the window seat, Theo read her mind.