“That’s a little polite, isn’t it? I would prefer the term ‘absolutely incompetent lying little bastard’ actually!” she quite bluntly said. We all fell silent for a minute and stared at her before she said: “What? Come on, you all think the same, you just don’t want to say it!” She took another bite of her sandwich and shrugged her shoulders and then James started to laugh. Both George and I looked at him.
“She does have a point! I am now starting to see why you two are friends; sometimes we need to hear the truth!” He laughed lightly and retook his seat at the end of the island.
“Yes, Claire has guided me so much in matters of all kinds over the years. I can firmly say that I trust her implicitly with my wellbeing!” I replied as I leaned and hugged her.
“Oh thanks Hun! I love you too!” she remarked, then pushed me away jokily. “I was the one who convinced her that helping you two was also the right thing to do – does that win me extra brownie points?” she asked, whilst looking at George and then to the mirror.
“Oh, this weekend is certainly not going to be dull, I can see that now!” James remarked as he smiled at her. I smiled.
“James likes you!” I simply stated in reply. Claire blushed.
“Liked by a hot guy, that’s fair enough!” she then said. I glared at her and she looked at me. “I just said that out loud, didn’t I?” she then asked, and we all burst out laughing whilst she apologised.
After lunch, we brought out the decorations. George had taken them out and re-boxed them in room order as he saw fit, but he said the decorating was entirely my decision. We got them all out on the ballroom floor, and Claire – as I had done – gasped at how beautiful they all were. She held them up and touched the velvet bows and remarked how lucky I was to be able to use such things. We started to regroup them and wandered back and forth to see where things would fit best, with George’s guidance. It was after approximately an hour of this that she decided it was time for a glass of wine and a little bit of music.
“Do you have plug sockets in here George?” she asked honestly.
“The time of no electricity and candles are long past Claire! Of course we have plug sockets!” he informed her, pointing some out.
“Brilliant. Kat, where is your iPod docking station?” she asked me.
“Oh, it will be in my bag upstairs, I don’t think I have unpacked it yet!”
“No problem, I will go and retrieve it!” she happily stated as she bounced out of the room.
“I can see why you like her. I feel that my previous judgement of her was slightly cruel!” James suddenly said.
“She does take some getting used to; probably because she is so full of life and speaks her mind!” I tried to explain.
“Yes, I can say that I have witnessed that now!” he replied before saying; “Her company makes you happy, therefore I am happy!” I smiled at his remark as George appeared with a bottle of wine and four glasses.
I stood to help him and stretched my legs; sitting cross-legged on the floor did not do well for my posture. He poured a glass for us all and then placed the bottle on the ornate side table that rested against one of the walls. It looked like it had been made for this room, and George had stood the old gramophone upon it. James had walked to retrieve his glass, and when Claire returned George proposed a toast.
“To the future, to new friends and to your birthday party!” he announced happily.
“I’ll drink to that!” Claire said, before taking a large gulp.
“And to our good fortune that Katharina stumbled upon us, and is now a part of our lives!” James then sincerely added. I stopped and looked at him and so did George. Claire got the gist that something had been said.
“What did I miss?” she asked.
“Another toast!” I remarked, staring at James. “That was a very sincere thing to say… thank you!” I then finished.
“What did he say?” Claire eagerly asked. “I do not like not knowing!” she then stated unhappily.
“He said; and to our good fortune that Katharina stumbled upon us and is a part of our lives!” George repeated for Claire’s benefit. She stood and stared at me staring at him. I was smiling, and James was smiling too – in fact we all were.
“Okay, I am definitely drinking to that too, because she is the best friend that I’ve ever had!” Claire broke the quietness.
“Likewise!” George said as he lifted his glass. As George, Claire and I took a sip of wine, James simply smiled at me for a few seconds before then raising his toward me and taking a sip. I had a feeling of butterflies and nausea all mixed into one, and I questioned myself again briefly as to whether I had really fallen for him.
As I sipped my wine and walked around the ballroom, taking in all of the immaculate painting and ornate woodwork, I listened to Claire asking George who his favourite band was whilst she set up the iPod. She then quickly retracted her question, joking that he probably preferred a string quartet. George tried to sound like he had moved with the times, stating that there were singers that he had grown to like, and that he particularly favoured Frank Sinatra. She happily obliged by playing ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ and it humoured me to watch her ask him to dance. I stood next to the mirror in which James stood and leant against it.
“It will be lovely to have this room filled with music and dancing very soon!”
“Indeed, it has been many a year since anything of importance happened in here!” James replied.
“Are you sure that you are alright with me having this party? It seems a little unfair to you!” I remarked.
“How so? I will have you here, and to see you enjoy yourself during the celebrations will be adequate enough for me,” he replied. I smiled.
“I am just sorry that I have not managed to free you yet. To have you here physically would have made me happier!” I replied honestly.
“I would have liked that, and it saddens me that I will not be able to dance with you on your birthday!” he then said, gesturing toward Claire and George, who were now in full swing and enjoying themselves. “Although I must say that I am a far better dancer than George!” he then laughed.
“Really?” I enquired as I turned to face him.
“That is so not true Katharina; do not believe a word that he tells you!” George suddenly chirped. I liked that George was always listening in to anything that James had to say; I suppose over the years he had become a resident background noise for George.
“Honestly George, you cannot disagree with my comment – you know people have always remarked on how gracefully I move to music!” James confirmed.
“Well that was a long time ago, and I suspect that you are completely out of practice now!” George replied, before explaining to Claire what the discussion was about.
I happily sniggered at the two of them. The playful banter was amusing and even Claire had plenty to say about how good George was, which George clearly loved as he swirled her around the ballroom floor. By the end of the song, Claire looked slightly dizzy and requested that she take a sip of her drink, so George asked me for the next dance – ‘Come Fly With Me’, which was one of my favourites and already had my foot tapping. I happily accepted. Claire stood by the mirror and sipped her drink. I snuggled in close to George and whispered my thanks to him for being so kind to Claire. He thanked me for my continued support and remarked that he could not imagine being in the house without me here now, which made me tear up slightly, and so I gripped him tighter and whispered:
“I cannot imagine not being here either!” We looked at one another and hugged like a father and daughter would.
“What am I missing here?” James suddenly asked, knowing that George and I were obviously talking about something.
“Nothing you need to worry about!” George replied as he turned and dipped me into a sweep, leaning me backwards. I saw Claire and James upside down and smiled as George stood me back up.
“God, she even looks graceful ballroom dancing too. No competition!”
Claire said lightly as she threw the last bit of her wine down her throat with gusto.
“I agree!” James confirmed, which snapped me back to reality a little.
The song finished and Claire declared that it was time for some modern pop music, starting with Kylie! We decided where everything decorative was going and then re-boxed them ready for next week, and danced around trying our best to sing along – which was worse than karaoke – whilst George amusingly tried to bop along with the music.
The wine was going down pretty quickly and so I offered to get another bottle from the fridge. Claire had also brought some rosé, which was definitely hitting the spot. I felt happy, relaxed and excited. As I returned from the kitchen, I could hear Claire talking and I stopped for a second to listen.
“You know, I love Kat. She is for all intents and purposes like a sister to me, and so although I am totally up for her helping you guys, I need you to promise me something!”
“Of course, what is it that you require?” George asked.
“Don’t stop her from living! She is so wrapped up in you guys. I know that she is emotionally attached to the both of you, but I don’t want her to get hurt!” Claire replied.
“I would never hurt her in any way. I care for her too much!” James then stated. I swallowed hard and placed my hand on my chest.
“We care too much for her to ever allow that to happen!” George then reiterated for Claire’s benefit.
“Good! That is all I needed to know, and I promise I will say nothing else about it. I mean, it is pretty cool, being involved in this whole fairy tale thing!” she then happily said. I composed myself and walked back in, raising the bottle.
“Anyone for a top-up?” I asked innocently.
“I think that would be in order for all of us!” George then replied as he tried to take the bottle from me to pour. I placed my hand on his shoulder.
“Please let me!” I smiled as Pharrell’s ‘Happy’ started to play. “Oh I love this song!” I told them as I danced around, filling the glasses. I got to the mirror and placed the bottle on the table so that James could get his reflected copy and asked him to dance along with me. I sang as I tried to provoke James into dancing.
“These words do not make sense!” he tried saying to avoid dancing. I laughed, as did George.
“Oh come on, relax a little!” I told him as I carried on singing. Claire had now joined in and we danced along. James did try to bounce along a little, but after a while he reached for his bottle and poured himself another glass. I shook my head at him.
“This kind of dancing is going to take some getting used to!” James then said.
“I suggest that we move to my kitchen and continue this soirée whilst I prepare dinner!” George then suggested. Claire and I stopped the iPod and laughed about the last time we had a girls’ night dancing! We followed along to the kitchen and took a seat at the island as George started to cook. The wine was flowing as we talked and laughed, then George asked Claire if she had any amusing stories about me – which actually worried me a little, as I knew she had plenty!
Chapter Twenty-Six
I don’t know why I felt so embarrassed at my drunken moments from the past, but as Claire reeled them off, I grimaced more times than I could count whilst trying to justify everything that she was saying. I nearly choked on my dinner when she decided to tell them about the extremely cringing time I tried salsa dancing at a new club, where I proceeded to be spun and flung around the floor like a ragdoll by numerous men… and then she told them the rest:
“Oh and if you ever want to see a very sultry Kat, then you need to get her ‘dirty dancing’ – it is a moving, visual experience!” she chuckled as George raised his eyebrows at me.
“Really? Well I am not sure what ‘dirty dancing’ is exactly, but it sounds slightly suggestive!” George innocently said. I grimaced some more.
“That’s obviously another film that we need to make you boys watch!” I said, trying to sound as convincing as I could.
“Well, I think it is something that I would like to see Katharina doing; it sounds very much the opposite of her character to date, and so a visual representation is most definitely needed!” James suddenly said, and I knew that he was being sarcastic to cover up my obvious embarrassment. I turned to him and pulled a face at him before throwing my napkin at the mirror.
“You are unbelievable sometimes!” I joked. Claire was quiet for a moment then she replied:
“Is James starting to get a better picture of the real you?” she asked.
“Very funny – you make me sound like some crazed, dancing psychopath, but honestly I’m not!” I pleaded to both James and George before hitting Claire jokily on the arm. “For goodness’ sake Claire, you’re going to scare them both to death and make them think they have made a huge mistake letting me be in their lives! I love it here, I love everything about it, so don’t make them question me!” I snapped.
“Okay, okay, keep your panties on, I’m only joking with you – these guys know that!” Claire looked to George for support, knowing that I was a little annoyed as well as embarrassed.
“Of course we do!” George confirmed as he refilled our glasses before turning to James and gesturing with his head for him to say something. James looked at me.
“I do not see any problem with you enjoying yourself; dancing is as good a form as any. I have to confess that I have had my share of enjoyment in the past… probably a little too much!” he remarked, and I smiled at his honest words.
“Alright, maybe I overreacted then, just a little, but I really do not want you thinking the worst of me!” I replied calmly as I looked at James.
“I have no perception, thought, or word that would give me the slightest reason to have any doubt or disapproval toward you! I do not wish for you to ever think that I would. After everything that you have done for us and are doing for us, I have nothing but complete appreciation for you,” James then said, and I knew that he meant every word.
“Hear hear!” Claire then suddenly said, and both George and I jumped up and stared at her. She looked up at us from her glass that she had just taken a large sip from and simply said; “What did I do now?”
“You heard that?” I asked curiously; she did not seem to realise what had just happened.
“What, the very lovely compliment? You always get all of the good stuff, don’t you?” she said, very nonchalantly.
“But you heard James?” I asked again, and she nearly choked on her wine.
“Holy crap, was that James?” she then said as she stood up too. “How did I do that?” she asked with excitement.
“I don’t know!” I shrugged and looked at George and then James.
“Why can’t I see him though?” she then asked. I looked at the mirror and James and then her.
“You can’t see him?” I asked. “He’s right there!” I gestured toward him.
“Hearing but not seeing? Well, that’s new for us!” George then said.
“Indeed, this is quite perplexing!” James replied.
“Ooh, you spoke again!” Claire grabbed my hands and jumped up and down. “This is so exciting, I can hear him now – wow, you were telling the truth!” she then remarked and I looked at her, a little shocked.
“What, you didn’t believe me before?” I enquired.
“No, I believed you Kat – I trust everything you say – but at first it did sound a little nuts to be fair! But holy crap, it’s really real!” She walked to the mirror and studied it hard.
“This makes things a little easier, I believe!” George then commented, looking at James.
“Easier, but I am not entirely sure that it will continue. I have never experienced this; there is no confirmation that it will last!” James said firmly. Claire turned and looked at George and I.
“Jeez, is he always this negative?” she asked. In unison, we replied;
“Sometimes!”
“Hey, I am here you realise! I am only being re
alistic, this has never happened before!” he confirmed.
“Okay, let’s take this one step at a time.” I took a deep breath whilst James paced. “I suggest we carry on as normal and just see what happens!” I looked for reassurance from the rest of them.
“Agreed!” they all confirmed.
We sat and filled our glasses and I changed the subject to the choice of film. Pride and Prejudice was my initial thought – the newer version; I didn’t think that I could keep James and George’s attention throughout the whole BBC version with Colin Firth. As I made a point that the best thing to do might be to put it on and try to relax a little, Claire started giggling to herself and so I just looked at her inquisitively.
“This is the best freaking weekend ever!” she simply said.
“We are glad to be of service!” James replied. Claire chuckled more and took another sip of wine.
“Well, this certainly has changed the whole outcome of the weekend!” George replied whilst I inserted the DVD and took a place next to Claire on the large and comfy sofa. We both curled up whilst James settled himself in the armchair, looking very worried about what he was about to watch, and George simply sat back and smiled.
“I am hoping that you can share some truths about this film – and it should be a reminder of how things used to be. I hope that it is not too painful though!” I then stated as it began.
“Nonsense; if anything it will be amusing to see if history has been correctly presented. Both James and I shall give our input if you have any questions!” George kindly said.
I looked across at James as Keira Knightley walked across the screen, reading her book as Elizabeth Bennet, and James shuffled on his chair, looking like he had seen a ghost. He watched the screen with complete uncertainty and turned to look at George and then me. I smiled in reassurance and nodded to let him know that it was alright, after which he settled back into his chair, picked up his glass and proceeded to watch the entire film. I only noted him taking his glance off the screen to refill his glass. Claire commented many times on the characters’ dialogue, making it quite clear that she was glad the language of today was not so formal. I disagreed and told her that I thought it was chivalrous and simplistic and a lost art; James and George both noted that it was far simpler in their day, having rules in place on the expectations of etiquette. I asked about the dancing and noted the amount of staff each household had.
A Different Reflection Page 29