Breaking the Rules

His brother sprang closer to Larry, and suddenly he slashed out, catching Larry on his left arm. ‘You’ve cut me, Edward!’ Larry cried. Much to his surprise and horror, he saw blood spurting through the cotton fabric of the fake chain-mail tunic. ‘You’re not supposed to do that,’ he shrieked, backing away, dropping the sword he was holding, bringing his right hand to his left arm, endeavouring to staunch the flowing blood.

‘Coward! Coward!’ Edward shouted, waving his sword over his head, and advancing on Larry, crazily jumping from side to side and laughing wildly. ‘I will defeat you now, you alien dog! Not one of us. Not one of us. Changeling! Darkling! You’re not one of us.’

Suddenly growing frightened of his brother, Larry picked up his sword, then backed away and tripped, fell down on the gravel, his sword now skittering across the drive. Catching his breath, he tried to push himself to his feet.

Laughing, enjoying his triumph over the younger boy, Edward zeroed in, knelt down next to Larry and began to pummel him, hitting him on his shoulders, chest and face. ‘No mercy for the enemy. Kill the enemy!’ Edward snarled, a spiteful gleam in his pale eyes.

Wrapping his arms around his head, Larry attempted to protect his face, whilst still pressing his hand on the sleeve of his bloodsoaked cotton tunic. He tried to move again, to get up, but Edward was much stronger than he was, and held him down, gloating.

The clattering of high heels running through the hall and down the front steps sent enormous relief rushing through Larry. Their mother’s voice was thunderous as she screamed, ‘Get off him, Edward! Get off him at once! You’re really in for it, my lad.’ She was suddenly looming over Edward, her face furious, and grabbing him by his collar, she unceremoniously yanked him to his feet, shouting into his gaping face, ‘I’ll have your guts for garters, you little bugger!’

Literally throwing Edward to one side, and looking totally undisturbed as he fell hard on the ground, his mother crouched next to Larry. She was appalled by the amount of blood covering his tunic, and also alarmed. Larry’s face was bruised and bloody where his brother had hit him hard.

‘My God! I can’t believe this!’ Pandora exclaimed, and she put her arms under her youngest child and lifted him closer to her, held him for a moment against herself, hurting for him. She said, ‘Do you think you can get up, darling?’

He nodded.

Pandora stood and, bending over Larry, she helped him to get to his feet. Slowly they walked across the drive and up the front steps, and Pandora murmured to him lovingly, reassured him he would be all right as they stepped inside the house.

‘Mother,’ Edward said from the driveway.

Pandora glanced over her shoulder. Her face was white with shock, her anger unabated. ‘What?’

‘I didn’t mean to hurt—’

‘Like hell you didn’t!’ Pandora raged. ‘You’re getting to be a menace. I’ve just about had it with you.’

‘But Mother—’

‘Shut up. And stay out of my way. I don’t want to see your face. And I will certainly deal with you later, in an appropriate way. It would be wise of you to prepare yourself for harsh punishment.’

Edward gaped at her, his face now as white as hers, and stricken. He was terrified of his mother when she was angry. None of them knew what she might do when she was in the grip of a monumental fury such as this.

Turning away from him, Pandora led Larry into the hall, hurrying him down to the kitchen. ‘Molly was a nurse, you know, before she became our housekeeper. She’ll know exactly what to do.’

‘I’m all right, Mummy,’ Larry whispered, and stumbled bravely on …

The crash of the milk falling off the small side table awakened Larry. He must have knocked it off with his arm. He sat up blinking, for a moment disoriented, thinking it was already morning, but then, as he glanced around, realized it was still the middle of the night. Rising, he left the library, returned to his bedroom and got into bed, shaking his head as he did so. How strange it was that such a lot of his childhood memories remained in his head, and were so easily recalled. And lately, remembering them had become a curious pattern.

Within minutes he was asleep, Edward’s cruelty to him as a child forgotten.

TWELVE (#ulink_7004f985-7dac-580c-983b-e024b0b6bedc)

Geo looked up as M appeared in the doorway of her studio, and smiled. ‘Well, there you are! Good morning, Miss M. How’re you today?’

‘Fine, thanks, Geo, and you look pretty good yourself.’

Geo inclined her head, then said, ‘Your actor seemed very taken with you last night. Are you going to see him again?’ She grinned. ‘That’s a stupid question, isn’t it, since I’m sure you are.’

‘I’m having lunch with him today,’ M answered, leaning casually against the doorframe. She took a sip from the mug of tea she was holding, and gave Geo a brilliant smile that filled her face with sudden radiance. ‘And then we’re going to the movies.’

‘I thought he was going to swallow you whole last night,’ Geo remarked with a grin, her eyes dancing. ‘Gobble you up!’

‘Like the boa constrictor and the Little Prince?’ M raised a brow, laughing.

Geo also laughed, delighted by this response, and exclaimed, ‘I just loved that book when I was little, didn’t you?’

‘Of course, it was my real favourite, I think – everyone who reads it loves it, adults as well as children. It’s enchanting.’

Geo, intrigued by Larry and M after observing them together, was filled with curiosity about their relationship, and now asked with great eagerness, ‘So, go on then, tell me everything that happened. Everything. Don’t miss out a thing.’

‘There’s not much to tell,’ M responded, ‘there really isn’t. We went to dinner at an unassuming little bistro Larry likes, and then he took me home. Truly, nothing happened … if you mean what I think you mean.’

‘To his home? Is that where you went?’

‘No, don’t be silly! He brought me here, to this house, to your house. I was back here not long after one o’clock, and you were still out, weren’t you?’

‘I was, with James Cardigan. We had something from the buffet at Iris’s, but then the apartment seemed to fill up with all sorts of people. Actors, actresses – and some other rather strange types, James thought, and so did I. Anyway, we decided to leave because it got so crowded. James didn’t want the evening to end so he took me to a bar he knows in the MePa, and we stayed there for quite a while, having drinks and talking into the wee hours. I got to know him better … he’s really charming …’

‘Is he married?’ M wondered out loud, giving Geo a questioning look.

‘He’s never been married. Well, so he said.’ She put down her paintbrush and sighed. Rising, she walked over to the sofa near the window and lowered herself onto it, sighing again and looking across at M, still loitering in the doorway.

‘What is it, Geo?’ M was aware of the long, contemplative stare her friend was giving her.

‘Do you have a few minutes to spare? I want to tell you something.’

‘Of course. What is it?’ M asked again, walking into the studio, joining Geo on the sofa, puzzled by her friend’s sudden change in mood.

‘There’s a problem I’d like to discuss with you,’ Geo murmured.

Staring at her intently, M said, ‘You look awfully troubled, and very serious all of a sudden. What’s the matter?’

Geo did not answer for a few moments, and when she did she spoke slowly, her voice low. ‘I like James … like him a lot, and I must admit I’d forgotten how nice he is. Anyway, the point is this, I’d like to see him again. Want to very much. I believe I made a big mistake with him last night, though; in fact, I’m sure I did.’

‘What do you mean?’ M leaned closer, her expression puzzled. ‘It can’t have been all that bad, surely.’

‘Look, I had a lot to drink at the party, and later. More than usual, and I got far too garrulous, in my opinion. I told him too much about myself and it might have put him off.’

M was taken aback by this statement. Geo was not a particularly talkative person, nor was she very confiding. For a second she was silent, and then asked, ‘What on earth could you tell him about yourself that would turn him off?’ Her genuine puzzlement was apparent. When Geo did not answer, she asked, ‘You haven’t murdered somebody, have you?’

M said this in such a droll manner, Geo couldn’t help laughing. ‘No, I haven’t. But I have been married twice, and stupidly I told him this, and I think he was really shocked.’

‘I doubt that! He’s not the shockable type, if I know my Englishmen. He runs that security and investigation company, so I’m positive he doesn’t shock easily. Besides which, I think he might well have been a cop, or something like that. He would certainly have been in some sort of law enforcement agency before, in order to start that kind of company, don’t you think? He would need that kind of expertise and experience.’

‘I think he might have been a spy … I vaguely remember someone telling me that ages ago. Still, he did look shocked, I promise you.’

It struck M that Geo might have simply misunderstood James’s reaction, not read him correctly, and she said this to Geo, adding, ‘I’m sure it was only surprise. You don’t look old enough to have been married twice.’