Chapter 22 #2
‘By the way, how are the marks on your arms?’ he asked, breaking the spell, and Caitlin moved her hand, freeing herself from their embrace.
‘They’re the same,’ she said, flustered by her unexpected feelings. ‘No more have appeared. Have you heard from Poppy about them?’
‘Not yet…’
A key scraping in the door made Caitlin leap to her feet.
She inwardly scolded herself for such a ridiculous reaction.
Lee was like a brother and, once again, he had stepped in to help when Stan had been unavailable.
On this occasion, Stan had called to say he was delayed on unexpected pastoral care on the other side of Hereford.
‘Hello?’ called Stan.
‘In here,’ Caitlin replied, then she turned to Lee, ‘thank you.’
‘Any time,’ he said.
‘Caitlin, I have news—’ Stan began as he bounded through the door. He broke off when he saw Lee. ‘Oh, hello, I didn’t realise you were in the bedroom with my fiancée.’
Caitlin failed to squash her flash of irritation at Stan’s insinuation.
‘Lee helped me move the boxes when you were detained,’ she said, walking out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, where she filled the kettle.
The two men followed.
‘Tea?’ she asked, but Lee shook his head.
‘Thanks but no,’ he said. ‘I’ve promised Dad I’ll test him on his lines.’
‘The play,’ said Stan with a broad grin. ‘How’s the masterpiece coming along? It’s a shame my timetable won’t allow me to join in with the fun.’
Caitlin scowled behind Stan’s back. Despite her pleas, Stan refused to, as he claimed, ‘lower himself to take part in such a debacle’.
His continuing absence from rehearsals meant Larry refused to acknowledge Caitlin’s presence, too.
Her father also continued to withhold her monthly allowance.
She was not worried about the money, but Stan was furious and would raise the subject whenever he saw any member of her family.
‘It’s beginning to take shape,’ said Lee. ‘The next rehearsal is tomorrow and Dad wants to run through his lines and his song.’
‘Is it true your brother’s taking part?’ asked Stan, watching Caitlin as she arranged cups on the kitchen counter, poured the tea and added milk. ‘I’ll have a mug,’ he said with a smirk as she pushed a cup and saucer towards him.
Caitlin stared at him and frowned. ‘The mugs are over there,’ she said and pointed to the cupboard behind Lee.
Stan raised his eyebrows as though Caitlin was being unreasonable.
‘And in answer to your question, Stan, yes, Edward is in the play. He and I are playing the brothers, Edgar and Edmund, sons of the Earl of Gloucester. Dad is playing Gloucester.’
‘Who’s who?’
‘I’m Edgar and Edward is Edmund.’
‘In the real play, Edmund is the younger brother, he’s illegitimate, too,’ said Stan. ‘I wonder why you’ve been cast the other way around. After all, you’re the youngest, Lee.’
‘And we both have the same parents,’ replied Lee, pulling his car keys from his pocket. ‘It’s a play, we’re cast into parts; it isn’t real.’
Caitlin turned away, it was rare for Lee to lose his temper and his growing heavy sarcasm was a sure sign of his anger.
‘Give me a call if you need any more help with the boxes, Moon.’
He raised his hand to Stan, who was sorting through the biscuit barrel and gave a vague smile in Lee’s direction.
‘I’ll see you out,’ said Caitlin.
They walked down the short corridor to the front door.
‘Good luck with your dad,’ she said.
‘Thanks, I think we’re all going to need it. Uncle Larry sent the list of songs over to Dad last night. Have you seen them?’
‘No, why? He’s usually fairly traditional, I was expecting endless variations on “Greensleeves” and anything he can find by Thomas Tallis. He loves Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia On A Theme by Tallis.’
‘You’re in for a treat tomorrow then when your dad circulates the musical parts.’
‘Tell me now,’ she insisted.
‘Dad has to sing “The Drugs Don’t Work” by The Verve and, apparently, Slick and I will be asked to revive our performance of “Me and My Shadow” from our Junior Players days.’
‘No way,’ giggled Caitlin. ‘Do you think he’ll ask Rabbit to do “Ballroom Blitz”?’
‘We can only hope,’ said Lee. ‘See you tomorrow.’
He dropped a kiss on the top of her head and hurried away down the path.
Lee makes me feel better, thought Caitlin as her skin tingled at his touch. It’s because we’re friends. But again she wondered what it would be like to kiss him and a liquid feeling of desire filled her.
Shocked at the wave of longing, she paused, taking long slow deep breaths.
This is Lee, she told herself. My old friend. I have to pull myself together.
She forced a neutral expression to her face and entered the kitchen, unaware she was humming the old Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr duet Lee and Edward would be performing.
Stan was sitting on one of the high stools at the breakfast bar, the teapot and biscuit barrel in front of him, as with great deliberation he poured himself a mug of tea, his cup abandoned on one side of the kitchen counter, before turning to her. His face was furious.
‘Are you and Lee having an affair?’ he demanded.
‘What?’ Caitlin was so shocked, she took a step backwards and collided with the door frame, causing her to yelp in pain.
‘You heard me,’ he snarled. ‘I come back here and find you together in the bedroom and now you walk back in here giggling like a schoolgirl. Are you sleeping with him?’
‘No, I’m not,’ she retorted, her own temper flaring. ‘How dare you accuse me? Lee and I have grown up together, he’s like a brother.’
‘His behaviour towards you has never looked very fraternal,’ said Stan.
‘His eyes rove over you like the serpent in paradise, sinuous and full of treachery, preparing to lure you into temptation. I had been planning to say he moons over you, but I refuse to give credence to the stupid nicknames you all insist upon. “Moon”, honestly, you’re a grown woman. ’
Caitlin stared at Stan in astonishment. ‘What’s wrong with you?’ she asked.
‘You don’t think I have a right to be angry when I discover my fiancée in a bedroom with another man?’
‘No,’ she replied. ‘This is the twenty-first century and it’s fairly obvious Lee and I were stacking boxes, as well as being fully clothed.’
‘Affairs aren’t always carried out in bed,’ Stan snapped. ‘They’re unnecessary distractions caused by predatory people who wish to disrupt steady relationships.’
‘Lee and I have been friends since we were children,’ she said.
‘You can lie to me,’ Stan said. ‘You can lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to God.’
‘I don’t believe in God,’ she said.
They glared at each other.
‘And there was me coming here to share my wonderful news with my caring fiancée but I find her in bed with another man.’
Caitlin was about to respond, then weariness overtook her. Stan was an expert at goading her, making her lose her temper with his ludicrous and untrue comments until she felt obliged to apologise when the entire crisis had been of his creation.
‘What’s your news?’ she asked and took a certain pleasure at blindsiding him with her refusal to rise to his taunting.
‘Very clever,’ he sneered. ‘You’re trying to distract me, wanting to discuss my news, instead of resolving the issue of me catching you—’
‘Catching me doing what?’ she snarled. ‘Chatting to an old friend? Calm down. Now, what’s your news?’
Stan slammed the lid back on the biscuit barrel and stuffed a chocolate chip cookie from the café into his mouth. He reached over and sipped his tea.
‘I’ve accepted a promotion,’ he said.
‘How wonderful, congratulations,’ she said and realised her jaw was clenched.
‘It’s a new, bigger, more challenging parish,’ he continued and there was a strange glint of satisfaction in his eye. ‘In Newcastle.’
‘What?’ said Caitlin.
‘It’s a huge step up for me,’ he continued. ‘An inner-city church with a great deal of work.’
‘When do you start?’ she asked, dread filling her.
‘We are scheduled to move there in three weeks’ time, so there won’t be any need to unpack your boxes.’
‘But what about the wedding? We’re booked into Goldenwych Church.’
‘We can come back for the wedding,’ said Stan. ‘Just like in Shakespeare’s King Lear, I am sweeping you away from all this madness to a kingdom of our own. You’re welcome.’ Stan beamed at her and Caitlin did not reply.