36. Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Six
‘May?’
‘Huh?’ May scrubbed her eyes and peered through the dimness. Jack stood in her doorway, a cup of what she hoped was coffee in his hand. ‘What time is it?’
‘Early. I know you had a late night and probably have a sore head.’ He paused, rummaged in the pocket of his corduroy trousers and pulled out a packet of painkillers, which he threw at her. ‘But you need to get up. Alice is here, and it seems important.’
May pulled herself up against the headboard and accepted the coffee with a murmur of appreciation.
She peered around her, trying to orient her hungover brain.
She hadn’t yet got used to waking up in Jack’s spare room, and as the events which had led her there came crashing into her mind, she wanted to crawl under the covers and wake up in her own bed, with the world as it should be.
Jack sat down, the mattress sagging beneath him. ‘You’d better drink up. Alice doesn’t seem to be in the best mood. I’ve persuaded her to wait in the living room, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she barges in here if you don’t make an appearance soon.’
May frowned. Alice didn’t barge anywhere. If anything, she tiptoed, constantly aware of the feelings and situations around her and wanting to keep the world turning smoothly, devoid of conflict. ‘She’s angry with me? Alice doesn’t get angry.’
‘She’s pretty riled up this morning.’
May racked her brain trying to work out what on earth she had done to upset her sister.
She trawled through the events of the previous evening.
Yes, the kiss had been embarrassing and a huge mistake on both their parts.
May thought she had that covered though, bundling Cillian into a taxi and re-joining Nick and Luke, who seemed oblivious anything had happened.
May’s stomach flipped. Had Alice found out about uni?
Had she worked out May had been lying to her ever since she returned to Saffron Bay?
‘Come on.’ Jack pulled back the covers and took the coffee from May’s hands. ‘It’s probably best to find out what this is all about. I’ll make myself scarce so the pair of you can have a good chinwag.’
‘I’d rather you stayed,’ said May. ‘I’ve not encountered an angry Alice since I was a teenage tearaway, and I’m not sure I know how to handle her.’
‘Oh no.’ Jack shook his head. ‘Whatever this is, it’s between you girls. Woe betide I get in the way of a sisterly spat.’
‘But we’re your granddaughters!’
‘Even more reason to stay out of it. I wouldn’t want either of you thinking I’m taking sides.’ Jack gestured at the doorway. ‘Come on.’ He helped May climb out of bed and held the door open for her as she stumbled through to the living room.
Alice was perched on the edge of an armchair, her hands folded between knees that were jiggling up and down in agitation. Her face was unsmiling, her cheeks so pale they were almost translucent, and at her feet sat a bag with what looked like several newspapers inside.
May hesitated for a moment as she considered where to sit.
The sofa opposite felt too much like an interview, so she opted for an armchair just to Alice’s left.
As she sank into its squashy cushion, she couldn’t tell if her own limbs were shaking due to a hangover or to the nervous anticipation of what was to come.
‘Alice, what’s happened?’ May reached a hand out to her sister.
Alice ignored it. Instead, without a word, she shook her head, picked up her bag and pulled out the newspapers.
‘This,’ said Alice crisply, ‘is what has happened. How could you, May?’
With her reactions dulled, May missed the newspapers Alice threw at her. They spilled out across the wooden floor, and she stared in horror at photographs of her and Cillian kissing. May dropped to her knees, smoothing out a double-page spread.
Cillian McDonaugh cheats on supermodel with university dropout.
‘Oh my God.’ May turned the page, her stomach churning, and not from the hangover. A memory flooded back of a group of lads filming and photographing them. ‘It’s not what it looks like, Alice,’ she protested. ‘A moment of madness, nothing more. One stupid drunken kiss.’
‘You think I’m upset about the kiss?’ Alice’s voice quivered with outrage.
‘You’re not upset about the kiss?’ May twisted to look at her sister.
‘I’m disappointed you’d kiss a man who’s engaged, of course. And I’m also upset that Saffron Bay is now under siege by paparazzi and crazy fans.’ She pressed her lips into a thin line. ‘Those, however, pale into insignificance compared with what really hurts.’
Realisation dawned. May’s insides turned to ice. She shifted her gaze away from Alice, knowing what was coming.
‘What upsets me,’ said Alice, her voice cracking, ‘is that you dropped out of university.’ She waved her hand at the scattered newspapers. ‘Not only that, you should read what those people are saying about you.’
Holding back from throwing up all over the floor, May flicked the page of the newspaper, shocked at how quickly the journalist had been able to dig into her past. Surely they couldn’t have found all this out in twenty-four hours? As May scanned the columns, she saw her answer.
‘I knew there was something off about them, and the llama farm story didn’t add up. So, out of curiosity, we ran their images through some special software and found out who they really were.’
May sank back against the base of the armchair.
The bubbly woman from the wedding fair. They’d been so smug about how easily she’d bought their tall tale.
Ha! Apparently she was cannier than she’d been letting on.
The journalist must have been sitting on the story until he had more to go on, and they’d dropped that right into his lap with their kiss the previous night.
For several weeks now, there has been speculation about the sudden disappearance of Cillian McDonaugh from the limelight.
Some thought he was off recording his highly anticipated third album, and that’s certainly what his manager Brian Bunt wanted his fans to believe.
The truth is far less savoury. It seems instead, Cillian McDonaugh has abandoned his fans to hole up with a Cambridge university dropout, who, according to those who knew her, caused quite a scandal, trying to sleep her way to a first having worked her way through half the males on campus.
An interesting choice for a pop star who has built his career on a clean-cut, homely Irish image.
All parties have been asked for comment, and we eagerly wait to see how they explain this one.
Rumour had it Cillian was due to announce his engagement to model Kia Critchlow within days.
One can only guess at the conversations happening in that household this morning.
May scanned the comments the journalist had gathered from fellow students, most of whom she’d never even spoken to. Her eyes blurred with tears, and she forced herself to look at Alice.
‘So it’s true?’ said Alice, her own voice muffled by emotion.
‘After all I sacrificed for you, you wasted it by trying to sleep your way to the top?’ She swallowed hard.
‘I thought you were different from that, May.’ The iron had gone from her voice.
Now it was soft and heartbroken. ‘I’ve been so proud of you.
How could you throw all I’ve given you back in my face like this? ’
May wanted to say it wasn’t how it looked. The words stuck in her throat.
‘As for the wedding, I can’t see how it can go ahead now, not with Saffron Bay crawling with press.’
May finally found her voice. ‘Please, Alice,’ she begged, ‘I need to explain.’
‘Yes, you do.’ Alice stood with a long sigh. ‘Not right now. I need time to think. And to speak to Kitty and try to figure out a way we can salvage something of our weddings.’