Chapter 13 #6
And just in time, Kate thought, as another taxi turned into the driveway and she glimpsed Tina in the passenger seat. Jesus, no wonder Will had been so anxious to get rid of her this morning. Thank God she’d found out in time and hadn’t hung around to be thrown out by Tina.
‘So, where are we going?’ The driver looked at her in the mirror. ‘Airport?’
‘Oh no, just…’ Kate stopped short. Why not? she thought. She still had her passport in her bag, she was packed and had plenty of money in her bank account. And there was no one she wanted to face right now.
‘Yes, the airport, please,’ she said, sinking back against the seat.
‘Where are you going? Anywhere nice?’
‘Mmm, yes, anywhere nice,’ she murmured.
* * *
Rory sat in a limousine outside the celebrity jail on the outskirts of London, waiting for Tessa to emerge.
He felt as if he was going to his execution, dreading the moment when the gates would open to disgorge Tessa – and his life would be over.
At the same time, he was racked with guilt for thinking like that – after all, there was the baby to consider.
It wasn’t the poor little thing’s fault that he had screwed everything up, and he promised himself he would never make it suffer for his mistakes.
He would make sure that his child never felt unloved or unwanted.
He would just have to devote himself to being a good father, and be content with that.
He looked out through the darkened windows at the press and the Celebrity Cell Block cameras.
Finally, the huge gates swung open and Tessa emerged, small and vulnerable, one hand resting protectively on her stomach.
The assembled paparazzi snapped and yelled, and the Celebrity Cell Block cameras followed her the few short steps from the gate until she was bundled into the car by a member of the production team.
The second the door was closed, they drove slowly up the hill and away.
‘Oh, I’m so glad you’re here, baby,’ she smiled tearfully, throwing herself into Rory’s arms. ‘It was awful in there.’
Rory wondered what he had ever seen in her.
‘And I was so bloody popular with the public I thought I’d never get out. Well, thank God it’s over!’ she said emphatically, flopping against the upholstery with an exaggerated sigh. Then she rooted in her bag and pulled out her cigarettes.
Rory couldn’t believe his eyes as she lit up and sucked deeply, exhaling on a long, contented sigh. ‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?’ he said angrily, snatching the cigarette and stubbing it out.
‘Hey!’ Tessa protested. ‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?’
‘You can’t smoke.’
‘No one can see,’ Tessa said crossly, indicating the darkened windows.
‘I don’t give a fuck! What about the baby? Look,’ he said, trying to be reasonable, ‘I know it was hard in there, but—’
‘Baby?’ Tessa’s lip curled contemptuously. ‘There’s no baby.’
‘What?’
‘There’s no baby, silly. God, I’m not that stupid!’
‘Then why—’
‘Because if I’d had to spend another second in that hellhole with that stupid dyke trying to jump me every night I’d have gone fucking insane!’
‘So you pretended you were pregnant?’ Rory said faintly. He knew he should be furious with her – part of him was – but he couldn’t stop the smile that was spreading across his face.
‘Yes.’ Tessa smiled back at him, looking very pleased with herself. ‘And, voilà, here I am, a free woman! Aren’t I clever? Dev will be so proud of me.’
‘You pretended you were pregnant to get off the show?’
‘Yes – and now we can spend the rest of the summer together.’ She threw her arms around him and kissed him.
‘Aren’t you in breach of contract?’ Rory asked, pushing her away firmly.
‘I never said I was pregnant,’ she said airily. ‘It’s not my fault if people jumped to that conclusion.’
‘And what happens when it becomes obvious you’re not?’
‘I’ve thought of that,’ she smiled smugly. ‘In a couple of months I’ll take to wearing dark glasses and going around looking glum for a while. Everyone will assume I’ve had a miscarriage.’
‘There’s really no baby?’ He was grinning from ear to ear.
‘No.’ Tessa said, surprised that Rory was so pleased. She’d suspected that he would be a bit soppy about kids. ‘Well, obviously this is good news. I guess you don’t want kids any more than I do.’
‘Not with you, you mercenary bitch.’
‘What?’ His grin was so at odds with his words that it took her a while to grasp what he had said.
‘Not with you,’ he repeated. He rapped on the glass partition between them and the driver. ‘Stop the car!’ he ordered the man when the partition slid back.
‘What are you doing?’ Tessa asked as the car slid to a halt.
Ignoring her, Rory got out and strode back down the road to the prison gates where the photographers and cameramen were packing up.
Seeing him approach, the Celebrity Cell Block crew started filming again.
He marched straight up to one of the cameramen.
‘Can I say something?’ he said, nodding to the camera. ‘Is this live?’
‘Go ahead.’
Rory looked straight into the lens. ‘Louise, if you’re watching, Tessa’s not pregnant,’ he said. ‘She just pretended she was to get off the show. I love you.’ He beamed. ‘I’m coming back, sweetheart. I’ll see you soon.’
The assembled press went wild, snapping pictures and yelling questions at Rory. Never before had anyone heard him say so much. Several of the women remarked to each other how attractive he was and wondered why they had never noticed it before.
Rory ignored their questions and calls for pictures.
‘Thanks, man,’ he said quietly to the cameraman and gripped his hand briefly.
By this time, Tessa had tottered down the hill to investigate what was going on and reached Rory as he turned to go back to the car. ‘Tessa will answer all of your questions,’ he said, pushing her into the crowd of journalists and cameras.
Tessa yelped when she saw that Rory intended to abandon her to the wolves, but it was too late as they mobbed her. ‘Rory!’ she yelled furiously, to his retreating back. ‘Rory!’
He ignored her and got back in the car. ‘Could you take me to the airport?’ he asked.
The driver looked at him in his mirror. ‘Sorry, sir, but my job is to drive Miss Bond home.’
‘I’ll give you a thousand pounds if you take me to the airport now.’ Rory didn’t usually throw his weight around, but this was urgent.
The driver considered it. ‘Sorry,’ he said finally. ‘Can’t do it. More than my job’s worth, mate.’
‘Look, what’s your name?’
‘Winston.’
‘Okay, Winston. Do you know who I am?’ Rory winced inwardly – he had never said that before.
‘Sure – you’re Rory Cassidy, out of Walking Wounded. I’ve got all your albums.’
‘Well, how would you like to come and work for us?’ He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and scribbled Louise’s number on it. ‘Just call this number – I’ll arrange it.’
Winston peered at the piece of paper, then at Rory.
‘What about Miss Bond?’
Rory looked down the hill. Tessa was still swamped by media, trying to fight them off. ‘Leave her. I think she’ll be busy for a while. And I’ll still give you that grand if you take me to the airport right now.’
Winston didn’t hesitate any longer. He turned back to the wheel, gunned the engine and did a U-turn. Then they roared back down the hill. Rory glimpsed Tessa’s livid face as they swept past, leaving her in a cloud of dust.