Dory's Avengers (43 page)

‘Hello,' said Matilda simply, shaking her cascade of dark curls down her back and smiling, her brown eyes full of fun. ‘I'm Matilda. You must be Theo's girl. Catherine, is it?'

Catherine nodded, too shy and too disappointed to speak to the beautiful girl standing in front of her.

‘Welcome to Applethwaite, Catherine.'

Picking up the pile of glasses Matilda bounded over to the bar with them, graceful and athletic, then entered into fast-paced banter with her father's boyfriend. Observing the two girls, Gideon thought they couldn't be more different if they tried. Impetuous Matilda: full of energy, humour and confidence. Shy Catherine: so pretty but so withdrawn in company. Later on he caught a quiet moment with Louis, curious to know Louis's opinion on Theo's girlfriend.

‘She's very, er, sweet…' said Louis diplomatically.

‘But…?' prompted Gideon

‘Well, she's very sweet and kind. Loves her parents, looks good, ticks lots of the right boxes…but she's…'

‘Go on, Louis; this is strictly between us.'

‘Well, I'm afraid I don't think she's right for Theo,' said Louis a little regretfully.

‘And who is right for Theo?'

Louis didn't answer straight away. Instead he looked over at Matilda who was once again pole-dancing. Gripping the pole with her strong legs, she was hanging upside down; the tips of her hair touching the floor, her eyes bright, her face glowing.

‘I think we both know the answer to that, don't we, Gideon?'

Chapter Seventeen

The day before Georgia Montfiore married Chris Farrell was a momentous day indeed for Theo. He'd spent the week leading up to the wedding trying on his extremely expensive, made-to-measure suit, having his hair cut and being made into what his father deemed fit for public scrutiny. On the surface, Theo greeted all of this activity with his usual laid-back humour, but inside he couldn't be happier. In a few days he'd be going to Applethwaite. In a couple of days he'd be going to Applethwaite. Tomorrow he'd be going to Applethwaite…

Lord William had decided that the family would travel to Applethwaite the day before the wedding, and had commissioned a luxury limousine for the journey. Catherine Lorimer and Adam Foster would be travelling with the St Benedict family, while Catherine's parents drove up to the North-West in Philip's brand-new Range Rover.

‘Just what you'll need in that Applethwaite place,' said Lord William, laughing and clapping a hand on Philip's back. ‘The land that roads forgot!'

Lord William had more and more respect for Philip Lorimer with every passing day, finding the Unsponsored man to be immensely quick-witted and intelligent. His Lordship didn't like to admit it, but Philip reminded him a lot of Lysander Trevelyan. For his part, Philip despised Lord William more and more with each passing day, but was wise enough to hide his feelings.

As Philip and Simone left the St Benedict residence to begin their long journey north, Lord William turned and said, ‘Everyone ready to go? All packed?'

‘Erm, Your Lordship, I could do with…erm…'

‘Theodore! Trust you to leave it to the last moment to use the bathroom. Be quick then!'

Theo sprinted upstairs, not actually needing the bathroom but knowing that one of Lord William's security men had been instructed to remove his security tag. Reaching the privacy of the first-floor landing, Theo discovered that Lord William had ordered Stephen Dyer to do the job. Beaming, Theo held out his ankle and revelled in the sour expression on Dyer's face as he removed the tag.

‘Like my ankle, do you, Dyer?' asked Theo, waving his tagless leg in Dyer's face and laughing merrily. ‘Pretty, isn't it?'

‘I'm travelling with you, so don't get too cocky, you piece of shit!'

‘Lord Theodore to you, Dyer!'

‘You piece of shit!' snarled Dyer, thinking inwardly that Theo's ankle was as gorgeous as the rest of him.

‘THEODORE!' roared Lord William from the ground floor. ‘Do you want to come with us or not?'

Not waiting to be asked again, Theo thundered down the stairs, leaving the sour faced Dyer to follow.

‘Ready at last, Theodore? Everyone ready to go? Come along then!' Lord William got into the back of the huge limousine along with Rosanna and Adam, Dyer seating himself in the front next to the driver. Catherine and Marina hung back with Theo, knowing what a momentous occasion it was for him.

‘Good Luck, Lord Theodore!'

‘Have a wonderful time, all of you!'

‘Safe journey!'

Many of the household staff, also recognising the significance of the moment, had gathered in the hall behind
Theo to encourage him on his way. Theo turned to grin at them, before crossing the threshold of the St Benedict residence for the first time in nearly ten years and stepping into the sunshine. Not sharing his dearest friend's aversion to sunlight, Theo turned his face up to the sky in joy while the waiting cameras captured the moment for posterity.

As the luxury limousine drove away from the St Benedict residence Lord William, in a surprisingly good mood, was already passing round glasses of cold champagne.

‘We're off to a wedding,' he said excitedly. ‘Let the celebrations begin!'

Theo accepted his champagne with pleasure, inadvertently beaming at His Lordship as he was unable to wipe the grin off his face even for a second. Pressing his face against the window as the car set off along the beautiful, tree-lined avenue that he hated so much, Theo looked up at the window of his prison and laughed delightedly.

‘It must be nice to view the world from the outside, Theodore,' said Lord William a little cautiously, sipping his champagne. ‘I must say you're facing your agoraphobia with admirable self-control.'

‘Yes, Your Lordship; I've had a fair bit of practice at self-control.'

It was quite a convoy that departed from London. Lord William's limousine was surrounded by several security vehicles, and the procession was headed by a police car ensuring His Lordship had a clear route through the busy city streets. Theo smiled and winked surreptitiously from time to time at various Unsponsored who'd stopped to watch the unusual convoy pass, not realising that they were unable to see into the car through the tinted glass. As the chatter went on around him, Theo held on to Cathie's hand and watched the world go by with delight. Such was the power that Lord William wielded that there were more police cars waiting to escort the convoy along the busier
parts of the route, ensuring His Lordship wasn't once held up in traffic. At the first sight of the Pennines, the long range of hills stretching through the northern counties of England to the Scottish border, Theo actually let out a yelp of joy. When the fells of the Lake District finally rose into view on the horizon, he and Marina were continually jostling with each other, both trying to get the best view possible.

‘For God's sake, calm down you two; it's only a few bloody hills,' grumbled Rosanna, but everyone ignored her bad mood.

Lord William, caught up in the feverish excitement of his two younger children, opened another bottle of champagne and passed the glasses round with a beaming smile. By the time the limousine left the M6 to begin the final part of the journey into the Lake District, Marina and Theo were singing ‘Homeward Bound' at the tops of their voices. Their mood was infectious; Adam joined in the singing with gusto, and the quieter Catherine hummed along. Even Lord William tapped his feet and smiled into his glass of champagne, but as usual the pleasure of the moment was lost on Rosanna. She sat, stiff and miserable, in the corner of the car; neither her siblings' exuberance nor the champagne doing anything to lighten her mood. Theo's mood was at the other end of the spectrum. He was positively radiating happiness as the limousine drew up outside the Applethwaite Guesthouse; newly decorated and refurbished for the visit of Lord William.

‘Theodore, just wait!' snapped Lord William, seeing Theo trying to wrench the car door open before the vehicle had even come to a halt. ‘The driver needs to release the locking mechanism, and he won't do that until he's stopped. Catherine dear, will your parents be staying at the Applethwaite Guesthouse?'

‘No, Lord William,' whispered Catherine, as always
terrified at having to speak to Theo's father. ‘We'll be staying at The White Lion.'

‘Of course – your father's friends with that Unsponsored rabble, isn't he?' said Lord William. ‘Don't worry, dear; I'm only joking. Bet you're disappointed not to be in the same hotel as Theodore, though, aren't you?'

Catherine blushed; Lord William had read her mind. Chuckling, His Lordship went on.

‘I'm sure we can arrange for you to spend plenty of time together. Us oldies have no place getting in the way of love's young dream; isn't that right, Mr Dyer?'

Caught leering at Theo's long legs clad in nicely fitting shorts, Stephen Dyer looked decidedly uncomfortable. Still chuckling, Lord William said, ‘Oh look, it seems we've got a reception committee.'

The limousine and its convoy had indeed attracted attention as it glided through the streets of Applethwaite, and people were appearing from houses all around to get a glimpse of the St Benedict family. Finally freed from the car, Theo once again lifted his ecstatic face to the sky and enjoyed the warmth of the sun.

‘OK, you lot, inside! Inside, Theodore,' ordered Lord William, adding ‘Now!' as Theo opened his mouth to argue. Rosanna had already stalked into the guesthouse with the long-suffering Adam in tow, and Lord William lost no time in ushering the rest of his party along with them.

‘Don't want the Unsponsored gawping at us,' he muttered. ‘Going to have to put up with enough of that tomorrow.' Turning at the guesthouse door, Lord William barked instructions to his staff to bring the luggage in then disappeared into the Sponsored sanctuary himself.

As Lord William and his entourage were arriving in Applethwaite, preparations for the wedding were in full swing at The White Lion. A marquee had been erected in
the meadow; a smaller but more luxurious marquee than the huge effort that had graced the Sponsors' Fair the previous summer. The inside of the marquee was a mass of balloons and ribbons, with floral decorations to be added in the morning. Tables were set out all around the marquee, a top table for the bridal party taking pride of place under the most elaborate of the decorations, and Alan was buzzing around flapping about minutiae.

‘I'm sure that table's not level. Look, that one's fractionally turned at an angle; this one isn't…'

‘It all looks fine to me,' said Dex, trying and failing to see what Alan was on about.

‘No, Dexter, look! It doesn't look straight to me.'

‘Nothing looks straight to you,' replied Dex, starting to laugh and sitting himself down on the top table.

‘DON'T LEAN ON THAT!' shrieked Alan, pushing Dex out of the way and smoothing an imaginary crease in the tablecloth. ‘If you're not going to help, Dex, then shoo! Scoot! Oh hello, Matty darling; is that the centrepiece for the top table?' Taking the display from his daughter, Alan started arranging it this way then that way.

‘This could take a while,' Matilda whispered to Dex, looking at her father. Alan was standing, hands on hips, regarding the top table with a frown. ‘I bet he's giving you a hard time, isn't he, Dexy babes? He's just sooo stressssed!'

‘I can deal with your dad's mood swings, don't you worry,' replied Dex, grinning at Matilda.

‘And I can hear you two whispering about me,' called Alan, still rearranging the centrepiece.

‘All nice things, Daddy dear,' said Matilda. ‘Don't forget the wedding rehearsal's at four! Oh, and Dory's arrived.' Not waiting for a reply, Matilda sprinted over to the pub. The wedding decorations forgotten for a moment, Alan and Dex rushed out on to the main street hoping for a glimpse of Theo. They were too late for that, Lord William already
having ushered his family into the guesthouse, but Alan was rewarded with the sight of Theo's guitar being unloaded with the rest of the luggage.

‘There it is, Dex,' he said reverently, patting Dex on the stomach and pointing. ‘The Les Paul…'

At four o'clock sharp, the wedding party filed into the church for the rehearsal. As the day was so warm no one was appropriately dressed for church. The bridesmaids in particular were more dressed for a summer's day than a solemn ceremony rehearsal: Abi had her very short shorts on, Matilda was sporting one of the micro miniskirts that Alan insisted were really belts, and Jenny was still in bikini and flip flops. Even the bride turned up in cut-off denim shorts and an AC/DC T-shirt, but the rehearsal went without a hitch nonetheless. Happy that everyone knew their duties for the following day, the vicar of Applethwaite released them all back into the sunshine with a smile. Alan immediately tried to make for the marquee, but was headed off by Georgie.

‘Enough tinkering, Alan,' she said sternly. ‘I know you; you'll be changing things round all night if someone doesn't stop you.'

‘But Georgie…'

‘But nothing, Al! I'm the bride, and what I say goes. You are not to enter that tent again until the flowers arrive in the morning, or I will kick your shins. OK?'

‘OK,' said Alan reluctantly.

‘Good man,' said Georgie, giving Alan a hug. ‘Right, who's up for a game of rounders? Oh look, the Lorimers are here!'

Running over to greet Philip and Simone as they emerged from the inn, Georgie asked how their journey had been.

‘Busy,' replied Philip. ‘Unfortunately we weren't able to take advantage of His Lordshit's police escort, and we got
stuck in traffic God knows how many times. So nice to get here and freshen up.'

‘It's good to see you again,' said Georgie honestly. ‘Jess saw you to your rooms OK, did she? Sorry not to be there to greet you personally; wedding rehearsal and all that jazz…'

‘Not a problem at all, Georgie; and yes, Dr Donatelli was there to show us to our rooms,' replied Philip. ‘Is this a rounders match I see starting up? I love a spot of rounders…'