One Word From You: A Pride and Prejudice Adaptation (21 page)

That was when I lost interest.

New stuff was boring.

I let the old truck rock me left and right, watching the town pass us by, and smiling briefly at the few people who waved as we passed. We'd lived there forever, and my Dad was something of a celebrity. All the local people knew us. That was nice, in a way. Community and all that. Although it was hard having everyone know your business, too. Nothing stayed secret in a town like ours.

We were buzzed through the gate, and Dad drove straight around to the back of the house, to where the workers stored all their stuff away from the family. People didn't like seeing their servants or the clutter they kept, even if they were happy for them to use it. I watched him unload the tools, and cheerfully greet the man who'd hired him. When I was introduced, I nodded, and then hopped down from the back. I was a little dusty, but like Dad had said, the family weren't home.

A younger man appeared, and flashed me a crooked smile. He was dressed smartly, in a pressed black suit and white shirt. He swept his fingers through his hair, and elbowed the older, much better turned out man.

“
Excuse me,” the older man said, “This is my son, Henry. He's shadowing me, and learning the ins and outs of running the house.”

“
Nice to meet you,” he said to my father first, and then his eyes lingered on mine.

Well, it wasn't a total loss.

“
And this is Beth. She's going to get bored watching me work. Is she allowed to walk around the gardens?” Dad asked.

“
I can go one better,” Henry said, “Do you want to see the house? No one's around, and I can give you a tour.”

“
Can I?” I asked Dad.

“
Fine by me. James?”

The older man nodded, “Absolutely. Henry, don't go into the family's personal rooms. Understood?”

“
Yes, father.”

He put his hand on my back as if to guide me. We walked briskly, and once we were around the corner, we practically ran. Henry might have been dressed for his part, but he still had too much immaturity to play it. We stopped at the back door, and he waved me inside.

The house was open and modern. The spaces seemed to flow into one another, giving it a really tranquil feeling. The windows were huge, letting in a lot of light, and offering stunning views of the surrounding grounds. Situated happily in the middle of the large plot, there were woods, a small hedge maze with a fountain in the middle, and neatly kept lawns with pretty flowers just starting to bud.

Everything was natural wood, sanded and polished to perfection, or sheets of glass which reflected the light. The furnishings were neutral, and sort of blocky in shape, which was a stark contrast to the beautiful curves of the sweeping staircase.

“
Nice, right?” Henry asked, “And this is just one floor. Most of it, is what you see. Living room, kitchen in the back, and the dining area.”

“
What, no ball room?” I asked sarcastically.

“
I know, it's shocking. But this is just a country house. To them, this is like a cottage.”

“
Big cottage.”

“
Tell me about it. I mean, there are five bedrooms, and only three of them.”

“
Just five? Man, how do they cope?”

“
I think they drown their sorrows with whatever's in the wine cellar,” he whispered.

“
Hey,” I said, “Do they at least have a music room? Like, with expensive guitars and stuff?”

“
Not really, but there's a piano on the next floor. Come on, I'll show you.”

I felt like it was a violation of someone's privacy for us to explore any further, but I really wanted to see the piano. They could afford the best, clearly, and I soon saw it sitting in a bay they'd created. It was surrounded by floor to ceiling windows, looking out over the countryside. An inspirational sight if ever I saw one.

“
Is that a
Fazioli?
”

“
I don't know,” Henry said, “Is it?”

“
Hell yeah. They have one of these at my school, but we're not allowed to touch it unless there's a really big recital going on. They're seriously expensive.”

“
Do you want to try it?”

I span on my heel to face him, “Really? I can?”

“
Sure. Who's going to know?”

“
No one so long as you keep your mouth shut.”

“
Deal.”

His phone began to ring in his pocket, and Henry motioned that I should go ahead. I wasn't going to wait for him to change his mind. He mouthed that he'd be back soon, and headed downstairs. That was probably for the best, because I didn't play as well as I should have. I sat down on the stool, and carefully lifted the lid to see the gleaming keys. Even if it was just a show piece, someone was keeping it well, and it was in tune.

Before I could stop myself, I was well in the throes of a truly awful rendition of Beethoven's
Für Elise.
I got points for trying. It wasn't like it was easy to play, especially without the sheet music. It was one of the first things I'd learnt when I stepped up to longer, more complicated pieces. I didn't have the confidence to do the whole thing, but I could remember enough that any improvised bridges didn't make it a total mess.

I skipped over a key by mistake, and lost my place.

Well, I hadn't done as badly as I usually did. Maybe it was because it was such a nice instrument, or maybe it was the scenery. It was too bad no one was around to hear me not screwing something up for a change. Given I had a habit of doing things really badly lately, it would have been good to prove that I wasn't a complete failure to someone.

“
Not bad,” a woman said behind me.

I stood quickly, and that was a bad move. In my haste to escape, or explain myself if that would get me into less trouble, I fell over the stool. Thankfully, I went backwards, so I didn't damage the piano. I'd hate to have been sent the bill for that repair. I landed hard on the floor, and swore softly, staring up at the ceiling while my head pounded in agony.

Damn.

I was such an idiot.

Someone offered me their hand to help me back up, and I took it without checking who it was attached to. I wished I had as soon as I was on my feet. Staring back at me was the last person in the world I wanted to run into.

William Davies.

“
Oh my God!” I exclaimed, “What are you doing here?”

“
This is my house.”

“
What?!”

“
Our house,” the woman corrected, “It belongs to our family. Who are you?”

“
I – I'm no one,” I pulled my fingers from his, “Sorry, I'll go.”

If my P.E teacher saw how fast I could run in such a situation, she would sign me up for the track team. I couldn't believe I'd just willingly walked into William's house, and then played on his stupid piano. It was worse because he was there to hear me. God, I was such an idiot! I raced right past Henry, who looked thoroughly confused as to what might have happened. Rather than coming after me, I heard him go in the opposite direction, no doubt to see if I'd done anything to his employers.

My brakes weren't all that well tuned, and I crashed into Dad once I was back on the grounds. He held my arms to stop me falling, and asked, “What happened? Are you okay?”

“
We need to leave.”

“
You didn't break something, did you?”

“
No! I – I don't think so – maybe? Can we go?!”

“
James,” he said to the man who'd been observing his work, “I'll need to order a part for this if I don't have one back at the garage. I'll call you. And if she broke anything, I'll take it off what you owe me. Deal?”

“
Absolutely. I'm sure nothing's damaged, and if it is, the family won't be too upset by it. Ah, here is Master William, now.”

I squeaked. With no other option, I dove into the truck's cab, and hid in the foot-well. It was cramped, but at least he wouldn't be able to see me. Either my deception had worked, and he didn't know where I was, or he was just respecting the fact I didn't want to talk to him when he bypassed the vehicle. I heard him walk over to my Dad, and say, “You're Mr. Blake?”

“
Greg, if you're a friend of my daughter's. Nice to meet you, William.”

“
I was surprised to see her here,” William said, “Are you staying in this part of the country for long?”

Dad laughed, “I should hope so!”

“
Mr. Blake and his daughter live in the town,” James explained, “They have a garage there. I called Mr. Blake to fix a piece of machinery. He was just on his way.”

“
Will you stay for dinner?” William asked, “We'd be happy if you did.”

Yeah, probably so he could make fun of us. I didn't think for a second that William was being nice to my Dad for any other reason. He hated me, and he didn't like poor people. He'd not said that outright, but I could tell. His sister might not be so bad, but he was absolutely the worst person ever, with the exception of Gideon, obviously.

Dad was mulling it over. Then he sighed, and said, “I don't think we can tonight. It's your first day here, and you should settle in. But, here's my card,” I heard him pause, and thought he might be looking in my direction. I wasn't brave enough to peek. He continued, “Come by tomorrow at lunch. I'll make sure Beth's around.”

Git.

“
Thank you, Sir. I'll do that.”

“
Call me Greg. Until tomorrow, then. James, I'll call about the part.”

Well, even if William did come by, he wouldn't get to see me. Because I had absolutely no intention of being there when he did.

Chapter Twenty

A compliment of the highest kind.

By morning, I was still convinced that William wouldn't come to my home.

He was just being polite in front of my father.

That being the case, I woke early, and escaped the house to go to the beach at sunrise. What with it being a Sunday, I was happy to see that Eric was able to join us. He wrapped me up in a hug that lasted too long when I arrived. It wasn't until Max helped set me free that I was free to greet the others. Lewis was clingy as ever, and professed that it had been too long since I'd joined them for an early morning surf.

He was right, of course.

We left our things in a pile on the sand, and ran into the biting water, shrieking and laughing as the cold waves met our bare skin. I did have a wetsuit, but it was such a hassle to get on when I was tired. I'd opted for a pair of skimpy board shorts and a short sleeved rash shirt. It was definitely warmer than a bikini.

Hey, it wasn't summer quite yet.

While I did know how to stand on a long board, because you couldn't grow up right on a beach and not learn to surf as a kid, I'd been more in the mood for body boarding. As the others discovered, the waves just weren't high or powerful enough to carry them to shore at the speeds they enjoyed. We also paddled out, sat on our boards, and tried to knock one another into the water. The last one still upright was the winner.

I didn't last all that long.

The morning passed swiftly, as time did pass much more quickly when we were having fun. Someone called to us, and we looked over to the café which had opened for business already. It was up high, with a wooden terrace type area for outside diners to enjoy the view. The walkway went underneath the building, and there was a long wooden ramp to get up to it. It had been in business for a long time. Joe was the grandfather of the current owners, and was trying to beckon us in for lunch.

“
Well,” Eric said, still sitting on his board as the winner of our last game, “I was hoping to see Lana today.”

“
You need to remember that she's married,” I said.

“
And pregnant,” Poppy added.

“
What? No way!” I splashed her, “When were you planning on telling me?”

“
I just did,” she flicked some water back at me, “Come on, let's go and ogle Zeke.”

“
Pop', I am
right
here,” Max said.

“
I know. You're cute when you're jealous,” she told her pouting boyfriend.

Lewis cleared his throat, “Say, Beth? I was thinking, maybe I -”

“
Maybe you should keep quiet,” Eric suggested, “Beth wants to have a little lunch date with me. Right?”

“
You were just saying you were going to hit on Lana,” I said.

“
I can't do both?”

“
This is exactly why you can't get a girlfriend,” I told him, “You're such a perve.”

“
I like to think of myself as a lovable rogue.”

“
I bet you do,” I muttered.

Too lazy to swim to shore, I pulled myself back up on my board, and accepted the assistance of an incoming wave. We were still teasing Eric as we returned to our belongings. What with it being a surfer café, Joe didn't mind if we walked sea water into it. Because we didn't want to cause a potential accident by dripping all over the place, we still dried off a little on the beach. I was in the middle of toweling down my hair when William arrived.

He announced himself by calling across the beach, “Beth Blake!” as he strode to us.

“
Who's that?” Lewis asked.

“
I don't know, but he's cute,” Poppy said.

Max put his arm around her shoulders possessively, “I don't like the look of him.”

“
Me either,” Lewis added.

“
Someone you know, Beth?” Eric asked.

“
Unfortunately.”

“
Hi,” William greeted the others once he was close enough. He looked kind of awkward under their gaze. I wasn't surprised. Most people were intimidated by older, muscular, sporty types. I didn't look like I should belong with them, but we didn't really judge on appearances. At least, not with each other.

“
What are you doing here?” I asked, “And how did you know I'd be here?”

“
Your Dad invited me over at lunch, and he said I'd probably find you here. You – uh – you're soaking wet.”

“
That's an occupational hazard when you surf, kid,” Eric said, “Gotta be in the water to do it.”

William looked him up and down, before offering a hand to shake, “William Davies. You are?”

“
We ain't big on doing last names with people around here. I'm Eric, I work for Beth's Dad. The blonde girly, here, is Poppy. The guy glarin' at you is her boyfriend Max. And the scrawny kid is her little bro', Lewis.”

“
Nice to meet you all,” he said stiffly, “Beth, my sister was hoping you'd come up to the house for lunch.”

“
You want to eat lunch inside when it's this nice out?” Poppy asked.

“
Where else would we eat?”

She motioned to the café, “Ta-da!”

“
What? No way,” I said, “Look, I know what Dad said, but it's fine. Don't make yourself hang around me, okay? I'm going to eat up there with the guys, so apologise to your sister for me, and -”

“
I'll text her,” he said.

“
Come again?”

He took his phone from his pocket, “I'll send her a message, and tell her to meet us here.”

I groaned, and didn't make any effort to hide my irritation from William. I'd almost broken his nose, so I thought he got the idea that I didn't like him all that much. I couldn't see what he was going to get out of spending a couple of hours with me. It wasn't like I was going to complain to my Dad if he didn't. And even if I did, it wasn't any concern of his.

Quickly, I gathered up my things, and stormed away. I couldn't think of a good way to get out of it, and I couldn't leave William alone with my friends. If I wasn't there to keep an eye on them, I didn't know what kind of humiliating stories they might share about me. Lewis didn't hesitate to keep pace with me. He tried to put his arm around my waist, and I knocked his hand away. Even if he had a crush on me, it didn't mean I was interested in him, or that he had any right to try and
claim
me just because another guy was hanging around.

William strolled after us at his leisure. I was already up the ramp, and getting a hug from Joe while they were still walking across the sand. Knowing that Lana was inside, and that she was probably pretty hormonal, I put on a good face. She was wiping down a table when I walked in, and I dropped my stuff into a vacant chair so I could hug her.

“
Hey, what's this for?” she asked.

“
I just found out. Congratulations!”

Lana laughed, “Oh, that! Thank you. I thought I would see you in here yesterday. Were you busy with your Dad?”

“
Oh God, about that? There's a guy coming in that I know, and he doesn't like me much. Please don't give him any ammo or anything, okay?”

“
I'm not going to start spilling any secrets. Don't worry.”

“
Can you make sure Zeke doesn't?”

The man in question poked his head around the door. His hands were covered in flour and bits of dough. Seeing as he was working through a culinary course in his spare time, he worked hard in the kitchen, practicing his already pretty decent skills. Zeke grinned in a devilish way, “What am I not meant to be doing? I'll make sure I do it constantly.”

“
Behave,” Lana warned.

“
Oh, he isn't capable of that,” Joe said as he hobbled in. Lana went to help him into his usual chair, and he patted her hand gently in gratitude. I got the feeling that he'd still be behind the counter helping out if he was young enough. There were other waiters and waitresses to deal with the influx of customers during the holidays. Usually students home from school or university, and in desperate need of extra cash.

“
Gramps, I can behave if I want to. I just
don't
want to, that's all,” Zeke winked at me. The others came through the door noisily, and Eric didn't hesitate to sweep Lana off her feet, and kiss her cheek. She didn't care, because they were so used to one another. Zeke, on the other hand, looked ready to vault the counter to rescue his wife. Given he was in his place of work, he settled for warning, “Take your hands of my wife, man. Don't think I won't snap your board in two.”

“
Killjoy,” Eric muttered, and set Lana back down, “Still not ready to divorce him? It's fine, I'll wait.”

My friends were insane.

I grabbed William's wrist, and tugged him further into the room. I pointed out each person, “Zeke, Lana, and Joe. This is William,” I said, “He went to school with me for a while.”

“
Ohh, I should have known,” Eric clapped him hard on the back, “Rich boy, huh?”

“
Guilty as charged,” William said, “It's nice to meet you all. My sister Amanda will be along shortly, and a friend of mine.”

“
Is your sister cute?” Eric asked.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, “Jesus Christ, Eric. We're going to get you neutered if you don't learn to chill around girls.”

“
I was blessed with this stunning body, and it is my
duty
to share it with beautiful women.”

“
Kind of like how it's my duty to share my fist with the faces of idiots?” I asked.

“
Ouch,” Poppy laughed, and punched my shoulder gently, “Nice one.”

“
My girls,” Eric said to William, “They're so witty. And so
violent.
”

“
You say that like it's a good thing,” he replied.

“
I like them feisty.”

“
And we like you silent,” Lana said.

“
Awesome,” I laughed, and she slapped the palm of my hand.

William smirked at me, “And this is how you spend every day?”

“
Only the days I'm around these idiots,” I said, “Something wrong with that?”

“
Not at all. It's good to see you acting like a normal person.”

“
Excuse me,” Zeke said, “Kid, there's nothing normal about us. You take that back, now.”

“
What are we taking back?” the same woman I'd seen the previous day asked as she joined us.

Amanda was beautiful, and I had no problem saying it. Her hair was a fair blonde, and her lashes were long and thick, framing her bright blue eyes perfectly. With such long legs, and a slender waist, it was a wonder she wasn't working as a runway model or something. She was dressed casually, in pale blue jeans and a white blouse. Her hair was curled gently at the ends, and fell just past her shoulders.