‘Kester, really!’ Harriet scolds, settling herself in an armchair.

Helen follows from the kitchen and spreads her hands ‘What could I do?’

‘Oh, I know how naughty he can be, you don’t have to tell me a thing!’

‘Naughty?’ Kester chuckles as smiling smugly, he tucks the duvet between him and the sides of his chair.

‘It was all very…proper…I came out of the room while he…’

‘Darling, I would not for one minute accuse you of being naughty…but my grandson? Now that is an entirely different matter…’

‘But…’ Helen blushes furiously

‘In persuading you that he should come downstairs! I was in no way suggesting any impropriety’ Harriet snuffles with amusement. ‘The spirit may have been very willing…but…Do you really think I would have gone gaily off to snooze leaving you in his room had I thought otherwise. Hmmm?’

‘Harr-iet!’  Kester hisses, flicking an apologetic look at Helen ‘It was nice of you to visit’ He rests against the pillow at his back. A smile starts to kink the corners of his mouth ‘But now I can honestly say me and Miss Marchant from the library were half naked in my bedroom…. She was in my room and I was half naked’

‘Kester!’ Harriet admonishes.

Helen sighs and rolls her eyes ‘It’s ok. I’m getting used to him and his so called humour’ She snorts a sudden giggle and puts a hand to her mouth.

Harriet groans as she glances behind her, catching sight of one bare lower leg sliding from beneath the duvet with much waggling of toes and eyebrows. ‘I just wish he would grow up!’

‘Shall I get that?’ Helen asks as the doorbell rings.

‘No…I’ll get rid of them, whoever it is’ Harriet gets up again ‘You are not expecting anyone are you, darling?’ she pauses by the door.

Kester shakes his head ‘Unless it’s one of the boys….or the police again, maybe’

‘Oh of course. Try not to be talking too long, dear, apart from tiring you, we don’t want Helen’s dinner spoiling do we?’

‘I’m not sure that ..’ He looks at Helen and gives a slight grimace.

‘Just a little..’ Helen tries to persuade as Harriet leaves the room and closes the door behind her. ‘A small portion’

‘But what if..’

‘I would take that as a personal insult’ Helen replies seriously. At the look of dismay on Kester’s face, she chuckles ‘Touché mon ami’

‘Unfair!’ Kester declares with a low chuckle. ‘Ok….but on your head be it’ he smiles wanly.

‘Oh, I do hope not’ Helen quips.

‘This is getting too much…. coming up with jokes of your own. If I promise to stop will….’

‘Kester, darling! Oh, my poor, poor child’ Ruth James bursts into the room on a blast of cold air and a cloud of perfume ‘I just had to come!’

‘Mother’ Kester acknowledges flatly.

‘How dreadful. What an awful thing to have happened. Oh, my darling, I was absolutely distraught when I heard’

‘How did you hear?’ Kester turns his head so that the kiss to his cheek, the climax to her melodramatic entrance, misses its target.

Helen watches closely, frowning slightly at the unreadable expression in Kester’s eyes.

‘It’s breaking news. I was in tears on the telephone when someone contacted me for my comment…. the shock…you know’ Ruth stands to glare at Harriet ‘I had to pretend that I knew all about it. A dreadful position to be in when they were waiting on my reaction to these awful events’

‘I told Harriet not to contact you’ Kester glowers ‘don’t take it out on her. I’m not exactly dying’

‘But…that poor young man, so dreadfully injured by those thugs…gangland thugs….They have made arrests’ she announces dramatically ‘How on earth did you get mixed up with criminals?’

Kester turns to where Harriet stands rigid with anger. ‘They’ll be coming for me next’ he groans pathetically ‘You’ve got to get me out of here. Ring Julian…tell him to get the plane fuelled…he can get me away’

Ruth gives a strangled gasp ‘Oh my God!…Oh, my God! If the press have followed me here….’

Helen bites the inside of her bottom lip hard and lowers her eyes to stop herself from laughing.

‘That’s all that bothers you isn’t it, mother?’ Kester sighs with disgust ‘How the press would see your part in this ‘tragedy’. That’s what you are doing here. You don’t give a shit about me at all. All eyes would have been watching the famous Ruth St.Clair coping so courageously with personal ‘heartbreak’ Well, I’m sorry, I’m not badly injured…. nor am I part of the local Mafiosi, so you can go now’

‘Kester….darling’

‘If you will excuse me’ Helen whispers sensing that the unpleasantness might escalate and embarrassed at being present. She walks past Ruth and makes for the door.

‘And you are?’ Ruth enquires icily.

‘A…a friend’

‘Aren’t you going to introduce me to your little friend, Kester, dear?’ Ruth smiles condescendingly

‘Miss Marchant is a very good friend to us both’ Harriet lifts her chin ‘I don’t know quite what I would have done without her today but you and your false sentiment I can well do without. My grandson Kester is extremely distressed at what has happened to his friend, as are we all and although shaken and still recovering from his ordeal, has been able to help the police with their enquiries in the hope that the perpetrators may soon be brought to justice. I thank everyone who has shown concern for me and my family at this time and ask your prayers for the full and speedy recovery of Mister Samms who has suffered serious injuries and is sadly still in hospital. I think that is more or less word for word what I told the television reporter earlier, isn’t it Helen? It might possibly have made the evening news.’

Helen nods dumbly while behind her, Ruth flushes with impotent fury.

‘So you are rather too late, Ruth, dear. Seems my latent fame is somewhat greater than yours. Shall I show you out?’

‘I expect it’s just that you were more readily available’ Ruth’s acid barb makes Helen wince inwardly and she turns to Kester, hoping that he won’t react.

Ruth stares now that she can see her full-faced. ‘Helen…Helen….did you say Marchant? I thought there was something familiar about you. I do know you, don’t I?……. ‘

Helen blushes deeply under Ruth’s scrutiny and her change of focus. ‘I don’t think so’

‘No…possibly not…’ Ruth mutters with distaste as she looks her up and down ‘the Helen I came across was very much slimmer…..and far more elegant’

‘Mother!’ Kester growls.

Helen lowers her head and takes another step towards the door. ‘Yes, I think you must have been mistaken. Please excuse me…’

‘Oh…but hold on…Your voice…one never forgets a voice’ Ruth assumes a thoughtful look, clasping her hands together and slowly tapping the sides of her index fingers again her closed lips ‘Weren’t you involved with some chap?…..’ She points her fingers ‘It will come to me…’

‘Ruth, I hardly think that matters now’ Harriet interrupts tersely ‘if you will excuse us all, we were about to eat’

‘Mother, will you just leave?’ Kester says wearily ‘you’ve done your duty, so go and report on how tremendously relieved you were to find me in good spirits’

‘It was at an opening night party…’ Ruth refuses to be sidelined. ‘You were there with….Ohhh..’ she clicks her fingers ‘Toby Andersen…that’s right! His firm had sponsored most of the restoration to the theatre. I knew I would remember’ She looks to Kester and Harriet triumphantly as if expecting applause. Her eyes light with malevolence as another memory clicks into place ‘Oh, my word’ she drawls with a slow smile. ‘Of course…there was all that to-do over you and…’

‘Ruth!’ Harriet raises her voice. ‘I’m sure none of us are interested in hearing details of Helen’s private life bandied about’

‘Oh, but it wasn’t private, was it, Helen, sweetie? All over the papers…although they were very particular about calling you Miss X’

‘Get out!’ Kester throws back the duvet, lurching from his chair and staggering the first two steps towards her, dizzy after the sudden movement ‘Get out before I throw you out’

‘You would? But I thought you might be interested in hearing what sort of friend Miss Marchant makes. Forewarned is forearmed, darling, and she ruined the life of a most promising actor’

With a low moan, Helen collapses onto the sofa, hugging herself and rocking backwards and forwards.

‘Oh well done’ Ruth claps ‘She makes a better actress than I do’ she sneers as Kester touches a comforting hand to Helen’s bowed head.

‘That’s not difficult’ Harriet slaps Ruth across the face ‘Now leave!’ she fumes.

‘You struck me!’

‘I did… And I’ll damned well do it again if you say one more word!’

‘If I don’t hit her first’ Kester faces his mother, seething with rage and disgust. ‘How dare you?’

‘Oh, I dare, darling, because it’s the truth. Truth will out. Isn’t that what they say?’

‘Truth will out? Then you’d best go before I’m persuaded to do the interview the press are always begging me for, that should do your career the power of good’

Ruth throws him a venomous look and with a final sneer at Helen, stalks past Harriet and out of the room.

Kester sits beside Helen and puts his arm around her shoulder, stroking her hair with his other hand as her whole body shakes. Harriet stands in the doorway, pale and shaken, unsure what to say. Kester looks up and meets her eyes and she nods in answer to his unspoken question. He circles both arms around Helen and despite her resistance, turns her towards him, rocking her gently until the worst of the wracking sobs subside.

‘Why your father married that woman, I have no idea!’ Harriet rages.

Kester shakes his head ‘Not now, Harriet…. A drink, perhaps?’ he says quietly.

Harriet nods and lifts the brandy bottle from the clutter on the sideboard and opens the cupboard beneath looking for a glass. She pours a measure and warms it in her hands before passing it to Kester.

‘Helen’ he coaxes softly ‘A sip…it might help you feel better. I am so, so sorry’

Helen’s hands tremble as she unconsciously lifts them to the glass, the liquid inside glints as it quivers between them. ‘But they found him guilty’ The thin whine of her words on the last of the breath in her lungs breaks as she draws a desperate breath and starts to sob again ‘He raped me!’ she wails as her whole body convulses with uncontrollable shaking.

Kester sets the glass on the lamp table next to the sofa and tries to put his arms around her again.

‘Noooo!’ she screams, pushing him away, her eyes wild.

‘It’s ok’ he comforts in a low soothing voice ‘Harriet’s here…I’m here…you’re ok…you cry…it’s fine’

‘It is not fine!’ Helen’s fists pummel his arm and his shoulder in a torrent of unleashed hurt ‘Don’t you ever say it’s fine!’

‘Helen…’ Harriet puts her hand between Kester and the next blow and curls her other hand around Helen’s head, drawing it against her stomach.

Helen buries her face in the soft wool of Harriet’s dress and clings to her, sobbing hysterically until her anger is spent. ‘It’s not fine’ she repeats in a muffled moan.

‘No…it isn’t…’ Kester agrees softly as Helen takes the handkerchief Harriet offers ‘but I can try and understand what you went through…’ He looks down at his fingers and steeples them together between his knees ‘I can at least do that’

She lets go of Harriet and turns her distraught face to him, twisting the damp handkerchief between her hands. ‘Nobody can…only me…I’m not the person I was before…you heard your mother. I hate her. I hate her and I hate you! You could never understand…neither of you!’

Harriet walks slowly back to the sideboard and helps herself to a small measure of brandy, sipping carefully until the fluttering she can feel inside her chest subsides.

Kester meets Helen’s eyes. ‘Don’t hate me for trying…I want to understand…I’ll never know just how you feel…but don’t hate me for trying’

‘He did that to me… …he changed me…. I’m not me any more’

‘But you’re still the same Helen I know’

Helen’s mouth widens in a silent howl. ‘But….you could…never love me…now…could…you?’ her words are punctuated by dry gulping sobs.

‘You haven’t changed, you’re still the same Helen to me…why shouldn’t I?’ Kester asks quietly.

She shakes her head and shivers. ‘Toby didn’t….he couldn’t…even…bear to….look at me. I didn’t ask…to be…raped’ She presses the handkerchief to her face in a fresh bout of crying.

‘Then the man was a fool’ Kester puts a tentative hand to her hair, lightly stroking with the tips of his fingers. ‘That was when you would have needed him most’ he murmurs, swallowing his own emotion.

Harriet watches, her own eyes glistening with tears. She turns away, satisfied that her presence is unneeded and leaves the room.

‘I’m sorry’ Helen lifts her face, her eyes swollen with the tears that still trickle down her face. ‘You didn’t need this…’

‘I am your friend’ Kester says simply. ‘Shushh…..’ he soothes as her head lowers and her shoulders start to shake again. He gently lifts her chin until she is looking at him ‘And you are special to me’

‘But…. look at you…white as a sheet and…. trying to look after me…when I’m supposed to be….. helping look after you’ The rate of her sobs lessen as she calms.

‘That doesn’t matter…What matters to me is that you know I really don’t care about what happened before…Not that I don’t care at all…no woman should have to go through what you did…. But that it doesn’t make any difference to the way I feel about you’

Helen bows her head and threads the handkerchief between her hands as they lay in her lap. ‘That is very…kind. Thank you’

‘Kind?’ Kester shakes his head and smiles gently. ‘You are special to me’ he repeats ‘Did you hear what I said?’ He sighs. ‘My timing always was off’ he mumbles. ‘Tell you what….’ he says, adjusting his dressing gown over his chest and sitting further back on the sofa ‘You hug me better and I’ll try and do the same for you…. would that be ok?’

Helen turns with a small frown.

His eyes widen in question. ‘Please?’ He leans forward and lifts one arm around her shoulder, exhaling relief as she turns her face against his chest ‘It’s ok’ he whispers, feeling the tremble of her fresh tears ‘It’s ok’ He presses his lips against her hair as she cries softly.

Tawny House, Manor Road

Chapter Five