“Did he agree?”
“Yes, of course. But it seems like you may have another admirer.”
“What? No, never!” I replied. I was furious.
“Oh, before I forget, he had a message for you,” James added. As he got up from the bed and continued to undo his buttons, he made his way to the shower. He held onto the door handle and paused for a moment. “Hmmm, what was it he said. Ah, yes, that’s right. He said, ‘Don’t forget we still need to engrave the locket.’”
“James. I am so sorry he said that to you. I promise he has nothing to do with the locket. It’s from me and only me.”
“I know that Catherine. It took everything I had not to strike him and caution him to stay away from you!” James said as he entered the bathroom.
Why would Richard pass that message through James? What could he possibly achieve by doing so? I wish he had hit him. I don’t know how much more James will take before he realises that I’m not worth all the hassle. Why can’t everything just be normal?
I got off the bed and started pacing the room, waiting for James to come out so I could explain in more detail what happened. Finally, the water stopped running. I went to the door and waited. As soon as the door opened, I opened my mouth ready to explain. But nothing came out. Again James stood there with no shirt, just long pants. I don’t know how I will ever get used to resisting his incredible body. I forgot what I was going to say and more to the point, how to say it. I was now completely distracted, and he knew it.
“Catherine?”
“Sorry, just a bit distracted…” I said with a slight grin.
“I want to explain,” I added.
“No need. I know how Richard can be. I should be used to his devices to stir up trouble. I have to insist that you are not to go to his cottage alone ever again.”
“Of course I promise.”
“Now, how was your evening with Mr Kemp? Was it really all that bad?”
“Worse than bad! His reading is awful — more stops and starts than Phar Lap!”
“We have no choice. He is the only one who knows what’s going on other than us.”
“Other than you, you mean! Not us! I still don’t have the faintest idea what is going on”.
James grabbed a t-shirt from his drawer, put it on and sat on his bed. I sat down next to him, grabbed both pillows and placed them behind me, trying to get my injured body comfortable.
“I pray… I mean I really pray that it will all come back to you. That everything will be clear… You need to consider everything that happens. Do not dismiss any notion. Think the unthinkable… and at the end of all this, I will be there, with you always.”
The rest of the evening was spent in silence in James’s arms. Thankful that I have him in my life, I wished that we could remain here forever.
Neither of us made mention of today’s events, which suited me just fine. Hours had gone by and I didn’t feel tired at all. My second wind must have kicked in about midnight. When James realised what the time was, he turned off the lights and decided that I needed to sleep. It didn’t take long for me to start yawning. I closed my eyes, took in a deep breath and started to think about the advice James had given me earlier — the bit about thinking the unthinkable, and not dismissing any notion.
After a few moments, my eyelids were heavy, my body was relaxed and only the sounds of breathing could be heard.
CHAPTER EIGHT
I woke to a throbbing pain in my leg. I guess all the tossing and turning hadn’t helped it. I felt dreadful. Just as well James was still asleep. It was still dark outside, but here in England that wasn’t always a reliable guide of the time. The morning darkness here seemed to linger on. Slowly and quietly I got out of bed. Wanting to look at my leg without disturbing James, I made my way slowly to the bathroom. The pain in my leg was getting worse. I pulled my pants up above my knee so I could see around my bandage. Surprisingly, my leg seemed the same as it was yesterday. I couldn’t see any redness or swelling around the dressing, but it still felt sore. I made my way to the basin. My reflection in the mirror was disheartening. I looked so worn out. I turned the hot water on and let in run for a few seconds, giving it a chance to warm up. Still half asleep, I bent my head down into the basin and with both palms I filled my hands and splashed my face. I stretched out my right arm to grab a hand towel to wipe my face. For no reason, I started feeling apprehensive. I began to tremble… I wasn’t alone.
Realistically Catherine, there is no way there could be anyone in here with you!
But things aren’t real anymore…
Slowly, I pulled the towel from my face. The bathroom had steamed up from the hot water tap. I turned around gradually… I wasn’t able to see anything. I still felt unsure. The air was thick and lacked oxygen. My back was now leaning on the sink. The sound of the running water caught my attention so I turned around and turned the tap off. The bathroom was still steamy. My body was frozen and I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I stood there timid and fearful. I prayed for the steam to clear so I could see enough to be able to leave. As the steam started to disappear, I could see that the bathroom mirror had been half-wiped, but not by me. I didn’t want to look directly at it. I didn’t want to see anything.
“Catherine, are you alright?” James yelled from outside the door.
The sound of James’s voice gave me the strength to slowly walk to the bathroom door and open it.
“Is everything alright?” James repeated.
I turned back to the bathroom, which was now cool and steam free, and the mirror was completely clear and dry.
“Yes,” I uttered, as I walked passed him back into the bedroom.
James opened the door wide and looked in the bathroom with suspicion. He knew I was not telling him the truth, I could tell, and I knew that it saddened him, but I had no choice.
Neither one of us went back to bed. We sat there in silence not knowing what to say. The tension in the room was high.
“What happened in the bathroom?”
“I don’t want to talk about it!”
“You have no choice, Catherine!”
“I know you’re not oblivious. And I know that you know something happened in there,” I confessed, looking towards the bathroom. “But… I don’t know… This time it was different. I understand this is serious,” I admitted.
James stood quietly in front of me.
I decided not to tell him… anyway what was I suppose to say.
His lips tightened as he tried to compose himself.
“Yes, this is serious. But I have to say, I preferred it when if you weren’t aware and were still able to be carefree. I wish you could have remained indifferent to all this. It would have been easier for you,” he said.
I wanted him to hold me and kiss me and love me but he didn’t. He didn’t touch me, and I didn’t know why.
The holidays finished too quickly. With the students and most of the teachers away for the holidays, James and I had enjoyed less worry about me being caught coming and going from his room. It was a lot harder to get in and out of James’s room, and keep our secret, when the students and teachers were back at the college.
The day the students arrived back was an unusually sunny day. I put on a summer dress, taking full advantage of the warm weather. Jules and I had become particularly close this break and she was now starting to open up about Dr Simons. I was so happy for them.
I snuck out of James’s room and headed down to the grounds to meet and greet with the boys as they returned. When I arrived in the foyer, I was stopped by a young boy’s voice yelling “Miss, Miss?” from across the hall. As he ran towards me, I recognised him as Mark, one of my more promising students and Richard Cartwright’s son. He was a very sweet and shy boy, nothing like his father.