Masters And Lovers 1-4 novel Chapter 20

I put the handset down in its cradle.

Oh, my God…

What am I going to tell him?

Best get it over with…

I pour two stiff whiskeys then go in search of James and find him on the terrace in a sheltered sunny spot, reading.

He glances up at my approach, reaching to accept the offered glass. “Thanks. A bit early isn’t it? Softening me up for something?”

Shuffling my feet, I take a sip from my own glass.

“You are softening me up for something.” His eyes narrow. “What is it?”

“Um… about that party…”

His eyes thin to slits. “Aha? What about it?”

“Well, I told Ben he could come so long as he was on best behavior, which he promised...”

“So you said. And?”

“… but then he went and told our mom, and the family… And… well, they’ve invited themselves along.”

“Who have? How many of them?”

“All of them, I think.”

His eyes register horror. “You mean… we’re going to have a re-run of the wedding? With all your aunts and grannies and the rest?”

“I think so, yes.”

“I thought we’d agreed on a small select group of friends?”

“What do I do, James? I can’t just tell them they can’t come…”

*****

Richard

“Didn’t you tell me this would be a small gathering?” I look over the thronging room. “I think I took the last space in the car park.”

James looks glum, brooding into his glass. “Michael invited Ben, and Ben invited the rest of the Summerford Hoard.”

I’m struggling not to laugh. “An Agony of Aunts?”

“Is that the collective noun for aunts?”

“How about an Amalgamation of Aunties? Or a Condescension of Aunts?”

“Grandmothers too. Both of them.”

“A Grumbling of Grannies then?”

Accusation in his eyes, “You think it’s funny.”

“Damn right I do. Tell me, is Marie here too, to complete your evening?”

“No, she isn’t.” He swigs back a mouthful. “We must be thankful for small mercies.”

I slap him between the shoulders and he glugs on his drink. “Great party, James. Nice and buzzy. Just the thing to make Mitch feel welcome. And she gets to meet all her new family.”

James’ gaze travels the room. I follow it, over the swarm of Michael’s relations, settling on Ben, seated by the bar.

“You think he’s going to behave himself?”

“He’d better. Michael’s warned him he’s on parole. If I see any sign of him causing trouble I’ll throw him out myself.”

“I suspect Michael will beat you to it.”

He sniffs, scratches his nose. “I’d say you’re right there.” He makes the smallest of gestures to where Michael, a little way along the bar, is also watching his brother.

*****

I watch the scene unfold from across the room.

Should I introduce myself?

No… This is their time…

Hand in hand with her mother, Charlotte approaches Elizabeth.

The Three Graces…

All so similar; the same red-gold hair, the same bewitching eyes, the same family stamp.

Elizabeth offers her hand, not in the way of a man, to shake, but tentatively, fingers outstretched. And equally tentatively, Mitch takes them.

Charlotte stands back, a hand raised to her mouth. Party lights of flash and play over tears streaming down Mitch’s cheeks. Then I see that Elizabeth is crying too.

And so is Charlotte.

“It’s something to see, isn’t it,” says a voice next to me.

Jerked from my reverie, I find Chad standing by me. “It is indeed.”