Dory's Avengers (47 page)

‘Wow, he's good,' said Theo to Adam, watching the rapid movement of Alan's fingers over the guitar's neck as Dex joined them.

‘He's brilliant, isn't he?' said Dex proudly. ‘Alan's a little in love with your guitar though, Theo. I think I may have a rival!'

‘I don't think you've got anything to worry about there, Dex,' Theo replied, laughing.

‘Seriously, Theo,' said Alan, grinning down from the stage as he continued to play the beautiful guitar. ‘Not content with taking my daughter from me, you're now trying it on with my boyfriend?'

‘That's right, Alan,' said Theo, grinning back. ‘I'm just a no good slapper. May I?' Jumping onto the stage, Theo picked up one of Alan's guitars and held it out.

‘Be my guest!' While the wedding guests continued to
chat, laugh and mingle, Theo and Alan jammed happily together on the stage. Matilda joined them before long and started singing the songs they were playing; an impromptu performance by Dory's Avengers featuring Dory himself.

Louis caught up with Theo again as the wedding party moved over to the marquee for the wedding feast. Walking from the pub together, once Theo was happy that his beloved guitar was safe in the inn's living quarters, the friends had a whispered conversation.

‘What are you going to do then, Theo?'

‘Well, nothing for now, apart from eat.'

‘If you do make a break for it, head for 'Thwaite's Wood. You know where…'

‘I'd rather head for Matilda's bedroom,' replied Theo, sticking his hand out into the pouring rain from underneath their umbrella. ‘Lovely weather for ducks!'

‘And albinos,' said Louis, laughing briefly. ‘What went wrong between Cathie and you?'

‘She dumped me. Something to do with me being a cad and a bounder,' Theo winked at Louis, then went on. ‘She pretty much told me to go to Matty. You and Gideon were right, Lou; Cathie wasn't right for me. Besides,' Theo continued as they entered the marquee and caught sight of Cathie deep in conversation with Max, ‘it doesn't seem to have done her any harm…'

‘Ah there you are, Theodore,' said Lord William, taking his son by the arm and ignoring Theo's disgusted look at his touch. ‘Our table's over there. Should you be drinking, Trevelyan?' he added, spying the champagne in Louis's hand.

‘I find it keeps me from dehydrating…'

‘Don't be facetious! I meant should you be drinking alcohol?'

‘It's a one-off. Don't worry; I usually stick to water.'

‘Your Lordship,' prompted Lord William.

‘No, really, I'm just plain old Louis,' said Louis, laughing as he sprinted off before Lord William could roar at him.

The wedding feast was a tremendous success. There was a menu on every table offering guests a choice of three different meals, and the smartly dressed Unsponsored volunteers flitted around the room taking everyone's orders. Lots of guests were heard to praise the beautifully decorated marquee, making Alan beam with pride.

‘I knew they'd love it,' said Dex on his way to take his place at the top table. ‘You've done a brilliant job for Georgie and Chris; I'm so proud of you, Al.'

Philip and his family were seated at the St Benedict table, it being too late to change the plans around following Catherine and Theo's recent split. It did cause Alan a moment of panic that it would spoil the ambience of his lovely marquee, but once again the sensitive and observant Catherine came to his rescue.

‘Really, Alan, stop worrying!' she said, seeing his concern and taking his hand briefly before she sat down. ‘The room looks gorgeous; well done!' Feeling vaguely guilty despite Catherine's kind words, Alan looked over to the top table where his daughter was regarding him with her eyebrows raised.

It was lucky for the Unsponsored waitress assigned to the St Benedict table that she had the Lorimers, Theo, Adam and Marina to serve as they did their best to atone for the continual rudeness of Lord William and Lady Rosanna. Rosanna in particular was on a mission to be as obnoxious as possible, and nothing was to her liking despite the food being declared delicious by everyone else in the room.

‘Oi, Unsponsored scum, I can't eat this muck!'

‘Unsponsored, get here now!'

‘Get me more champagne, Unsponsored filth!'

‘Unsponsored! Unsponsored! Unsponsored!'

Lord William backed up all his elder daughter's complaints, enjoying a chance to make life difficult for the Unsponsored waitress and roaring at Theo every time he admonished Rosanna for her rudeness.

‘Don't think you need any more booze, Rosanna,' said Theo as his sister demanded yet more champagne.

‘IF YOUR SISTER WANTS MORE CHAMPAGNE, SHE SHALL HAVE IT, THEODORE. MORE CHAMPAGNE HERE! NOW, UNSPONSORED!'

Theo just shrugged and tucked into Rosanna's discarded meal, having already finished his own, while everyone else in the room did their best to hide their disgust at her bad behaviour. With the exception of His Lordship and Lady Rosanna, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the wedding feast and the speeches that followed. Dex's nerves turned out to be as unnecessary as Alan's; his speech was moving and beautiful. He summed up with his well-chosen words the love he felt for his younger sister, and how happy he was to see her married to someone as perfect for her as Chris. Welcoming Chris to the family, Dex led the guests in a toast to the bride and groom, and even Lord William stood to raise his glass. Only Rosanna stayed slumped in her chair, Theo whispering to Marina that their sister was probably too drunk to stand.

Chris's speech was equally moving, but it was Gideon's speech that really stole the show. Hidden beneath the gruff exterior was a very humorous man, and everyone roared with laughter at Gideon's tales of Chris's mishaps when he'd just qualified as a vet, his tentative courtship of Georgia, and his drunken attempts to play football ‘better than Elliot' one silly night in Carlisle. Touchingly taking Abi's hand, Gideon mentioned absent friends who would have loved to have joined the celebrations. Marina squeezed her brother's arm, both thinking of their gentle mother, while Lysander put his arms around Louis and Jenny. The
moment passed quickly; Gideon was determined not to let the guests become maudlin on Chris and Georgie's wedding day, so he raised his glass in a toast once again to the bride and groom.

‘And more champagne!' demanded Lady Rosanna with a belch, so drunk that she didn't realise the roar of laughter that followed was at her expense.

‘No! There are children present! I won't have drunken and loutish behaviour!' shrilled Alan, doing his best imitation of Lady Rosanna and laughing with Louis as they sat down to enjoy the rest of the feast. The party at the top table was the most jubilant in the room, now the speeches were out of the way, and the mood was infectious. Soon the marquee rang with the sounds of friendly chatter and frequent bursts of laughter.

Once the cake had been cut signalling the end of the formalities, the wedding party moved back through the pouring rain and into the pub for the evening. Dory's Avengers had made a last-minute decision to provide the entertainment, Adam saying he'd play bass so that Georgie could continue to chat to her guests. Alan caught up with Theo as he went back into the cheerful bar of the Unsponsored Inn.

‘May I…' Alan began to say, but Theo interrupted, laughing.

‘Yes, Alan, you can go and fetch my guitar!'

‘Yesss! Yessss!' yelled Alan, throwing his head back in glee and sprinting upstairs as Matilda appeared at Theo's side.

‘You and your dad are so alike, as I'm sure you've been told before,' said Theo, smiling as he pulled her close and bent his head to kiss her.

‘And you are so unlike yours, thank God,' replied Matilda, snuggling her body against Theo's and returning his kiss with enthusiasm.

Dory's Avengers were very smartly dressed that evening.
Matilda fronted the band still wearing her bridesmaid's finery, while Adam, Dex and Alan all kept their suits on as they played. Only Max had discarded his jacket and tie, giving him more freedom to belt merry hell out of his drums. The other two bridesmaids danced in front of the stage with several female guests including Chloe, Marina and, to everyone's surprise, Catherine. Louis and Theo stood chatting over by the bar with most of the menfolk. To Lysander's dismay, he found himself cornered by His Lordship.

‘Nice wedding, wasn't it, Lysander? I do love a celebration, don't you?'

‘Well, it beats a funeral, WSB,' replied Lysander tartly, looking around to try and find someone else to talk to. Lord William wasn't going to be put off that easily.

‘Of course it does, Lysander, of course it does,' he boomed with a huge grin, clapping Lysander on the back. ‘Any chance of you coming back to London sometime soon?'

‘Who knows? As you said this is a celebration, so let's not discuss it now. Drink?' Lysander passed a glass of red wine to Lord William, knowing his boss's tastes, and helped himself to a pint of lager.

‘Don't mind if I do, Dad,' said Louis, grinning and relieving Lysander of his full pint. ‘Cheers!'

‘Cheers,' replied Lysander, thanking the Unsponsored volunteer behind the bar for replacing his pint almost immediately and putting an arm round his son's shoulders as they clinked glasses. Watching the affectionate interaction between Lysander and Louis, Lord William glanced round the room trying to locate his own son. Theo had climbed on stage with the rest of Dory's Avengers by then and was playing rhythm on one of Alan's guitars.

‘Think you've left it a bit late to build bridges, Your… er…Lordshit,' said Louis bluntly, following Lord William's gaze.

‘Dory's Avengers?' said His Lordship, turning back to Louis with an enigmatic smile.

‘Yes,' replied Louis, starting to laugh. ‘We stand up for the rights of fish.'

Still smiling, Lord William said, ‘So it's nothing to do with the fact that you used to call my son Dory? Hmm, Louis? I can guess your opinion of my fathering skills, or rather lack of them; but believe it or not, I do love Theodore.'

Patting Louis on the face, His Lordship laughed out loud at the shocked expressions on the faces of the Trevelyans, and then joined the growing crowd of people on the dance floor. For the next hour or so, the wedding guests and His Lordship's security guards were amazed to see the head of the Sponsorship Scheme jumping about the dance floor alongside the Unsponsored with ever increasing enthusiasm. Even Theo yelling, ‘I'd like to dedicate this one to William St Benedict,' into Matilda's microphone before the band burst into ‘I Hate Everything about You' couldn't dampen his exuberance; he just grinned and shrugged at the people around him.

The party continued into the night, giving Lord William a true taste of the Unsponsored lifestyle, a taste that he amazingly seemed to enjoy. When the band came to play ‘Long Live Rock 'n' Roll', a song which had pretty much become their signature tune, Matilda had a quick chat with Theo before taking over as rhythm guitarist, leaving him on lead vocals. Watching his son perched on the edge of the stage, singing to his audience and milking the moment like a natural front man, Lord William found himself pumping his fist in the air and belting out the chorus along with everyone else.

One person wasn't enjoying the evening at all – Lady Rosanna. Having not eaten all day, she'd been on a mission to down as much drink as humanly possible, and by the time her brother took vocals she was paralytic and very maudlin.
His Lordship's security guards had a nasty feeling they knew what was about to happen, but everyone else was oblivious until Rosanna stood up and started shrieking.

‘I can't believe you, Father,' yelled Lady Rosanna, staggering over to the dance floor, arms flailing. ‘Father, you hate this Unsponsored scum…YOU HATE THEM…What are you DOING…'

Finally facing her father as the people on the dance floor got out of her way, Lady Rosanna tried desperately to grab his shoulders, but succeeded only in doubling up in front of him and vomiting onto his expensive shoes.

‘Now!' whispered Louis as Matilda pulled Theo down from the stage. ‘Get out of here now, Theo! I'll meet you at the tree when I can.'

‘Go, Theo!' added Matilda, kissing him briefly then pushing him on his way. ‘You're a Farrell; 'Thwaite's Wood will take care of you.'

‘But…'

‘Go, cuz!' hissed Abi. ‘Matty's right. 'Thwaite's Wood looks after its own.'

As all Lord William's joy in the evening evaporated, he started barking out instructions to his security men. While he yelled at them to take Lady Rosanna back to the guesthouse and clean up the mess on his shoes, Theo used the unexpected distraction and ran. Caring nothing for his expensive suit, he fled across The White Lion's meadow, over the wall, along the lane and into 'Thwaite's Wood. Knowing the way instinctively, he ran headlong through the dense woodland, friendly bushes and branches caressing Isabelle Farrell's son as he passed before closing the gaps behind him. Eventually, Theo reached the beloved tree into which his mind had escaped so many times in the past; his sanctuary from Dyer and all the other horrors of his long imprisonment. Hauling himself into the safety of the tree's huge branches, Theo found that someone had actually
made preparations for his escape. The hollow at the heart of the tree was covered by a waterproof sheet, keeping a dry seat for Theo. Lifting the sheet, Theo found a little igloo tent, a blanket, a sleeping bag, a change of clothes and some food and water. Happy in his sanctuary, Theo snuggled into the blanket and dragged the protective sheet over himself and his provisions, briefly wondering who had placed them in the tree before the euphoria of finally being free pushed all other thoughts from his mind.

‘Lovely tree, thank you,' Theo whispered jubilantly, stroking the rough bark as the tree rustled its leaves in reply and the shouts started from The White Lion.

‘NEVER MIND ROSANNA, THE STUPID LITTLE DRUNK,' yelled Lord William hysterically, his voice carrying into 'Thwaite's Wood as clearly as the peals of the wedding bells earlier in the day. ‘WHERE THE HELL IS THEODORE?'