Dory's Avengers (49 page)

Feeling Theo recoil in revulsion, Matilda went on to tell him about her brief encounter with Dyer the previous night.

‘Dex was so funny, Theo. Dyer said he's glad he's not gay like Dex; the creep used some vile, homophobic term which I won't repeat. Then Dex replies that he's glad he's not in denial about his sexuality like Dyer the creep. Creep rears up and grabs hold of Dex, so I give him some mighty sore bollocks. Again…' Joining in with Theo's helpless laughter for a while, Matilda then asked in her usual blunt way, ‘You don't have any problems with my Dad being gay, do you, Theo?'

‘None whatsoever,' said Theo. ‘I think your dad and Dex are a great couple, and I like them both very much. Your dad's an amazing guitarist, too.'

Smiling warmly at Theo's reply, Matilda said, ‘Talking of Dad and Dex, they'll be worrying about me. I'm going to have to go back soon.'

‘Well, I can't stay here for ever myself. For one thing I need a shower. I'm starting to fester…'

‘…You smell fine to me…'

‘…Well, I won't before long! I thought Louis would have stopped by at my luxury abode by now.'

‘I imagine the thugs are keeping a very close eye on Louis. His Lordshit gave him a mighty hard time last night; wouldn't believe he had nothing to do with your disappearance.' Theo roared with laughter again.

‘Poor Louis,' he said, wiping his eyes. ‘I bet he loved that, didn't he?'

‘Louis handled it brilliantly, just gave His Lordshit a load of lip. That Philip bloke was a star too; kept telling His Lordshit that you could go wherever you wanted to, being as you're a free adult and all that. His Lordshit doesn't dare
yell at Philip; it was so funny watching His Lordshit trying not to shout…'

Once again, Theo and Matilda abandoned themselves to helpless laughter. Finally collecting herself, Matilda continued:

‘On the subject of showering, it's all sorted. I have the key.' Waving a key in Theo's face, Matilda leapt out of the sleeping bag and started pulling her clothes on. ‘Come on, Theo! Sad though it is to see the body beautiful covered up, it's time you got dressed.'

‘Should we pack the stuff away?' asked Theo, once they were ready to leave, but Matilda shook her head.

‘'Thwaite's Wood will look after it, Theo. Come on!'

Leading Theo by the hand, Matilda set off at her usual brisk pace. Trusting her implicitly, feeling as though he'd known her a lifetime and not just a few days, Theo kept up easily with his long legs. Skirting round the edge of the wood, they eventually came to an old farm cottage which looked as though it had seen better days a long time ago.

‘I can shower in that?' asked Theo incredulously. ‘With what – rainwater?' Laughing, Matilda said, ‘Just you wait,' as she unlocked the door and led him inside.

‘You could have knocked first, Miss Santiago,' called Gideon as they entered, Theo looking in surprise around the modern interior of Gideon's home just as Louis had done once before. Matilda just had time to say, ‘I wasn't sure if you were home, Gideon,' before her father shot into the room and enveloped her in a bear hug.

‘My baby, my baby girl, I'm so glad you're safe. My baby, thank you, Theo, for bringing my baby back safely…'

‘Oh, stop blubbing, Dad!' said Matilda affectionately, returning Alan's hug with enthusiasm.

‘Actually, Alan,
she
brought
me
,' said Theo as Alan hugged him too.

‘Of course she did!' Dex said, greeting the youngsters
warmly, if a little less tearfully than Alan. ‘No one takes our Matty anywhere.'

‘Good to see you, Dex,' said Theo. ‘I gather you gave Dyer a few pointers on being honest about his sexuality last night.'

‘Yeah,' replied Dex, laughing, ‘shortly before Matty did some more damage to his family allowance.' Gideon joined the group in his kitchen and joined in the laughter.

‘Morning, Theo. I take it you don't want us to call you Lord Theodore…'

‘Never, ever call me Lord, and please don't call me by…his…name. I'll be Theo Farrell from now on, Gideon.'

‘Well, Theo Farrell, best you get in the shower. You stink.' As Theo started to laugh, Gideon added, ‘Adam packed up your stuff and brought it up to The Lion. Adam's stayed by the way; oh, and he's dumped your sister.'

‘About time!' said Theo, happily. ‘Ads is a decent bloke; he deserves so much better than Lady Bitch.'

Showering with Matilda, Theo took rather longer than he'd intended. When they finally joined the others in Gideon's living room, Alan looked as though he was chewing on a wasp, while Dex and Gideon were doing their best not to laugh.

‘You took your time,' said Alan tartly.

‘Yes, we had a quick shag,' replied Matilda, grinning as Dex told her not to tease her father. ‘Dex darling, I'd take your admonishment more seriously if you weren't giggling like a schoolgirl. OK,' she continued, settling down on the floor, ‘we need to swap news.'

‘Sorry about lack of seats,' said Gideon, sounding anything but sorry. ‘I'm not used to entertaining.'

‘I'll begin, shall I?' said Theo. ‘There's only one thing baffling me a little…'

‘Never underestimate 'Thwaite's Wood…'

‘No, not that. I never doubted that I would be safe in
'Thwaite's Wood, but I wasn't expecting it to get hold of a tent and provisions.'

‘It did what?'

‘There were blankets, a tent, dry clothes and some food waiting for me in the big tree that Louis and I used to virtually live in when we were children. As amazing as 'Thwaite's Wood is, I think it would have taken a human being to gather those things together.'

‘Do you think it was Louis?'

‘No, not Louis,' said Theo. ‘It wasn't Abi either. They were both so embarrassed at not having made a plan when Chloe and Brains confronted them yesterday. We'd counted you and Al out for the same reason, Dex. What about Max?'

‘Not capable of independent thought,' said Dex, who'd never quite forgiven Max for being involved in Alan's severe beating the previous summer.

‘No, not Max. Not anyone from London as they'd assumed we'd made plans. Jess?'

‘Getting warm,' said Gideon, smiling mysteriously.

‘GIDEON!' yelled four voices.

‘Do you know?' Theo asked the obvious question once everyone had calmed down, but Gideon didn't reply. Instead, Theo heard a voice he'd spent the last ten years hoping to hear again; that hope getting him through the darkest times of his imprisonment.

‘May I take it from here, Gideon?' said Isabelle St Benedict.

‘Am I dreaming?' Theo whispered.

‘No, Theodore, you're not. Come on then…'

Theo didn't need asking twice. Shooting up from the floor like a rocket, he hurled himself into his mother's embrace and clung on to her as if he'd never let go.

It took a while before a very emotional Theo had calmed down enough for the conversation to continue. Every so often he'd raise a hand to touch Isabelle's face, still not quite daring to believe that his mother was real.

‘My gorgeous Theo,' said Isabelle, looking adoringly at her son, ‘I bet the ladies all love you.'

‘Matilda…' was all Theo could manage in reply.

‘Ah yes,' said Isabelle, grinning over at Matilda. ‘I rather guessed you two were more than just friends when you disappeared into the shower together. You've grown up to be a beauty, Matilda, but you always were pretty, so that's no surprise. It's so good to see you all again.'

‘Good to see you too, Izzy,' said Alan. ‘But why didn't you tell us you were here?'

‘More to the point, where have you been for the last ten years?' the ever forthright Matilda added, getting an admonishment from her father for being rude. Isabelle just laughed.

‘Don't worry, Alan; Matty never was one to hold back, was she? I'm sure you all want to know the answer to that one. In reply to your question, Al, blame Gideon. He likes a touch of the melodramatic, wanted me to make a grand entrance. Yes, Theo darling; I am really here.'

‘Mmm,' said Theo, stroking his mother's face again, uncharacteristically at a loss for words.

‘How long have you known about Izzy's return, Gideon?' asked Alan.

‘Couple of days,' replied Gideon.

‘Which is pretty much when I pitched up on his doorstep,' added Isabelle.

‘Why didn't you tell us?' Alan persisted.

‘What, with His Lordshit and his henchmen in the village? Do you realise what would happen to Izzy if…'

‘Is that what you call him?' Isabelle interrupted, laughing. ‘His Lordshit?'

‘Yes,' said Matilda, joining in Isabelle's laughter. ‘Suits him, doesn't it?'

‘You don't mind, do you Izzy?' asked Alan, a little more sensitive than his daughter. ‘Izzy might still love him, Matty; he
is
her husband…'

‘Alan, I hate him,' Isabelle interrupted again, her voice hard and bitter. ‘I hate him with every fibre of my being. I hated him ten years ago when he drove me away from my children, and now I know how he's been treating Theo…his own son…my child…'

For the first time Isabelle's composure slipped, and she lowered her head for a minute or so. When she lifted her face to look at the other people in the room, her eyes were moist but she was perfectly in control.

‘In answer to your question, Matilda, I've been in Italy with my parents. I had to leave. He made it impossible to stay; I was too much of a threat to his precious Scheme. The same divisions between the Sponsored and Unsponsored that he was intent on promoting, I was equally intent on trying to destroy. He had this obsessive ambition to be the most powerful man in the country, with a multitude of Sponsored minions all unquestioningly loyal to his wretched Scheme…'

‘He still thinks he's in the right,' murmured Theo, the first coherent thing he'd managed to say since Isabelle's surprise appearance.

‘He always did, darling. His Lordshit…I do like that name…His Lordshit always had a talent for twisting the truth to suit his own ends.'

‘Was it you who put the things in the tree, Isabelle?' asked Matilda suddenly, still intrigued by the mysterious provisions.

‘Yes,' replied Isabelle. ‘I guessed that's where you'd head, Theo darling, and I took the opportunity to leave a few comforts for you while everyone was distracted by the wedding. Jess had gathered them together on my behalf, and being able to actively contribute to your escape plans made up for having to stay away from my brother's wedding.'

‘Did Jess know where you were living, Izzy?' asked Dex.

‘Yes,' said Isabelle. ‘Jess and I were friends from
childhood; much like you and Louis, Theo. After what happened to Elliot she hated the Scheme and…him…as much as I did. If I could trust anyone, I could trust Jess.'

‘Why didn't she…?'

‘She didn't tell anyone because I asked her not to. When His Lordshit eventually forced me to leave the country, the last thing he said to me was that if he ever found that I had returned to these shores he would kill me. He would kill me, slowly and painfully, and he'd make my children watch…'

‘He threatened to do something similar to Louis once,' said Theo, finally sitting up straight.

Isabelle laughed bitterly. ‘His threats haven't become any more original, then. Yes, he threatened to kill me, just because I did what little I could to make life bearable for the unfortunate people he sought to oppress.'

‘The Unsponsored love you to this day, Izzy,' said Alan. ‘They've never forgotten your kindness; it was legendary.'

‘I don't regret being kind to people, but maybe I should have been a little more subtle about it. I paid the ultimate price; I was driven away from my children. There was no doubt that he would carry out his threat, so I truly believed it was better for my children for me to be out of the way…'

Theo snuggled back down into his mother's arms, and she addressed her next words to him. ‘Theo, my love, I'm so sorry I left you alone to face…' Isabelle's voice faltered as she struggled to find the right words. ‘I didn't believe that even His Lordshit could stoop so low as to hurt his own child…'

‘I know, Mum. I never doubted you for a second.'

‘I didn't realise that Jess was protecting me from the truth, and I was furious with her when I finally found out. She did it because she cares about me though; she knew I'd be straight back if I'd known for one moment what he was doing to Theo, and it would be curtains for Izzy.'

‘So what made you come back now?'

‘Everything seemed to come together to make now the right time. My brother getting married, Theo being freed from His Lordshit's house for the wedding, and finally having the opportunity…'

‘What opportunity?' asked Theo.

‘Philip Lorimer,' replied Isabelle. ‘I believe you all know him. What a wonderful man he is! He located me in Italy earlier this year, and having an influential friend free from the limitations of Sponsorship opened up a whole world of transport for me.'

While Isabelle was telling her tale in Gideon's cottage, Adam had indeed joined Louis in Gideon's studio for a bit of a workout along with Abi, Cameron and Chloe. Max had been due to join in too, but in the absence of Marina he stepped in to help Cathie through her heartache instead. The workout began seriously enough, with Louis leading his friends through a series of warm-up stretches, but it soon degenerated into playtime. Abi produced a football and had a kick-about with Cameron around the studio, while Chloe and Adam struck poses on Louis's gymnastic equipment, Louis barking out instructions Gideon-style. When Adam slipped and straddled the pommel horse painfully, there was a distinct lack of sympathy from his friends. Wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, Louis finally suggested that, if anyone still wanted to get some exercise, then maybe a run would be a better idea.

‘That is, if you can still walk, Adam,' he added, starting to laugh again.