Gypsy Girl (21 page)

I squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry. I can look after myself.”

I wished she’d shut up about mullos. She was spooking me. But worrying me as well. What if she’d got dementia, after all this time? She was looking really scared and glassy-eyed. Granny Kate was never scared of anything. You don’t get to ninety after a life lived mostly on the side of the road by being scared.

She wouldn’t give up. “You can’t kill a mullo, Sammy. You can fight them for ever and you wouldn’t win. Listen.” She grasped my arm and made me look at her. “Steel is the only thing that will kill them. You have to make them bite on steel. Or stab it through their hearts.”

There was a sniffle at me side, and a little hand clutched mine. It was Whitney Jade, in her frilly white dress and her garland of white flowers in her hair.

“What’s the matter with you?” I said.

“Is there really a mullo in here?” she whispered.

I picked her up and held her on my hip. “No. They’re not real,” I whispered back. “Granny Kate’s only joking.” And I began to sing the hymn. Anything to shut Granny up.

But the singing didn’t stop the fear growing inside me. A fear that something bad was going to happen soon. I couldn’t concentrate on the service, or the signing of the register, or Sabrina and Tyson, now husband and wife, walking down the aisle and out in the sunshine as the organ played the “Wedding March”. Pony had disappeared, but I knew him and Milo wouldn’t be far away.

As we milled around on the grass and the photographer took hundreds of pictures of us, I kept watching for them, but they were being very cautious – until I suddenly heard Pony’s voice ranting and swearing. It was coming from behind all our cars, which were parked beside the church. Everyone else was busy with the photographer, so I walked carefully over, keeping a safe distance. Until Thomas Hamilton came running out from between the cars, his face full of mischief and glee. I knew that look.

I grabbed him as he ran by. “What have you done, Thomas Hamilton?” Pony was still cursing. “Did you go near that man?”

He squirmed, trying to get free. “I only letted his tyres down. Don’t like him. He shouted at me.”

Letting tyres down was Thomas’s favourite trick, but I wished he hadn’t done it to those two. I picked him up and made him look at me. “You don’t go near those men ever again. Do you understand me? Nowhere near. They’re bad men. Really bad men. They’ll take you away and they won’t bring you back.” He wriggled and squirmed like a cat. “So stay away. OK?”

“’Kay. Let me go.”

“Promise?”

“Yes. I said so, didn’t I.”

I put him down and ruffled his hair. “Good boy. Now go and have your picture taken and don’t tell anyone about this.”

He was gone in seconds, running over to ruin a few photographs by sticking his tongue out. I walked a little closer to the Jeep, but still keeping my distance. For the first time that day, I wanted to laugh. Pony was standing staring at the flat tyres on the Jeep. And Milo was shouting down the phone to someone. We’d be long gone before they got them pumped up again. When I turned back, I saw Granny Kate standing on her own, staring up at the church roof. I went over to her.

“It’s still there, Sammy.” She pointed to the single magpie.

I put my arm through hers and made her turn away. “Forget it. We’ve got to go to the hotel now.”

I thought she’d be glad to sit down and have something to eat, but she sighed. “I’m tired today. Tired of everything, even this wedding.”

“Sabrina should’ve jumped the broomstick,” I said.

At least that got Granny laughing, quietly to herself. “It would’ve cost your daddy a lot less. And he’s still got to pay for your wedding.”

“I’m not going to get married, Granny. So that’ll save him some money. Or we’ll jump the broomstick, like in the old days.”

No sooner had I said that than Gregory’s blonde hair and brown eyes appeared in my mind. I pushed them away. As Sabrina and Tyson clip-clopped by us, together at last in their carriage, there was a flutter of wings above us. The magpie had flown away.

“There you go, Granny. The sorrow’s gone. Let’s go and ride in the limo!”

That’s how I came to see Rocky. The car park had emptied fast as everyone raced to get to the hotel to greet the bride and groom. But we weren’t the last to leave. Rocky’s Shogun was still there. As we drove past, I saw that there was someone in the motor with him, sitting close. I saw a leather jacket and spiky blonde hair, one foot up on the dashboard. Miss Stroud. As far as I know you don’t invite your probation worker to a wedding, so who was she?

Their heads were close together, and they were talking. Rocky noticed the limo gliding by and said something to her. A pair of cool eyes looked me over, before she turned back to Rocky and answered him. He smiled grimly.

It was interesting to know that Rocky’s mystery woman was watching me as well.

I thought maybe I’d be free of watching eyes for a while, but as soon as we got to the hotel, I saw that Hudson was waiting for me. I’d wondered when he’d show up again. He was sitting outside the open French windows of the bar, sunglasses on, pretending to read a newspaper. No one would ever question why he was there, not even Bartley or Rocky. He was dressed in designer clothes and looked every inch the rich boy.

I let him see that I’d noticed him, then I turned me back on him and busied myself with helping to heave Sabrina out of the carriage and arranging her dress for her. When we’d finally got her upright, and stopped her snapping at her new husband for treading on the end of the dress and causing her to nearly lose the skirt in front of everyone, Beryl clapped her hands together.

“Now we can party!” she shouted.

Everyone knows about our weddings these days. The workers and guests at the hotel were out on the steps, in the sunshine, watching us. There was plenty to see. There were the dresses, for a start: not just my aunties’ and sisters’, but all the guests’, and especially my girl cousins’. They were short, they were bright, they were extreme. Some were little more than bikinis with fringing.

A hog roast was set up beside the marquee for later tonight, in case any of the hundreds of guests who were starting to spread out across the lawn should feel faint with hunger after all the dancing. A bouncy castle was waving and jolting in one corner, so I suspected my older cousins were already throwing themselves around inside it. I could see Whitney Jade and Thomas Hamilton desperately trying to get away from their mamas, so they could go and jump around as well and ruin their wedding outfits, or get buried in the ball pit next to it. There was a worried-looking clown in the middle of the lawn, already surrounded by children as he blew up balloons and made animals out of them.

Inside the marquee, the tables were stacked high with food – sausage rolls, sandwiches, quiches, cakes and gateau. There was a chocolate fountain with fruit and marshmallows on sticks. That was before we got to the weddings cakes. Beryl and Star were arranging the three separate seven-tiered cakes on their stands behind the wedding table. Later on, when Sabrina and Tyson had finished greeting all their guests, they would sit there on the two white satin thrones for the feasting. A DJ was setting up in the corner. When we’d booked him, I’d told him to bring lots of music so that we could dance all night long, but now I was wishing for the day to be over. McCloud and his son had ruined everything.

I walked outside and looked round at everyone enjoying themselves. I could see Smiths from all over the country, and Quinns, Wilshires, Lees and Gaskins. The sun was shining. Every face I saw belonged to a friend or a relative. All but one face – and I couldn’t look away from this one.

It was Gregory. He was neither friend nor relative; he was heartache.

I couldn’t work out what was he doing here. Hadn’t he learned enough about me last night? Seems not, because he started to come over to me, which wasn’t good, because Beryl, who was standing right next to me, had seen him, too. I got a dig in the ribs and a warning glance, and she dragged me off to have more photos taken with the bride and groom. It didn’t stop me getting a few peeks at him, though, while I smiled. He wasn’t in his waiter’s uniform, and he wasn’t standing anywhere near Alice. She was on the steps with the other waitresses and hotel staff, watching us with a tiny, tight mouth and narrowed eyes. Gregory was biting his lip, as though he was desperate to come and say something to me. But I turned away. I’d shown him my true self. There was nothing else to say. So I shook my hair out, and laughed and joked with my sisters and aunts like I hadn’t got a care in the world, and tried to forget about him.

It wasn’t until the photographer had finished and everyone was heading for the marquee to start the feasting that I spotted the Jeep. Pony must have called out the AA, or pumped up the tyres himself, because there it was, parked between the other cars in the car park, almost hidden. Pony was sitting in it. Milo was sitting near by on the low wall that divided the hotel grounds from the streets beyond. They were keeping far away from me, not like Hudson. I had to walk by him to go and get Granny Kate. She’d wandered off again, and Beryl said she’d seen her heading to the bar. I found her clinging onto the bottle of blackberry wine, and trying to organize glasses for the toast.

“It’s all sorted,” I told her. “Don’t you remember? The glasses are already in the marquee.”

As I led her outside, I could feel Hudson watching me.

“I don’t like some of the people here,” she said fretfully.

“Me neither. But as long as we all keep to our promises,” I said, loudly, “we’ll be fine.”

Another glance. He’d heard. In some way, he was worse than his dad, Milo and Pony rolled into one. He looked handsome and well-dressed, but no one should smile as much as that. It made me shiver. Seemed Granny agreed.

“Don’t like that chavvy over there, for a start,” she said, nodding towards him. She might be confused today, but she was still sharp.

Maybe he heard, because he stood up as though he was about to come over to us. There were plenty of waitresses buzzing around collecting empty glasses, so it was safe. He wouldn’t try anything here.

I sat Granny down in a chair. “Wait here for me.”

I walked back, close enough to see myself reflected in his sunglasses. But not close enough to be in danger. He looked me up and down, and grinned. It made me want to bruise his handsome face right there and then.

“I don’t run to the police,” I said. “None of us do. So leave us alone.”

His smile got wider. “I’m enjoying watching you.”

That smile didn’t last long, though, because there was a banshee howl from our left and a whole load of little boys ran screaming and hollering between us. One of them tripped and fell almost at Hudson’s feet. It was Thomas Hamilton, overexcited and running round screaming with some of his cousins. Once upon a time they’d all been dressed beautifully, but that was before they got their hands on the chocolate fountain. They were now the stickiest children you could ever meet.

Hudson’s face changed. “What the—?” His perfect jeans were smeared with chocolate. He swore and went to grab Thomas, but I moved like lightning and grabbed the little boy first. I swung him into my arms and backed away quickly.

“Don’t even think about touching any of these children. You’d regret that.”

Without the smile, Hudson looked a lot like his father, with his dead, cold eyes. “Are you threatening me?”

“No. Just telling you the truth of what will happen if you touch any of them. I’m keeping my word. You better keep yours and leave us alone.”

He took a step towards me, but I moved quickly away, holding onto Thomas, who was trying to wriggle out of my grasp.

“If I let you go,” I told Thomas, “you’ve got to promise to keep away from him.” I pointed at Hudson. “Don’t go near him. Understand?” The rest of the little boys had clustered round him. “None of you.”

Thomas stared back at me. “Why?”

I used to be like that. Scared of no one. I wish I still was. “Just do as I say. Or I’ll make you go and sit with your mothers.”

That did it. The whole gang ran off to find somewhere else to play. Granny was still waiting for me, so I took her arm and I led her into the marquee. As we left the bottle of blackberry wine on the table with the champagne, I could feel her shaking.

“I’m not feeling too good. I don’t think I’ll be dancing,” she muttered.

“When I’m ninety, I won’t dance either. Here.” I found her a nice, comfy chair at the back, away from the shrieks and shouting as everyone greeted relatives and friends they hadn’t seen for a while. “I’ll go and get you something to eat.”

Suddenly she grabbed my hand. “Be careful.” She looked into my eyes. “You’re special. That’s going to get you in trouble all your life.” If only she knew. “And remember, keep away from the mullo. He’ll try to kill you.”

So she was back to imagining that the dead walked. “OK, Granny. Will do.”

I loaded a plate with little fairy cakes and a couple of ham sandwiches, and took them over to her.

“Come on, Sammy-Jo!”

It was Sabrina.

“What?”

“I’m going to throw me bouquet.”

When Star got married a few years ago, it was Sabrina who caught the bouquet. On the dance floor there was already a cluster of my girl cousins and a few of the other girls and women.

“I don’t want to catch it,” I said. “Let someone else get it.”

“No. You have to come and do it as well,” insisted Beryl, who’d come over with Sabrina.

She tried to push me to the front of the girls, as Sabrina positioned herself at our head. Her bouquet was white roses and lily-of-the-valley, all mixed up with the wild roses, which were wilting a bit now. It seemed a shame to throw it, but everyone was shouting at her to do it. She turned her back so she couldn’t see where she was aiming at and chucked it over her shoulder.

I was standing right at the back. Even Beryl couldn’t persuade me to go forward. But it seemed Sabrina had some of the Smith strength, because she did a mighty throw, and I saw it heading towards me, far above the heads of my cousins and a couple of Quinn aunties who’d never married and would dearly love to. I wasn’t even concentrating. I don’t know why – it must have been a defensive move – but when I saw it heading towards me, I reached out and caught it.