The evening is very fine, the air still warm with the last of the sun as I make my way to the quietest corner of the terrace. I think I’m supposed to be hobnobbing with the judging panel and the trust committee, but I prefer to let my work speak for itself, and also not to speak. Besides, FT is a much better communicator than I am. They’ll realise that when they see our big presentation. Until then, I’ll have to do my best speaking for both of us.
The terrace stretches along the west side of one wing of the castle, catching and concentrating the last heat of the day. Turning my back on the chatter of the jovial crowd, I admire the castle grounds, which seem to flow outwards from the house, a river of green grass and floral colours. It ripples through the funnel of a formal Italian garden with a long rectangular pool that captures all the colours of the sky, neatly hemmed by little trees shaped into pyramids. Beyond that, gently rolling hills are punctuated with ancient trees, and in the distance, I can see the ruined turret of one of the castle’s many follies.
Rani must never know this, probably no-one should ever know this, but sometimes I do secretly wish that FreeThoughtcouldsee all these things at my side. I’d love to share these things with him, I love his curiosity and insight. If he were human he would be my perfect companion. But I can’t tell Rani that—she would think I’d finally lost the plot and given up on humanity for good.
“Did you have a marvellous day in your marvellous lab?” Hal appears at my side. He’s wearing a suit of a slightly different shade of blue. It’s almost lavender and tones beautifully with my dress. His crisp white shirt is open at the neck, revealing a light golden tan and glimpse of chest hair. Fourteen-year-old me’s knees turn to jelly, just at the thought of him standing next to me, and right-now me is also in quite a dither about it. It’s at times like these that my stupid mouth will say something ridiculous. No sooner thought than done.
“Felicitations!” I say, in honestly the most mortifying greeting that anyone has ever given anyone, ever. I pause for a moment, expecting Hal to laugh at me or give me that familiar “Are you for real?” expression, but he doesn’t. He just smiles and waits as if I’m not fatally peculiar at all, so I push on. “Um, yes. Yes, I did, thank you. I spent the whole day with FreeThought and we are makingso much progress, it was wonderful, really exciting. What about you? Is your lab as amazing as mine?”
Hal nods with a quietly confident smile.
“It’s quite spectacular,” he says. “Actually, I’m glad I caught you alone. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about, Ava.”
“Me?” I ask, pointing to my chest. “Have I done something wrong?”
“No!” Hal exclaims. “No, not at all. Ava, I have a confession to make...”
Before Hal can go any further, Sasha, her husband, and Forrest appear on the terrace.
“Ooooh, give me a gin and tonic,” Sasha says, waving a waiter over. She looks gorgeously flashy in a dress that’s slit right up to her thigh and dripping in costume jewellery that could sink a sizeable ship. “Come on, Steve, let’s go and schmooze, but get me another gin on the way, will you, Steve? I’m as parched as a rat’s arse.”
“Are rats’ arses ever parched?” I ask Hal, who chuckles. To my horror, Forrest has seen us and is coming right this way. And he’s wearing—wait until I tell Rani this—dark jeans and a plaid shirt! That’s not dressing for dinner, that’s dressing to be a lumberjack. I would take this complaint directly to Rani right now, but her gaze is locked on Alex’s, her head tilted to one side and the sweep of her obsidian hair collapsing over one shoulder. Still, the injustice of it burns in my chest, and even downing the second cocktail I’m offered doesn’t put out the fire.
“So that’s the dress you chose,” Forrest says, slowly taking me in from my head to my feet, which, did I mention, are wearing these purple heels that Rani insisted on, and which make me exactly the same height as Forrest.
“Yes,” I sigh. “This is the dress I chose. So go ahead, mock me. Say I look like an anaemic blueberry or something. Get it over with.”
“I think you look lovely,” Forrest says, without a hint of sarcasm. “Don’t you agree, Hal?”
“Ravishing,” Hal says. “To Ava, the most beautiful woman in the room. Or on the terrace.”
If this was a book, or I was a normal person, then I might think that he was flirting with me, because although I’m not great at picking up on social cues, it would be pretty hard to miss that. But it is not a novel, and I most definitely am not a normal person. Which means that he is just kindly protecting me from any more of Forrest’s backhanded compliments, because he is kind and feels sorry for me.
The three of us stand there in a sort of awkward silence, Forrest gazing out over the grounds. For a moment, I almost feel sorry for him. He looks just as out of place here as I feel, and in a way, it doesn’t feel like a fair competition. I got a state-of-the-art lab to work in and he got thirty feisty kids who are predisposed to assuming he’s a dickhead. Which he is, but anyway.
“Forrest, Hal, Ava, darlings!” Sasha has made a lightning-fast circuit of the guests and arrives at our little group as if she is entering a party thrown in her honour. I really like her. “Have you had a wonderful day? I’ve been videoing interviews with some of the women that we’ve helped to start a business.”
“That must be so satisfying,” I say. “To see your work coming to fruition like that.”
“Oh, it is, darling,” Sasha says. “I have one lady; you’ll see her video tomorrow. She couldn’t get a job after she went throughcancer treatment and found herself on the wrong side of fifty. Now she’s running her own bakery. It’s a beautiful thing, Ava. A beautiful thing. Unlike your lot, hey, Forrest? Sounded like you were on the verge of getting murdered at any second from where I was standing!”
“They are a high-spirited lot, that’s for sure,” Forrest says, with a rueful smile that puts dimples in his stubble. “I won’t lie, it was hard going at first. But I can’t blame them for being a handful. It’s their summer holidays and they’re packed off to the ‘middle of nowhere,’ as one kid called it, to hang out here in a field with a poet. They definitely thought I’d be fair game. But I’ve been in meaner streets and hung out with tougher kids than some teens from Scarborough, Yorkshire. Even if they do, hands down, win the snarky sarcastic comments award.”
“Did you make progress?” Hal asks.
“Yeah, I think so.” He smiles at Sasha. “You’ll see tomorrow.”
“Steve!” Sasha suddenly bellows at her husband. “Bag us a couple more of those gin gimlets, will ya!”
Steve nods and picks up two glasses from a passing tray of drinks.
“Now then, Forrest,” she says. “I reckon you and I should form a strategic alliance against the geniuses here, don’t you? We’re hearts and minds and they’re shiny toys. Come and have a drink with me and Steve and we can formulate a dastardly plan,” Sasha says, grabbing Forrest’s hand, turning to me. “By which I mean Forrest and Steve can talk and I can gaze into Forrest’s gorgeous eyes as much as I want, hey, chick?”
“Er, yeah?” I say, not at all sure of the appropriate response. Forrest glances back at me as Sasha drags him through the crowd,and for the second time that evening I feel sorry for him. Sasha is wonderful, a true force of nature, which means that when you have her attention it’s a bit like being sucked up into a hurricane.
Hal retrieves another cocktail from a passing waiter and hands it to me, our eyes meeting. For a second it feels like time stands still.
“What were you saying before?” I ask, remembering that Hal told me he had a confession to make. I really hope it’s not that he is my long-lost brother, because that would be one heck of a downer.
