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Peter mirrors his son’s pose. “So?”
“She says…” Huxley frowns, pained. “She says you hit her, Dad.”
Helene’s jaw drops.
“She’s lying,” Peter states without batting an eyelid.
Huxley blinks. I don’t think he’d expected his father to deny it outright.
“He wouldn’t do that,” Helene says to him, shocked. “He loves Heidi. Oliver, what a horrible thing to say.”
Huxley clenches his jaw, but doesn’t say anything. He glances at me, and I can see he’s not sure whether she was telling the truth.
I think of Heidi’s anguish, how upset she was. Why would she make it up? She’s not the type of person to score points. She’s not a drama queen. I don’t have any doubt.
I move forward to stand beside him. “Heidi wouldn’t make up something like this.”
Peter turns his glare on me. “What the fuck has this got to do with you?” Then he gives a short laugh. “Oh yes. You turned down the principal of King’s College for her. You idiot.”
I slide my hands into the pockets of my trousers so I don’t hit him, but I’m furious with both him and my father. “I know she was telling the truth,” I say to Huxley as calmly as I can. He meets my eyes, and then nods.
Peter looks from me to his son, thoroughly amused. “So you’ve brought me in here to sort me out? Laurel and fucking Hardy? I’d fight you both with my eyes closed.”
Huxley gives him an impatient look. “Fight? We’re not fourteen.” His voice is filled with loathing. “I brought you here to tell you that I want you to leave my club. And also to say that you’ve been uninvited to the wedding. I don’t want you there. I didn’t anyway, but I asked you for Mum’s sake.” He glances at her. “I’m sorry, Mum, but you must have had some idea of the way he treated Heidi. Why didn’t you say anything?”
Her eyes fill with tears, and she presses her fingers to her mouth.
“You’re welcome to stay,” he continues, his voice rough. “And to come to the wedding. But Dad isn’t.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” Peter says, managing to make his son sound as if he’s a complete idiot.
Huxley moves closer to him, shaking with anger. “All those speeches you gave me about respect and being a better man. You’ve got a fucking cheek.”
Peter doesn’t reply. He’s breathing heavily, too. I think he’s finally beginning to realize that his son is serious. He meets his son’s eyes. And then he lowers his gaze to the floor. He’s ashamed.
Huxley inhales. I think up until that moment, he wasn’t a hundred percent sure that Heidi wasn’t making it up, but one look at his father’s face shows that she was telling the truth.
“She’s tiny, Dad,” Huxley whispers. “Just five foot five. She weighs, like, a hundred and twenty pounds. And you hit her? How could you?”
“You don’t know the whole story,” Peter says defensively. “You weren’t there. She—”
“Say she deserved it,” Huxley says. “I fucking dare you.”
Peter closes his mouth. Huxley twitches, and for a moment I think he’s going to hit his father. I put a hand on his shoulder. Peter might deserve it, but Huxley doesn’t want to lower himself to his level.
Huxley turns around and walks out, opening the door with such force that it bangs on the wall, and he disappears down the corridor.
Helene bursts into tears. I feel sorry for her, especially as I’m sure Peter is as controlling of her as he was of Heidi. But Heidi is my first priority.
“I think you should leave,” I say to Peter.
He turns to face me, his eyes blazing. “Fuck off,” he snaps. “Just because you’ve gotten between Heidi’s legs doesn’t mean you have a say in what happens in this family.”
She’d told me how he appears charming to outsiders, and how even her sisters don’t fully believe her, but it’s the first time I’ve seen his mercurial nature for myself.
I move closer to him. I’m two inches taller, thirty pounds heavier, and thirty years younger, and I know he’s aware of all of that as his eyes widen. He wasn’t expecting me to front him up. He thought I’d back down. Clearly, he doesn’t know me at all.
I don’t care if he insults me—he means nothing to me, and therefore he has no power to hurt me. I don’t care if he insults Hux, either. The dude’s almost as tall as me, and he can fight his own battles.
