"Well, no, but perhaps we should let Ned make his own…" Luke's voice trailed away in response to the look on Pagan's face.
"Let's see," Pagan held up her hand and started counting down her fingers. "She's pretty, she's rich, she's young and she's clearly determined to get him back. Can you see Ned being able to resist her?"
Luke remembered how relieved he'd felt when he and Pagan had got back together after only a few days apart. He tried to imagine what it would feel like to have the chance of rebuilding a relationship after a break of several years.
"He might still love her."
"Lust and love are different things," Pagan said sternly.
"Do you think he loves your mum?" Luke asked, suddenly wondering if Pagan's determination to spoil Meredith's scheme was less about Luke's relationship with Ned, and more about her hopes for Ned and Julia.
Pagan sighed. "I don't know," she confessed. "They get on really well, but they don't seem very romantic. You've seen them together, they act like they're just good friends."
For the rest of the evening, Luke and Pagan talked in circles about what to do. Pagan was adamant that Meredith's dinner would have to be interrupted and began to get angry with Luke when he failed to come up with any ideas. Luke was afraid that their newly-re-established relationship was heading for the rocks again. In the end, anxious to keep the peace, Luke agreed that he would set off the fire alarm, although he had deep misgivings about the scheme.
At nine o'clock, Luke left Pagan to return to Hawley Lodge. The sun had just set and the almost-full moon was visible over the hills behind the village. Luke set off at a gentle jog, trying to clear his mind of thoughts about Ned, Meredith and Julia. It was hard enough keeping his own relationship running smoothly, without having to worry about other people's. And now he'd agreed to set the fire alarm off, just to keep Pagan happy. I must be insane, he thought, putting his mind to work on possible ways of triggering the fire alarm without being caught and permanently kicked out of school.
*
Back inside the Randalls' house, Pagan was arguing with Julia about Ned's plans.
"Be reasonable, Pagan. Why shouldn't he go back to America with Meredith? It's obvious she means a lot to him."
"But what about Luke?"
"Luke's a big boy, Pagan. He can always go and visit Ned in America, can't he? I should think that would be quite exciting."
"And what about you? I thought you really liked Ned."
Julia sighed. "I do, Pagan. But I'm a few years older than Ned and I'm not interested in having any more babies. Meredith is young enough that she might well be thinking about starting a family and Ned deserves the chance to have children of his own."
"He's got Luke!"
"No, Pagan, he hasn't. Luke is the Brownlows' son and he came into Ned's life as a teenager. It's nothing like having a child from birth. At best, Ned has a sort of time-share holiday arrangement as Luke's dad. He's not even able to acknowledge that Luke is his son when they're here together at the school, for goodness' sake. It would be much better for Ned to have his own family."
"Aaaaaargh!" exploded Pagan, running out of words in her exasperation. "I can't believe you and Luke are being so reasonable about all of this. I thought you and Ned were going to..."
"Get married and live happily ever after?" asked Julia, with a sympathetic smile. "If only life were that simple, Pagan."
Pagan seized on to this apparent agreement. "You mean you would have liked to?"
Julia laughed. "I had no idea you were such an incurable romantic, Pagan. I like Ned. We've had a lot of fun together and who knows how it might have turned out. But Meredith came back into his life. Imagine how I'd feel if your dad could come back into mine. Of course I'd want to be with him. Just let it go, love."
"But they must have split up before. Perhaps there's something badly wrong with their relationship."
"Pagan, just stop it." Julia's voice was firm. "This isn't helping anyone. Accept the fact that things have changed and MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS."
Pagan jumped up from the sofa, turned away from her mother and stomped up the stairs, putting so much weight into each step that the whole house seemed to shake.
*
When he ran through the school gates Luke immediately saw that Meredith's car was still parked in front of Ned's cottage. But there was something strange about the windscreen, which seemed to be covered with white lines, glowing in the moonlight. As he came up to it, Luke saw that the glass was covered with foot-high letters, spelling out the words 'ROAD HOG' across the full width of the car. Luke chuckled to himself; the group of young Vikings Meredith had blasted with her horn on the road that afternoon had got their revenge. He went to have a closer look. The letters were raised, as though they had been piped from an icing bag by a crazed pastry chef. As Luke came up to the car the smell of mint was overpowering. Toothpaste. The ROAD HOG message had been repeated on the side windows, which were also embellished with decorative swirls and flourishes: to use up the toothpaste, Luke guessed.
Luke had to admire the Vikings' guts: the car was very close to the front of the headmaster's cottage and in full view of most of the windows on the west side of the school, including those of the staff room. Even if the setting sun had been dazzling people in the school, the toothpaste graffiti artists had run a great risk of being seen as they performed their act of protest.
It struck Luke that somebody ought to tell Meredith about the vandalism to her car. A subsequent thought suggested to him that this might be the perfect moment to break into Meredith's dinner party plans and remind Ned that he existed, without running the risks associated with the fire alarm idea. Before he could think about it too deeply, Luke took hold of the wrought-iron knocker on Ned's front door and rapped it sharply. A short wait, then the door swung sharply inwards, revealing Ned wearing jeans and a dark red shirt.
"Luke. What's the matter?"
"It's-," Luke realised that he had completely forgotten what Meredith's surname was, and calling her 'Meredith' was going to sound over-familiar. "It's your friend's car," he said, in a clear and carrying voice. "I'm afraid someone's had a go at it." He pointed towards the toothpaste-trimmed Mercedes.
Meredith must have heard him, because she appeared in the doorway a few seconds later. She was now wearing a tightly-fitting sleeveless black dress with a low neckline. "What's this about my car?" she demanded.
She pushed between Ned and Luke and took in the full glory of the dentist-approved decoration of her car. An expression of fury formed on her face and she grabbed Luke by the shoulders, her long red nails digging through his t-shirt and into the skin beneath.
"What have you done to my car you little-" she bit the end of the sentence off before whatever insult she had in mind escaped from her mouth and she released Luke's shoulders almost as quickly as she'd seized them.
"Steady on, Meredith," said Ned. "What do you know about this, Luke?"
"I was just on my way back to school from Pagan and Julia's," said Luke, thinking he might as well throw the Randalls' names into the conversation too. "And I saw the car had been covered in toothpaste. I thought it might be hard for your friend to drive it home like that." Luke put slightly more emphasis on the words 'drive it home' than was strictly necessary, hoping to encourage that idea in Ned's mind.
"How do you know it's toothpaste?" Meredith demanded, grasping onto this fact as proof of Luke's involvement. "Admit it: you did this to my car."
"I could smell it," Luke said, smug in the knowledge of his own innocence. "It's pretty strong when you get up close."
"Meredith, why on earth do you think that Luke had anything to do with this?" Ned sounded bemused.
Meredith hesitated, giving Luke the chance to supply the answer. One he hoped would put Meredith on the back foot.
"Your friend gave me a lift to the village this afternoon," Luke told Ned.
Now Ned's keen attention was wholly on Meredith. "Why did you do that?"
"I just happened to see him and thought it would be a chance to talk to him, that's all," said Meredith flapping her hand as though batting away an insect. "It's no big deal."
"D'you want me to clean it off?" Luke offered, deliberately portraying himself as The Most Helpful Boy in the School, just to annoy Meredith.
"No, it's fine," said Ned, distractedly, his eyes on Meredith. "I'll do it. You'd better get back to school."
Luke took one last look at Meredith and was delighted to see that she was looking highly put out. He hoped that Ned would use his interrogation skills on Meredith instead of him for a change. "Good night," he said, feeling that on this particular night he really meant it. He couldn't wait to text Pagan and let her know what had happened.
*
Ned went back into the cottage and retrieved a bucket from his hall cupboard. He filled it with hot water from the kitchen tap, which was not an easy task. The sink was full of dirty dishes, pans and cooking utensils. He had forgotten that Meredith's approach to preparing elaborate meals involved leaving all the detritus in the kitchen for the maid to clear up on the following day. Ned's own domestic assistance consisted of a once-weekly visit from Mrs Mould, one of the school cleaners. He could just imagine her reaction if he left all these dishes for her to clean.
Meredith had followed him indoors. "Can't you get someone else to do this?" she asked.
"Do you really want anyone else to see it?" asked Ned, digging a scrubbing brush out from the cupboard below the sink and banging his way back out to the front of the cottage. A few minutes' work cleared the worst of the toothpaste from the car's windows. Ned threw the remaining water over the front windscreen to rinse it, then returned the bucket and brush to their homes and washed his hands. Meredith followed him into the kitchen and leaned up against the door frame.
"Coffee?" asked Ned.
"Sure."
Ned busied himself with the coffee machine and started to stack the dishes and pans around the sink more tidily while coffee dripped into the glass flask.
Meredith surprised him by wrapping her arms around his chest and resting her chin on his shoulder. "Are you mad at me?" she asked, her voice husky.
Ned turned the tap on. Water sprayed onto an upturned spoon in the sink and splashed up at them, wetting Meredith's arms and Ned's shirt. Meredith let out a cry of shock and backed away, wiping herself dry with a tea towel.
"Sorry," said Ned, not very apologetically. "No, I'm not mad. Just a bit confused about why you thought it necessary to talk to Luke."
"I just wanted to get to know him a little, that's all. Heck, if he's going to come stay with us, I want to know what he's like."
"And what did you talk to him about?"
Meredith was up close to him again, face to face this time, her hand on Ned's shoulder. "Oh, just that we were old friends and that I was cooking dinner for you tonight," she told him. "We did get a little too close to another car when I dropped him in the village," she admitted, "so that's why I think it must have been him who did that to mine. After all, I haven't driven anyone else anywhere."
Ned pulled away from her so that he could find some cups and think without being distracted by Meredith's face and the warmth of her body pressing against his.
"None of this makes any sense to me," he said. "And I wish you hadn't talked to Luke before I've had a chance to explain things to him."
"I'm sorry. But I figured you weren't about to introduce me to him, so I should make the first move. I guess he didn't like me very much, to want to interrupt our evening that way."
"It's not like Luke to do something like this," Ned said, pouring coffee. "Although the way you drive would certainly provide a reasonable motive."
"Hey!" said Meredith, pretending to be offended. "He could have bought the toothpaste in the village and we saw him right there next to the car. That's means, motive and opportunity." She counted them off on her fingers. "Case closed."
"Innocent until proven guilty, Meredith, you should know that." Ned passed her a cup. "I think there's more to this than meets the eye. I find it hard to imagine Luke deliberately defacing your car."
"Who else could it be? He's trying to wreck our lovely dinner, for some reason. Perhaps he's jealous of me taking up your attention. That's one seriously messed-up kid." She moved across to the doorway again and threw a suggestive smile over her shoulder. "Ours won't be like that."
Ned followed her through to the living room. Meredith settled herself down on his small sofa but he did not sit beside her on it, choosing to sit instead on the armchair at right angles to it.
"I've been thinking about what you said last week."
"I'm glad to hear it. Did you come to a decision?"
"Yes and no. I want you to know I'm deeply grateful that you came back to me with this chance to take up where we left off and I am seriously considering it. I do need more time to think about it, though, and I really should talk to Luke before I make any hasty decisions."
"I thought you might have mentioned it to him before now."
"We don't see each other very often during term time, I haven't had a chance."
"You were together when I first saw you last week!" Meredith could not suppress her natural lawyerly tendency to argue.
"That was unusual. Luke had been involved in a fight-"
"Oh this kid sounds just great," interrupted Meredith. "Not just a vandal, but violent, too! I bet you can't wait to get away from him."
"When do you fly home?"
"Friday the thirteenth," replied Meredith, making a face.
"Would you be able to come along to Speech Day here on the seventh as my guest?" Ned asked. "I think you'd enjoy it and I'll be able to give you my answer by then."
Meredith checked the appointments on her phone. "Yes, I'm free that day. You've got yourself a deal."
"Good." Ned rose to his feet. "I think you'd better leave now, Meredith. I don't want to start any gossip in the school."
Chapter Fourteen
Mission accomplished. M's car covered with toothpaste. Dinner interrupted. Tell u about it tomorrow. xxx
"Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?" said Pagan when she read Luke's text. His news improved her mood dramatically. She went back down the stairs (rather more quietly than she'd gone up them) to make up with her mum.
Julia was curled up on the sofa, watching the TV, where Colin Firth was looking brooding as Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. Pagan knew that this particular DVD was her mum's televisual equivalent of comfort food. Pagan couldn't tell her about the disruption to Ned's dinner date without revealing Luke's involvement in it, but she could try to make things better by apologising.
She sat down next to Julia and gave her a silent hug. Julia squeezed her in return, her eyes still on the screen. When the episode came to an end, Julia aimed the remote at the television and switched it off.
"Sorry about earlier," said Pagan.
"That's OK. You were upset. How d'you fancy a day out with me and Luke tomorrow, to cheer us all up?"
Pagan thought that keeping Luke out of Ned's way for the day might well be a good idea, given that he had covered Meredith's car with toothpaste and probably ruined his evening. "That would be great! Can we go to Milton Keynes?"
There was a big shopping mall there which Pagan's friends had been raving about all year.
"I've heard good things about the art gallery there," said Julia. She watched the enthusiasm fade from Pagan's face. "And I suppose you'd like to hang out with Luke in the shopping centre?"
Enthusiastic nodding from Pagan. "And with my birthday coming up soon…"
"You'd like to spend some of your birthday money in advance?" Julia smiled. "I think that might be acceptable. You text Luke and see if he can come." She stretched her arms above her head. "Well, I'm off to bed. Sleep tight, sweetheart."
*
The next morning Luke got up much earlier than usual, threw on some clothes and crept silently along the centre section of the top floor, p
ast the housemasters' apartments, to the opposite wing where the Saxons' and Normans' dormitories were. Technically, this connecting corridor was out of bounds to students between 9pm and 9am, but he was unlikely to run into anyone at this time on a Sunday. The window next to the western staircase provided a good view of the grounds on that side of the school, including the headmaster's cottage and the gravelled path in front of it. The empty gravelled path in front of it. Meredith's car was gone: it looked as though she hadn't stayed the night at Ned's.
Luke performed a small victory dance entirely for his own benefit then ambled back down the corridor towards the Romans' empire, his mobile phone already in his hand. He started to text the good news to Pagan and so absorbed in the task that he didn't notice that Mr Thomas's door had opened until he was almost up to it.
"What are you doing here, Brownlow?" Mr Thomas asked him.
Just my luck, thought Luke, his mind racing to find a reasonable explanation for being in the corridor when he shouldn't be. The phone in his hand provided a useful prompt.
"Sorry, sir," he said, obsequiously, holding up the phone. "I was just trying to get a better signal."
"Hm," said Mr Thomas, looking suspicious. But he must have decided not to pursue the matter, because he changed the subject. "How did you and Wharton get on yesterday?"
We got on surprisingly well, thought Luke, remembering the laughter he and Wharton had shared at Mr Wilmot's expense. But that wasn't what Mr Thomas meant. "We got a lot of the display done, sir," he replied. "Just the captions to do and then we can put it all together."
"I look forward to seeing it," said the housemaster. "Now scoot."
Luke scooted, congratulating himself on a lucky escape.
After breakfast, Luke headed straight down to the village to join the Randalls. Julia opened the door to him.
"Hi Julia," said Luke. "Did Pagan tell you about Meredith's car?"
Pagan was behind her mother and she shook her head emphatically, the expression on her face signalling 'Are you completely insane?'.
"No, what about it?" Julia asked.
"Someone wrote 'road hog' all over it with toothpaste," Luke told her, wondering why Pagan hadn't mentioned it. "I saw it when I got back from your house last night."