A Different Reflection (25 page)

“As you wish! Shall we have dinner? I believe George has prepared some type of pie with military precision!” he joked.

“Really? Are you still going on about my cooking skills after this afternoon?” George commented as he took my coat and hung it in the large cloakroom.

“Sounds like you two have had fun?” I remarked.

“Well, it was fun for James – he was making fun of me simply because I was trying to make the crust of the pie neat and precise, but then I got my own back when he tried trimming his bonsai tree!” George laughed.

“There is nothing wrong with my tree sculpting, George!” James sternly replied.

“I think I need to see these attempts at both of your supposed skills!” I stated as I started to walk toward George's apartment. They continued to banter as they walked behind me, which made me very happy!

The smell in George's kitchen was yet again delightful. His cooking was fast becoming one of the main reasons to get home in the evening; if there was one thing George had learned in all these years, it was how to cook! I entered the kitchen, looked toward the oven and then lowered the door to see how his pie looked. It was something that even Gordon Ramsay would be proud of! The pastry crust was crisscrossed with latticework and I was very impressed. I then turned to see James in the mirror, looking a little nervous. I gestured for him to move to the side so that I could see his tree. It sat in the distance on his table, so I moved closer.

“Well, go and get it!” George then said as he grabbed three wine glasses.

He returned and held up the tree, which was now a slightly different shape, but it wasn't bad.

“I was trying to make it look like the tree in the grounds that I used to climb when I was a boy, from memory of course!” he then said as I inspected it.

“Looks more like a twig now!” George then giggled.

“Oh, for the love of God George, it does not!” James sternly said again, and I could do nothing but laugh at his frustration, which in turn had George laughing – and eventually James saw the funny side.

“Well, for your first attempt at topiary, I think that it is not bad!” I tried to say without laughing.

“Thank you!” James nodded in my direction.

“Good job it keeps growing, albeit at a slow rate. I think by this time next year it should be ready to be trimmed again!” George carried on laughing.

“Well, at least I attempted to try it! You simply took off two new shoots and you were done!” James retorted. I held my hands up at them both.

“Boys, boys, please!” I exclaimed, taking control. “I did not want to cause such negative competitive behaviour. The bonsais were for you both to enjoy; whether you choose to change its shape or leave it as it is, it's entirely up to you! I think that time will tell who has the best – let's not fall out over it now!” I concluded, smiling.

“Agreed!” James quickly snapped. I had the distinct feeling that he did not like having the mickey taken out of him, but his defensive reactions were actually quite sweet; they made him appear vulnerable and more human. Once George had stopped laughing, he spoke.

“Very well… agreed!” he said as he returned to the stove and checked on the simmering vegetables.

I tried to change the subject by giving them both their new journals, which they seemed pleased with. I then perched on a stool and took a long sip of wine, the comforting properties of which were fast becoming more appreciated. I was having the privilege of sampling the wines from Northfield's cellars and I could not deny that I was enjoying them immensely.

“Wow that is one good wine George!” I stated as I took another sip.

“Ah yes, the perfect Chateau Haut Brion Bordeaux – one of my favourites! We are, however, starting to run very low on it now! This one I believe we bought in about 1990; I dare not open many dating back before 1960 now as they are more than likely undrinkable; we sample one every now and again. I do like to keep some of the older bottles, though; James' father liked his wines and the cellar has its memories. It is nice to keep some as keepsakes,” George sincerely answered.

“It is a waste in my opinion, George, but I have no say in the matter as I cannot get to your bottles, so it is irrelevant!” James stated. “We must replenish the cellar for Katharina's party if we are running low; let us make that a priority!” he then concluded.

“Oh, please allow me; I need to pay for something here!” I replied as I pulled out my laptop. I had taken the liberty of buying a dongle as George had never seen the benefit of having the internet, which I needed to sort out. I Googled the label and had to stop myself from swearing profusely when the prices appeared on my screen.

“Bloody hell!” I exclaimed in shock, then realised I had sworn, which wasn't particularly ladylike! “Oops – sorry about the language,” I quickly apologised, “but do you know how much this stuff is worth?” I asked them.

“I seem to recall that it was not one of my cheaper purchases, but as we bought approximately forty-eight bottles, it worked out at a very good price. Why, is it more expensive now?” he asked innocently. I held up the bottle.

“This wine is approximately £500 per bottle – and rising!” I informed them.

“What? For a bottle of
wine
?” James asked, aghast. “That is incomprehensible!”

“Hell yes, exclusive old wine is very much a wine connoisseur and collectors' dream! You could both be sat on an absolute fortune!” I informed them.

“Well, that's very nice, but I would much rather drink it than sell it! After spending an eternity with him, it is nice to have some pleasures!” George gestured to James. James simply crossed his arms and sighed.

“You are very loose-tongued today and speaking your mind freely, George; have I upset you in some way?” James asked.

“Not at all, Master James; I simply find that Katharina brings out the truth from me!” George stated, matter-of-factly, with a sarcastic smile.

“Hey, do not bring me into your feud, boys! I love you both dearly, but I do not want to be the cause of any argument!” I was quick to reply. Then, as I took a sip of wine and realised that they were both quiet, I dissected what I had just said.
Did I just say I loved them both dearly? It was kind of tongue in cheek!
I thought to myself, and tried to quickly change the subject!

“Well, that's put an end to that then, I am not buying my friends bottles of wine that cost £500 – after many drinks they won't know the difference from a £5 bottle from Waitrose!” I joked, hoping my previous comment had gone unnoticed.

“It is your choice, Katharina; you know them better than we do. Maybe we should take a trip somewhere to purchase the things you require?” George then stated.

“Yes, I would like that – perhaps whilst Claire is here this weekend?”

“Make sure that you get what you enjoy!” James then said quietly. “It is after all your party. You are welcome to anything from the cellar, should you wish it!” he offered.

“That is really kind, thank you, but I honestly feel that your wine is far too good for them; I would rather that you enjoyed it!” I smiled.

“We will enjoy it! It is yours too, do not forget!” he concluded.

“Yes indeed. We have plenty to try yet!” George then said, and he chinked glasses with me, then remarked: “After all, only the best for someone that loves us dearly!” he grinned. I blushed and laughed nervously. I dared not look at James, but I could feel his eyes boring into me, so I stuck my head back into my laptop whilst George plated up dinner.

We had dinner in the main dining room, which was informal but lovely. We carried our plates there ourselves – even James carried his from George's kitchen – and there was an air of calm and relaxation during the meal. We laughed, talked, drank wine and discussed the coming weekend, which seemed to be causing James a bit of concern.

“What if she can see me this time?” he asked.

“That would be a good thing; it would confirm to her that I am not completely insane!” I replied.

“What if she thinks that I am intolerable?” he then suddenly asked. George and I looked at each other.

“And why would she think that?” I asked.

“You have told her how I came to be here, have you not?” he asked.

“Yes, but that is no reason for her to dislike you, James!” I pointed out.

“But the circumstances of my being here is repulsive to most women; she may have a strong opinion toward my past behaviour, which may result in a very uncomfortable weekend for you!” he then stated with apprehension.

“Are you worried that if she sees you, she may fall madly in love with you, but hate you at the same time for what you have done?” George asked as he placed his fork down. “Because, seriously, it's a little late to be worrying about that, don't you think?”

“No; that is not my concern. I have seen her before and, even though she is a good friend of yours, Katharina, I could not commit to a match with her. I honestly think that she would drive me to wish that I was back in my current situation!” he replied honestly. I laughed.

“Well, you do have a point there; she is fairly full-on… all of the time!” I remarked.

“At this moment in time, I am happy with my situation. Spending time with you both is giving me immeasurable pleasure. I simply do not want her to think that you are dedicating yourself, and your time, to some lost cause!” James then declared. I banged my fork onto my plate with some force and George stopped and looked at me.

“I have never been more certain in my life about the actions that I have taken recently; buying into Northfield, meeting you both and helping you in every way that I can was my choice! Even if Claire does see you, I can assure you that she will not say anything unpleasant to you! She knows that I hate not being able to break this spell and the affliction that it causes you both, and so the last thing she would do is confirm that torment by attacking you. If anything, she would want to help me!” I concluded. George smiled at me as I picked my fork back up. I consumed another mouthful of delicious food, James replied:

“I feel that I continue to underestimate your strength of character, and I apologise that I fail you on that point. I am honoured and indeed blessed to have your help and understanding, and I am sorry that for a moment my own self-preservation was paramount to that of your happiness. I am sure that you are correct, and I again thank you for your unreserved generosity!” he said, sounding sorrowful, and then as I turned to reply he stood and walked from the room.

“That was a very sincere thing to say, Katharina, and I agree – we are lucky to have you here helping us,” George stated.

“Where did he go? Is he always this stubborn about his predicament? I mean, I know that it is unfortunate and torturous, but his attitude is not getting him anywhere, or making him happy!” I asked.

“Oh, this is good! Trust me, in the past he was so much worse!” George replied. I placed my hand on my heart.

“I feel for him, I really do. So I promise you this, George: he will not be in there forever. I will strive until my dying day to free you both from this hell!” I said with force.

“Ambition is a very strong quality indeed! I like it!” George smiled and then raised his glass toward me.

Sometime after finishing dinner, James still had not returned, and I started to fear that he was still angry after his outburst. I excused myself from the table, informing George that I wanted to go and find him; he in return told me that the library was probably where he had retreated to. As I opened the heavy oak door and looked toward the large mirror, I could see him quietly pondering over a book. He did not hear me come in, but I could see that he was not reading; he closed the book and placed his head in his hands. I truly felt for him; he seemed to think that nothing he said was correct and it seemed that he had lost all respect for himself. I walked over and sat on the chaise longue in front of the mirror.

“Is there anything in that book about how to stop putting yourself down?” I asked him in a sincere tone. He turned and looked at me and stood to accept my presence.

“My apologies, I did not see you enter the room!” he remarked.

“James, please sit down.” I gestured to his chair. He did so and lowered his head, pretending to take an interest in the book again. “If you feel that you have wronged me in any way, please believe that you have not!”

“I cannot seem to find the right words when I am with you; I merely seem to act like I distrust you, and you must think me very rude.”

“No! I do not!” I exclaimed firmly. “Gosh, I wish I could get to you right now, because quite honestly I would knock some sense into that thick skull of yours!” I retorted. He gave me a look of complete shock and that confirmed that I had his attention. “James, you seriously need to stop this self-pity and doubting yourself. Your behaviour from long ago is just that; you are not the same person – even though I didn't know you back then, I can see that – and it makes me exceptionally angry to find that you still do not believe that you have changed in all these years!” I stated. He sighed sadly, and so I continued:

“Please come back to the dining room with us; it saddens me that you will not finish dinner with us because of whatever you think of yourself… I love your company, and I am missing the stories that you tell during our evenings together!” I smiled at him. “I cannot bear to think that you are sat in here alone, torturing yourself! I do not like it, and I will not have it, so snap out of it and get yourself back in there!” I finished. I stood and crossed my arms in a motherly way and gave him an ‘I'm not going without you' look. I managed to get a half smile from him but I knew that he was going to try and stay where he was, so I stepped in again: “James, I will not take no for an answer!” I reinforced as I raised my eyebrows at him. He stood up.

“So it would seem! Yet again you teach me a valuable lesson on living, Katharina. I should be glad to accompany you back to the dining room, please forgive my pitiful attitude toward myself!” he replied. Wow – I won, I was so happy! As I turned, I clenched my fists in delight.

George was refilling glasses. He had moved our plates and brought dessert, which I was ready for. He seemed happy that I had managed to get James to return with me, and out of respect for both James and I, he did not bring the subject up once. He instead started to tell the tale of some slightly deranged woman who had dined here in 1898, when the house had been occupied for a mere year by the Williams family.

“Do you remember her, James? She looked like she had just walked off the stage – she wore the most grotesque make up – and she had a laugh that was more annoying than I care to mention, plus she conversed like some crazy, unruly heiress, wanting to tell everyone about her fortune!” George took a sip of wine and shook his head.

“Well, I can imagine that she was a sight to see!” I remarked.

“Oh, she was more than that. She was completely insane, of that I am sure! Although she was friends with the Williams, it gave me great pain and anxiety when she asked them over dinner who the young man staring at her was!” James replied. I turned and looked at him.

“What, she could see you?” I asked with interest.

“Oh yes, she could see me. Unfortunately for me, she returned many times during the following month, to gaze upon me!”

“What, and you didn't try to break the spell with her?” I asked, trying not to smile; the look on his face made it obvious that he was frightened to death of her.

“Dear God, no! Being in here was far less painful than trying anything with her!” he said, horrified, as George burst out laughing.

“It was bloody amusing though; I hardly saw James for a month. He went into hiding every time that she came; there was no way he was conversing with her on a regular basis!” he managed to say between laughing.

“Well, she was one of the scariest women that I have ever had the unfortunate pleasure of ‘meeting'. Having to spend an eternity being grateful to her for breaking the spell would have killed me anyway!” James then said. George was still laughing, which in turn made me laugh.

“Alright, I get the impression that under your hard exterior hides a scared little boy… frightened of a woman indeed! I would not have thought that of you, James!” I replied, chuckling somewhat.

“You did not see her! I was completely scrupulous in my decision to hide from her. It would not have ended well in any way!” he tried to convince us. “I am glad that you find this amusing, but the last time I did not listen to my immediate instincts, look what happened to me!” he finished, gesturing to his presence behind the mirror before placing his fists onto his hips in agitation.

“Actually George, he does have a point!” I said, after controlling my laughing. “Really, was she that bad?” I asked, and both of them replied in unison:

“YES!”

We all calmed down for a while and ate the delicious chocolate fudge cake that George had made. It was one of those cakes to eat when you're down, sad, happy, in love or – in fact – in any circumstance, and it was delicious. I held my stomach in appreciation afterwards, and realised that I had eaten two servings to their one. I started to have thoughts about my weight again, but this food was far too good to give up.

“George, you spoil me completely. These delicious dinners are not going to do anything for my constitution!” I pointed out whilst patting my very full tummy.

“Oh nonsense! It is good to eat well; don't worry about your figure, it will do you no harm! We could do with fattening you up a little bit!” George replied.

“That's sweet, George, but now you are reminding me of some fairy tale or folklore about the fattening-up of people before they are eaten!” I said.

“I assume you are referring to
Hansel and Gretel
, or something of that ilk?” George replied. “I'd not thought about that, James – we should fatten her up and keep her here forever, what do you think?” he chuckled. I frowned at his response sarcastically, but James simply replied:

“Having Katharina here forever is a thought that I favour most ardently, but in regards to her figure – Katharina, you are, in my opinion, perfection indeed, and instead I would make a reference to a fairy tale such as
Snow White
or
Cinderella
,” he sincerely said. I looked at George, who seemed surprised at his comment, and then I looked at James.

“Am I correct in thinking that you have just complimented me, James?”

“That would be my intention, yes!” he replied.

“Then I am flattered, thank you! I am happy to see that we have
you
back with us, not the character that was in our presence earlier!” I happily stated, smiling at him.

“You may have it on good authority that the character – or should I say fool – from earlier will not be gracing your presence again!” he informed me, before giving me the most heart-melting smile of sincerity.

“Well, I am glad to hear it!” I replied. George was quiet, and I knew that we had just had another ‘moment'; then he jumped up.

“Right, let's tidy and retreat to the drawing room this evening. The fire is lit and the game board is ready. Oh, and for you, Katharina, I have had another television aerial installed, so you may now watch anything that you should wish!”

“George, you need not have done that for me! I am very happy spending the evenings chatting with the both of you and playing cards. It is actually a refreshing change to not have the television on,” I replied.

“Well, with Claire here for the weekend, I understand that it is usual for young women to watch films that are full of romantic gestures whilst drinking wine! Am I mistaken in thinking this?” George asked, and I laughed.

“No, you are quite right, George – unfortunately even today us women like to dream about the fantasy of finding the right man, in the most romantic situation! Alas, it seems that all good men, in my experience, are just that – a fantasy!” I finished sadly.

“Oh, I do not believe that, Katharina!” he replied.

“Nor I!” James also stated. I smiled at them both.

“I have not had very many positive experiences with love and romance – except in films – but I do not give up so easily!” I smiled, and then I had the most amazing idea. “I am going to bring some films tomorrow, some of my favourites – Jane Austen's
Northanger Abbey
,
Pride and Prejudice
, and also some newer ones maybe. I think that I should let you indulge in some of my fantasies!” I remarked.

“That sounds most intriguing; I have never had the desire to watch many of these films over the years. George does make me watch the news, but other than that I receive a greater satisfaction from reading,” James replied.

“Well, it will be interesting to see if these films are truthful to the period that they depict. You both are from the time when Jane Austen wrote, so I expect the etiquette to be correct. The question will be whether you can stand to watch it or not!” I remarked.

“I accept your challenge, Katharina – do you, George?” James was quick to join in.

“Well, I think it should prove interesting, so yes, I am happy to join in the challenge!” he replied.

“That is settled then. I presume that you do not have a DVD player, George?” I asked.

“Oh, if you are referring to the machine in which you need to insert the small circular objects, yes, he does indeed have one; I have seen him watching many things in the past,” James said.