Civvy Street (28 page)

Maddy nodded miserably.

‘I wish I’d been there to see it.’

‘But Seb, there are bound to be repercussions.’

‘Quite likely, but probably no worse than the ones that’ll follow from me telling Rayner much the same thing.’

Maddy’s eyes widened. ‘You did
what
?’

‘I told Rayner I wasn’t going to get rid of any of the mess furniture – or the silver, or the soft furnishings for that matter.’

‘But why? I mean... what about your career?’

‘What about it? I had a long hard think about things when I got to work this morning and then I had a telephone conversation with Tony Notley.’

‘Tony?’

Seb nodded. ‘I asked him for some hypothetical advice – you know, in the event of an officer going against some Machiavellian plan of his commanding officer and getting a completely dud confidential report as a result.’

‘And?’

‘And he said the hypothetical officer ought to be bulletproof as his past CRs would show him to have been a good officer up to that point. Notley also added that he’s heard rumours that Rayner has previous in trying to wreck other officers’ careers and that, if said officer suddenly got a crap CR he should demand a redress of grievance from the brigadier. And if that officer did, Notley would back him up.’

‘Wow.’

‘So when I went to see Rayner I told him that I couldn’t, in all conscience, carry out his plans for the mess.’

‘And he said?’

‘Not a lot, to be honest. I think he was quite surprised I stood up to him. He seems to be the sort of bully-boy who is used to getting his own way and when he didn’t he didn’t know what to do.’

‘Oh, Seb, I am so pleased you did that. I saw the inside of the Rayners’ quarter this morning and it’s awful. Well, maybe it’s the height of fashion but it was garish and uncomfortable and absolutely loathsome.’

‘And that’s probably what Jack wants for the mess.’

Maddy went back to the stove and stirred the soup before pouring it out into four bowls.

‘So have you shot his fox?’ she asked.

‘Time will tell. In the meantime it’ll be interesting to see what happens.’

Maddy put the bowls of soup on the table and began blowing on Rose’s to make it cool enough for her.

The phone rang. Maddy sighed and went to answer it.

‘Caro. What can I do for you?’

‘Maddy, what’s been going on?’

What do you mean?’

‘I’ve just had Camilla on the phone. She wants me to take over from you on a couple of committees. Have you resigned?’

‘I think,’ said Maddy, ‘I’ve just been sacked, although it’s news to me. Look, I can’t talk now; I’m dishing up lunch for the family. Come round this afternoon and we can talk then.’

As she turned back to the table Seb raised his eyebrows. ‘Trouble at mill?’

‘Looks like it. It seems Camilla doesn’t want me on her committees any more. Mind you, little does she know that sacking me is the answer to my prayers. The thought of not having to be patronised by her again is just wonderful.’

‘Anyway, to make your day even better, I’ve just heard from Rollo. Remember that house he liked?’

Maddy did, only too well. She remembered, even more clearly, the squirming embarrassment she’d felt as Rollo had described it in loving detail to the Collinses of all people, and then suggested that given how well-off army officers surely had to be that they ought to join him as property tycoons. OK, she exaggerated, but it had still been a horrible moment. No wonder Susie had pleaded a headache and fled.

‘Well, he’s only gone and bought it. He’ll be living almost on our doorstep.’

‘Really? Where was the house again?’

‘Ashton-cum-Bavant.’

‘Oh, yes.’ Maddy remembered now. So Rollo had a perfect house in a perfect village. It was a totally picture-book one with a green, a pond and a small stream and some of the prettiest houses in the area. It was the sort of village that featured in calendars and was used for jigsaw puzzle pictures. The sort of village people longed to end up in, the sort of village Maddy was sure she and Seb would never be able to afford to move into, and which was as far removed from where Susie and Mike lived as to be almost on another planet. ‘Lucky old him.’ She tried not to feel jealous – and failed miserably.

As Seb was leaving to go back to work and Maddy was clearing up the kitchen, Caro rocked into the house.

‘So come on,’ she said, as soon as Seb had shut the front door, ‘what happened? Why has Camilla sacked you? What on
earth
have you done?’

Caro, noted Maddy, wasn’t crowing or pleased at her apparent downfall but curious as to the reason why. Which was pretty normal, she thought. If the tables had been turned it would have been how she’d have reacted. So this was yet another baby-step towards normality again, another bit of the olive tree being held out. Maddy took it.

‘Well,’ she said, wiping down the highchair, ‘let me put you in the picture. Camilla and Jack want to strip out the mess and put their stamp on it.’

‘No!’ Caro sat down on a chair. ‘But that’s awful. Have you seen her idea of interior decor?’

Maddy nodded. ‘I have.’

‘It’s like some mad film set for a James Bond baddy. It’s ghastly.’

‘Tell me about it. Anyway, Seb was tasked with finding a home for all the old furniture and getting interior designers in and, naturally, he’s been dragging his feet about it, so Camilla told me to tell Seb to get a move on.’

‘She never.’

Maddy nodded. ‘She did. And I told her that I wouldn’t.’ Maddy then recounted what she’d actually said.

Caro looked at Maddy with an expression that combined admiration with respect. Maddy grinned back.
Normality
had been achieved. It had taken months for Caro to get over her rage at Seb’s promotion but at last it had happened. Thank goodness.

‘Oh, Maddy, I wish I’d been there to see her face, it must have been a picture.’

‘I don’t know. I was so shattered by what I’d actually said I had to get out of her house before I changed my mind and apologised.’

‘Shit no, that would have been bad. But it’s really nasty that she’s now canvassing behind your back for people to take over from you on those committees. She obviously doesn’t want to give you the push until she’s got replacements lined up.’

Maddy shrugged. ‘You know, I just don’t care. There’s no kudos in being at her beck and call, just a shedload of hard work and precious little thanks.’ ‘You can’t recommend it then.’

‘No way.’

‘Good, then telling her I didn’t want the jobs was the right move.’

Maddy nodded. ‘You did? Oh, well done you. Do you think she’ll find anyone mug enough to take over?’

‘Not if they’ve got any sense.’

‘What do you think she’ll do, if she draws a blank?’

‘Don’t know, don’t care,’ said Caro.

Maddy felt much the same. ‘At least I know I’m not battling alone against bloody Camilla.’

‘No way. I’m right there with you.’

‘Did you get them?’ asked Ella.

Katie nodded and drew a half-empty packet of cigarettes from the pocket of her school trousers. ‘Got to hope Old Rogers thinks he dropped them out of his jacket somewhere.’

‘And no one saw you?’

Katie gave her twin a quick shake of her head. ‘No, I was alone in his classroom and I’m sure no one else was anywhere near.’

‘Well done.’ Ella gave her sister’s arm a squeeze of appreciation. Katie tucked the fags back into her pocket.

‘And it’s not raining. We can meet the others on the corner, like we planned.’

They giggled with excitement at the prospect of meeting their new acquaintances from the estate, the ones they’d fallen in with the night they’d rowed with their mother. The ones who’d been smoking and drinking cider from cans. The ones who said they would teach the twins how to smoke but they had to produce the fags first. Their mother, they knew, would have a fit if she knew about the kids they’d taken up with, but that only added to the thrill of it all.

Throughout the rest of the school day Katie oscillated between terror at having her crime discovered and a feeling of delicious naughtiness at what she’d done. When she was sure she wasn’t being observed she fingered the little cardboard carton in her trouser pocket and wished the hours to pass as quickly as possible so she and Ella could escape to the end of their road and spark up with their new mates. Finally, school was out, and then two whole dragging hours later they were picked up from Caro’s by their mum and taken back to Springhill Road.

The twins hurtled upstairs as soon as they tumbled through the front door and then were back downstairs less than five minutes later changed into jeans and hoodies.

‘We’re going out,’ said Ella as she tugged on her shoes at the bottom of the stairs.

‘Where?’ asked Susie.

‘Going to see Ali,’ said Katie.

‘Who’s Ali?’

Katie rolled her eyes. ‘A kid from school.’

‘Lives at the end of the road,’ said Ella.

‘OK, but don’t be late. Supper’ll be at seven. And if you’ve got any homework...’ But Ella and Katie didn’t hear what their mother wanted to say on the subject of homework as they were out of the house with the door shut behind them.

‘Just had a thought,’ said Katie.

‘What?’

‘We shouldn’t have changed out of uniform.’

Ella stopped and stared at her twin. ‘Why on earth not?’

‘Because we can’t change our clothes
again
, not like we did last time because we smelt of smoke. Mum’ll smell a rat.’

Katie considered her sister’s point. ‘Mum’ll smell more than that. Bugger. We’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it. We’ll think of something. I wonder what it’s like.’

‘What?’

Katie shook her head at her sister and rolled her eyes. ‘Duh. Smoking, of course.’

‘Oh... yes.’

‘You’re not getting cold feet? Not after I nicked the cigs.’

‘Course not. Show me them again,’ said Ella.

Katie pulled the packet from her hoodie pocket and flipped open the lid. Inside, the filter tips of fifteen smokes were crammed together. ‘We’ve got loads,’ she crowed.

‘Gotta hope Ali’s got a lighter.’

‘Don’t be a dumb-ass, course he will.’

The pair ran up the road to the junction to the agreed rendezvous with their new friends at the dark green BT junction box there. Ali, short for Alastair, and his three cronies, Tom, Dylan and Jezza, were leaning against the fence by the road sign, swigging Strongbow out of cans.

‘What kept ya?’ sneered Ali.

Katie felt nettled. ‘We came as fast as we could. Got these,’ she added, offering up the fags.

‘Give ’em here.’

Katie willingly handed over her prize.

‘Where d’you get ’em?’

‘Rogers left his jacket hanging on the back of his chair at break. I pinched them out of his pocket.’

Ali looked at Katie with something that might have been respect and Katie felt a glow of pride. ‘Nice one.’

Ali took a cigarette and handed the packet round. Eagerly Katie and Ella took one each too. Jezza produced a lighter and the lads lit up, blowing long streams of smoke down their noses.

Jezza proffered a flame in Katie’s direction. She took a tiny sharp inward breath, just enough to get the cigarette to light and then quickly exhaled. Ella did likewise. Katie could feel her eyes stinging with the smoke but managed to swallow down a cough. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Ella’s shoulders jerking as she almost choked, although, like her sister, she tried to do it silently.

The boys laughed. ‘Lightweights,’ said Ali. ‘Have another drag. You’ll get used to it. Just takes a bit of practice.’

Katie took another tentative puff and this time she dragged the smoke a little deeper into her body. This time her cough reflex seemed less trigger-happy but the rush of light-headedness was most disconcerting. She grabbed onto the junction box to steady herself as the world spun around her. Her ears rang and for a few seconds she felt nauseous but then both feelings passed. Feeling cocky, she took another puff. A big one. Huge mistake. The smoke went far too deep; she gagged, she coughed, she damn nearly choked, her eyes watered and she began to retch. The boys leapt backwards – no way did they want to be in the firing line if she hurled. And far from looking concerned, they seemed to find her reaction to the smoke hilarious.

Finally she got herself and her breathing under control. ‘Like you were so good at smoking the first time you tried,’ she wheezed.

‘We were better than that,’ said Ali. He eyed her fag. ‘And if you’re not going to smoke that, give it here.’

Katie snatched her hand away as he reached for her ciggie. ‘Gonna have a last go,’ she said. She took a puff, inhaled and then blew smoke down her nose. ‘Nothing to it.’ Although, despite her bravado and her new-found expertise, her ears rang and her head spun, but once again, it settled down after a shortish while.

It took Ella rather longer to get the hang of it but by the time they had to go home for their supper they were both smoking like old hands.

Ali, keeping the cigarettes, drifted off with his mates, leaving Katie and Ella shivering slightly in the chill autumn air – although they were grateful that, for once, it wasn’t actually raining.

‘We’d better go in,’ said Ella. ‘Don’t want Mum coming looking for us.’

‘Do you think we smell of smoke?’ asked Katie.

Ella sniffed the sleeve of her jersey. ‘Can’t tell. Let’s walk really slowly. The fresh air might blow the smell away.’

‘We could always say Ali’s folks smoke, if she mentions anything.’

‘Genius,’ said Katie.

The two girls loped back towards their house. ‘Hi, Mum,’ they called in unison, as they let themselves in.

‘Hi,’ said their mother from the kitchen. ‘Supper’s in ten minutes. Your dad should be home by then.’

They scuttled upstairs and collapsed on Katie’s bed in her room.

‘So how are we going to get more cigs?’ asked Ella.

Katie shrugged. ‘Don’t think I can risk nicking too many off Rogers. And we don’t really know anyone else who smokes. Maybe we could get someone to buy them for us.’