Everything to Nothing (13 page)

Faintly Sally
heard the taxi driver speak, and then there was a pause while
Michelle got the money out of her purse.

‘Thank you.
Yeah, you too. Bye.’ Sally then heard a car door open, close and
then the clip-clop of Michelle’s heels as she walked presumably to
her front door. ‘What about that coffee shop then?’

‘I am sat at
the window table right now.’

Sally heard
nothing for a few moments, not even the clip-clop, presumably
because Michelle had stopped walking and was trying desperately to
think of something to say.

‘How long have
you been there for?’

‘Long enough
Michelle, long enough.’

‘I am so sorry
Sally; I don’t know what happened…’

‘Michelle how
could you?! My date!’

‘I know, but
after you didn’t turn up I didn’t think you were interested and he
is so nice, and, and…’

‘And what?’

‘Nothing.’

‘So was he good
in bed?’

‘Now hang on a
minute, I didn’t sleep with him!’

‘Watch that
nose Michelle, the end of it will be jabbing the President of China
in the eye pretty soon if you tell one more lie!’

‘My nose isn’t
growing this time because I am not lying to you this time. I swear
I didn’t sleep with him. I woke up this morning on the sofa. He was
in bed on his own!’

‘Yeah, whatever
Michelle, whatever.’

‘Oh I give up.
I will call you later when you have calmed down and we can talk
about it properly.’

‘Don’t
bother!’

Sally pressed
the end call button on the phone and slammed it down onto the
table. The waiter glanced over at the noise and noticed how angry
Sally looked.

Sally was again
way past angry. She could not believe what she had just seen and
she could not believe the conversation she had just had, the lies
that her best friend had told her in such a hard faced way. She
stood up out of her seat and ripped a five pound out of her purse
and threw it onto the saucer. Picking up her phone she flung it
back into her hand bag and collecting her shopping bags she stormed
out of the café.

Now that she
was so angry she did not even feel like shopping. She could not
remember ever feeling so angry, even seeing her car last night had
not made her feel like this. There was only one thing that usually
got rid of such anger and that one thing was Storm.

She retrieved
her phone again from her bag to call Alfred and demanded that he
pick her up. Alfred recognized the tone in her voice, one of the
few remnants that was left from her spoilt little brat days, and
even though he was having a very rare break he did not refuse her
request and left the mansion in the Rolls-Royce.

While Sally was
waiting she paced up and down in front of the coffee shop trying to
control her fury. After what seemed like an eternity she saw the
Rolls making its stately progress towards her. While Alfred was
still bringing the car to a stop Sally flung open one of the rear
doors, threw her shopping onto the rear seat and then flung herself
into the car. ‘Home Alfred.’

‘Yes,
ma’am.’

He knew that
when his mistress was in this kind of mood it was better to resume
all formalities or he could be in for a huge tongue lashing from
her, and possibly an audience with Mr. Gallagher himself if Sally
thought he had been particularly rude.

‘Phone ahead
Alfred, have them saddle Storm.’

‘Certainly
ma’am.’

Alfred pressed
a few buttons which switched on the car’s inbuilt phone, and when
the call was answered at the mansion he told them to do as Sally
asked.

As the journey
progressed Sally just stared out of the window and occasionally
Alfred glanced at her in the rear view mirror. He noticed the frown
line and also the slight pout to her lips. He had come to recognize
all the signs in all his years as the family’s butler as to when
Sally was upset. Her haughty attitude, the pout and the clenching
of her jaw was a sure sign that if Storm did not make her feel
better, Alfred’s working life was going to being misery for the
next few days.

As they
approached the gates of the estate Sally stated, ‘I’ll go straight
to the stables thank you Alfred.’

‘Yes, ma’am.
However, the road down there is very boggy due to the rain last
night, and you know how your father refuses to have it surfaced.
Therefore the Land Rover should be waiting to drive you down there
if that is okay?’

‘Yes, it’s
fine. Make sure my bags are taken up to my room by somebody. You
personally take my hand bag though. Don’t let anyone else touch it.
I will take my phone should anyone need me.’

‘Yes,
ma’am.’

Alfred pressed
a button on a remote control which made the gates swing open and
the car advanced onto the estate. After about half a mile along the
road there was a fork. The fork led through a coppice of trees and
was nothing more than a dirt track. At the start of this track was
a brand new Land Rover Discovery.

The Rolls-Royce
came to a halt and as Sally exited the car, without saying anything
to Alfred, she saw the driver lean into the cab of the Discovery
and use the radio. She presumed that he would be radioing ahead to
inform the stable hands of her impending arrival. Stepping up into
the rear of the car she again did not say anything to the driver,
she just stared out of the window and watched the land roll by as
they made their way a mile down the track to the stables
complex.

The complex
could easily hold ten horses. The stables were organized in a horse
shoe around a central paddock that had a small equestrian course
within it. Behind the stables, out of view as the Land Rover
advanced into the complex, was a full circular track about two
miles long. This track was split into two, one side was flat, the
other had jumps included along its length. Usually, once or twice a
week, Sally would take her beloved Storm around both courses, the
flat and the jump, and sometimes around the equestrian course.

A large,
powerful mare standing at sixteen hands, Storm was not at home on
the tight and little equestrian course. Her reason to be as far as
Sally was concerned was to sprint the flat course and jump the
bigger fences. Today though she did not think that either of the
courses would be enough.

As the Land
Rover pulled to a stop, Sally exited the car and walked over to the
side of Storm where she stood ready for Sally to ride her. The
stable hands went about their work not taking any notice of Sally;
they had been forewarned about the mood she was in.

As Sally
approached, Storm looked up and let out a little whinny as she saw
Sally. She rested her cheek against the side of the horse’s head
and stroked and muttered some loving words to her. After remaining
like this for a few moments she then made her away along the side
of the horse checking the saddle and all the equipment was
satisfactorily fastened, in place and looked safe. After this
check, Sally put one foot in the left stirrup and swung herself
quickly and adeptly onto the saddle.

Not concerned
that she was wearing nearly a thousand pounds worth of designer
clothes and no safety helmet, Sally dug her heels into the side of
Storm. Instantly the horse sprang into a trot and Sally guided the
horse across the cobbled yard to the open gate that led out onto
the circular track.

As the surface
changed from the hard cobbles to the soft grass of the course, she
dug her heels in hard into the flank of Storm and the horse surged
underneath her. Quickly it accelerated past canter and into a full
gallop. Sally’s hair flowed out behind her as the wind whistled
past and wind-tears appeared at the corner of her eyes.

She did not
slacken the pace of the horse though. She did two full circuits of
the course, the first along the flat, the second over the jumps
which Storm leapt over with ease. Only after two circuits did she
ease off the speed and allowed them both to catch their breath.
Storm walked along the course for a mile until they reached the top
end of the circuit. Here Sally leapt off and walked over to the
white fence and lifted up a panel so they now had access to the
area outside the course. She mounted Storm again and they went
through the gap in the fence. On the other side of the fence,
through a wooded area, was a narrow path.

Storm instantly
headed to this path, not needing any coaxing from Sally. Slowly she
walked the horse along the path and therefore the tears building up
in her eyes this time were not wind-tears. Thoughts were raging
through her mind, most of them focusing upon the sights that
greeted her while she was having a relaxing coffee. As they
advanced along the path Sally tried to bring her thoughts together
and come up with some kind of plan.

She knew she
would forgive Michelle eventually, she had to. They had been
through so much together and Michelle had always been by her side
through Sally’s darkest days, through her mother’s darkest days of
illness. However, she could still not believe that her best friend
would spend a night with the man she was meant to meet for a date
that same night. But she knew she would forgive her,
eventually.

Simon though
was a different story. It had always been an ideology of Sally’s
never to date someone who had been with one of her friends. Though
Michelle said she had not slept with Simon, she could not believe
Michelle right now. Even if she did eventually believe her there
would always be that question mark hovering over Simon’s head. It
was something that Sally knew she could not cope with thinking
about every time she looked at him. That, therefore, put him off
limits, which kind of totally messed up Sally’s intended love
life.

But then an
image entered her mind, an image that had been out of her thoughts
until that moment, the image of her modern knight in wet T-shirt
and soggy jeans. This put a smile back on her face and her body
experienced a rush of blood as she thought about him.

Suddenly, out
loud she shouted, ‘Don’t be so silly young lady! You don’t even
know him! You shouldn’t be having thoughts like that! Come on then
my angel, my darling Storm. Let’s get rid of our demons and fly
with the wind!’

Twice digging
her heels into Storm’s flank the horse accelerated quickly and
burst out of the wood at a full gallop. Sally loved the
exhilaration, the feel of the beast in between her legs as Storm
thundered along the path. Suddenly in front of them a waist high
fence of barbed wire appeared but the horse and Sally did not miss
a step. Without decreasing speed they leapt over the fence and for
a moment they were flying with the wind. Sally let out a wild cry
as they landed and Storm maintained her pace as they exploded out
of the landing. They maintained their speed across a field along
another path. In the distance was the furthest corner of the estate
and the large outer wall wound its way to the corner of the field
they bounded across. Built into the wall was a gate and as they
approached Sally pulled back lightly on the reins. Storm responded
with a reduced speed and they trotted and then walked the last few
yards to the gate.

Sally jumped
off the horse’s back and stepped over to the gate. Attached to the
wall was a small metal box containing a small numeric keypad. She
tapped in the code, always an easy number to remember: her mother’s
date of birth. Knowing that as the gate unlocked a light would have
gone off in the security centre housed in a room in the mansion, so
she paused for a few moments and looked up at the camera that was
on the wall next to the gate. Sally gave a little wave as she saw
the light on the camera flash three times as the guards
acknowledged it was her by flashing the light. They then saw her
disappear from view for a moment, and then reappear leading the
horse. They then saw her push the gate open and then they
disappeared from view as they stepped through the gateway.

Pushing the
gate closed behind her, she listened as the electric locks slid
back securing the estate once again. There was no way to open the
gate from the outside, no numeric keypad, however Sally knew that
if she phoned up the security centre later and gave the appropriate
password they would unlock the gate for her. She never saw the
guard again who had refused her entry into the estate because she
forgot the new password. She presumed that he was given his papers
after she had spoken to her father about him.

Remounting
Storm they proceeded at a more sedate pace along the path that
continued on this side of the gate. Sally was not really thinking
of anything as they walked. She was trying to remove the image and
thoughts of David out of her mind but she was failing, miserably.
She knew that he had touched her with his immense good looks, his
willingness to help her even though the situation she was putting
him into was potentially a dangerous one. As she remembered all
that happened last night a sensible voice piped up in her head and
it was telling her that she should have informed her father.

She was under
strict instructions, and had been from a young age, to report all
incidents of this nature to her father just in case the incident
was not going to be a one off and in fact the attacker was
following her. However, as Sally thought about this, she just knew
that her father would insist that she would have to have a
bodyguard, or possibly guards, and be escorted everywhere by him,
or possibly them. Hate was probably too mild a word to use when she
thought of the times that she had to have a personal bodyguard. Her
father had frequently stated to her that a girl, now a woman, in
her position was a major kidnapping target.

Sometimes,
usually two or three times a year, her father would annoy the wrong
person and then he would receive death threats or Sally would
receive kidnap threats. It was then that she was followed
everywhere by a huge lumbering oaf of a man, or possibly men,
usually ex-military with all the personality of a damp rag. Her
privacy was invaded, everything was invaded. He would stand outside
her room as she got changed, he would jog behind her when she ran,
he would stand by the side of the pool when she swam, he would
watch with eagle eyes if she shopped for lingerie, everything was
invaded. Even after all this, if she thought for one moment that
last night was anything more than a one off and not just an unhappy
coincidence she would tell her father. It was just not worth taking
the risk of upsetting him. If he lost her on top of his wife, Sally
knew it would finish him off.