CHAPTER 10
Anita and Derek came back around 10 o'clock. By this time James and Mandy had been playing computer games for what seemed to them like hours, and everything looked serene and normal.
Anita came up to The Hideout. "Nice to see you have behaved yourselves tonight!" she said. "I was worried about leaving you, but you seem to have learned your lesson."
"Shows how wrong you can be," said James after their mother had gone downstairs again.
As it was Friday night, no-one was too worried about going to bed early, but at about half past ten James thought maybe it was time to get some hot chocolate and then call it a night. He wanted to do some thinking, which was difficult with Mandy around - she kept talking.
Mandy said she would also like some hot chocolate, and as he was feeling generous, he offered to make it for her. He thought maybe his mother would like some too, but she wasn't in her room, nor was she in the kitchen when he got downstairs. "Oh well," he thought, "I expect she's sitting by the fire in the front room." He didn't think that Derek would still be in the house.
James pushed open the front room door. The room was darkened, only one lamp burned at the side of the inglenook. Firelight played on the walls and glittered on the horse brasses bought from the local antique shop.
On the settee by the fire were his mother and Derek. They did not see him - they were intent on each other. More than that - they were in each other's arms. James felt physically sick. He and his father had often sat on that settee in their old London home. Now this usurper had claimed it - and his mother!
Anita's cheek was pressed against Derek's, and Derek's eyes were closed. James couldn't see his mother's face, but he could see her left hand half-buried in that man's hair. What for James was the worst - the flickering light caught the wedding ring she wore. The ring his father had given her, half-hidden by that fairish, floppy hair.
James backed out of the room quietly. He would have liked to interrupt the hateful scene, but found himself unable to face it any longer. He turned and fled upstairs.
"What on earth is wrong!" cried Mandy, wide-eyed, astonished by his wild look. It took him a few minutes to calm down. Then he told her what he had seen.
"Not unexpected, is it?" asked Mandy. "Surely you've seen it coming?"
"Yes. But now it has, I can't stand it. I couldn't bear to look."
"Well," said Mandy practically, "we won't get our chocolate this way, and I want some. I'll go and make it."
"Aren't you upset?"
"Really, I don't see what we can do about it. They're both adults, aren't they? At least he can cook! Unless you can prove he's a bad lot, we won't ever separate them. Anyway, think how much Mum will be upset if he's what you think he is. Don't just think of yourself."
On this realistic note, Mandy went downstairs, leaving James to fume. Of one thing only he was certain. He must prove himself right about Derek.
Mandy brought the chocolate. "Derek's just gone," she said. She did not add that she had seen Derek kiss their mother goodbye. James had had enough for one night.
That night James could not sleep. His thoughts wandered round and round his head. By the first light of a murky dawn he had not made much progress on ideas of how to catch out Derek. He was determined more than ever to find old William's treasure. He was still convinced that somehow that might help.
When he finally stumbled down to breakfast, Mandy and Anita were already in the kitchen. James felt thick-headed, but through the haze of his early morning consciousness he had a suspicion something was about to erupt.
"Sausage?" enquired Anita.
"Mph," grunted James.
He was given a plate with sausage, bacon and tomato, the Saturday breakfast treat. He didn't feel hungry today and toyed with the food sulkily. He wanted to say something about what he had witnessed the night before, but couldn't find the words.
Anita gave Mandy a similar plateful, dished another out for herself and sat down. "Well, my dears," she said, "now we are together, I have something to tell you."
They both looked at her expectantly. The bombshell hung in the air, then it dropped.
"Derek has asked me to marry him, and I have accepted!"
James and Mandy stopped eating and stared at their mother. Mandy was the first to speak. "I'm glad, Mum," she said softly.
James finally found his voice. "Glad!" he exploded. "Glad! How can you be glad! How can you see Dad forgotten so quickly and be glad! How can you possibly put that man in his place!" He glared from his sister to his mother, unable to believe what he had heard.
Then he pushed his plate of food away, angrily scraped his chair back, left the table and slammed out of the kitchen. Anita got up and hurried after him, but he outran her, shut the door of his room in her face and locked it.
She banged on the door. "Open the door, Jim! For goodness sake, calm down! Don't you understand, I am not replacing Dad. But Derek is kind and considerate, what else do you want? Do you want me to go the rest of my life alone?"
"I am the man of the house," James's reply came muffled through the door. "I suppose I'm not enough for you! You'd rather have that crook!"
"Oh, James," cried his mother in desperation. "You know that's not true. Oh, can't you see that Derek will look after us. No-one can take Dad's place, but - life must go on - we can't stay in the past forever..."
Every word she said only made matters worse as far as James was concerned. No longer listening, he got himself properly dressed, and sorted out some spare clothes and one or two important oddments he might need, packing them in his small suitcase. Finally, when he felt calmer, he opened the door, to find his mother had gone back downstairs.
This gave him the opportunity to make a grand entrance into the kitchen. "I am going to stay with Rodney," he announced. "I can't stay in this house any more!"
"Don't be so daft, James!" snapped his mother. "How do you know they'll have you? You can't just go like that!"
"See if I can't!" retorted James. With that, he opened the back door and was gone.
Mandy stared open-mouthed.
Anita ran out after him, but he moved too fast for her to catch. "James, James, come back! Don't be so silly!" she called after him, but he was already out of the gate and down the road. As she watched, he turned into Rodney's front garden.
Rather than cause a scene in the street, Anita turned back into the house and lifted the telephone.
James knocked on the door of Rodney's house. Rodney's mother opened it. She looked surprised. "You're up and about early, James! Oh well, you'd better come in."
Rodney came downstairs, still in his pyjamas. He rubbed his eyes. "What are you doing here at this hour?" he grumbled.
"Get dressed!" hissed James. "Then I'll tell you."
The telephone rang. Rodney's mother ran to answer it.
"That's my Mum," muttered James.
"Something's up, isn't it?"
"You bet it is!"
They heard Rodney's mother saying, "Hello Anita", and then making various exclamations. She didn't sound too pleased.
"Let's get out of her way," suggested Rodney.
They went up to Rodney's room. By the time Mrs Omatola had finished talking the problem over with Anita, Rodney was showered and dressed and ready for the day ahead. He was also more than somewhat aware of the reason for James's distress, but could offer no immediate solution.
"If you can't face it, I suppose you'd better stay here until you can, if Mum lets you. But what can you do, if parents decide to do something you don't like? As far as I can see, you can't stop them, however hard you try!" He didn't go on to add that he had tried, often, and got nowhere.
Rodney's father called them both downstairs.
"I'm told you have run away from home, James," he frowned. "What makes you think we can keep you?"
James did not answer. He felt suddenly rather silly. He should have gone somewhere else, where there weren't any of these grown-ups who didn't understand.
"Well," went on Mr Omatola. "It has been decided by the Mums that you can stay here until tomorrow night, to cool off. We will give you the spare room - you're lucky, we have no visitors at the moment - then you have to go back home, and no nonsense - from either of you," looking at his son. "Have you decided what you are going to do? It's a fine day, we don't want you all under our feet."
"We'll think about it, Dad," said Rodney.
They went back to Rodney's room. James played with the computer, while Rodney caught up on reading his magazines. Sometime later Rodney said,"Hey, this is good. There's a bit here on secret codes. There's a program to make or crack them. I think I'll have a go at typing that in - when you've finished, of course."
They were interrupted by Rodney's mother calling up the stairs,"James, your sister's here!"
"Well, little brother," said Mandy when she had joined them. "You've caused quite a stir! Mum was on the phone to Derek at once, as soon as you'd gone. It was Derek who persuaded her to leave you here to cool off - did you realise that?"
"No, I didn't! Why won't he stop interfering?"
"You want to stay here, don't you!"
"Not now it's his idea!"
"Oh shut up, James!" cried Rodney in desperation. "We could go on about this all day. Let's forget it for a while and decide what to do with the day."
James sulked for a while. Then even he decided it was not worth wasting a Saturday for. He brightened up. "Let's go back to the well. In daylight."
"We'll be seen," said Mandy.
"Not if we're careful, I hope. It's better than in the dark, really, if we're going to explore."
"Perhaps toad-monsters don't come out in the daytime," offered Rodney helpfully.
"Toad-monsters?" asked Mandy nervously.
"Oh, nothing," said James quickly. They didn't want any more of Mandy's ghostly fears.
Soon they were all absorbed in making plans. Rodney asked his mother to make them a packed lunch again. "We are going to the farm to see Peter and play with the animals," he told her.
Then they all wrapped up warmly and went out. It was a fine winter's day with bright sunshine and a pale blue sky, chilly but with no wind at all.
Rodney got the gear they had used before out of the shed - his father was working on the car so was well out of earshot. After making sure the coast was clear, they packed it in an old holdall carried it all out of the back gate and into the field.
