Both men stood in silence, squaring each other up. William ready to clobber Edward with the poker, and Edward likely preparing another veiled comment.
Thunder rocked the foundations of Hanbury so viciously, the lights flickered out for a moment.
“Seems like the storm is here to stay,” Edward said, followed by a dramatic all-body shiver.
“Shame,” William replied. “I’d offer you an umbrella, but I don’t think I’ve got one.”
I also can’t be bothered to check.
“I take that as that you’re still planning to kick me out… again?”
“Yes, actually I am.” William leaned forward, unable to shake the irritation this man’s presence cursed him to harbour. “Why are you even here, Edward?”
“Truthfully?” he replied.
“No, give me an elaborate lie… of course I mean truthfully.”
Edward’s pause was either from the harsh tone William used or he needed a moment to gather up a well put together answer. “Well, I got halfway and couldn’t shake the discomfort of knowing you were out here all alone. A stranger in a strange place. That, and the fact the ford between Hanbury and Stonewell had overflooded by the time I reached it, so I took it as fate telling me to come back and check on you.”
William didn’t remember passing over a ford on the journey to the house, but whether that was a white lie or not, it wasn’t what made his stomach uneasy.
“You look like you can swim.” William regretted the comment the moment it came out of his mouth. Because saying it proved to Edward that William had been checking him out.
Before Edward could thank William for the compliment, William let his tongue lash out with everything he wanted to say.
“I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. But what you should take from this is I don’t need checking up on like some child left at home for the first time by their overbearing parents. I can manage just fine, storm or no.”
William watched Edward look up towards the flickering bulb hanging just above them. “I can see that.”
“Then you canseeyourself out.”
“You really are going to make me beg, aren’t you?”
William blinked. “What are you on about!”
Edward dropped to his knees before William could stop him. He slapped his large hands together in mock prayer, sticking out that lower lip again. The suddenness of it surprised William, who felt almost embarrassed as he stood glowering over Edward.
“Get up,” William hissed, eyes widening a fraction. “Now.”
Edward ignored him. “Please, kind stranger, allow me to stay until the storm passes. And then I promise you will never see, or hear from me, again.”
“Get off the floor,” William protested again. “You look ridiculous.”
“Pretty please. Make it two cherries on top for extra measure–”
“No.” William drew out his mobile, already expecting the ‘no signal’ sign. He could still call the police, he thought, but William had been brought up being told that wasting their time was the greatest crime. His finger hovered over the numbers, but he couldn’t bring himself to type them out.
“What do I need to do to prove I’m not a dangerous murderer?” Edward asked, still kneeling on the goddamn floor.
“Considering that’s exactly what a murderer would say, I think we are far past the point of that now.”
“Coming from the man holding a poker over me.”
A blush crept over William’s cheeks. He looked at his hand, embarrassed that Edward’s suggestion was right. He lowered the poker slightly, to prove him wrong.
“It’s for self-defence,” William added.
“Again, may I remind you I haven’t warranted that?”
