Rufus laughed harder, wiping under his eyes with the heels of his hands. There was something almost hysterical about it, as if he could tip over into sobs any moment. Honor patted his shoulder and Martyn poured more coffee.
When the creaking laugh wound down into hiccups, Honor dialled the phone number Martyn had got from Clarissa. She got through immediately and explained the situation. ‘Lucky to catch me! Just off to a class,’ Hughie boomed. ‘Clarissa gave you my number, did she? I don’t do any classes in the Deans but I do a Thursday evening in Kemptown, if that’s any good?’
‘It’s very good,’ she said, firmly. ‘Do you have enough space for two?’ Ru definitely needed support.
Chapter Thirteen
‘You’re going to the classes, too?’ Martyn said, slowly, wondering why he hadn’t seen that coming.
Honor nodded firmly, sliding her phone away. ‘Ru, the class is Thursday evening in Eastern Road in Brighton. I’ll find out where that is and look into the buses.’
Rufus slid off his stool to dump his coffee cup in the sink. He still looked dubious about the whole self-defence thing but offered, ‘Kemptown’s this side of Brighton. The bus that goes to the hospital will get us to Eastern Road.’
She hesitated. ‘What will you tell your mom?’
He quirked his eyebrows. ‘That I’m going out. She never bothers. It’s the upside of her thing about personal freedom.’
‘Great.’ Honor beamed and Martyn’s heart flipped. It was written across her fine, delicate features that she was set on helping the kid. It wasn’t the kid’s fault he had a mad mother; Martyn hadn’t needed Honor’s hard stares to tell him that — but that didn’t stop the mad mother making the kid a trouble magnet. Anyone allied to Rufus Gordon was going to attract some of that trouble and what possible reason could Honor have for making herself part of that? He sighed. Any moment now he was going to say something really stupid. He could feel it building in his gut — or somewhere south of that. There was something about Honor that made him come over all helpful.
‘So we could get a bus from Marine Drive?’ Honor was asking Rufus. ‘We could hang around in my front yard until we see it coming, because that way we’d be less likely to run into Frog.’
‘Suppose,’ said Ru.
Martyn knew what the stupid thing was going to be before he said it. Honor might have the heart of a lion in the body ofa ballerina but she was a hell of lot smaller than Frog. ‘I’ll drive you,’ he said. ‘It’s only a few minutes along the coast road.’
‘But—’
He cut across her. ‘It’s no problem.’
‘Oh. Well then, thank you.’ Her smile was golden.
* * *
It wasn’t long before she began doing the polite thing, apologising for invading his home at no notice and insisting that it was time she and Ru left.
‘OK,’ he said. ‘As you have no fish-and-chip cloak of invincibility, we’ll walk Ru home then I’ll walk you home.’
She laughed as she flexed her feet neatly into her shoes but he noticed that suddenly she wasn’t meeting his gaze. He almost reassured her, ‘I won’t try and kiss you, this time. Even though, that day, I’d never wanted to kiss a woman so much in my life.’ To feel her body against his. Had been anticipating the rush of desire that would hit him as he explored the warmth of her mouth and the softness of her lips . . . The connection had been that strong. Until he’d cut it.
‘Thank you. You’re sweet,’ she said.
‘No, I’m not.’ A sweet man would have listened when she wanted to tell him about her marriage. Let her talk out her problems, cry on his shoulder if necessary, and take the obligatory step back out of respect for the relationship with its prior claim. Well, he’d already taken the step back. It just hadn’t been respectful.
And now she was looking at him with laughter and reproof warring in her green eyes, as if she could read his thoughts. Because the connectionwasthat strong.
The evening was clear, the kind of summer twilight that slides so slowly through the deepest shades of blue that it doesn’t meet black until really late. He noted Ru pause on the metalstairs to glance around before continuing nonchalantly on to solid ground. It didn’t sit well to see Ru enduring his teen years instead of enjoying them and he remembered how it felt to be different. He’d had the advantage of a wide circle of friends, which was more than Ru seemed to have, but he’d always been aware of the other kids talking about his weird family.
He watched Honor as she skipped alongside Ru on the narrow pavement, talking earnestly. His eyes fell to her round bottom, rolling perfectly. A row of tiny wispy curls had escaped her ponytail at her nape. He made himself look away. Then looked back.
When they’d seen Ru up the passage and into the door that would take him to the flat above the Teapot, they swung around and walked back down The Butts and into Marine Drive. ‘I feel real sorry for him,’ Honor observed.
‘I’d feel “real sorry” for anyone with Robina as a mother. She’s a pain in the arse.’
Turning the corner into Marine Drive was like stepping through a door to a new weather front. The wind slapped their hair around and rushed into their ears and they saved conversation until they reached the comparative shelter of the bungalow’s patio, tucked in the L of the building.
There, Honor paused, studying her door key. ‘So, what does “Wind your neck in” mean?’
‘Was that too English for you? “Get out of my face”, is the nearest translation, I suppose. Or “Back off”. It’s used when someone’s getting out of order.’
