The Tied Man

I told myself, over and over, that it had not been a date.  That we had both been stupid in flouting unwritten yet unbreakable rules, and lucky to emerge from that night with little more than hangovers and bloodied noses, and that Finn had done the right thing in pulling away.  I cringed when I thought about what my clumsy, drunken pass in the boat must have done to his head, and most of all I tried my very best not to think of myself as anything so ridiculous as dumped.

Now Blaine brought everything flooding unbidden to the surface, and I realised that I could not shift Finn, with his newfound vulnerability and shared secrets, from my mind.  Through my own stupidity, I had given myself the very worst of both worlds.

I picked up a cloth and carefully wiped away the excess paint from my brush before putting it to one side.  ‘So Royce is asking for, what?  My company and nothing else?’

‘Nothing at all.  I believe that intellectual stimulation is just as important for my guests as any other service.  Do I take this to mean he’ll meet my artist at dinner?’

I gave a mute nod, not trusting myself to speak.

‘Excellent.’  Blaine smiled with delight.  ‘Thank you, Lilith.  I’m sure it’ll be quite a surprise for Finn, too.’  She took a step towards the door, her mind already on the next stage of preparations for the evening, then paused. ‘Oh, and I don’t mean to be harsh, but might I suggest you take some time this afternoon to visit my hairdresser in the village?  You’ll find she’s very discreet, and at the moment you hardly look like the Lilith Bresson that Royce will be expecting.   And at dinner, please wear something that covers your arms.  You and I might be aware that it’s eczema, but I don’t want our guests thinking it’s something contagious.’

*****

‘Doing something special tonight, are we?’

‘Something like that.’  I  lay with my head over the hairdresser’s sink as she rinsed out conditioner that smelled of sherbet.  I had been ushered into a plush private room in the salon the moment I arrived  – the discretion that Blaine had promised – and was now half way through my transformation, back into the recognisable brand that was Lilith Bresson, Controversial Chat-Show-Host-Attacking Artist.

‘So, how long have you been at the Hall?’

I could tell her, down to the number of hours.  ‘About three months.’

That surprised her.  I supposed the resort staff were used to seeing people arrive for a single night, or a weekend at most.

‘Wow, really?  It must really cost something to stay on the island for that long.’

‘You could say that.’

The hairdresser blushed, embarrassed at being caught thinking aloud.  ‘I’m sorry – that was so rude of me.  It’s none of my business.’

‘Don’t worry about it.  I’m doing some work for Blaine.’

‘Lucky old you.  Lady Albermarle’s amazing, isn’t she?  I mean, all the things she does for the area – this whole place would be a wasteland without her.  Do you know, when I first came to the village there was no nursery, so she donated this old barn and paid for absolutely everything – renovations, toys, even the wages for the first year, ‘til the funding came through.  Both of my kids went there – we’d have had to travel miles into town without it.  They’re at secondary now…’

I stopped listening to her describe a woman who didn’t exist.  Her words flowed away with the water and as she began a complicated head massage all I could feel was despair.  I shut my eyes and tried to listen to the new-age tinkling and whale song that passed for background music.

‘And as for that young man of hers…’

‘What?’ My eyes snapped open.

‘Oh, were you drifting off there?  I was just saying, the boyfriend –  that pretty young man.  We see him in the village from time to time, wandering around with not a care in the world.   Maybe if I look half as good at her age, I could get one like that.  What do you reckon?’

‘I don’t know…’

The hairdresser laughed at my struggle for a reply.  ‘It’s all right love, you don’t have to answer that.  Mind you, he’s really fallen on his feet, hasn’t he?  I can’t imagine him wanting for much.’

Finn

‘Are you going to be much longer, darling?’ Blaine asked.  ‘Our guests will be here in less than two hours.’

That was my direct order to stop what I was doing and start becoming whoever she needed me to be for this evening.  I rubbed my hands together to loosen the ingrained soil and Bran instinctively crept behind my legs as Blaine cast an eye around the greenhouse.