Page 9 of The Cut
‘He murdered your girlfriend.’
Ben gently pulled his hand away, picked up his wine glass and smiled confidently at her. ‘Skin looks good.’
‘Yeah? Um … I did a microderm at Leslie’s.’ The words floated out without meaning as Dani stared at him. ‘Ben, it’s OK to talk to me about it. I think it’s important that we do.’
Ben looked as if he was going to vomit on to the glittering black quartz worktop. He swayed down from the stool and moved to the window. Standing with his hands on his hips, he propped up his torso on shaking legs and faced the huge wall of glass. The evening light was fading in the garden and, without saying another word, he slid open the door and stepped out.
He made his way down to the bottom of the lawn towards the dense woods that extended far into the distance, towards Cheney End and the Water Ford Gate. The thick canopy of trees concealed the distant view, visible only from the very top floor of the house. That view was the reason Ben had purchased the parcel of land on which he had built his ‘castle’.
He stood in silence, the water of the infinity pool reflecting another Ben. His eyes strained through the thicket of trees in the direction of Blackstone Mill.
41
7
SEPTEMBER 1993
(Vince:)I’ll slit the villain’s nose that would have sent me to the jail!
(Baps:)But do you hear, sir, have you married my daughter without asking my goodwill?
(Vince:)Fear not, Baptista, we will content you. Go to! But I will go in to be revenged for this villainy.
‘Off you go then.’ Mr Waller, the drama teacher, is on his feet, waving his arms like a mad conductor. ‘Exit stage left … that means you, Davis. Go on … get off … please.’
Lynette Davis slouches down the rickety steps of the stage, making a ‘wanker’ sign behind Waller’s back. She slumps into one of the orange plastic chairs lined up in a circle on the floor of the school hall as her twin brother, Chris, steps forward with a huge grin on his face.
Look not pale, Bianca. Thy father will not … er … er …
‘Frown … FROWN,’ Waller bellows from the stalls.
Chris Davis’s face contorts into a comic grimace under his shaved head, gurning at the audience, who erupt into laughter.
‘No … not literally, you idiot.’ Mr Waller waves a bedraggled-lookingComplete Worksin the air. ‘You’ve got the text in your hand, just read what it says.’
‘FROOOOWWWNN!’ Chris bellows, before performing a flourishing Elizabethan bow to rapturous applause. ‘Sorry, Mr Waller, this ain’t my part. Dave Patel’s not here so I’m just winging it … innit!’ The scruffy class clown and resident thug exits the same way his sister did, giving it jazz hands as he tiptoes down the42steps. More laughter as the concentration of the class starts to disintegrate.
Next up, it’s Annie Maddock. She touches the back of her neck with her hand and swallows nervously as she takes the stage.
Husband …
There are already a few titters around the hall as the Year 11s brace for what they know is coming.
… let’s follow to see the end of this ado.
Ben takes his place to deliver his line. You can hear a pin drop. There is a collective thump of pulses around the room, racing in anticipation.
First kiss me –
‘Pucker up, Knot!’ someone pipes up from the back row.
Ben has another crack at the line.
(Petruchio:)First kiss me, Kate, and we will.
(Kate:)In the midst of the street?
(Petruchio:)You ashamed of me?
