CHAPTER THREE: More Party
Sophie Bingley and James were dancing a slow dance out on the dance floor and Carols stood between them.
"I would like you to leave please." Someone could have heard a pin drop in that room.
"I was invited," James said looking her in the eye.
Carols argued and put forward ludicrous arguments, but nobody was quite sure how to get her to stop, James looked at Alex his eyes asking a thousand questions to which his friend could only shrug at.
Then there was someone standing in front of him telling-what was basically her aunt-that if she wanted him gone she would have to leave. He saw the back of a head of brilliant red hair tied loosely into a ponytail as the girl shook her head to her fake aunt's protests and pointed to the door. James looked to his side to see Alex smirking, "we'd rather you than her anyway," he whispered which made James laugh.
"Carols, look, if you just leave now you might still be able to make a couple of movies before the tabloids get to you." Sophie was saying the one thing that had any sort of chance at getting through to Carols mind. It was as if that was all that was needed, except that both Will and Eleanor were looking proudly at their niece with Chris and Jenny laughing softly. Carols didn't leave…at least nobody saw her go out the door, but nobody saw her either and frankly that was widely regarded as a good thing.
"Now," the girl rounded on him making James take a step back for a moment.
"I can fight my own battles thanks," was all James could say before they walked back onto the dance floor.
"What? And deny me my fun?" Sophie laughed as James whirled her around the floor and he had to laugh. "You don't do this very often do you?"
Sophie laughed as he stepped on her toes for the fourth time.
"That obvious?"
Sophie laughed, "look, it's easy. One…two…three…one…two…three. See? You've got it."
"I don't usually come to this sort of thing, that's all." James looked down at his feet.
Sophie lifted his head up to look into her intoxicating eyes. "Rule number one, never look down. You are an equal to every single one of these people."
"No I'm not, I'm the riffraff son of some director."
Sophie shook her head, "not here your not. Here you're simply James Brooks, a dashing young man dancing with Chris Bingley's daughter."
James laughed, "I suppose so."
"No supposing about it. My world's a hard one to live with."
James nodded and concentrated on finding his feet without looking at them.
Over the other side of the room Katya and Alex were talking over drinks, "she looks happy," she said watching his friend Meg dance with Peter who was whispering in her ear.
"She's always happy with Peter," Alex told her, "has been for years now."
"You mean…?"
Alex nodded, "just don't tell his grandmother. She'd die!"
Katya laughed a sound that resonated inside Alex. "Really?"
"Yeah, she's 'organised' for him to marry Cat," he pointed to his friend who was dancing with Jack Fitzwilliam. "She'd have several heart attacks if she was here."
Katya smiled, "you like giving little old ladies heart attacks?"
Alex burst
out into surprised laughter, "your insane! No! I don't like
giving little old ladies heart attacks…but this lady is ancient. I
mean it I think she's 98 or something."
Katya smiled, but it
wasn't the same one as before, this one there were two layers until
Alex hit himself on the head and apologised. "I'm so sorry…I
didn't mean…"
Katya put a hand on his arm sending chills up his spine. "It's okay, I mean it. It's fine."
Alex looked into her chocolate eyes. "Okay, but just know that I'm sorry."
She kissed his cheek hesitantly and smiled, "make it up to me."
"How?"
"Dance with me?"
Alex laughed and obliged. While David watched talking to Jess and rolled his eyes. His cousin was a pushover.
There was a rustle of noise throughout the people watching the dancers as Carols reappeared flanked by two burly men in black uniforms. They were her branch of security and as she pointed to James, Sophie instinctively clasped his hand.
"Look sir, we don't want to cause a scene," one of the men said to James using bigger words than most people thought him capable of. "But we're going to have to ask you to leave."
"On what grounds?" James asked looking at him defiantly.
"On the grounds of being a public nuisance," said the second man.
"Carols is the public now?" Sophie asked laughing slightly.
James refused to move all the while apologising to Will and Eleanor for being such a problem, but telling him that he really wanted to stay. Will nodded and told him that the majority of the guests were actors and where there are actors scenes are inevitable.
Everyone tried to get the security to leave the boy alone, but Will couldn't even order them to leave as they were under Carols employ and nobody could do anything against them.
Finally James was thrown out and as he was waiting on the steps for a cab he wrote his number on Sophie's hand, "call me, I'd like to learn how to dance some more," he said the smile on his face wavering.
Sophie nodded saying how sorry she was that Carols was what she was. "She's always like that, I'm really sorry."
James nodded and told her that he knew a few people that were like that and not to worry about it. "Just make it up to me this weekend? A coffee perhaps?"
Sophie bit her lip and smiled, "sure, I'll see you later then?" she said as the taxi rolled up the long drive.
"You won't be able to stop me."
Sophie laughed as he pulled faces as he drove off and she walked back inside with a slight spring in her step.
Inside Will, Eleanor, Chris and Jenny were arguing quietly with Carols about her actions and Jenny pulled Sophie into her arms to face her aunt. "He's just a boy Carols. There was no need to make him leave."
"He's that man's son." Carols said as if that was all they needed.
Will and Chris seemed to have a silent conversation before Will said "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave Carols."
She stared at him, "look, I know you married her and all that, but I thought we were at least friends."
"Not if you behave like a child in my house. I expect you and your men to be gone in ten minutes."
And she was, gone in ten minutes. She didn't go quietly, or cooperatively, but she went.
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