Won Dozen (aka Bike) Part 629 by Angharad

How I made it up the stairs to my bedroom, I’ll never know. My heart was breaking and I wanted to die. Simon was saying something behind me, but I was too upset to listen. It was over–the end of a dream. I still had the girls and Tom but it was Simon I fell in love with, and probably always will love. Sadly, I just don’t seem to be able to live with him.

I threw myself on the bed and cried myself to sleep. I awoke some time in the night–it was still dark, my eyes were sore and so was my throat. I had a headache to go with the rest of my symptoms and felt awful when I went to the loo.

I hadn’t even cleaned my teeth, so I did that, then undressing and throwing on a nightdress, I crawled back into bed and tossed and turned and cried some more.

The girls came in sometime later. “Where’s Daddy?” they asked.

“I don’t know,” I said and tried to go back to sleep. I felt like an old dish rag, completely washed out. They both got into bed with me, but they kept whispering to each other over me. “Look, either lie down and be quiet or go back to your own beds, I don’t feel very well.”

“Sowwee, Mummy,” said one voice.

“Soz, Mumsy-wumsy,” said another and they lay down with me. The peace and quiet didn’t last long. They began to fidget and when they heard noises downstairs they went off to investigate. It was Tom apparently, because he brought me up a cup of tea.

“Cathy, I’ve brought you some tea.”

“Thank you, Daddy.”

“Where’s Simon?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, positive. I asked him to leave, where he went, I have no idea.”

“For whit did ye ask him tae go?”

“He was two timing me.”

“Whit? Are ye sure?”

“I think so. I confronted him last night and threw him out.”

“Did he confess then?”

“Not exactly, but near enough for me.”

“Ye can be awfu’ hasty, lassie.”

“Yeah, well, I gave him another chance last time he upset me. This was his last one and he blew it.”

“I see. Whit aboot the bairns, d’they hae nae say in things?”

“Why should they? It’s me who’s fostering them.”

“Aye, but they’re very attached to Simon, that’s all.”

“Okay, well bloody get Simon back and I’ll go. How’s that?” I threw the mug of tea into the fireplace where it shattered on the hearth. Then I pulled the clothes over my head and refused to speak with him.

I heard him clear up the mess. I was truly sorry for that, I really was, but I was too upset to say so. Why couldn’t he just have left me alone? That was all I wanted.

As soon as I heard him leave, I quickly washed and dressed and sneaked downstairs and out the door to my car. I drove off, not knowing where I was going or how to get there. I ended up on top of the Downs in a car park for a viewing point. I sat and cried for a while, then I got out and wrapping myself up tightly in my coat, I went for a walk.

I have no idea how long I was away, but when I got back some bastard had broken a window and nicked my spare wheel, along with my jack and toolkit. The boot was still open. I howled first with hopelessness, then with anger.

I drove home and called the police, then went on the internet and organised repairs and a new wheel and tools. It was going to cost me several hundred, so I called my insurance company and made a claim.

The girls were out with Tom and Kiki, where they’d gone and when, I had no idea, but my tummy began to rumble so I made some tea and a sandwich. I used up the last of the bread, so filled and switched on the breadmaker machine.

I checked my mobile: Henry had called–probably to sack me. After what had happened this morning, I was ready to tell the Queen herself, where to go. I’d be better off well away from the Camerons altogether.

“Hello, Henry, you asked me to call you back.”

“Yes m’dear, I did. I had Simon on the phone early this morning, did a chap out of his beauty sleep, ya know.”

“Is that it?” I asked feeling increasingly irritable.

“No, now I have no idea what went on between you two last night, but Simon is absolutely gutted.”

“I threw him out.”

“What, physically? With your bad shoulder–a might dangerous, in my opinion.”

“No, I asked him to leave and gave him his ring back.”

There was a snorting sound the other end and I had half a mind to put the receiver down. “Whatever for?”

“He was two timing me.”

“We are talking about Simon, here, aren’t we?”

“Of course, who else?”

“Well, quite honestly, I can’t see him two timing you if he wanted to.”

“Why not?” I demanded.

“Firstly, because he loves you to bits; secondly because he wouldn’t have the gumption and finally, because I’d kill him myself.”

“That would do a lot of good, wouldn’t it?”

“Mebbe, mebbe not. There is no way he was betraying you.”

“I heard the woman call him to dinner, called him ‘darling’, or ‘darling Simon’, I heard it on the phone.”

“Before he went to Russia?”

“Well, yes”–duh, these aristos were too thick to know how to breath and walk at the same time.

“Hmm, he did go to dinner with Lady Lancaster, before he went away; she has contacts in Russia.”

“It was another sort of contact she was after, I could tell from the tone of her voice.”

“She’s old enough to be his mother, and she calls everyone darling.”