Chapter Seven
“HAVE YOU thought about a costume yet?” Beth asked over breakfast. “I’m thinking She Devil—you know, all in red, high heels, false talons, flashing horns. What do you think?”
“Original, Beth. Not. Tacky, of course. Just you, in fact.”
“Well, I haven’t seen you come up with any better ideas,” she said, annoyed that I wasn’t as excited as she was.
“That’s because I’m not going,” I said adamantly.
“Oh, yes, you are. Don’t even think about bottling out on me. Aren’t you the tiniest bit interested to see Lovell Towers?”
“I have seen it, remember?”
“Not inside, you haven’t. Don’t you want to explore your future home?”
“Oh, very funny, ha, ha.”
I chose not to enlighten Beth to the fact that I’d already been inside, and if the truth be told, I was curious to see more. Maybe the answers I sought lay behind the old walls. There did seem to be a connection, but considering that most of the house wasn’t up to much, I didn’t think there’d be much exploring to be had at a Halloween party. The students would probably be confined to one room, and that was hardly worth getting dressed up for.
“You know Justin’s already hired his werewolf outfit,” Beth said, “and I think Marie’s going for the old faithful witch. So, come on, think of something,” she insisted.
I sighed. Beth could be impossible when she wanted her own way. Sometimes it was just better to give in. “Okay, okay. Gimme a chance. I’ll conjure up something passable.”
“Promise?”
“I promise. We’d better get ready now, or we’ll be late.”
After applying minimal make-up and tying my hair into a ponytail, I squeezed into my patchwork jeans, pulled on an oversized jumper, and added a large belt. The weather had taken a turn for the worse during the week, so after tying a long scarf around my neck, I tugged on my comfy slipper boots and headed for the door.
“Come on, Beth. We need to go.”
“I’m coming. I’m coming,” she answered in a fluster, appearing through her doorway and grabbing her car keys from the hall table. “Hey, Soph, your hair looks like a fox’s tail,” she said, laughing.
I took a step back to glance sideways in the hallway mirror. She was right. My reddened hair with its sun-bleached tips, all bunched together, definitely had the appearance of a fox’s brush. Oh, hell. Tokala’s words of ‘passing power’ flashed into my head. Please say I’m not turning into a fox. Was I? If I was, what would be next? Fur? Pointy ears and a snout?
That afternoon, I paid a visit to the ladies’. Through the walls of my cubicle, I heard a couple of girls enter the room. I recognised the voices immediately: they belonged to Lara and Megan. Easing the door ajar, I peeped through the crack.
“I can’t stand him always looking at her like that. Why her? She’s such a little wannabe, with the fashion sense of a hobo. What’s she got that I haven’t? It’s me he should be wanting, not her. I mean, look at me. I’m prettier than she is, aren’t I? Don’t answer that. I know I am. Any guy in his right mind would kill to get a piece of me. Why is he so obsessed with mouse features? Have you seen the way he looks at her? What’s wrong with him?”
Lara finally paused for breath.
“I don’t know. Maybe—” But Megan never got to finish her reply.
Lara continued to babble. “Everyone knows that the best-looking, coolest guy…him,” she said, “always goes out with the most popular and hottest girl…moi.” She pointed to herself. “That’s just how it is. Always has been. Who does she think she is? It’s not happening. I won’t allow it. Nobody does this to me. I don’t care who she is.”
“Um—”
“What gives her the right to come here, with her freckled face and her swishy hair, and steal my man?”
Comprehension dawned. She was talking about me!
“Actually, he’s not your—”
“I’ll have him. You’ll see. I’ll wipe that smile right off her pasty face.”
“So, when are you planning on snagging him, then?” Megan asked, finally able to finish a sentence.
“The Halloween ball, of course.” Lara fluffed her hair, pinched her cheeks, and looked admiringly at her reflection. “I mean, it normally wouldn’t be my scene, but seeing as my future husband’s family are hosting it, I think it’s my duty to go, don’t you? Besides, I’m going to have the hottest outfit there, and he won’t be able to resist me.”
Lara’s voice faded away as they left the bathroom, and I came out of hiding. The question was, now that I knew her little plan, was I going to do anything about it? Probably not. Sebastian could fight his own battles. It was none of my business.
“So, have you decided yet? It’s only a couple of days away,” Beth said as we descended the uni steps at the end of the day.
“Huh?” I’d only caught a few words. What had she said?
“Your costume. What are you going to be?”
“Oh, that. Um…” I turned to face her. “I was thinking Bride of Dracula. Unoriginal, I know, but easy. Long dress, a piece of net for a veil, a bit of fake blood, job done.”
“But there’ll be loads of—wow! Look at that!” Beth said, leaving her mouth gaping.
I followed her gaze to a shiny black limousine parked at the bottom of the steps. The blackened back window was rolled halfway down, but I couldn’t see the occupant. Connor was standing near the back door, in obvious conversation with the passenger. His posture was relaxed and slightly slouched, with both of his hands shoved into his trouser pockets. Nodding his head a couple of times caused his ebony fringe to meet like curtains drawing before springing back into place at the sides of his chiselled cheekbones.
The window began to close, and Connor withdrew his right hand from its material confines, touched his nose, then held his palm aloft in a goodbye salute as the limousine set off and accelerated quickly, heading out of town.
“That must have been the great Mr Lovell Senior. What could have dragged him away from the city?” Beth wondered.
My lip curled and I shrugged. “Probably overseeing the hall preparations for Saturday.”
“Maybe. But wouldn’t you think he’d leave that to the little people? I mean, it’s only a kids’ dance. Nothing special.”
“True. I don’t know, then. Here to see the boys?”
“What are you making for tea?” Beth asked, randomly changing the subject.
I gave her arm a friendly slap. “Why is it always my turn?”
“You’re so much better at it than I am.”
That evening, I rooted out the black dress I’d worn to my dad’s funeral. I had no idea why I’d decided to keep it. It was a depressing reminder of a sad day, when I’d left behind a happier me and begun a much more withdrawn and solitary existence.
After Dad died, Mum had had to get more hours at work, and when she wasn’t doing extra shifts, she was looking after Todd. We were no longer able to afford family days out, so I gradually spent more and more time alone, painting.
I held up the dress to study it. I’d grown since Dad died, and I’d never fit into it now. Then it came to me. I had a black skirt that was a bit too see-through, and which I didn’t really like anymore. So perhaps if I used some of its material to insert a panel down each side of the dress, and maybe cut into the neckline to open it out, inserted another panel in the space, and added some flowing tips to the sleeves, it might just work. Then I should have enough of a strip left to make a veil, which I could fasten to my hair with a comb. Yes, that should do it. Better get started.
“Wow, you look hot. Not as good as me, that’s a given, but damn hot. I could almost fancy you myself,” Beth exclaimed as I entered the living room where everyone was waiting. “What do you think of mine?”
Beth twirled and struck a pose, waiting for compliments. I scrutinised her overly quaffed curly brown hair and her ginormous boobs, now straining under the skin-tight red jumpsuit, w
hich had the appearance of being sprayed on. She looked too top-heavy, and I feared she might topple over, off her five-inch heels.
I giggled. “I think you look like a giant, tarty chilli pepper.”
“That’s as good as it gets, baby,” she purred.
“You had a delivery a minute ago.” Marie came over from the kitchen. “Here,” she said, handing me a single red rose surrounded by baby’s breath and wrapped in black tissue paper.
A tag was attached to the bottom of the bloom. It said simply, See you tonight.
Beth snatched the rose from my hand and sniffed it. “How romantic. Do you think it’s from Sebastian?”
“He can give me something long and beautifully formed anytime he likes.” Justin sighed.
The girls groaned at his comment. I unwrapped the flowers, took the comb from my hair, and wove the flower stems skilfully through the teeth before replacing it on my head.
Returning my attention to my friends, I scanned everyone’s outfits. They made a strange group. Justin’s werewolf outfit could never be called scary. In fact, he looked more like a big gay dog, and Marie looked as if she’d borrowed her little sister’s trick-or-treating witch outfit. It didn’t quite fit, and it was rather glittery, but somehow she managed to pull it off and actually look quite cute, despite the green face. Carmen and Jack had matching zombie clothes which had been ripped and stained with cold tea. They also had very effective painted-on peeling skin with open wounds on their faces and arms. It looked extremely professional, and I was highly impressed with their efforts until I later learned that Josie from the drama department had given them a hand with their make-up.
I took one last look in the mirror, and I had to say, I was quite pleased with the result. A little too much cleavage on show, perhaps, but my dress clung in all the right places, and I did look quite Gothic and vampish with darkened eyes and red lips, all surrounded by my mane of red ringlets.
Carmen examined one of my hands. “How did you get your skin so translucent looking?” she asked.
“Sun cream.”
“Come again?”
“You know, the kiddies’ blue, high factor stuff. Even when you rub it all in, your skin still has a blue tinge.”
She nodded her approval. “Genius.”
“Thanks.”
Having made the decision that it would be too tacky to hire a limousine—and, besides, we were cheapskates—we all piled into two cars. Beth, Justin and I in Beth’s, and Marie, Carmen and Jack in Marie’s.
“Get in the back, Justin,” Beth ordered as we prepared to depart.
“Why do I always have to go in the back?” he whinged.
“I thought you liked bringing up the rear.”
“Oh, yes. Hilarious. Let’s all make fun of the gay guy with crappy old jokes.”
“You know you love it.”
“So true.”
It was quite easy to follow the map printed on the backs of the tickets, and we were soon edging along the familiar tree-lined driveway, now lit by small lamps sitting between the trees which led to Lovell Towers.
The house itself was decked out with ropes of red fairy lights, and two giant metal drums spouted out large, roaring flames, giving a warm orange glow to the front stonework. On both sides of the vast iron-bolted wooden door, there stood an enormous black candelabra adorned with a dozen red candles.
A bald-headed man dressed as Riff-Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show was ushering guests inside, and the whole effect made Lovell Towers appear in a totally different light from my previous visits—welcoming, even.
Marie had set off a couple of minutes later than us, and we parked up to wait for the others so we could all go in together.
Two elongated black limousines pulled up, and I wondered which of the students’ parents had stumped up for the extravagance. I didn’t recognise the stream of people who exited the vehicles and made their way up the steps. One thing was clear: anyone else dressed as a vampire tonight had some serious competition. I certainly felt underdressed and amateurish. They had to be family friends or business colleagues of the Lovells. So, why were they here?
My train of thought was broken by the sound of crunching gravel, increasing in volume as Marie’s Mini drew up beside us.
“My God!” Jack said, squeezing out from behind Carmen’s seat. “Have you ever travelled in the back of a Mini? I practically had to lie down. I feel like a hot dog that’s been squashed into a bun.”
“You can always keep me company on the way home,” Justin said.
Jack put on a camp voice as we made our way up the entrance steps. “Ooo, how could I possibly resist such a tempting offer?”
Inside Lovell Towers, a large, solid stone staircase dominated the centre of the giant hallway. At each end of every step sat an expertly carved pumpkin displaying an interesting assortment of glowing, grimacing faces, and statues of men with wolf heads stood guard at the bottom, brandishing spears.
“I wonder what’s up here,” I heard a student say to his mate, larking about as if they’d had one too many already. He headed towards the bottom of the stairs, and I gasped in amazement as the statues moved, crossing their spears over to bar his way upstairs. The boy nearly jumped out of his skin and quickly grabbed hold of his mate before running off spouting obscenities.
“Bloody hell, they’re even better than the living statues I saw in Madrid,” Carmen said. “I hope they’re getting paid well.”
A man wrapped head-to-toe in bandages pointed the way down a long corridor lit by candle sconces, to where the party was already in full swing and the music was pumping.
We entered the ballroom through large double doors, propped open by a pair of ugly gargoyles. The room was immense, with a high ceiling of stone arches and elevated windows along each side. A stage had been set up at the opposite end from the entrance, over which was a circular stained-glass window. As we made our way through the ever-increasing crowd to find a table, my eyes were drawn up to the circular window, and, as I moved closer, its subject became clearer. It was a wolf’s head howling at the moon.
Carmen grabbed my arm and pulled me in the direction of an empty table. “This one seems to be free,” she said.
After managing to pack enough chairs around the table, Jack and Marie left to get some drinks, and I took a moment to survey the décor.
All the tables were round and covered with long black tablecloths. A single white candle in a Gothic style candlestick and a small red glass vase stood in the centre. The vase held a single white lily, a black rose, and some red curling ribbon fastened to sticks and spilling out over the sides. Just above us, a group of three black helium-filled balloons, on the same red ribbon, was weighted down onto the tabletop by a large crystal. Luminous, skeleton-shaped confetti sprinkled over the tablecloth completed the effect. Someone had clearly gone to a lot of trouble.
The whole room was lit by candles, both in wall sconces and hanging in elaborate chandeliers. Dusty, cobwebbed antlers, horned animal skulls, and the occasional stuffed animal head stared down from the walls. An original parquet floor, newly cleaned and polished, had become the dance floor and was scattered with more black balloons. Up on the stage, which was heavily draped in black and red material, the band members were busy doing their final sound checks. I did a double take when the bass guitarist glanced over to our table. There was something familiar about his eyes.
“Hot stuff, isn’t he?” Marie said, placing a large goblet of red wine in front of me.
“I saw him first, and I’m betting he’d prefer a real woman,” Beth said provocatively, getting up and smoothing her hands down the sides of her skin-tight jumpsuit.
Unbelievable. “Put your tongue away, slapper. We’ve only just got here,” I said.
“Gotta get in on the ground floor if you wanna get a ride in the elevator to heaven. Come on, Justin, we’re dancing,” she ordered, then dragged him over to a spot right in front of the stage as the band started playing.
; The room filled up with a rich assortment of unusual characters. I recognised a few students among them, but a great number of partygoers were plainly older and had the means to obtain better costumes, and I wondered again what they were doing at a student party.
A couple of songs later, Lara made her entrance. It was impossible to miss her and her two cronies when three bunny girls entered the room. Clearly, no one had told them it was a Halloween party. Their outfits were perfectly co-ordinated—Lara wore white, Simone black, and Megan pink—but the low-cut, fur-edged tops and flouncing micro-minis (so short they were almost belts) with matching furry hems and a fluffy bunny tail on the back were totally ridiculous. Unfortunately, Lara was carrying a plastic devil’s trident and sporting a set of flashing horns on her head, identical to Beth’s. Beth would not be pleased about that. Megan and Simone were both wearing spider-shaped deely boppers. Doing their best to get noticed, they were immediately surrounded by a crowd of drooling, doting boys.
A nearby group of men dressed as vampires were staring at them, too. One of them whispered in another’s ear, and they both nodded and gave a sly grin.
“Can I tempt you with a strawberry dipped in chocolate?” Jack asked, poking one in my face to get my attention. “It’s not often you get stuff for free. Might as well make the most of it.”
“Sure.” I took a bite. “Thanks, Ja—”
His name was left hanging in the air when Sebastian and Connor entered the room.
Both of them were bizarrely decked out in football strips with carefully placed cuts across the material, giving them the look of having been mauled by a large, clawed animal. Even from a distance and although he was smeared with fake blood, I could make out Sebastian’s perfectly toned, muscular body through the rips in the material, and the room suddenly became unbearably warm.
I ducked down to hide behind Marie, but I wasn’t the only girl to notice their entrance, and Sebastian’s attention was soon taken when Lara spotted him and quickly discarded her admirers to make a direct beeline. From my hiding place, I observed her trying to persuade him to go for a dance, but just when it seemed as if she might have succeeded, the band, who’d been playing for about forty minutes, said they were taking a break, and she was left disappointed.
Beth, who had ensured that she was centre stage for the whole set, stopped dancing. She fanned herself and batted her eyelashes at the guitarist. He got the message, jumped off the stage, and ushered her into a dark corner.
“Another fly caught in Beth’s web, eh, Marie?” Justin said, sliding back into his seat. “Marie? Hey, Marie? I say, how come Beth gets all the good ones?”
“Not all of them,” she mumbled, keeping her eyes on the other side of the room. And I had to agree as I watched Sebastian attempting to prise Lara’s arms from around his neck.
“Any idea where the loos are?” I shot the question around the table.
“Well, I don't know. You could always try following that big arrow sign over there. You know, the one that says toilets,” Carmen shouted.
“Um…I’ll do that, then,” I said meekly as everyone laughed at me.
Scuttling my way around the perimeter of the room, hiding behind other partygoers and surreptitiously stealing glances at Sebastian, I felt satisfied he hadn’t seen me. I didn’t really need the loo, but I had to get out of there.
Outside in the hall, I was so focused on searching for more toilet signs that I bumped into Simone and knocked her flying into a crypt display.
“Watch it, bitch!” she shouted. Her deely boppers tangled in the fake cobwebs, and a look of thunder crossed her face as Megan assisted her back to her feet.
“Sorry,” I muttered before making a swift escape in the direction of the next arrow, which pointed to the other side of the staircase.
Something made me stop at the bottom step, and I turned, staring up to the half-landing. An identical stained-glass window to the one in the ballroom was set high in the wall, and I took a step closer to study the full circle. The statues didn’t move to bar my way, so I took another step, then another, until I was ascending the stairway without being stopped.
“I thought you were going to the loo?” Marie was at the bottom of the stairs. “I came to powder my nose with you. This green stuff’s going everywhere. But if you’re exploring, that’s cool. I’m into that too,” she said, cheerfully moving towards the bottom step, where she was immediately halted by the moving spears as the statues barred her way.
“Aww, come on. That’s not fair, guys. You let her through.” Marie stood defiantly with her hands on her hips, but the wolf men were unrelenting. “Okay, okay. I guess I’ll just…go fix my face, then.” She spun around and stormed off to the bathroom.
The first tier of stairs split at the landing, with a second tier proceeding up either side. I chose the left-hand route and crept slowly upwards, studying the dusty family portraits adorning the walls.
What I didn’t notice was Sebastian following me.
Turning right at the top landing, I peered into the darkness, hoping there was a light switch somewhere. I felt my way along the length of the wall until my fingers rested upon a small, old-fashioned switch on a round, domed base. I held my breath and flicked it.
The corridor sprang to life. It was lined with an eclectic mix of old furniture festooned with ornaments and objets d’art. Paintings and more dead things covered every inch of wall space, but, unlike the rest of the house, it was surprisingly clean.
There were three doors to my left and two to my right, all closed. Something drew me to the first door on the left, and I slowly twisted the doorknob. The hinges let out an eerie creak as I eased the door open and turned on the light.
Wow. I’d stepped into a Jane Austin novel.
In stark contrast to the house’s outward appearance, the room was well cared for and lived in. It was beautifully decorated in shades of pale blue, with early nineteenth-century furniture. A huge four-poster bed emerged from behind the door. A large wardrobe and a tall chest of drawers stood to my left near an ornate fireplace, and there was another door in the corner, with a writing desk sitting under the window. Not a speck of dust could be seen. I tiptoed to the window and stared out over the grounds to the cliffs beyond. It was a clear night, and the moon looked full. It cast its silver light over the scene below.
Then I sensed him.
I focused my eyes back on the windowpane, and Sebastian’s reflection materialised behind me, his eyes positively glowing in the moonlight, like a cat’s.
“You look beautiful tonight,” he whispered. “It’s a shame you seem to be batting for the other team.”
“Excuse me?” I asked of his reflection. “I-I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Clearly. Or you wouldn’t have dressed like this.” I felt his breath, hot on my neck. “It is a very sexy dress and definitely a turn-on, although a little too vamp for my taste.”
“I’m supposed to be the Bride of Dracula, so I guess it’s a success, then.”
“I see. Well, I’m sure he’d love to have you in his harem. I shall have to warn him you’re already spoken for.” He placed his hands possessively on my shoulders and sniffed deeply at my hair. I froze, unable to move or speak. His fingers burned through my dress and set my heart racing. “How long are you going to make me wait, Sophie?”
I tried to ignore the desire growing inside me. I couldn’t let him know how interested I really was.
“You realise fate has brought you to my bedroom, tonight?”
His lips grazed my ear, and I almost forgot myself. Almost. Wait a minute. Did he say his bedroom? This wasn’t a lad’s room. It was too old-fashioned. Where were the stereo, the topless woman poster, the mess? No, this wasn’t his room. He had to be lying. Fate, my ass!
Anger quickly replaced longing, and I whirled around to confront him, but he wasn’t there.
Had I just imagined his presence? Was I having visions about Sebastian now? Really lifelike visions? Even more lifelike t
han the fox-goddess one?
I’d had enough of the weirdness, and I needed the comfort and familiarity of my friends, so I hurriedly retraced my steps back to the ballroom.
The band was playing its final slot. The music was pumping hard, and Beth had resumed her prime spot in front of the stage.
I passed the drinks area and grabbed another goblet before winding my way back around the edge of the floor to our table.
The principal, Mr Brent, dressed as a rather portly vampire, was dancing with Mrs Wentworth from the English unit, who didn’t have to try too hard with her witch’s outfit. She wasn’t blessed in the looks department. The short, podgy woman’s shoulder-length hair always looked as if it was a stranger to a hairbrush.
Just behind them, Sebastian and Lara were locked in a vice-like grip, and they had probably been that way for the whole of my absence. I took a huge gulp of the pungent wine in an effort to erase my mixed-up emotions.
Back at the table, Jack was in lip-lock with another zombie-dressed girl, and Carmen was dancing with Beth and Justin. This left Marie, fending off the advances of a Frankenstein-masked boy with too eager hands.
“No. I don’t want to. Get off!” She grimaced, struggling.
“Aw, come on, spread a little green my way,” he begged.
I tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, aren’t you due back at the lab to have a brain fitted?”
He turned to challenge me, but I out-stared him, and he thought better of it and retreated into the crowd.
“Thanks for that,” said a grateful Marie as I sat down and placed my wine in front of me. “Oh, we’d already got you another one. Here,” she said, sliding a full goblet next to my almost empty one.
“Thanks,” I said, then drained mine and picked up the new one. “I suddenly feel the need to get drunk.”
Very drunk.