“Where to now?” Richard asked excitedly after we had left the shop.
“Well, I think I will head back to the college. Thank you again for your help,” I thanked him and started to walk away.
“Go back? You must be joking! Please, let me take you to lunch,” he pleaded.
“No! I mean, thank you, but I really need to get back. I have some work to prepare for my students before tomorrow’s classes.”
“Alright then, I will let you go. But please let me drive you back. It really isn’t worth troubling a taxi.”
I didn’t want to go with him, but he did have a point about the taxi and he had helped me find the gift, so I agreed.
We walked to his car, which was a very flashy sports car. He opened my door and held my hand to help me in before going around the car to get into the driver’s seat, starting the car and driving off. Surprisingly, he drove quite slowly, which was not what I was anticipating. I let out a little giggle.
“Have I missed something?” he asked.
“Well… to be honest, when I saw your car, I assumed you were going to tear off and I would have to hold on tight. But you drive like an old woman!” I said, with a smirk on my face, quite surprised that I had told him the truth.
“Well, on a normal day I would, but today isn’t a normal day… you’re in my car and I want my time with you to last as long as possible.”
My face instantly became red hot. I was so embarrassed by his response and it made me feel very uncomfortable. I turned towards the window, praying he couldn’t see my face.
“Did I embarrass you?”
“No… of course not!” I quickly replied turning my head forward again. As soon as I could see the college, I felt more at ease. The car came to a sluggish stop.
“Thank you for today,” I told him, opening my door and getting out of his car as quickly as possible.
I quickly made my way to my room, not wanting to see or bump into anyone. When I finally got into my room, I closed the door, locked it and leaned my back on it, clenching my bag. And then, like a child opening a birthday present, I pulled out the velvet box from my bag, took out the locket and held it in my hand. I brought it close to my chest and prayed that it would bring James and me good luck. I opened my eyes and studied the locket. It was perfect. I tried to open it but I couldn’t. It was stuck. Frustrated, I placed it on the desk and walked away, feeling foolish that I hadn’t checked it while I was in the shop. I still wanted to give it to James, and soon. I was no good at surprises or waiting for the right moment. I hated being surprised as much as holding onto one. I grabbed the locket, placed it back in its box and headed out of my room to look for James. I went to the common room first, but didn’t go all the way in, just poked my head in.
“If you’re looking for Miss Kent, she is not back, dear!” yelled out one of the professors.
“OK, thank you,” I replied and quickly left the room, starting to make my way towards James’s office. As I got closer I started to feel insecure again and child-like. I then remembered the Victoria in my dreams. She was child-like and Jonathon loved her for it. I got to the door, took a moment and then knocked. There was no answer but I heard something inside, so I grabbed the door handle and started to turn it slowly.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Mr Kemp whispered from behind me placing his hand over mine, stopping me from entering.
“I am here to see James,” I explained, stunned that I didn’t hear him creep up.
“Well he is not in his office,” he said. Mr Kemp grabbed my hand and directed me away from James’s office.
“Come with me!” he demanded.
I was mortified. I didn’t want to go anywhere with him!
“Let go of me!” I protested.
“No! You are playing with fire, you know. Don’t you realise that?” he said.
“No! I think you are! Wait until James hears about this!” I retaliated.
“Whose orders do you think I am following, Cathy?” His smugness was frustrating.
“What? I don’t believe you,” I struggled, trying to make him release my wrist, but the man, although short and stumpy, was surprisingly strong.
“You don’t know what you are getting yourself into!” he warned.
“Mr Kemp, don’t you think you’re overreacting to this: James and I being here at the college? Do you think you could find another hobby, other than annoying me?”
“Annoying you,” he finally let go of my hand. “Now Cathy, you need to listen and try to understand what I have to say. You and Mr Barclay must not be together, ever. You had your chance and you weren’t meant to be.”
“Had our chance? That’s nonsense. We haven’t been given a chance at all.”
“Oh you silly child, you don’t understand!” he muttered in frustration.
“Mr Kemp, it’s you that isn’t making any sense.”
“Cathy, Mr Barclay is in agreement with me.”
“That is a lie!” I shouted. “You’re lying!”
“No, I am not,” his voice lowered and he almost sounded as though he felt sorry for me. “Cathy, I care about you more than you could possibly believe. You just have to trust me that I know more than you and I have seen this end badly before and I will be damned if you think I will sit quietly. The two of you give me no choice but to intervene.”
”What are you talking about?” I started to walk away from him; I couldn’t comprehend how he was allowed to teach with his erratic and behaviour.
“Cathy!”
“You’re mad. Stay away from me!”
When I got to James’s office, I decided not to knock. I just opened the door and locked it behind me. I was slightly embarrassed that I just barged in, but I wanted to get away from Mr Kemp. The curtains were closed and the lights were off, making the room completely dark.
“James, it’s me,” I whispered. I took several steps into the room. I knew James was in here but I didn’t understand why he wasn’t by responding to me. Could Mr Kemp possibly be right, that he didn’t want to see me?
“James, are you in here? Can you please turn the lights on? I need to talk to you.”
Suddenly, I sensed movement.
I felt his body brush by mine. He was behind me. I could feel the heat from his body, his hands on my arms, pulling me close to him. He pulled my hair away to one side and kissed my neck. I felt like my body and soul had been drugged and I couldn’t speak. My body felt heavy and motionless. I could hear banging at the door. The doorknob was being moved around. It was obviously Mr Kemp outside, trying to get in. James was not concerned so neither was I. He continued to kiss me.
The thumping on the door continued.
“Catherine, open the door!” he yelled.
What? The voice didn’t sound like Mr Kemp.
“Catherine!” the voice yelled again.
“James…? James…?” My heart stopped. I felt my body crumble as I fell to the floor and screamed in terror. Who is in the room with me?
“Catherine!” James yelled.
There was a huge pound at the door that tore it off its hinges. Light instantly flooded into the room, James was charging towards me, followed by Mr Kemp. I still couldn’t move, fearing the sight of whomever or whatever was in that room.
“Dear God!” James said as he fell to his knees. He looked around and I waited for a clash between James and the other man, but nothing. James grabbed me and pulled me close to him.
“James, be careful.”
He scouted around the room, but there was no one there.
“Where did he go?” I screamed to James.
I then looked at Mr Kemp who stood in the doorway, pale and not wanting to enter the room.
“Where did he go?” I yelled at Mr Kemp. No one would answer me.
I stood up and looked around the room, still fearful that I would actually find what I was looking for. I couldn’t make sense of it. Had they let him go in those few seconds? James was now standing looking at Mr K
emp. I went to him and held onto his shirt.
“I thought it was you. I did!” I cried.
“It’s alright, I have you now. I’m not going to leave you ever again,” James said, looking at Mr Kemp to make sure his intentions were clear.
“James, he kissed me and I let him… I thought it was you…” I said as I grabbed onto James and buried my face into his chest. James grabbed my arms and pushed me away from him to look me in the eyes.
“Kissed you?” he asked with alarm.
“Yes, there was someone in this room. I came in here to see you to give you a gift. Mr Kemp tried to stop me, but he was being awful and I wanted to escape him, so I just came in and locked the door. But it was so dark.”
I shook my head with disbelief and looked up at James.
“Is this college haunted?” I asked.
“Pardon? No… Of course not!” James replied. He then looked at Mr Kemp, who was now making his way to us.
“Is that what you think is happening? That this college has a ghost? Is that really what you think?” Mr Kemp asked with sarcasm in his tone.
“I don’t know. Something is happening, I hear voices. I feel like I know things that I couldn’t possibly know, and now this. Wait…” I looked at Mr Kemp in shock. “You didn’t push me into James’s door, did you?”
“Finally, she gets something right,” Mr Kemp replied again with sarcasm, I guess I deserved that one.
I looked at James. “And you know that for sure, how can you be so sure. If you have the slightest idea as to why this is happening or who is doing this, you have to tell me.” I pleaded.
To my disappointment, Mr Kemp answered instead of James. “We can’t tell you anything, that is the problem; you have to figure this out on your own. This college, haunted?” he muttered, amused.
I looked at James. “What is he talking about?”
“Mr Barclay, please remember what we spoke about and agreed to,” Mr Kemp reminded James in a stern voice.
James took hold of my hand, directed me to his chair and knelt beside me. Mr Kemp went back to the door to attempt to fix it. “Mr Kemp is on our side,” he continued.
“Sides? Are we in battle?” I asked sarcastically.
“Not exactly… When he, Mr Kemp, wanted you gone, it was to protect you, so that you didn’t have to go through what you are going through now. He has been right from the beginning.”
He then looked at Mr Kemp with a look that seemed thankful.
“He is a very important man, whose life is beyond belief, and we need him on our side. If we are to be together, we need him.”
I couldn‘t believe what I was hearing. Mr Kemp is the hero of the day? This just keeps getting weirder.
“What did he mean by I need to figure this out on my own? Can’t you help me?”
“That’s not possible. It just doesn’t work that way, I’m sorry.”
“Are you sure you can trust him?” I looked at Mr Kemp who was still working on the door.
“Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but yes, I most definitely trust him, and you have to also.”
“I don’t know – I really don’t think he likes me…” I said unconvinced.
“What he thinks of you is not important, but your safety is.”
“James, I don’t know what you want me to say. This… all of this doesn’t make sense to me. And I am suppose to figure this out like it’s a riddle and you’re the prize,” I said putting the gift I was holding into James’s hand.
He looked down at his hands, then looked at me confused.
“I got you a gift today. That’s why I came here,” I whispered.
James straightened his posture and smiled.
“Are you sure you want to give this to me now?” he questioned me, as he looked at Mr Kemp.
I smiled my answer.
“Alright,” James smiled, opened the pouch and emptied it into his hand. He brought it close and seemed to be overwhelmed. He was both happy and sad at the same time. I felt confused.
“You got this?”
“Yes.”
“Why this?”
“Do you think it is silly?”
“No, not at all… It’s perfect, I am just curious as to why you picked this?”
“A daydream… I…”
“Thank you… anything inside?” he interrupted.
Before I could answer, James had clicked it open, without even trying.
“What? No message?” he asked cheekily.
“No, not yet. Any ideas?”
“Actually yes, but I will wait to see what you come up with,” he replied.
“Mr Barclay, Cathy, I hate to interrupt all this that, but we do have to set some rules. What happened to you today cannot be repeated. What would have happened if we were not here to intervene?” Mr Kemp said as he closed the door that he had successfully fixed, an impressive effort.
“Happen again? Do you think that’s possible?” I directed my question to James.
“Happen again my dear girl? Yes, yes it is quite possible,” Mr Kemp butted in again.
“Mr Kemp, please, not now. Scaring her like this will not help,” James insisted.
“Mr Barclay, if she has no idea and doesn’t remember anything before her next encounter, being frightened is the least of her concerns.”
“Remember what?”
No one answered.
“What am I suppose to remember?” I turned to James for a reply.
“Nothing. You will stay in my room and between the two of us,” he looked at Mr Kemp “you will not be left alone.”
“Is that your plan?” Mr Kemp grunted.
“Yes, yes it is.”
“I think that’s a wonderful plan,” I agreed, excited about the prospect of staying in James’s room every night.
Mr Kemp walked over to where James and I were.
He looked furious and frustrated. He pulled up a chair and sat close by; he took a few deep breaths to compose himself and then looked me straight in the eyes, paused for a moment then spoke.
“I want it to be known that I believe this is a dreadful plan. This is not a joke; I don’t envision you staying in James’s room will help the situation. However, I don’t think we have any other avenue to take, you can’t stay in mine and no-one else must know of what has happened today or even that you and Mr Barclay have feelings for each other, no-one,” he repeated. “Do you understand that?”
He paused for an answer.
I nodded and looked away. Mr Kemp’s eyes were too intense.
“Mr Kemp, thank you. I know you mean well. If Catherine spends more time with me, maybe things will become clearer to her?” James suggested.
“You two must never… um… you know… just complicate things,” Mr Kemp was so embarrassed by the thought of his insinuation that he struggled to get his words out.
James waited and let him suffer a bit before responding. “I understand that, and I can restrain myself but…” James then looked at me, indicating that I was the one who needed to show restraint. I playfully hit James on the chest, which got him laughing and Mr Kemp shaking his head, once again in frustration.
“Oh, well, don’t say I didn’t warn you then…” he whispered to himself as he left the room.
James held me close and looked directly into my eyes.
“I need you to take this very seriously Catherine. You must never be alone. Mr Kemp is right. This cannot happen again.”
“I can’t believe it happened at all. I know you and Mr Kemp are holding back something from me. But I trust you. I just hope I don’t let you down.”
“Everything will be fine. Just try and resist kissing anyone else but me. I can get very jealous.”
Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months and there were no more ‘strange encounters’. I couldn’t have been happier. Despite the supervised walks, day trips to the village and Mr Kemp’s constant daily check in, everything seemed to be normal. My students were responding positively to my teachin
g. I had gained the respect of all the teachers. It took weeks for Jules to stop being suspicious about Mr Kemp’s sudden acceptance of me and this was only helped by the fact that she and Dr Simons had become a little more than friends. They were now spending most of their spare time together, which I thought was wonderful, but Jules and I still had our Sunday morning runs together. I ensured we would meet every Sunday morning at the fountain on the front lawns at 7 o’clock, so she would not see me leave James’s room. In the evenings, our self-control was put to the test, stretched repeatedly and almost shattered. James would spend most nights reading and trying to resist me, and I would spend most nights frustrated.
On a Saturday night, when all the students had left for spring break and more than half the teachers had also cleared out, I decided I would wear something for bed that would be too hard to resist. Most of my clothes were in James’s room now, but not what I had planned to wear to bed this evening. I’d had enough. My will power was not as good as his. I pulled out a black negligee that I had bought from the village while Jules was busy in another shop. I waited for 15 minutes, then left for James’s room. No one was in the corridor, so I opened James’s door. James had just walked out of the shower and had only a towel around him. My face felt flushed and my heart started to thump. I smiled innocently.
“Hi, sorry should I come back later?”
“No, of course not, it’s absolutely fine.” He came close to me and we kissed. Our bodies touched and it was perfect. He had a second towel around his neck drying his hair while he opened his drawer to take out some clothes to change into.
“I might have my shower now; I can’t wait to relax this evening.”
“I will get you a towel,” James responded, obligingly leaving his clothes drawer and opening another. He pulled out two fresh towels and handed them to me. I smiled. I went into the bathroom with my paper bag, and closed the door behind me. I couldn’t contain my laughter. Normally I would have my shower in my room and then come into his room already changed. But tonight was going to be different.
Nothing out of the ordinary had happened for over two months now and I fear that any day soon Mr Kemp would give the ‘all clear’ and I would have to go back to my room. My shower was quick. I didn’t need to wash my hair and I slipped on my lingerie.