One Word From You: A Pride and Prejudice Adaptation (8 page)

Wyatt didn't seem to notice my tone. He asked, “Do you want to have lunch with me? We have a lot of catching up to do.”

“
I usually sit with my friends.”

“
Well, this can be an exception.”

Eurgh.

If Wyatt had talked about something remotely interesting, it might not have been so bad. But he kept talking about Mum. I hardly ever saw her, and it sounded like he was going out to visit at least once a year. Not to mention all the emails and everything. Given they weren't blood relatives, they were way too close than was natural. I didn't know anything about Wyatt's actual parents, and I'd never met his Dad. For all I knew, Mum might have been the best role-model he'd ever had.

That was a truly terrifying idea.

The only way I could find to cope with the seemingly endless babble was to drift off into space, until Wyatt was just white noise. It was working well until he asked, “Are you listening?”

“
Huh?”

He smiled as if he wasn't offended, even though it was clear he was. He repeated, “What are your plans when you finish school?”

“
Oh... I hadn't really thought about it, to be honest. I suppose I'll probably work with Dad. Why?”

“
I just thought it might be an idea for you to stay with Mum for a while. After all, she has enough money to support you, and you're a young girl. What could be more fun than a little time in a pretty and quaint environment? And then you can settle, marry, and have some -”

“
Wyatt, if you mention
children,
I'm going to stab you in the hand with a fork,” I warned.

He flushed, “I just meant that there's no reason for you to work yourself into the ground. You're a good girl, so you should find yourself a good husband when you're a little older.”

“
Yeah, like when I'm forty.”

“
I'm serious, Elisa.”

I cringed, “God, don't call me that. Look, whatever I do or don't do, is none of your business. Even if you were actually my brother, it still wouldn't be your business. I don't actually know why we're having this conversation, anyway. There's no way I'm going to stay with Mum, and it's not your place to tell me what to do with my life.”

“
I'm not
telling
you, I'm just making an observation. I want what's best for you.”

“
And you think you're one to talk about what's best for anyone?”

“
Yes. I have good friends, I'm working in a good school, and I have an excellent education. However you look at it, Elisa, I am doing very well for myself. My life is perfect.”

“
Yeah,” I laughed, “So perfect that you can preach to total strangers. Wyatt, don't talk to me while you're here, okay? It's embarrassing for both of us.”

Chapter Eight

His appearance was greatly in his favour.

Wyatt was as persistent as a summer cold.

I'd taken to using the longer routes between classrooms to escape his conversation, and cutting through lesser used areas of lawn, risking tangled undergrowth and steep slopes just to avoid his gaze. I kept telling myself that he meant well, and that he was just concerned about me as an older brother should be. If he really was still so close to my mother, then it made sense that he'd feel protective of me. But it didn't stop me from feeling annoyed whenever I stumbled into his presence.

It was during one of my little tours of the school after classes had ended that I bumped into someone else.

Literally.

I picked up momentum on my way down one of the steep inclines outside of the Arts wing, and crashed straight into Gideon. We both ended up on the floor. Well, he was on his back, and I was on his chest. Were he not a teacher, I might not have minded that scenario so much.

“
I am
so
sorry!” I exclaimed as I fell over again trying to get off him, and then set about picking up the papers I'd knocked out of his hands, “It was an accident, I swear!”

“
Well, what else could it have been?” he asked with a chuckle. His eyes met mine, and his smile became far more sincere and gentle, “Destiny, perhaps?”

“
Or a hill.”

“
Yes, or that.”

I forced the papers into his hands. Gideon tucked them under his arm, and then helped me back to my feet. It was just as well, because that smile was making my knees weak. Honestly, I thought that only happened in books, but the guy had a nice pair of dimples when he was amused.

Be still my beating heart.

“
I'm Beth,” I said, “Beth Blake.”

“
I remember you from our last Music class. You were very quiet, as I recall. I didn't think you were the type to go running cross-country during your free time.”

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly, “I was avoiding someone.”

“
Wyatt?”

“
How did you -”

“
I saw him talking to you at lunch when we first arrived. He's a good guy, but he's a little – er - ”

“
Misguided? Stupid? Annoying?”

“
I was going to say pompous, but all of those fit as well. I won't tell him I saw you, if you're worried. In fact, I would avoid him myself if I had that luxury.”

I laughed softly. I hadn't considered how annoying my step-brother might be to the people forced to work with him. At least I could escape to a different class, or hide in my dorm room. The teachers were stuck with him in the staff room whenever they were seeking a respite from their pupils.

“
Are you a friend of his?” I asked.

“
More a classmate than a friend. But his Mum helped to recommend me to this place, so I shouldn't complain. He asked her to put in a good word. You're his sister, aren't you?”

I tilted my head, “Sort of, I guess. My Mum was his step-mother for a while, but it was before I was born. We're not actually related. That doesn't seem to have sunk in, though.”

Gideon reached out, and gently ruffled my hair. I blushed, and tucked some of my loose strands behind my ear self-consciously. He either didn't notice how much he'd just made my stomach flip, or he had, and he was too nice to make fun of me for it.

“
I'll do what I can to distract him if he gets hold of you. But I need something in return.”

“
Like what?”

I didn't know why I was asking.

I'd have agreed to almost anything.

Gideon leaned in, and whispered almost intimately against my ear, “Don't be so shy in my classes.”

When people said in movies and books that someone had
taken their breath away,
I thought they were just being dramatic. But as I attempted to breathe in air with Gideon so close to my face, I realised exactly what they meant. My lungs were prickling, and the tips of my fingers tingled, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling.

At least, not until I looked over Gideon's shoulder, and saw Charlie and William watching us.

I didn't really think it was any of their business if I was talking to anyone, least of all a teacher. Even if I did have a bit of a crush on him, it wasn't like I could or would do anything about it. Gideon wasn't that much older than me, and he was technically still a student, but he wasn't going to have the slightest interest in someone my age.

“
Afternoon, boys,” Gideon greeted, “Are you looking for someone?”

“
No,” William retorted in a scathing tone, “There's no one here we're looking for.”

I didn't know if it was just that I was being paranoid, but I could have sworn that William was directing his venom at me. We'd never really gotten along that well, so it wouldn't have surprised me. But I thought he had been trying to make an effort for Charlie and Jenny's sakes. I supposed without my friend around, he didn't feel the need to be courteous. He fixed Gideon with a deadly glare, then turned heel and stalked away.

Wow.

Talk about a drama queen.

Most of us had teachers we disliked, but that didn't mean we showed it to their faces. That was a very quick way to get into a detention. William's mother was pretty high up as far as I remembered. So it might be that he didn't think he could get punished by anyone for being rude. But he was sadly mistaken. I knew or a fact that our headteacher's daughter had attended punishments frequently for her pranks.

If you could call turning the car park into an ice rink during the winter break a
prank.

I put it out of my mind. A person could go mad trying to fathom what was going on in William's head. Anyway, he wasn't anything to do with me. There were more footsteps, and Lisa barreled into me. She didn't really know how to apply the breaks, and looked keen to interrupt whatever Gideon and I were talking about. The new boys weren't the only ones to suffer her amorous attentions.

“
Did you forget?” she asked breathlessly, Chrissy staggering along behind her. The girl was holding her side, and practically doubled over when she joined us. Jenny and Meg were walking in a far more leisurely fashion in my direction.

Whatever they were talking about, I had forgotten it. The only thing on my mind had been avoiding Wyatt. That was a serious use of my time and energy. Everything else came second to it. I shrugged at the others. Thankfully, Chrissy was happy to remind me, “We're going to Jenny's house tonight. Remember? Her Mum said we should celebrate her getting better.”

Ah, that.

It was a Friday night, and the school had permitted it seeing as it was their inability to control the students that had led to Jenny's hospitalisation in the first place. I did want to go, because it meant that I could get away from Wyatt for the night. Dinner away from the school was always appealing, no matter where else it might be.

“
We should go and get ready. Sorry again that I bumped into you, Sir,” I said.

“
Call me Gideon.
Sir
makes me sound old.”

“
Do you want to come, too?” Lisa asked, “It'd be way more fun if you were there.”

“
Lis'! You can't invite people to someone else's party,” I told her.

Jenny smiled politely, “You'd be welcome if you'd like to come along. It might be good for you to meet some of the parents and things, don't you think?”

“
Well, if you don't mind,” Gideon said.

“
Don't mind what?” Wyatt asked as he joined us.

I didn't do anything to hide my groan. He had to know how much he annoyed me. If he hadn't seen it already, then he was totally delusional. Well... Wyatt was, actually. Whatever. I didn't want him to go. Gideon seemed like he was good fun. But my sort-of brother would suck all the amusement out of the evening.

So I wanted to crawl into a hole and die when Jenny offered, “Would you like to come along, Mr. Collins? It's a party at my mother's house. Mr. Wilson's going to be joining us.”

“
Then, perhaps I should,” Wyatt puffed out his chest like a self-important peacock, “Elisa should have a chaperone.”

“
I don't need one,” I snarled at him, “It's just my friends and their parents.”

“
And Gideon,” Wyatt corrected, “Don't worry about it being inconvenient to me. I think it'll be a good way to spend the evening. And I can keep an eye on you while we're enjoying ourselves.”

Yes, that was what I was afraid of.

“
Mum's going to send a car for us all at six. They're going to pick us up at the entrance.”

Wyatt bowed his head a little to Jenny, “I'll look forward to seeing you all there.”

“
So will I,” Gideon winked at me, and smirked just enough that the corner of his mouth twitched upwards. At least he understood the anguish I felt at having to spend an evening with Wyatt. He nudged me gently with his elbow and whispered, “I'll do my best to rescue you.”

The man was trying to give me a heart attack, I was certain.

Gideon took Wyatt with him when he left. The man didn't object. No doubt he was already forming a plan in his head that involved somehow endearing himself to everyone at the party, whether they wanted his company or not. So long as he didn't actually stick to me for the entire night, I could cope with that. Though I knew I'd be totally humiliated if anyone realised we had some kind of familial connection.

“
So,” Jenny said when they were gone, “What did we just interrupt?”

“
We interrupted something?” Meg asked, as ignorant of the atmosphere as ever.

“
I knocked him over. Nothing thrilling.”

Lisa fanned herself with her hand, “Gideon is so
hot,
isn't he? What do you think he'll wear?”

“
Oh my God, what are
we
going to wear?!” Chrissy exclaimed.

“
It's a party, not a wedding,” I said, “You'll find something. Come on, you brought half a department store along with you.”

Chrissy and Lisa had never quite managed to understand
packing light.
To them, that meant bringing things made of thin fabric. I linked arms with Jenny, and let the two idiots run ahead to our dorm room. Meg took a little longer to realise we were on the move, but soon caught up. She wasn't listening into our conversation. She was content to follow up the rear of our little procession, lost in her own thoughts.

“
Did I detect a little tension between you and Mr. Wilson?” she asked.

“
No.”

“
You've never been that good at lying, you know? I mean, except when it comes to the teachers.”

I smiled, “True. I just think he's cute, okay? I have to have
someone
to look at, it's only fair. You have Charlie, Lisa and Chrissy have every other boy with a pulse, so I should get to have Gideon.”

“
I don't exactly
have
Charlie. We're just good friends.”