The only way out was through the front gate. So he would just have to put in an appearance at the front door.
It wouldn’t hurt to see if she was in the parlour, Dylan rationalized as he crept around to the front of the house and rang the doorbell.
His mind was racing too fast to think of any plausible explanations when Jameson arrived at the door. “Master Dylan,” he said. “I do not believe Celestine is available at the moment.”
“Is she here, then?” Dylan asked.
“No,” came Portia’s icy voice, followed shortly by her appearance in the far end of the foyer. “I have sent her to visit her aunt and uncle on the mainland. Dylan, I shall tell you very frankly, you will not be seeing my daughter again. I know all about what you have planned, and I’ll see you both in Hades before I’ll allow it to happen!”
Dylan was struck dumb. “I…”
“Never mind how I know; that is none of your concern. This time tomorrow I intend to have her married to Troy, and you’d best not darken my door again. Not if you want your mother to continue receiving her wonderful deals from her suppliers at any rate.”
Dylan was too numb even to cry. He gaped wordlessly at Portia. She glared back, and behind her appeared Troy, looking rather the worse for wear but wearing the nastiest smile Dylan had ever seen.
“I shall count to five, Dylan,” Portia said, “and if you’re not off my property by then…”
Now the tears did come, and Dylan turned and ran without another word. The guard, having heard the exchange, had the gate open for him, and he rushed through it and off down the hill.
“Well, that is one inconvenience out of the way,” Portia intoned as she watched Jameson shut the door. “I never did trust that silly boy.”
“What did he and Celestine have planned?” Troy asked.
“Oh, I have no idea; the little wretch won’t tell me anything,” Portia said. “But Dylan doesn’t know that!”
“Explains how you intend to have her married to me tomorrow if she’s on the mainland tonight, doesn’t it?” Troy said with a laugh.
“Oh dear, I didn’t quite get my story straight, did I? Portia joined in on the laugh. “Well, that dear boy is too stupid to notice anyway.”
Dylan did in fact realize the contradiction as he ran through town in a blind rage. But it didn’t matter that Portia was lying if she could keep Celestine away from him. And just where was she really? Evidently not anywhere that would enable her to get to the docks tomorrow!
When he reached the corner of the street that would lead him home, Dylan paused. He couldn’t face his empty flat, and explaining things to his mother would be worse still. He was sure Celestine wouldn’t want him to give up, wherever she was, but he could think of nothing else he could do for the moment. With nowhere else to go and still feeling the need to calm his nerves, he opted to continue downtown and get a drink at the pub. There always was wisdom in drink, and right now he needed some wisdom.
The pub was crowded, and the last thing Dylan wanted was to chat with anyone right then. So he paid for his pint and stepped outside onto the terrace. There happened to be an empty corner, and he staked his claim with his glass. He had taken but one first sip when a familiar looking woman passing in the street caught his eye. She was heavy but attractive, and swathed in an outlandish brightly coloured dress that could only mean one thing.
All at once he realized he knew her. “Relly?”
Aurelia perked up at the sound of her nickname. She smiled with joy when she recognized Dylan, one of the few of her schoolmates — Celestine was another — who never teased her for being fat or poor at school. “Dylan!” She rushed up to the other side of the counter marking the edge of the tavern’s domain. “Dylan! Haven’t seen you since school ended!”
“Two years flew right by, didn’t they?” he said, leaning over the counter to kiss her cheek as she approached. But his heart sank as he put two and two together as to what his old friend was doing dressed like that in this part of town.
He wasn’t the only one to do so. A barmaid collecting glasses at a recently-vacated table spotted her and rushed over to Dylan’s side. “Sir, this woman is not welcome here!” she said. “We don’t welcome that sort here!”
“She’s here as my friend, and if you kick her out, you’re kicking me out,” Dylan said. “And I believe you know who my mother is…”
The barmaid looked furious, but she said, “If you are here only to buy a drink, Miss…”
“It’s on me, Relly,” Dylan said. “What would you like?”
Aurelia kept her cool long enough to request a glass of chardonnay. But as soon as the barmaid had left with the order, she burst into tears. “I guess you see what’s become of me,” she said.
“I’m so sorry!” Dylan said. “I wish I’d known. My mom could use an assistant at the store, you know…”
“Would she have me now?” Aurelia sniffled. “People talk, you know.”
“People talk, but they also need to buy things only my mom sells, unless they want to go to the next island!” Dylan’s own troubles were forgotten for the moment on behalf of his old friend. “And she loves helping people who need it. Now tell me what landed you here anyway?”
“I was doing okay as an apprentice at the dressmaker’s,” Aurelia related sadly. “But it didn’t pay much, not yet anyway, and my mum got fired recently. My little brother and sister are still at home, and we were out of money. I just didn’t have any choice!” She shook her head in despair. “And right now even Fliss won’t take me because she’s got a full house. I’ve just been by there tonight to ask again, and the answer’s still no. So I had to go to…you know…”