Worst Impressions

Chapter Twenty One

'Seriously?' Jenny asked as we both climbed into her enormous bed that night.

I knew I should have kept it all a secret. Gideon had told me the story in confidence, but it was too big to keep to myself. I mean, if Jenny was going to continue spending time with Charlie, then she should know what William was really like. I didn't want him to do anything that might hurt her, or her family either. Charlie was a sweet guy, but he had made some questionable choices as far as his friends were concerned.

'It explains why William was being so rude to him before, right?'

'True,' she reasoned. 'But that's a sadistic thing to do, even for him. I know you don't like him that much, and Gideon seems a lot nicer –'

'He is nicer.'

'You're a little bias,' she said, 'because you fancy him.'

I had to give her that.

Okay, so maybe I didn't think a lot of William, but I also hadn't thought he'd treat anyone so cruelly. It wasn't like we were talking about a harmless little prank. Gideon had been lucky to only lose his job. He could have gone to prison over something like theft or fraud. William was stupid if he didn't see how terrible that was. Or perhaps he did, and he just didn't care.

'Either way, I believe Gideon. Charlie's great and he's so perfect for you. But that doesn't mean that his friend is a good person. I can easily believe that William did this and then lied to Charlie about it. Like – like, Gideon couldn't just make that up. Not about a family that has that much power. And he hasn't got anything to gain from doing it.'

'Maybe it did happen, but it was someone else who spread the rumour. Things can get lost in translation, you know? Who's to say that someone else at the school wasn't responsible?'

'Well, whatever happened, it was pretty clear that William still has it out for him.'

Jenny reached out to clasp my hand in hers. 'But we're not sure. So, we shouldn't start spreading this around. And – and if Charlie heard that we were talking badly of William...'

'I won't mention it to anyone, even though I want to punch William for it. I promise.'

'So,' Jenny was eager to change the subject, 'do you think you're going to be buying anything tomorrow to impress Gideon?'

Yes.

The morning rolled around quickly. I was looking forward to it a great deal more than I had been when it was first suggested. Not just because it was a chance to find a look that Gideon would like, but because it meant that I was away from Wyatt. He'd been a nightmare for the entire evening. When he'd tried to invite himself into Jenny's home for the night to watch over me, I'd had to put my foot down. There had to be clear boundaries. If he couldn't figure out what those were for himself, then it was up to me to draw them. Honestly, he had no concept of social grace, or what was or wasn't acceptable behaviour. I was a total commoner and even I could figure it out.

He was an idiot in every possible way.

Going shopping with Ms Ayers wasn't like shopping with the girls from school. With them, I often tried to wriggle out of it early. I just couldn't take too much of Chrissy and Lisa arguing over a pair of shoes, or of Meg getting separated from us whenever she accidentally wandered off into a bookshop. Sometimes we had to put out announcements for her just so we could track her down again like she was a lost child.

No, it was a far more amusing outing without them.

Determined to treat me like her own child, Ms Ayers started with an indulgent but healthy breakfast and then dragged us off to a salon. Our hair would be cut, styled, and our nails painted. Oh, and obviously the beautician in charge of mine would chastise me for chewing on them. High street chain stores weren't good enough for Ms Ayers. It simply must be one-off boutiques, and we had to turn them into mini fashion shows.