Worst Impressions

Chapter Forty Nine

Bill had no problem with us pushing together some tables so we could sit in one large group. Once Charlie knew everyone by name, he didn't hesitate to laugh and joke with them as though they'd all known each other for years. I supposed it helped that they were mostly men, and he didn't need to fear an army of rich young women all clamouring for his attention as he had at the school party. He'd always struck me as the affable, sociable sort once he was in his element, and this just went to show that he was friendly enough to get along with anyone.

Poppy and Amanda sat at either side of me. It relieved me to have an excuse not to sit beside William. He may have been all smiles and joining in with the conversation as much as he was able, but I had mixed feelings about his being there given all our troubling history. Regardless of his civility, he still hadn't done anything to fix the relationship between Charlie and Jenny. I felt that I could forgive just about everything else that he'd done to me, if only he'd rectify that mistake.

It was strange to see him so at ease with my friends. I didn't know when I'd ever seen him smile or laugh so much. He even thanked Oliver for the food that he brought out rather than dismissing him as one might a servant. When Bill joined us on the terrace to have his part in the conversation, William offered his seat and helped Bill into it. He listened intently as they regaled us with stories of Cassidy and Oliver's time at the beach as children, and of the summer that they met again as adults many years later.

'So,' Amanda whispered when the conversation drifted to a recent football game. Poppy had joined in with the guys, and I'd lost her emotional support to the heated debate. Amanda propped her chin in her hand and asked, 'are you and my brother going out?'

'No,' I blurted. 'We're not like that. We don't get on that well.'

'I don't think that's completely true.'

'Trust me, it is. I don't know what's going on with him today, but I've never seen him like this.'

'So, you're staring at him out of fascination?' she teased. 'He's been looking at you, too. It's cute. You don't have to be shy about it.'

'I was just making sure he wasn't glaring at anyone, that's all.'

'Will you and your Dad come to dinner at our house tonight? I told Mum how good you were at the piano. She wants to hear it for herself.'

I blushed. 'I don't know. I mean, I don't usually play, and I was just fooling around. Plus, my Dad is really busy, and –'

'You're a bad liar,' Amanda laughed musically. 'I like that about you. Come on, please? I need another girl to talk to. You can't make me put up with my brother by myself.'

'Isn't Chantelle there?' I asked.

'Unfortunately, yes. I like Charlie, but Chantelle is a little difficult to get along with. Like how she wouldn't join us for lunch today.'

'You invited her?'

'Only out of courtesy. She decided to stay with our mother, who I imagine is hiding somewhere in the grounds and avoiding her.'

I laughed despite myself. William glanced over at us and our eyes met. It was a reflex for me to ask defensively, 'What're you looking at?'

'I can't remember the last time I heard you laugh,' he said.

'Now you're making me sound like a miserable cow,' I said. 'And I'm totally not.'

'I didn't mean it like that,' he said. 'I suppose that there wasn't much to laugh about the last time we met.'

I wanted to ask him whose fault he thought that was, but that meant revealing what had happened over Christmas. I hadn't even told my Dad the whole truth, so I wasn't about to reveal it to all my friends. I'd take the secret of our trip to Paris to my grave. I trusted Jenny to do the same. Luckily, no one else was paying enough attention to us to ask what he might mean by that.

'Good news,' Amanda said to break the silence. 'Beth said she's coming to dinner with us tonight.'

'Do I have to wear a dress?' I asked. 'Because I don't own one. Well, I do, but...'

I had more than one dress. Besides the one Freddie had bought for me in Paris – a dress that I suspected William never wanted to see again – I had all the clothes that Jenny's mother had bought for me stuffed in the wardrobe. They all still had the tags because I couldn't bring myself to wear them, but I didn't have the heart to throw them away, either.

'Just don't wear jeans,' William said.

'No, totally wear jeans,' Amanda said, 'then I can, too. Come in casual clothes. It's fine. We don't dress in formal wear for a family dinner.'

'Seriously?' I asked.

'Yeah! You're perfect as you are. Right, Will?'

William became deeply interested in stirring his drink with his straw. Either the lighting needed adjusting, or he blushed when he said, 'I've always thought so.'