When The Boys Are Away

Part 71

"Where the hell have you been? You've all been missing in action for over thirty minutes." Polly complained as she hissed under her breath to Harlow, Michael and John, "I've had to stand here listening to Grace's Great Aunt tell me about her miniature fucking poodle." 

John sniggered in amusement, but quickly lifted his hand to secretly cover his mouth as Polly glared at him intently. Her pointed glance made him answer the question with an ounce of seriousness, "Tommy gathered us to say no fighting with the cavalry." 

"He could have said that it one sentence, he didn't need to leave us all in the lurch." She rambled, clearly agitated, but it was only being amplified by the tension around the room. Harlow nodded, not daring to disagree with her when she was in such a mood. 

Suddenly, Rose appeared through the crowd, a half angry, half confused expression on her face as he looped her arm with her husband, "I've just been told that they don't want any kids at the table during the meal so Ollie and Charlotte have to leave. Apparently the meal isn't child friendly." She quoted sarcastically. 

"Are they trying to piss me off?" John grumbled in annoyance, his emotions rapidly changing as he wrapped his arm around Rose's shoulder, turning to Polly for the answers. Harlow glanced between the small group, shaking her head at the immaturity of Grace's family. They were trying to agitate the Shelbys one by one, and it was working grandly. 

"I'll go and find Charlotte and Ollie now and talk to one of the staff to sort out another room for them. I'd much rather do that than stay in here." Harlow gestured to Rose who nodded gratefully, before herself and John waltzed away to calm his frustration. Turning to Polly and Michael, Harlow rolled her eyes, receiving the same unimpressed faces in response, "See you in a bit."

Leaving the bustling room was a relief, even after spending such a little amount of time in there. Trying to find the kids in Tommy's house was a near impossible task, but she much preferred it to standing with Grace's relatives and celebrating a wedding she'd rather not be attending. 

"Harlow! Wait up!" Marvin Wentworth called out enthusiastically as he emerged from down the corridor, causing the brunette to turn with a smile. Having the Wentworths there did bring some pleasantry to the house at least, "Help me find Charlotte and Ollie, won't you?" She asked hopefully, to which he nodded as he finished his glass of champagne and placed it on a side board. 

The two carried on in a comfortable silence, glancing in various rooms, all of which were empty. Finally, as Harlow was looking in the library across the hall from Marvin, she heard him gasp and gently shut the door to the room he was checking out. She turned to see a shocked, but half amused look on his face, and she couldn't help but smile, "What?" 

"There's two people in there, they're getting quite heated, let's say." He chuckled quietly like a teenager and Harlow bit her lip, seeing the funny side of the situation, "Who is it?" 

He shrugged, and Harlow suddenly felt a need to check that it wasn't Isaiah and Lily, since she knew John would be furious if he found out they have sneaked away on Tommy's wedding day. Placing a finger over her lips, she signalled for Marvin to be silent as secretly pried open the door and took an unnoticeable glance. 

The second she saw one of the individuals, her heart dropped, as did the smile on her face and she immediately shut the door and continued down the corridor without another word. She could feel the fury flowing through her veins, but the Winters girl remained calm and collected, though her eyes gleamed with emotion. 

Marvin glanced at her strangely as he jogged to catch up with her, his forehead tensing at the sudden change in the woman, "Did you see who it was?" He asked reluctantly as they took the stone stairs down to the kitchen.