Given and Denied

Chapter 22.

"By Ashcroft".  Amelia reminded me.

"Yeah, by Ashcroft".  I said looking across to the other side of the beautifully manicured lawn to where he was sat on another bench laughing and joking with one of the hairdressers from the film set.

"Ah.... Just look at him". Amelia smiled, "A proper bona-fide tart, who knows no better than do go flaunting himself around any gullible female that will listen to him!  But honestly I do trust him implicitly. It's just so funny isn't it, how tragedies pull people together".

I gave him a scathing look, though he was far too busy entertaining the hairdresser to actually notice.
I couldn't help but think back to that time at Jose's when he had been there with Beth, after telling Amelia that although my ex flatmate was expecting his baby, there was nothing at all going on between them!
That's not what I saw though and Beth was convinced that Ashcroft was with her now and not Amelia!
He was a liar and a cheat and I actually hated him.
Why did it have to be him who had found me lying on the floor of the lavatories in the Ivy. Of all the people!
Then of course the question had to be asked, what was he actually doing there in the first place?
Neither Amelia nor Ashcroft had come up with that answer, although, to be far I hadn't even asked it!

But with Maya, I wanted to know everything!
Every last bit of detail, even though it would hurt me so very much to know, I just had to know!

"Why do you think she did it?". I now asked, averting my eyes away from Ashcroft and back down onto the gravel path again.
"Do you think it had anything to do with Hugo?".

"Hugo?".  Marcus repeated. "Why Hugo? He's never taken drugs!".

I looked over at him.
Marcus was looking ashen faced and shocked at my very suggestion that he could have had anything to do with any of this.

"I bet you could have said the same about me a while ago".  I reminded him.

Marcus frowned hard at me.

"Well.... Yes.... Of course, but that was just a one off wasn't it, a mistake everyone knows that, including you".  He said.

"I'm not so sure it was a mistake. It certainly wasn't intentional on my part. Look, I still believe I was drugged on purpose by someone! Anyway what makes you so certain that Hugo never took drugs. She obviously got them from somewhere".  I scoffed.

Marcus continued to stare hard at me.

"I can quite honestly say, hand on heart that Hugo never would entertain the very idea of drugs. Far too conservative for anything like that! Smoking like a chimney, yes that's him all over but drugs no way! Anyhow..... what's any of this got to do with Hugo? ". 

Marcus was almost angry at my suggestion, but I was still not convinced of it.

"Oh come on now!".  I sighed,  "You must have known Maya was still carrying a torch for him. You must have realised that!".

"Yes, I know".   Marcus said, looking down sadly.

"Well, maybe he rebuffed her again, who knows........ Its just so confusing and so unlike Maya to even do something like that! I mean, going over to Ibiza on her own and being so determined to find Hugo and proclaim her love for him. Perhaps she couldn't deal with any more of his rejection of her".  I said sadly.

Marcus stared at me, his mouth was open as if he was about to argue with me again, but now another voice from the other side of me spoke.

"Maya didn't go to Ibiza".

I turned hurriedly to look at Amelia, who was looking down, her fingers were entwined with one another as she seemed almost about to admit something terrible to me.