Don't Give Up, Tom Drake

Don't Give Up, Tom Drake Part 10

Twenty Five

The Afternoon of 7th May

Hoxley Mansion House sat within ten acres of beautiful land, mostly consisting of a glorious garden. The house, all seventeen rooms, was a square affair, with a large clock tower rising into the sky. Built during the reign of George III by Sir Samuel Hoxley, a man of many means. A philanthropist and trader in tea and sugar.

As the clouds rolled dreamily over the blue sky, the people below mingled in and around the large marquee sitting on the lawn in front of the house. A gravel driveway encircled the lawn and twenty or so cars sat dormant along the way towards the distant entry gates. All of this, Darcie and Drake could see through the windows of the helicopter that was now coming into land. 'Don't want to blow the marquee away.' said Lloyd, as the party guests began to gather to watch their descent. 'I'll land the girl around the back of the house.'

Drake stared down, looking out for Evie and Marlowe. He failed to see them but felt certain that he had seen his mother standing with his brother-in-law, Rick and his niece, Lacey. He felt a tightening in his throat preceded by the quickening of his heart. Drake didn't want to be there. He wanted to stay with Lloyd and go back to Redhill. Darcie turned to him, her face full of surprise and excitement. 'Did you know?' she asked. 'Of course you knew! I'm going to kill Rick!'

Drake chuckled and then watched as the house swallowed up the view of the marquee and guests. 'Perhaps do it after the party,' he managed to say, as the helicopter touched down and Lloyd cut the engines.

Several guests including Rick and Lacey were already coming around the house to greet them by the time Drake and Darcie got out of the helicopter. Darcie hugged her brother. 'Thank you,' she said and kissed him on the cheek. They both looked at the guests approaching and waved. 'It'll be alright with mum, I promise.'

'Yeah, I know,' Drake replied with a gulp. He looked for Evie amongst the crowd of well dressed, half-drunk guests who were now piling around from the marquee, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Rick was laughing and calling as he approached with Lacey in his arms. 'That must have been fantastic!' he said, placing their daughter down, allowing her to run the last few metres into her mother's arms.

'It was!' cried Darcie, plucking up Lacey and giving her an almighty kiss on the cheek. 'It was unbelievable!'

'Me?!' asked Lacey, pointing up to the helicopter, as Darcie planted a great big kiss on the lips of her husband.

'No, no!' Rick replied to Lacey's request. 'Maybe next year.'

Lloyd was thanked by Drake, who then backed away from the barrage of words thrown his and Darcie's way by the over-excited mob. He allowed Darcie to take centre stage, as was her right as the birthday girl, and he slinked away around the other side of the mansion house in order to find his friends.

The white marquee dominated Drake's view as his feet scrunched upon the white stone gravel towards it. Panelled arched windows run along all three sides of the structure that was both long and wide. Guests were mingling in and around it, and as Drake walked towards them, he heard Evie's voice calling his name. Immediately his eyes looked to the far left, but Instead of finding Evie there, he saw instead, his mother, Matilda. She was dressed in a dark blue summer dress patterned with white flowers. She looked great, but this was not what Drake saw. What he saw was her eyes, glaring at him.

'So you made it?' said Matilda to her son, without a hint of fondness. If he wasn't mistaken, Drake detected disappointment in her voice. Or is it, he thought, just the tone I've become accustomed to?

'Yes,' he replied, wondering if he should actually greet her with a hello, or kiss on the cheek. He did neither. 'And you, too!' he feigned delight.

'Don't pretend to be happy to see me, Drake,' said Matilda, already looking away for someone else to talk to. 'And yes, I got the flowers. Thank you.'