Old Sins Long Shadows (8 page)

Some of the villagers had become noisy as the potent alcohol started to infiltrate the celebrations, loosening tongues and dissolving inhibitions. Mary and Janey watched them as they both unknowingly thought of the same man.

‘
I don’t think Daniel is going to ask me to dance again,’ Mary said eventually as she watched Daniel talking to her brother and drinking ale which had now been brought into the hall by the landlord of the public house down the road. The vicar had left and as he went out the front door the ale had come in through the side door.

‘
I don’t remember him asking you to dance the first time,’ stated Janey looking everywhere except at Daniel.

‘
You are only jealous,’ countered Mary. ‘Everyone wants to dance with him and I was the one that did.’

‘Everyone, but me.’ Janey stole a glance at him and at that moment he happened to look up. Quickly she looked away. ‘The trouble is men like him know they are good looking and they expect every woman to drop at their feet. Who does he think he is winking the other day?  And he was so rude just now.’

‘
I think you were quite rude to him,’ argued Mary. Janey was about to deny any such thing when Mary took her hand. ‘It’s the
Wedding March Dance
. You don’t need a partner for this one. Come on.’

Janey wasn’t sure she liked the sound of this dance but Mary assured her it would be fun
. Mary explained that the women lined up on one side and the men on the other. When the music began the women would swing one way, then the other, with the man opposite. On the change of the beat the women danced up and down their line in a figure of eight, hooking their arms while the men walked a figure of eight in the opposite direction along the men’s line. Eventually the music would change again and the new couple at the bottom would walk behind their line to the top. At the top they would walk down the aisle together, formed by the remaining dancers who clapped in time to the music. As Mary explained the dance more and more people joined the line. Janey tried to concentrate on the instructions Mary was giving her but she noticed in her line of vision a pair of familiar legs join the male line. With dread she lifted her gaze to see Daniel Kellow standing patiently but he was not looking at her. He seemed to have someone or something else on his mind. He looked up and down the line, he seemed to be calculating something. Just before the music started he took a side step, swapped places with the man to his left and slipped into the line again without anyone noticing - except Janey. She was about to ask Mary if she had seen it when the music started up and the dancing began.

Janey found herself swinging around with a rosy cheeked
, middle aged man that was grinning from ear to ear. She was about to strike up a conversation when the next part of the dance started and she was encouraged to dance a figure of eight linking arms with women she did not know but were all laughing and calling to others in the line. Their happiness was infectious but they came to a stand still when the new couple formed and skipped behind their line to the top. The crowd cheered as the young man offered his arm to the young lady and they walked down the clapping aisle ready to begin the dance again. This time Janey was swung around by Matt. She had not noticed him joining and cried out in delight at seeing his familiar face, once again she was off and a new couple was formed and to the crowds amusement it was a very short man and a very tall woman making a very odd couple. They both laughed, she grabbed his hand and, to the amusement of the other clapping dancers, dragged him down the aisle. Again Janey was swung, this time by an elderly man, so she slowed her steps in order not to knock him over before leaving her partner to dance the figure of eight. As she started to near the bottom of the line she realised she would be one of the new couple formed and she looked across to the male line trying to work out who it would be. Realisation slowly dawned on her as Daniel walked the male line, coming nearer and nearer until he stood opposite her. They moved up behind their lines to reach the top, him with deliberate measured steps, hers faltering and slowing but she could not avoid the inevitable as they both finally reached the top. The other dancers, apart from Mary, started to clap out a beat forming the aisle for them to walk down. Janey stood there, her feet fixed to the spot. She felt unable to move or take his arm if it was offered. To touch him would be…  Daniel suddenly reached down and scooped her up in his arms as if she weighed no more than a child to the delight of everyone in the room and strode down the man made aisle.

‘
What are you doing?’ she whispered, embarrassment flooding her cheeks.

‘
Carrying my “wife” down the aisle,’ he said quietly.

‘
I’m not your wife!’

‘
Don’t I know it.’

‘
But I didn’t want to dance with you.’

‘
Well you can’t have everything you want in this life,’ he replied as he continued on.             

‘
Everyone is watching.’

‘
They are meant to.’

‘
It’s humiliating.’

‘
It’s dancing.’

She reluctantly put her arm around his neck to give herself support.

‘Mr Kellow put me down.’

‘
I will not,’ he said nodding his head in greeting to someone in the crowd.

‘
You are not taking me seriously!  You planned this!’ she accused, ‘I saw you standing there, working something out. You planned to humiliate me like this because I wouldn’t dance with you earlier.’

‘
You flatter yourself, Miss Carhart,’ he emphasised her title.

He stood back in the male line but their argument continued and the two participants forgot about the dance and that he still carried her in his arms. The other dancers tried their best to dance around them.

‘You are trying to show me up in front of everyone!’ she ground out under her breath.

‘
I think you are doing a good enough job of that on your own,’ he retorted back, holding her even more firmly.

She gave his shoulder a shake,
‘Why couldn’t you just offer your arm?  Why did you have to pick me up?’

‘Would you have taken my arm if I’d offered it?’ She hesitated to answer, ‘Thought not,’ he added.

Someone bumped into Daniel and he threw them an irritated glance and moved further down the line to stand apart from the dancers with Janey still in his arms
. People in the crowd started nudging one another and a few dancers slowed and eventually stopped. The dance was starting to disintegrate but the couple did not notice and the music continued.

‘
You’ve obviously not danced this dance before. A couple can walk down the aisle any way. Look,’ he nodded to a man carrying a woman on his back, both raucous with drink and laughter. Janey strained her neck to see.

‘
Perhaps, if you relaxed a little, you might actually enjoy it rather than being Miss Prim and Proper.’

Janey gasped at the insult
. ‘I was relaxed and enjoying myself until you man handled me!’ she argued back. ‘You are no gentleman!’

‘
Gentlemen by name don’t always behave like gentleman.’ He was becoming more than a little annoyed now. He knew who she was alluding to and didn’t like it.

‘
I don’t know what you mean.’

‘
I’ve seen you simpering after James Brockenshaw. I bet if he picked you up you wouldn’t be getting so mazed.’

‘
The reason I’m mad at
you
is because I don’t know you. How dare you pick me up as if we are on more intimate terms.’  For the first time he looked down at her and she was taken aback by the look in his eyes. She wished she hadn’t spoken the word
intimate
as it immediately conjured up images of them together. She realised he was thinking the same. The music stopped and they were brought back to the reality of the village hall and the realisation they were encircled by a watching crowd. Like a cornered animal she fought back in the only way she knew….with words.

‘
Put me down this minute you heathen!’ she shouted at him. The crowd around them gasped and hurt flashed across his face, quickly followed by a mask of anger. With one sharp movement he dumped her onto the floor. Her arm swung out, grabbing his shirt to steady herself she pulled a button off and ripped his shirt. As she stumbled to regain her balance he walked past her and off the dance floor. Janey stood in the centre alone, she looked about her at the faces, some shocked, some smiling, resting finally on Mary whose face showed the anger and jealousy she felt. Janey walked off the floor, her legs shaking with rage. To her relief the music started again. Charlotte and Lizzy came over and gave her a hug. Janey tried to look for Mary but she had disappeared into the crowd.

‘
What was it like to be carried by him?’ asked Charlotte but Janey was still mad.

‘
I don’t want to think about it.’

‘
He looked so strong. He picked you up like you weighed nothing at all.’

‘
I really don’t want to think about it,’ insisted Janey, brushing her skirt down with her shaking hands.

Charlotte
had to be content to change the subject, ‘Lizzy and I are leaving soon. Are you walking back with Mary?’

Janey looked around for Mary
, ‘Yes, I will walk home with Mary,’ she said. She needed to make it up to Mary. She could see she was upset. So the arrangement was agreed and they hugged each other goodbye. She turned to see Daniel leaving too with his arm around a woman. He did not look over to her and to Janey’s surprise she felt disappointed. She concluded that to be an object of desire one minute and ignored the next was bound to confuse ones emotions, even if she was the one that had done the rejecting. The evening suddenly seemed less exciting and empty and she longed to go home too. She found Mary standing next to the hall clock.

‘Charlotte and Lizzy have gone home. Shall we?’

Mary shook her head,
‘We have plenty of time, let’s stay another half hour. Did you see Daniel leave?  I know what he will be doing tonight.’

‘
Mr Kellow is of no importance to me,’ replied Janey. Mary looked at her.

‘
I think he likes you.’ 

‘
You don’t humiliate someone if you like them.’ Janey replied, looking at the clock. Time really was beginning to drag, she thought.

Mary considered her words but her eyes remained narrow with suspicion.

‘Do you like him?’

Janey shook her head,
‘Absolutely not,’ she replied hoping she sounded convincing. It was how she felt, but her voice rang untrue to her ears which annoyed and confused her. She took Mary’s arm, ‘Come on Mary,’ she cajoled, ‘we will be going home soon, let’s have some more fun before we leave?’

‘
I plan to have more fun before the evening ends, Janey, don’t you worry about that,’ Mary replied.

Janey smiled
, relieved they appeared to have made up and she gave her a hug. Mary hugged her back but unknown to Janey remained detached. She would have her revenge before the night was over, she would make sure of that.

Daniel and Sally entered her home as they had done many times before. Since Daniel was a teenager he had visited the widow. She was uncomplicated, made no demands and enjoyed her single status. Married for ten years to an impotent man she made no secret that she did not plan to marry again and tie herself to one man alone. This suited Daniel as he had the comfort of a woman without the responsibility and they both knew where they stood. Tonight he was high on frustration and it showed as he reached for her before they even reached the bedroom. Taken aback, Sally soon matched his urgency and they kissed and hugged by the stairs, knocking into a side table and causing an ornament to fall to the floor. He caged her against the wall and kissed her hard trying to block out the image of a pretty face with green eyes and full pink lips. He tried to run his hands through the smooth, shiny, chestnut hair from his mind, but they were caught in Sally’s springy, curly, black locks. He tried again and ran his hands over her body, his mind flashing up images of an hour glass figure with a small waist. Yet where Janey’s curves went in at the right places Sally’s came out and no matter how Daniel tried to trick his body into believing it was Janey in his arms his body would not be fooled. He started to slow his onslaught and Sally sensed the withdrawal. Reaching for his belt she began to undo it. She enjoyed Daniel’s visits the most and didn’t want him to stop. He reached for her again but this time he pulled away her hands and held her against him, closing his eyes and feeling the full length of her body against his. He nestled into her neck and imagined Janey once more. Sally didn’t look like Janey and after tonight, knowing what he knows now, she didn’t feel like Janey. It was no good. This woman in his arms wasn’t the damn woman that plagued his dreams at night and his mind in the day. This wasn’t like him. This wasn’t the Daniel Kellow he knew. She’d messed up his mind and what he thought he wanted in life, and yet he hardly knew her. Damn the woman. Daniel moved away from her.