Undying (8 page)

“Mr Kemp, what is the meaning of this?” James growled, as he opened his door wider. Mr Kemp seemed caught out and erratic in his behaviour, so I moved away from him and stood closer to where James was. He didn’t answer James, just stood there defiantly.

“In my office… now,” James ordered. Mr Kemp headed to in to James’s office but still had the audacity to try to give me an intimidating look.

“Catherine, please stay here, I promise you this won’t take a minute,” he comforted me with his gentle voice. He placed his hand on my arm; I nodded and sat down on a chair just outside his office. My shoulders sank into my body and my face fell into my hands. I was not going to cry. I could not believe how awful Mr Kemp had been to me. I wish I was a lot stronger and didn’t get as emotional as I did.

From the other end of the hallway, I heard footsteps approaching and I panicked. I wiped my stupid tears, as quickly as I could and looked up. It was Jules and from the distressed look on her face, I could tell that she knew I was upset.

“Catherine, what is it?” she prompted me, with her arms open wide.

When she got to me,
she
was almost in tears herself. Jules grabbed me firmly by my shoulders.

“Catherine, what has happened?” she cried.

“Nothing, it’s nothing,” I answered, as I pulled away from her.

All these emotions are sending me mad!

The door opened and James came out, followed by Mr Kemp with his head hanging low.

“You”! You’re the one who has upset Catherine! Why you difficult little man. What did you do?” Jules demanded to know, with one hand waving at Mr Kemp and the other holding onto my arm.

Everyone must feel my arm was for public use
.

“Miss Kent, leave it with me. Mr Kemp, please leave. Catherine, may I speak with you in my office?” Again his voice was commanding, yet gentle.

“Jules… I’ll be fine. I will, really… Meet you in the common room, OK?” I whispered to her. I turned away and headed into James’s office without giving Mr Kemp any acknowledgement.

“Catherine, please… don’t be upset. I have spoken to Mr Kemp and warned him to stay away from you,” his soft voice deep with emotion.

“What is the problem? Why does he hate me? I have done nothing to him.

James stood in front of me, upright with his fist clenched, obviously holding back his emotions, and trying to calm himself down. But why did he need to do that? I was the one who had been threatened.

“What have I done?” I repeated, now sitting on one of the chairs in his office.

Surprisingly, James came and crouched down beside me.

“You have done nothing wrong. Mr Kemp will leave you alone, I promise. Please don’t let him upset you.”

“He said me being here was not my fault but if I stay it will be. What’s that suppose to mean?”

“He said that to you?” James asked.

He stood up, looking quite shocked and disturbed.

I stood up and came close to him.

“I Should never have come?” I said, disheartened.

“No…”

His voice was in my ear he was so close to me.

I was trembling and my heart was pounding.

I looked up in disbelief. His face was expressionless, which confused me. He then slowly began to smile and touched my arm gently.

“You should go to Jules. I’m sure she is still worried about you, and pay no attention to what Mr Kemp says.”

And that was it. I knew I had fallen and fallen hard for him.

The next few weeks were not what I had anticipated. Professor Davidson, the English Professor that I was replacing, seemed to be taking up all my time.

“The one whom death takes can trust the Lord’s judgement,” he declared in his classroom, quoting a notable Beowulf monster from the tenth century AD.

Not exactly what I want to be lecturing on right now. A love story would have been better. But no, it looks like blood, terror and death
.

Professor Davidson was an extremely intelligent and well-respected teacher, but one whom I couldn’t seem to escape. As much as I needed the information he was giving me, I really felt suffocated. After several failed attempts to escape him, I gave up. He invited himself on my walks, he sat with me when I ate, he was beside me in all my classes and in the common room, and worst of all he would walk me to my room at the end of each day. There had been several memorable moments when I would catch a glimpse of James and he would show me a grin of sympathy or a wink. It was awful. It felt like I was being punished for something I didn’t do.

On the upside, Professor Davidson’s last day was now here and I would finally have some time to myself.

“Catherine, I have complete faith in you… Enjoy your year at the college, my dear, and don’t let my boys give you any heartache,” Professor Davidson said as he shook my hand and continued down the line of goodbyes that were waiting for him.

All his colleagues seemed genuinely sad to see him go. And strangely enough, so did I.

“It’s a shame you weren’t replacing Mr Kemp!” Jules whispered in my ear before belting out a laugh.

“Well at least we can see you now, thank God. Tomorrow is Saturday. Care to go into the village for some dinner tomorrow night? Perhaps we can ask Mr Barclay and a few other teachers if they would like to join us,” Jules said with great enthusiasm.

“OK,” I replied.

“Actually that sounds like a great idea. It will be fun,” I added with more enthusiasm.

“Oh, splendid. I am so happy. I will ask them now!”

And off she went without a minute to spare. I saw her head for James first. I could see him speaking but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. Then she was off to Dr Simons, of course, and then a few more after that. All the teachers seemed to be making their way to the common room. James had now left and I wasn’t sure which way he had gone. I, however, headed to my room. It had been an exhausting two weeks with an emotional ending. I just wanted to sleep. Jules waved to me as I walked away. She was continuing on to the common room and understood that I was heading back to my room.

The walk back to my room seemed natural to me, which was a sure sign I was becoming more familiar with the college and its rooms, its gardens, its walkways and the whole area. It had given me a sense of belonging that I had desperately longed for. The rain was pounding down hard as I reached the bottom of the stairs. The sound of strong wind could now be heard and it had an eerie, echoing hum to it. My thoughts wandered but were interrupted by footsteps that were catching up to me. I turned around cautiously.

But no one was there. Strange, I could have sworn that there was someone behind me. I continued up the stairs but this time my steps were swift. As I got to the top of the stairs, I looked at James’s door and paused for a minute with a smile. Suddenly, I felt a rush of cold wind go past me, blowing my hair over my face before each wall lamp, one by one, flickered and went dark. I froze, not knowing what to do, or understand what was happening. The hallway was completely darkened.

I could hear footsteps, approaching me from down the hallway. Maybe it was one of the teachers coming out to see why all the lights were out, I hoped.

“Who’s there?” I whispered.

There was no reply but the steps were getting closer.

“Who’s there?” I asked, this time with more volume.

I was confused and scared stiff, aware that most of the teachers wouldn’t be up here because they were downstairs for Professor Davidson. I contemplated walking back down the stairs or a little further to my door, but I was so scared I wasn’t sure my legs would cooperate.

All of a sudden I felt a firm push against my chest and was thrown into James’s door.

I screamed, covering my face with my hands, terrified. James’s door instantly opened and I turned around to see his surprise at my presence in his doorway. I grabbed him and put my face on his chest, my hands holding tightly onto his shirt.

“Catherine?”

“There’s someone trying to hurt me out there!”

He held me tight with one arm and half stepped out the room to see.

“There’s no one out there,” he whispered.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked out, still holding onto his shirt and there wasn’t anyone. All the lights were now on and there was no one to be seen. I looked up at James, but I was speechless and confused.

“Come inside.”

James closed the door and placed his hands on my arms and stared at me.

“What happened?”

I couldn’t speak at first. I myself didn’t know what had happened. I finally mustered the courage and tried to explain to James what had just happened.

“I don’t know what to say,” James shook his head with concern.

“Who could have done this? Mr Kemp!”

“No. There is no chance that Mr Kemp would ever lay a hand on you.”

“He threatened me that day, who else would do that to me?” I argued.

James let go of me in shock and took a few steps back.

Outside James’s door, I could hear Mr Kemp mumbling. Anger came over me and I turned around to open the door.

“Catherine, no!” James pleaded, but I ignored him.

I stuck my head out of the door and there he was.

“You! How dare you do that to me?”

“What are you doing in Mr Barclay’s room? Get out of there,” he sneakily whispered.

“You pushed me into his door!”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Mr Kemp looked surprised. He looked past me and went straight into the room.

“What is all this?” he demanded to know.

James didn’t say a word, but he seemed bewildered.

“You turned off all the lights in the hallway and then pushed me into James’s door, didn’t you?”

“I most certainly did not!” He gave James a long, disappointed look.

“Hem,” he grunted, “are you happy now?” he said to James and headed for the door. As he passed me he paused.

“I warned you,” he said.

I looked at James in disbelief. He didn’t even ask Mr Kemp if he was responsible. Did he honestly believe that he was incapable of doing such a thing?

Mr Kemp slammed the door behind him, and now James and I were left in his room.

“You don’t believe me? Why… I mean… how, could I even make this up?” I pleaded.

James turned around and ran his hands through his hair. He looked frustrated and uneasy.

I couldn’t believe that Mr Kemp just did what he did, and got away with it! And that James could think that I was a liar. Let down, I decided to leave.

I faced the door but I just stood there.

“Catherine… wait… I believe you; I just don’t think it was Mr Kemp.”

“Then who”? I snapped.

He didn’t reply. He just stood dazed and unable to help. I regretted snapping at him. He had done nothing but be nice since I had arrived. But his support for Mr Kemp was mind-boggling.

“Good night,” I opened his door and left without looking back.

C
HAPTER
F
IVE

It was almost impossible to get out of bed the next morning. Still frustrated and angry about last night’s events, especially not being believed by James. When I did finally get out of bed and headed to the window, the clouds were dark but there was no rain as yet. Suddenly James and Mr Kemp were both in sight on the front grounds walking alongside each other talking.

Mr Kemp stopped, he was ropable, throwing his arms about like the crazed fool that he was. I immediately felt ill.

How dare he be so rude to James!

What was he saying
?

I couldn’t make it out. But he then pointed to my direction, I froze in shock but relaxed when I remembered I couldn’t see into the windows when I first arrived that day, so it was safe to assume that he couldn’t see me. James looked over his shoulder, in my direction also but his stare was different, I felt he could see me.

Mr Kemp headed back into the main building with James following. Curious to know where they were going and what was being said, I leapt into the shower and threw on some running clothes in record time. I opened my door and looked down the corridor towards James’s room. His door was half open.

I turned back and locked my door. In that instant, Jules had come out dressed in casual clothes also.

“Good morning, you’re not going for a run are you?” Jules enquiry, with excitement in her eyes.

“Yes, yes I am. Want to join me?” I asked.

“Absolutely!” was Jules’s delighted reply.

“I’ll race you to the fountain,” I challenged her.

“Oh, oh yes, of course,” she replied, flustered.

We both started giggling. As we passed James’s door, I tried with all my might to resist looking in. But Jules had a different idea – she walked right up to the door and looked in. To our surprise, Mr Kemp and James were coming out of the room. Mr Kemp looked completely perplexed – which was priceless – James’s eyes caught mine, and were pleased and relieved.

“Would you boys like to join us for a run?” Jules asked sarcastically.

“No, no, I am busy today,” Mr Kemp replied, baffled.

Jules then looked at James with a raised eyebrow.

“I will pass too, Miss Kent. Thank you for the invitation,” James said. “Have a great run, ladies,” he said as he ushered Mr Kemp out of his room.

Jules and I headed off. We both ignored Mr Kemp as we passed him. Mr Kemp slowly and awkwardly made his way to his room and eventually James closed his door. I followed Jules’s unhurried lead. She took me on a track that I had not noticed before. It was veiled with soaring trees and their heavy foliage. It was an easy path, effortless to navigate but narrow, forcing us to run in single file.

We had been jogging for over a half hour, when I felt a few raindrops on my skin and then a few more. Then the rain started to pour down.

“Catherine, don’t fret! We will wait it out at the old miner’s cottage, which is not so far from here,” panting, Jules struggled to get her words out.

She was also shouting as the rain was bucketing down now and it was difficult to hear. After a while, I was not so convinced that there actually was a cottage nearby. I couldn’t see one anywhere near, and we were already soaked.

Suddenly, the path split into two. Jules went left and I followed. This trail was different to our previous trail. It was rugged; a light green moss covered the loose terrain, making it slippery. It descended rapidly and was not easy to navigate. It seemed that this trail was not regularly used; its wet overgrown foliage striking against our bodies.

About ten minutes later, I could finally see the cottage.

“Here we are!” Jules pointed with her arm stretched out ahead.

And there it was. A run-down little cottage: abandoned and unexceptional. Built out of dark charcoal stones with a shingle roof, it was almost overgrown by the trees that surrounded it. Jules lifted the rusty latch and with a big squeak the old door opened. Surprisingly, the inside of the cottage was well kept.

“Thank God for this cottage. I can’t tell you how many times it has saved me from our erratic weather.”

“How long do you think we will have to stay here?” I asked.

“Not too long. I might get the fire on, just in case. Our wonderful Dr Simons found out that I had been caught here a few times, and surprised me by stocking up the cottage with some firewood and a few other necessities for me. Dr Simons is a true gentleman.”

If I didn’t know any better, I would bet that Jules had something for our ‘wonderful Dr Simons’. It seemed that he might have something for her too.

“Jules, how long has Dr Simons been at the college?”

“Oh, I remember that day quite clearly: two-and-a-half years ago. It was a stormy Saturday afternoon. He was expected to arrive in the morning, but his plane was delayed and the weather didn’t help his journey to the college.” Jules paused to attend to the fire, and then continued. “He was completely soaked when he arrived. I got him some towels and showed him to his room. He was very appreciative and the next morning he wrote me a card thanking me for being so welcoming and hospitable. We have been close friends ever since. We have so much in common, what with our walks and a love of flowers and wine.”

“Is he married?” I asked abruptly.

“No, never married. I don’t understand why. He would make any woman proud to be his wife,” she replied.

“Is he coming to dinner tonight?” I asked.

“Why, yes he is, and Mr Barclay.”

“Oh… OK… that’s great.”

I tried not to act excited at the opportunity to see James this evening.

The fire was burning strongly now and the cottage had a nice cosy feel about it. There was a small run-down kitchenette, a small sofa in front of the fireplace and a four-seater timber dining table. The two other rooms I assumed were the bedroom and the bathroom. The room got very warm very quickly and we both stood in front of the fire to dry our clothes as much as we could. Jules started humming. She was in such a good mood. Talking about Dr Simons and being at the cottage had left her happy and content. I was determined to have them together before the year was over. We both sat on the sofa thinking. Between the crackling of the fire and the thumping of the rain, Jules and I didn’t need to speak. Other than the wet clothes, I felt so comfortable and at ease. I laid my head onto the sofa and closed my eyes to think about James.

I was terrified of the feelings I had for him; they were getting stronger. I wondered about his feelings towards me; could he care for me that way or was it all in my head. Perhaps he was just an empathetic principal trying to comfort me.

“Listen. I think the rain has stopped,” Jules announced.

We looked at each other for a second and then got up at the same time and ran out of the cottage, laughing.

The run back seemed a lot quicker. As we approached the college, we slowed to a walk.

“Jules? Who owns the cottage?” I asked.

“Oh, that would be Mr Cartwright.”

“What!”

“It’s fine. He has no interest in it, which is obvious from the state it is in. I don’t think I have ever seen or heard of him being there. Oh, no, I lie… he was there once last year. Dr Simons went to stock up the cottage and walked in on Mr Cartwright. Dr Simons was very embarrassed but Mr Cartwright was a perfect gentleman and was pleased that the cottage was being used occasionally. He even invited Dr Simons to stay for tea and they had a marvellous talk. Mr Cartwright owns a substantial amount of property in the area, and rumour has it that once upon a time, his family owned most of the land surrounding the college. The properties have been sold off throughout the years.”

“Wow! I suppose that’s why all of those women are after him,” I said cheekily.

“I suppose you’re right,” Jules agreed.

“Now, our dinner reservation is for 7 o’clock tonight. I have organised a taxi to pick us up at 6. I thought we could go for a walk through the village beforehand. You might like to go through the shops,” she suggested.

“That sounds wonderful, I can’t wait.”

“And the men will meet us at the restaurant at 7. I am so happy!” Jules said, with tears of joy in her eyes.

“Oh well, here we are!” Jules said, trying to dismiss her emotional flare up.

“I’m going to have a shower and change. If the weather holds up, I might go and explore the grounds.”

“See you at 6 if I don’t see you before,” I added.

Running to my room, I couldn’t help touching James’s door as I went past. Upon opening my door, I discovered an envelope inside. I picked it up and closed my door. With excitement due to the assumption that it was from James, I quickly opened the letter.

Dear Catherine,

I am very sorry for what you went through last night. My intentions to ease your pain were strong but my actions, unfortunately, weren’t strong enough.

Mr Kemp is a very suspicious and complicated man. If any part of me believed that you were in any kind of danger in his presence, I would have removed him from the grounds immediately. It is apparent that he is not happy with you being here, but that is all. And without contradicting myself, I need you to trust that I believed every word you said and do not doubt you at all. I also apologise that I won’t be able to make tonight’s dinner plans since I believe it will cause Mr Kemp to be even more of a nuisance.

James

What? No! That isn’t fair. How can Mr Kemp get away with what he did last night? And we have to tiptoe around him
.

I sat at my desk for a few minutes; I didn’t want to be the third wheel tonight. I had been really looking forward to seeing James again.

I should make Mr Kemp come tonight as payback, knowing how much he dislikes me. Like they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer
. I quickly pulled out some clothes to change into and went to the shower. I dried my hair and put on some basic make-up. I wore jeans and boots, with a white blouse and jumper, putting on some of my favourite red lipstick to finish my look. I was very happy with the outcome. I only wish I was getting ready for James, not the garden gnome, Mr Kemp.

I left my room and locked the door. I went directly down the hall to Mr Kemp’s room. It was easy to find, he had been whining about his ‘eviction’ ever since I got here. I knocked on the door. No answer. I knocked again. I then heard a clatter. I knew he was in there, but still no answer. I waited for a minute and knocked again. I was getting impatient. Finally the door opened about ten centimetres.

Mr Kemp must have been in bed. His hair was untidy and he seemed dazed and confused as he put on his glasses to see who had woken him.

“You? What is it that you want, not another accusation I hope?” He barked.

Unbelievable, not even slight remorse for what he had done to me
.

“Mr Kemp, Jules and Dr Simons and I are meeting for dinner at 7 o’clock this evening. Would you care to join us?” The words were as painful as chewing on glass.

“Me? Dinner with you? Will Mr Barclay be joining us?” he asked sarcastically.

“No, he hasn’t been invited. I just think it would be nice for us to have a chance to get to know each other better. We seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot.”

Mr Kemp looked down and around his room. If he were a normal person he would have been thinking about providing an answer to my question, but knowing what he is capable of, I could see that he was already plotting.

“Yes, I accept,” he answered.

“Great, I will have Dr Simons pass on the details to you.”

I couldn’t bear to look at him a minute longer. I turned around and left. When I got halfway down the hall, I heard his door close. I wasn’t exactly sure what my plan was just yet. Maybe if James knew that Mr Kemp didn’t hate me so much to have dinner with us, then he would relax about being seen with me. I had to find Jules and let her know that James wasn’t coming and Mr Kemp was. I knew I would have a lot of explaining to do.

It wasn’t hard to find her. She was sitting with Dr Simons in the common room and they were laughing at something in a magazine.

“Jules, there you are,” I said as I approached them.

“Catherine! Hello dear!”

“Good morning, Dr Simons,” I said.

“Good morning, Catherine.”

“Jules, I’m sorry, but James can’t make it this evening, so I have invited Mr Kemp.”

There, I’ve said it, no beating around the bush
.

“WHAT!!!” Jules and Dr Simons shouted in unison.

“I know it doesn’t make sense, but I just thought that if he had a chance to get to know me, he might like me and in return leave me alone.”

“Have you gone mad,” Jules asked.

“No… not at all.”

“Mr Kemp? I don’t know, Catherine. He has been so mean to you, I don’t think I could be nice to him,” Jules said as she shook her head from side to side.

“I agree. I don’t think I will be able to look him in the eye and be friendly towards him,” Dr Simons said with a stern look.

I appreciated their loyalty.

“Listen, please, no-one could possibly dislike him as much as me right now, but I am trying to make the situation better… for all of us.”