Page 103 of Tears of Ink

“Good. You’ve got them so excited. I wish half my students on my degree course were that enthusiastic.”

I send him a tight smile. “Do we have any ceramics to show for it?”

“Yeah, Tabitha was a little loose on the description, but she said it was for use with the ball.” Gerard pushes his glasses back up his nose.

It’s good to be talking art again and I slowly relax. Eli leans over and kisses me on the cheek and Peter almost chokes on his drink. “I’m going to go find Mother. Are you okay here?”

I raise an eyebrow. “I’d rather be here with these losers than facing down your mother.”

He chuckles, his eyes drifting affectionately across my face. “That’s what I thought.” He steps away and our time away is officially over.

“How’s Lewis?” I ask Gerard—ignoring Peter, mainly because he’s a twat.

“Fine, fine, he’s been okay. He had an outburst yesterday after his dad called but he seems settled again now.”

Reluctantly, I give Gerard a smile. “Thanks.”

I go to grab my bags to head back to my rooms and Gerard drops into step at my side. “So, you and Elijah, right?”

“Are you gossiping, Gerard?”

He grabs my arm, holding me still. “No, but hell, Faith, I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“But you hurt me, so how does that work?”

“I hurt you because I was an idiot and didn’t tell you the whole truth. This family will tear you apart. You can’t trust them.”

“I can’t trust anyone, can I?” I glare at him.

“Me?” He shrugs and smiles optimistically.

“Yeah, right.”

I try to ignore him and head to the outhouses. It’s strangely comforting returning to them after the couple of days in Brighton.

I fling bags inside the pink room and then head straight for the room I’d set out for pottery.

Laughter seeps through the door, and I send Gerard a quizzical look. He just holds his hands up. I turn the door knob and the laughter stops. With a push, I open the door.

Tabitha is one side of a brown clay-dust clouded table, Lewis is the other. Lewis has a streak of red dust through his hair. Tabitha looks like she’s been rolling in the stuff. “Everything okay in here?” I ask.

Tabs flushes a little and nods, stepping towards me. “It’s good to see you. How was your friend?”

“Ill.” I brush at some of the clay debris in her hair. “Really ill, but we said goodbye.” I give her a small smile, suddenly aware of the atmosphere in the tiny studio. “It was as good as it could be, I guess.”

She turns her back on Lewis and I don’t miss the flicker of annoyance crossing his face.

I’ll have to talk to him. If there’s something going on here, it needs to be stopped immediately. Tabitha is the baby of the Faircloughs. I can only imagine what major shit would brew into a storm if she had a fling with a wild teenager Eli brought home.

“So, we need to get ready for this ball. I’ve had some ideas while I’ve been away.” I realise Gerard is still in the room and look at him expectantly. “Off you go, Steers. Thanks for helping, but we are all good now.”

He grins, and I don’t like it. “Actually, Jennifer has asked me to stay to help, just in case you get called away again.”

“Are you fricking kidding me?” I spin for the door just as Eli walks in. He’s still in his casual clothes, but his body is rigid and hard. He doesn’t meet my eye.

“He’s staying, Faith,” he says, and the distance in his voice kills me, just downright slices me in half.

I glare at him. “Not a chance.”