Mrs H. just sniffed at the telling-off. "What does he need it for?" she asked. "Every time you get him to come down and leech off you a bit, he only winds up bumping into that old flame of his. Then he sulks the rest of his time here. Does him no good, does you no good. You'd have done better off staying up in London," she added, nodding at Ben. "All that money you must be making. Playing your guitar, you got some nice tunes. I hear 'em on the radio. Then you have to come down here and get yourself all upset again. Makes no sense." She set down the tray, and sniffed again. Then swept out, like a duchess.
You'd have thought she was posher than Millie, sometimes.
It left him deflated, and Millie standing before him with a concerned look, a muddy boot in one hand, her stick in the other. "Oh, dear, my darling," she said abstractedly. "The old witch really has no tact at all. I wonder why I keep her on, at this point. She's upset you, hasn't she, my love? The poisonous old bitch. I swear to God that this time, this time I'm going to fire her."
She threw her stick onto the velveteen settee, and plonked her elderly rear-end down on the arm of the chair, catching at his hand and gripping it with surprising strength. "Darling," she said fondly. "My sweet Benedictus. Is it really no better than it ever was? After all this time?"
Well, normally Ben would have made the effort to lie to the charming old bat, at least. Why bring someone else down along with you? But now, after Mrs H had pulled the rug out from under him, he stared down at his free hand in his lap. Millie's tsk-tsk-tsk in his ear was something he couldn't contradict.
"I'm fine," he said stubbornly, though he could hear perfectly well how tinny and hollow it rang even in his own ears. It was true, in a way. He sold enough records to call himself a professional musician, he dated a bit, I had friends. He had a perfectly functional, well-heeled, comfortable life. It would be ridiculous to complain about how hard-done-by he was.
YOU ARE READING
Erase You
RomanceMichael is a musician, Cambridge-educated but living in London. He's successful, attractive and has plenty to keep him busy and happy. So why can he still not get over his old college boyfriend, Ben? Fortunately his old Great-Aunt Millie, a notor...
