“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.
CHAPTER FIVE
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.”