Knight & Culverhouse Box Set - Books 7-9

Chapter 17

17

Benjamin Newell beamed with pride as he watched his new wife strutting her stuff on the dance floor, surrounded by friends and family. The day had gone beautifully, and everyone seemed to have a great time. Lisa had used the bride’s prerogative to make him wait an extra ten minutes, turning up to the ceremony fashionably late. But he hadn’t doubted that she’d come — not really. He’d never been able to rely on anyone up until meeting Lisa, but he knew he could trust her fully. It was the first time he’d ever been able to give himself to anyone completely, and it felt hugely refreshing.

He sidled up to the bar and ordered another pint of Foster’s. It was easy drinking, and today had been a warm day — not to mention the heat building up inside the venue now that the disco lights were on and the guests were busy dancing away. Some’d had more to drink than others, as was customary at British weddings, and the guy standing to his left seemed to be swaying rhythmically to a completely different song than the one that was actually playing.

Benjamin eyed him, trying to figure out who he was. After the ceremony itself, dozens of people had turned up to the evening party — many of them friends or acquaintances of Lisa, people he didn’t know. He smiled at the man, hoping to strike up conversation.

‘Having a good time?’ he asked him, watching as the man turned his head in the direction of the words.

‘Yeah, great!’ the man said, lifting his pint glass up in salute. Benjamin watched as the frothy head slopped up the inside of the glass and over the man’s hand, falling to the wooden floor with a gentle splat.

‘So you a friend of Lisa’s, then?’ he asked, struggling to make himself heard over the sound of a new song that’d just begun playing.

‘One word for it, yeah. We work together at Sanderson Lees.’

Benjamin nodded as he tried to secretly guess what subject the man taught. He had the physique of a PE teacher, but he drank like a janitor. Maybe an English teacher who looked after himself, or a groundsman. So many people worked at the Sanderson Lees Academy, he wouldn’t be surprised if they had engineers and accountants on the payroll.

‘What do you teach?’ Benjamin asked him, stepping closer to avoid having to shout over the music.

‘Business Studies,’ the man replied. ‘I trained as a PE teacher and ended up covering other stuff. Always the way in this job. Never end up doing what you planned to do.’

Benjamin nodded, convinced he’d heard Lisa say something similar at some point. ‘So have you been working there long?’

‘f*****g long enough,’ the man replied. ‘Sorry, I’m Ollie. Mr Hardcastle to my students,’ he added, guffawing as if this were the funniest joke he’d ever told. Benjamin presumed it probably was.

‘Nice to meet you,’ he replied.

‘You know, me and Lisa had a bit of a thing a few years back. When she started working there. Didn’t last long, mind.’

Benjamin swallowed hard, forcing back the urge to feel angry. He had no right to feel angry — this was his wedding day, and Lisa was now his wife. Why should he care who she’d dated before he’d even met her? It had nothing to do with how things were now. But he still couldn’t shake the instinctive reaction that was pure anger.

‘Really,’ he said, not as a question, before taking a large gulp of his lager.

‘Oh yes,’ the man slurred. ‘Then again, that’s what happens when you start at a new place, isn’t it? Got to test the water. See what’s on offer. Do a few test drives.’

Benjamin gritted his teeth as Ollie raised his pint glass in salute again, grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat.

‘I tell you,’ he continued, leaning in close enough for Benjamin to smell the beer fumes on his breath, ‘I still remember every minute of it. You’ve got a good one there, buddy. Arse like a hot potato. And the way she does that thing where she wraps her legs around you and—’

Ollie gurgled as Benjamin’s hand wrapped around his windpipe, squeezing tightly, lifting him up onto his tiptoes. His back was against the wooden pillar, and he could see the venom in Benjamin’s eyes.

‘Alright! Alright!’ he squealed as Benjamin’s best man, Cameron, took him by the arm and defused the situation before too many people had noticed.

Benjamin looked around and saw Lisa on the dance floor with her friends, completely oblivious to what had happened. In that moment, he realised he’d got away with it.

‘I think it’d be a good idea if you f****d off, don’t you?’ Cameron told Ollie. ‘I don’t know who you are, and I don’t care. But this is his wedding day and we’re not having any of that s**t here, alright?’

‘But he attacked me!’ Ollie slurred, reaching for his pint on the bar.

‘You’ve had enough of that, mate,’ Cameron said, taking the glass from him. ‘And if I know my mate, he doesn’t do things like that without a good reason. Which means you’ve been an arsehole. Which means you’re leaving.’

Cameron was, by now, almost toe-to-toe with Ollie, who took the hint and slunk off towards the exit.

‘What was that all about?’ Cameron asked, once Ollie had gone.

‘Nothing. Just some dickhead making comments about Lisa. Forget it.’

Cameron nodded, knowing there must be more to it than that. ‘Pop outside for a smoke?’ he asked, pulling a packet of cigarettes out of his pocket. Benjamin hadn’t smoked for years, other than the odd occasion when he’d had too much to drink. Right now, though, the thought was very appealing. He craved the taste of a cigarette, the calming nicotine.

The pair stepped outside and enjoying the calm breeze that cooled them down slightly after the heat of the bar. Benjamin had barely taken two drags on his cigarette when he heard the familiar voice of Ollie, accompanied by the sound of unsteady footsteps crunching their way across the gravel.

‘Think you’re the f*****g hard man, do you? Cat that got the cream.’

‘f**k off, mate. We told you to go,’ Cameron called, before turning to Benjamin. ‘I’ll go in and get a couple of the lads. Just in case.’

‘Yeah, go on! Run off back inside!’ Ollie yelled. ‘And what about you, mister married man? I bet you’re proud, ain’t you? Proud to get my sloppy seconds. Hell, she’s everyone’s sloppy seconds, the filthy little slag.’

Before he knew what he was doing, Benjamin sprinted across the gravel and launched himself at Ollie, pinning him to the ground as he pummelled his fists into the man’s face, before pushing his forearm against Ollie’s windpipe, lifting his knee and ramming it into his groin, over and over.

‘Think you’re the f*****g smart man, do you?’ Benjamin yelled, the rage and fury washing over him in a way it hadn’t done for years.

He didn’t know how long he’d been there, but he was dragged back into reality by the force of a couple of his friends pulling him off of Ollie and standing him up a few feet away.

Benjamin ran his finger through his hair and inspected his bloodied knuckles, before turning to head back towards the bar. As he did so, he could see Lisa standing not ten feet away from him, tears staining her cheeks.