Chapter 4

Andrew calmed down pretty quickly. A lot of things fell into place regarding Jim and Freya’s behaviour and really other than the revelation that Jim knew about Moira and him, the rest was old news. He had sat and had dinner with Mr. Jenner just the previous week and Suzanne came back to the flat with him at the end of the meal. So other than Jim’s job it was not a big deal. And as Freya said he was staying with them. It was nearly three years ago, get over yourself Andrew. He thought about his reaction, it was the simple shock of it, the rather down to earth way that Freya talked about his sex life. It had just thrown him for a loop. Now as he had a chance to dissect the conversation it had been revelatory but straightforward. Freya had a reason for asking Andrew to be part of her wedding and a couple of secrets were not as much as a secret as he thought. Navya and Helena rather burst into the pub at 4.35. They did a comical look around for Rupashi before approaching the table. Andrew handled the introductions.

“Freya, these are my very good friends Helena Innes and Navya Rai. Ladies, this is Mrs. Freya Moray who works at the Ministry of Defence. I am staying with her and her fiancé this week.”

Andrew was trying not to spoil the big surprise. Hopefully Jim and Rupashi would not be long. He went to the bar and left Freya to put the pair at ease. When he came back Navya thanked him for the drink but asked, archly, where her sister was.

“She didn’t leave, did she?”

Navya managed to make this sound like that would be Andrew’s fault if true.

“No, she will be here any minute.”

No sooner had he said the words than Rupashi and Jim arrived. Andrew was very relieved to see her laughing and smiling away with Jim. He looked at Freya and tilted his head at Jim.

“Old flirt.”

It was unfair to say that to her with a mouthful of gin and tonic. She nearly did a spit take right in his face and after she stopped coughing smacked him on the arm. Then she leaned in.

“I know.”

This little byplay had Navya and Helena looking at each other in total confusion and allowed Rupashi and Jim to get to the table. Jim, being ever the shit stirrer that he was approached both of them.

“Jim Barnes, nice to meet you. You must be Navya.”

He was of course looking at Helena.

“And Helena.”

Turning to look at Navya. This just made the two of them burst into giggles. Freya hit Andrew again.

“Look what you have done.”

Jim came and sat beside Freya with a huge smile on his face. Navya was looking at Rupashi, she was looking at Andrew and Helena looked like she was at a tennis match. Everyone settled down and so he completed the introductions.

“Helena, Navya, this charming gentleman is Lord Barnes, one of her Majesty’s Law Lords. Lord Barnes, my very good friends Helena Innes and Navya Rai, Rupashi’s sister. Rupashi, this is Freya Moray, Lord Barnes’ fiancé. Freya, Rupashi is Navya’s older sister. Did I miss anything?”

Navya always the quickest to react in these moments narrowed her eyes and looked at him.

“Other than the fact that you know a Law Lord and are a guest at his house, no nothing springs to mind.”

Andrew went to get drinks for Jim and Rupashi, as well as a needed top up for himself, laughter ringing in his ears. He had no worries about this group. He knew that Jim and Freya were skilled in the art of small talk and none of the other three were short of an opinion. Andrew brought the drinks back to the table and the laughter was louder than ever.

“Andrew, did you take Ru to Parliament and abandon her with Lord Barnes?”

Outrage and admiration mingled in Navya’s question. Jim intercepted it.

“At my suggestion Navya. Let me give you some background. I am a Scottish judge, and served on what is called the Court of Session, the supreme civil court in Scotland. Now the same judges also deal with criminal cases but they are heard in the High Court. Same people, same building but different name for the court. And of course the law is different in Scotland than in England and Wales. Here we are coming up on three hundred years since the Union but we are still running different systems, but I digress. My daughter transferred to the school Andrew attended at the start of her last year. She is at now exactly the same stage of her education as Rupashi although at Oxford. But to get there she had to pass the Higher Maths course, not at the equivalent of the A-level but she needed to pass this one Maths exam to get in. She had multiple other requirements but they were not an issue, the maths was. The previous year she had failed the exam completely. I had not dealt with this at all well and as well as making Moira move school for her last year, we also had exchanged harsh words over that summer. There is just the two of us and she has inherited my temper and stubbornness. So there is Moira, faced with having to pass this one Maths exam and the one person she should be able to count on is being an old fool. Serendipitously what happened was that one of Andrew’s friends approached her one day in the library where she was at the point of bursting into tears. To move this story along, Andrew ended up tutoring her for the whole year, dealt with her exam anxiety, the underlying cause of the poor performance and helped her pass the exam. But as she started to become more confident in maths the pair of us started to unlock horns and finally start to talk to each other again. Once I found out that Andrew was tutoring her and that he was the reason she was starting to worry less about maths I asked to meet him. I wanted to meet this young man and thank him. Guess who told me to take a hike.”

Jim had a presence and was a born storyteller. Andrew knew this was coming but to see the three shocked faces as they all pivoted to him was funny.

“Oh yes, one Andrew McLeod was having nothing to do with meeting me. Now to be fair to him he had spent the previous year being unfairly questioned and accused as to his intentions by several parents of young ladies that he was friends with.”

The shocked looks turned to smirks.

“After Moira and Suzanne emotionally blackmailed him into meeting me we finally met. What was I Andrew? The fourth or fifth parent to interrogate you?”

Andrew laughed. “The fifth.”

“The meeting was benign and innocuous. All that I really remember from that first meeting was something Moira said to me the night before. Andrew had told her I was going to be treated with respect and healthy dose of circumspection. That’s right, yes?”

Andrew nodded again.

“Now I realise that I am rambling on here.”

Helena and Navya, together, said.

“Just like Andrew.”

Jim had a coughing fit he laughed so hard.

“Sorry about that. Yes, apparently it is contagious. The point I was in no way managing to make was that as you get more senior in the legal profession, in any profession, the more you are faced with an endless series of yes men. It is either yes men or backstabbers but 15 year olds do not just say no. Andrew intrigued me and when we met again 18 months later, Freya witnessed an evening that is still talked about at dinner parties in Edinburgh.

“Andrew has helped many people, it just so happens my daughter is one of them and so when we were talking last night I suggested to him that he bring Rupashi to meet me. It is these small acts that I will remember when I retire not some intricate point of law. If Rupashi had been overawed or out of her depth then I would have cut the visit short and there would have been no harm done. But instead myself and two of my fellow Lords were treated not just with curtesy but were also asked some excellent questions by a top notch law student. Sadly I think we will all be retired before Rupashi gets the chance to argue a case before us but there is no doubt she has the ability.”

Here he stopped and tipped his glass towards Rupashi. Andrew thought she was going to cry she looked so happy, flustered and proud but she held it together. There was a stunned silence for several seconds and then Rupashi came round and gently hugged Jim.

“Thank you.”

Now Navya looked like she was going to cry too. Finally after another trip to the bar they were all settled and the conversation started to flow again. Helena asked the question that he knew was coming.

“Lord Barnes, you said Andrew had helped many people, can you give us some examples.”

It was Freya that answered though.

“These are not our stories to tell. We tell the one of Moira as she is Jim’s daughter. The only person who can tell you stories is Andrew himself. And for that to happen, Andrew has to trust you. So Helena, Navya, Rupashi, can Andrew trust you? Do you keep his secrets already?”

Wow. That was blunt and rather a slap in the face. But is seemed to have the desired effect as all three of them looked taken aback and there were no further questions. Jim and Freya smoothly kept the conversation flowing and once they finished the drinks they set off to Haymarket to a nice restaurant that Jim knew. They paired up outside with Jim now chatting to Navya, Freya with Rupashi which left Helena walking with Andrew. She looked at him as they cut across the edge of Trafalgar Square.

“Well that was an unexpected end to the afternoon.”

Helena appeared pensive.

“Are you okay?”

“Oh I am fine. I am just in a bit of a daze at how little I know you. Freya’s comment was blunt and to the point.”

Andrew didn’t say anything.

“I don’t really know you, do I?”

“Yes and no. Do you know what kind of person I am? Yes, you do know that. Do you know all my personal history? Of course not. None of us know that. That is part of the great thing about university, you can define yourself with a clean slate. No baggage from a mis-spent youth in the rougher edges of Surrey.”

Helena finally smiled.

“Hampshire please.”

Andrew took her hand and they walked behind the others until they got to the restaurant. Once they were settled at the table Helena spoke up again.

“Was it your New Year party where Andrew met the Duke and Duchess of Roxburghe?”

Freya smiled.

“Yes, I am not sure that he has forgiven us yet for that one. Yes that was New Year.”

“Can I ask why you invited him?”

“That starts to stray into territory that Andrew should explain himself. He was charming though if somewhat flustered. He had no idea how to address the Duchess so he asked. She told him to call her Jane.”

Jim smoothly changed the subject and focused the discussion on the Rai sisters for much of the rest of the dinner. Helena and Freya went to the ladies together and were gone for a suspiciously long time. When they returned Freya looked far too pleased with herself, although nothing was said. Once the dinner was over, with Jim determinedly paying, he and Freya bid them goodnight and said they were heading home to allow just the four of them some time together. The hug that Rupashi gave Jim was all they needed to know how the afternoon went. With a final farewell they were gone. Time for Andrew to face the music. What he wasn’t expecting was Rupashi to start crying. Now all men know that there is nothing more disconcerting than a crying woman. Sadly Andrew was no different and had no idea what to say or do. Channeling his inner Twain he kept silent as Helena and Navya sat on either side of Rupashi talking to her. Finally she calmed down and Andrew thought he was going to get slapped the way she stalked towards him. It wasn’t like he didn’t deserve it. Again, clairvoyance was never going to be a career. She flung herself on him and kissed him very soundly. Very soundly. Once their little three acts play with tongues had finished she swivelled round to face the others, all the while sitting in his lap. Wriggling.

“What do you bet that he is completely confused and has no idea what is going on?”

“There is no blood flowing to his brain Ru, of course he has no idea.”

Navya’s comment induced gales of laughter from the three of them and once they finally calmed down Rupashi smiled at Andrew and explained.

“The tears were an outpouring of relief that I had managed not to screw this day up Andrew. I got to spend the afternoon with three Law Lords and the rest of the evening with one of them. Andrew, I am the daughter of an Indian immigrant, and I just impressed three of the most senior judges in the country. Do you not understand what happened today?”