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  ‘So,’ said Louis, sadly, ‘all the time I thought Sarah cared for me; all my life has been a lie. She only stayed because she hates the Sponsors!’

  ‘Sarah Lonsdale adores you, Louis,’ said Gideon fiercely. ‘Don't let me ever hear you putting that in doubt again. Yes, she took the post in order to protect you; yes at the time it was her way of working against St Benedict, but that doesn't mean she doesn't love you. She does, you and your sister, and if you stop being so dense you'll realise you know it! Now, are we going to sit here talking all day or are you going to put in some work?’

  Longing to ask more questions, but knowing that Gideon's lucidity was at an end, Louis changed into his workout kit and began his series of warm-up exercises.

  Meanwhile, a dejected Jenny sat in the classroom, an empty chair at her side. It turned out that the Radcliffe family didn't even have the few days left in Applethwaite that they'd believed they would have. During the night, Jane and Alex disappeared from the family home, and by the time Louis fetched his little sister from school the Radcliffes’ furniture was already travelling south in a removal van. A small crowd of Applethwaite residents had gathered outside the gates of the former Radcliffe family home, talking quietly, no one wanting to voice the suspicion that they'd never see or hear from the Radcliffes again.

  Louis remembered the previous day, Jane confiding her fears in the school playground, Karen Winter's downturned eyes and unreadable expression. His heart hardening, he made a silent vow.

  ‘Mortimer O'Reilly, you might just have been right. This can't go on happening, and if I'm the one to stop it, then so be it!’

  Chapter Four

  The warm weather returned for the start of the school summer break, and for a while Louis was distracted from his newfound burden by Jenny's excitement at being let loose for a summer of fun in the sun. With the resilience of childhood Jenny had taken the loss of her best friend on the chin, and as new pursuits took the place of Alex in her life, her memories of the Radcliffes began to fade. Louis wasn't so lucky, being only too aware that nobody had managed to contact Jane and Bob. Both their mobile phones went straight to voicemail when called, and emails were being returned unread from a now-obsolete email account. Louis was wise enough only to voice his fears to Gideon, and to Sarah during rare quiet moments at home. He'd finally had the opportunity to tell Sarah about his conversation with Gideon a few days after the event, leaving her very thoughtful for a while.

  ‘You do know I love you, don't you, Louis?’ she'd asked.

  ‘I do,’ he'd replied, marvelling that she instinctively guessed he'd had a moment of doubt.

  A constant annoyance for Louis by the start of the school holidays was the fact he kept running into the conceited Max Barrington. Eventually Louis asked Max whether it was actually Abi that he fancied or if he'd developed a taste for his own sex.

  ‘Don't fret, Bleachy my old mate,’ Max had said, ‘you're not my type.’ But still Max continued to appear wherever Louis went. Finding sanctuary in Gideon's studio (or rather, the late Elliot Farrell's studio), Louis grumbled to Gideon about not being able to shake off Max's attention.

  ‘As if it's not enough that the creep's dating Abi,’ moaned Louis, balancing upside down on the parallel bars, ‘he's forever in my face.’

  As Louis sprang from the bars, somersaulting effortlessly to the ground, Gideon replied with a chuckle, ‘He's not very subtle is he, this Max character. I think the Sponsors’ patience will soon run out.’

  Louis cast Gideon a quizzical look.

  ‘Good job you're sporty because you're very thick, Trevelyan,’ said Gideon, rude as ever. ‘The Sponsors are watching you, remember? As long as it's someone as inept as Barrington on the case we've no immediate cause for concern on that front.’

  Louis realised the truth in Gideon's words, but it didn't lessen his irritation at finding Max waiting for him when he left the studio.

  ‘You again,’ said Louis, chuckling inwardly that Gideon had taught him well in rudeness as well as gymnastics. ‘Don't you have a life of your own?’

  ‘Just trying to be friendly, Lewis,’ replied Max. Louis cringed at the mispronunciation of his name, and made a mental note not to annoy Gideon by calling him Gid anymore. ‘I'd love to write an article about your gymnast sessions; would it be OK to drop by and watch sometime?’

  ‘No!’ replied Louis shortly, walking away. Undeterred, Max followed.

  ‘Oh go on, Lewis. I'd be good as gold. It'd be a wheeze, and I'd so love to meet this mystery mentor of yours.’

  ‘Rest assured he would NOT like to meet you, and my name's not Lewis!’ shouted Louis over his shoulder, before breaking into a sprint home, colliding headlong with Sarah as she got out of her car.

  ‘Gideon can't be working you hard enough if you've got that much energy at the end of the day!’ she exclaimed, hugging Louis as his breathing returned to normal.

  ‘Barrington,’ said Louis eventually, walking into the house with Sarah. ‘He won't leave me alone; it's doing my head in!’

  ‘Oh yes,’ said Sarah, grinning. ‘Max the Unsubtle. I shouldn't worry too much my love; I don't think he'll be around for much longer.’

  ‘That's what Gideon said, but he's driving me mad,’ said Louis, exasperated. Then with an abrupt change of subject, designed to catch Sarah off guard, Louis asked, ‘When are we going to go to London?’

  Far too wily to be wrong-footed that easily, Sarah assured Louis that they would just as soon as she could get things organised.

  ‘Your mother's ill at the moment, Louis my love; I really don't want to leave her like this.’

  ‘We will go though, won't we? You promised!’

  Sarah had indeed promised to take Louis to London. When Louis had told her of his enlightening chat with Gideon, he also let her know everything that had preceded it, including the mysterious visions of Theo trapped in his room. The more his friend called to him for help, the more anxious Louis became to answer that call, and Sarah recognised this anxiety. Having protected Louis from the harsh realities of the Sponsorship Scheme for his entire life, there was no way Sarah was going to let him take the trip alone. There was also no way she was going to leave Jenny unguarded in Applethwaite, so Sarah resigned herself to the fact the child would have to come too. Sarah's main concern was getting Louis away from Applethwaite without arousing the unwanted attentions of the Sponsors; even the unobservant Max Barrington couldn't help but notice if Louis were suddenly absent from the only place he'd ever known.

  ‘You know it takes planning, Louis. Please be patient,’ said Sarah, knowing she would have to plan fast before the increasingly impatient young man took matters into his own hands.

  While Sarah was having her conversation with Louis, Max was trying a different tactic in his bid to learn more about the young gymnast. He was so proud to have been told by Lord William himself to observe and report on everything Louis was doing, and he was determined to make the right impression with an accurate and detailed account. Such was Max's respect for the Sponsors that he didn't even question why His Lordship had such an interest in a person who, to Max, was as dull as they come. Lying in the sun next to Abi, her head on his chest as he stroked her hair, Max decided she was mellowed enough by his attentions and began asking questions.

  ‘How long have you known that Trevelyan boy?’ Max began.

  ‘Louis? Ages,’ replied Abi. ‘Most of my life. Why?’

  ‘Wasn't he friends with your cousin once?’

  ‘I don't remember,’ said Abi cautiously, alarm bells ringing in her head.

  ‘Sure you do!’

  ‘No, really, I haven't seen my cousins for ages.’

  ‘Do you know that Gideon bloke then? I heard he was a friend of your dad's.’

  ‘I know of him. Remember I was only a kid when Dad died, way too young to stay friends with his mates.’

  This was a complete lie. Gideon, although heartbroken by the brutal death of his best friend, repaid Elliot's kindn
ess by regularly checking on Abi and Cameron as they grew up, making sure that he was always there when they needed someone to turn to.

  ‘Have you ever seen Trevelyan train? Is he good? Why doesn't he get Sponsorship-endorsed training, given who his father is?’ The questions started coming thick and fast until Abi, irritated, pushed Max away and leapt to her feet.

  ‘If you want to know about Louis go and ask Louis,’ she yelled. ‘Call me when you want to take an interest in me!’

  ‘Abi, sorry…’ Max yelled after her retreating figure, but she didn't stop running full pelt over The White Lion's meadow and into the village. ‘Oh well,’ muttered Max, arrogant as ever, ‘I'll soon bring her round. She'll be putty in my hands after a few hours in the sack with me!’

  Abi found that her day wasn't about to get any better when she arrived home to find her mother in conversation with Sarah Lonsdale, both women's faces serious.

  ‘I don't like it,’ Jess Donatelli was saying, adding ‘Hello, darling’ as Abi walked through the door.

  ‘Hi, Mam,’ replied Abi, kissing her mother on both cheeks. ‘Hi, Sarah. What don't you like?’

  Sighing, Jess turned to Sarah. ‘You tell her, please,’ she said. ‘Everything!’

  Sarah turned to Abi and did as Jess asked. She told the young woman all about Louis's need to find Theo and the reasons behind it. When Abi asked if anyone had thought to let Louis know about the dangers of taking on the Sponsors, Sarah told her all about Gideon's talk with Louis. Despite knowing what a formidable enemy the Sponsors could be, Louis was still determined to proceed to London in his quest to find Theo.

  ‘Does he know exactly how formidable?’ asked Abi. ‘Does he know what happened to me dad?’

  ‘He knows the basics,’ said Sarah, ‘but it might just dissuade him if you were to talk to him. I doubt it, but it might.’

  ‘Mam, you were saying that you didn't like something when I came in,’ said Abi, turning to her mother. ‘What?’

  When Jess remained silent, Sarah answered for her.

  ‘Max Barrington is causing us problems. He won't leave Louis alone.’

  ‘Tell me about it! I just left him; all he'll talk about is Louis.’

  ‘Have you fallen out with Max then, darling?’ asked Jess, hopefully.

  ‘Why?’ replied Abi, cautious once again.

  ‘Because if I'm to get Louis out of Applethwaite unnoticed we'll need someone to distract Max,’ Sarah told her bluntly, while Jess dropped her eyes to the floor, unable to meet her daughter's accusing gaze.

  ‘ME?’ shouted Abi, then took control of herself a bit. ‘You want me to act as a decoy? How exactly do you think I'll achieve that?’

  ‘He obviously likes you. Spend time with him. Give him titbits of information about Louis, unimportant things. Maybe make something up?’

  ‘And what if that isn't enough to keep him distracted? He's not got a very long attention span, you know.’

  This time Sarah dropped her eyes too. Finally, Abi spoke, her voice sharp in the deafening silence.

  ‘You want me to sleep with him.’

  ‘I told you I didn't like it,’ said Jess sadly.

  Louis was curled up on the sofa in the comfortable family room of his parents’ house, enjoying some peace and quiet as Jenny was at a sleepover party for the night. His mother was sleeping off her latest illness; and Sarah, unusually, was nowhere to be seen. Finding that reading caused too much discomfort to his eyes, and the bright television screen was even worse, Louis contented himself with closing his eyes and dreaming of Abi. Although he knew that Abi was seeing Max, and that she was a million zillion miles out of his league, Louis still found comfort in daydreams where Abi whispered words of love to him as he ran his hands over her body, and there wasn't someone hammering on the front door.

  However, there was someone hammering on the front door. Thoroughly fed up at having been interrupted so abruptly just as things with his imaginary Abi were getting interesting, Louis got up from the sofa without even bothering to tidy his unruly hair and answered the door to the real Abi.

  ‘Can I come in?’ asked Abi as Louis stood silent, eyes blinking in surprise behind their protective dark glasses. ‘I need to talk to you.’

  ‘Yes of course, come in,’ stuttered Louis, making a vain attempt to tidy his hair with his fingers, and wishing he were wearing something a little more fetching than an ancient tracksuit.

  ‘Do you want something to eat? Drink?’ asked Louis, thoroughly confused at having the beautiful Abi in his home.

  ‘Just a glass of water, please, Louis,’ said Abi, settling herself on the very same spot where his head had lain a few minutes before. When Louis returned with two glasses of water, he hovered nervously in front of Abi until she patted the seat next to her.

  ‘Sit down Louis, make yourself at home,’ she joked, succeeding in making Louis smile and relax a bit. As Louis sat, she said once again, ‘I have to talk to you.’

  Preparing himself for Abi to tell him to back off, that she would never love him, that her heart belonged to Max, Louis was totally unprepared for what she really wanted to say.

  ‘You want to find Theo, don't you?’

  ‘What did you say?’

  ‘Theo. My cousin. He's been making contact with you, hasn't he?’

  ‘Who told you?’ gasped Louis eventually.

  ‘Sarah,’ replied Abi. ‘She's making plans.’

  ‘For what?’

  ‘For getting you out of Applethwaite without dimwit Max and his Sponsor masters knowing, what do you think?’

  Louis was silent for some time, taking in the things Abi had just said. She knew he'd been seeing visions of Theo. She didn't appear to think he was mad. She seemed to know more about Sarah's plans than he did – was Abi a part of them? Finally, and this one lifted Louis's spirits no end, Abi's tone of voice when she mentioned Max didn't sound overly impressed. Eventually, Abi asked, ‘Are you sure you want to go through with this? Do you really know how dangerous the Sponsors are?’

  ‘Yes and yes,’ said Louis, now on sure ground. ‘Theo and I were once best friends. He obviously considers us still to be so, and I'm not about to disagree. He's in big trouble, Abi, and he's appealed to me for help. What sort of friend would I be if I were to let him down? No friend at all!’

  Leaning back into the comfortable sofa, the Trevelyans’ safe and friendly family room contrasting starkly with the danger she knew Louis would soon be in, Abi said quietly, ‘They murdered my dad, you know. The Sponsors. They killed him. Oh there's no proof, but they did. Gideon's told you about Dad, has he?’

  When Louis nodded his head, Abi continued.

  ‘My dad was passionately opposed to the St Benedict Scheme. I was aware of that from a very early age, although I never understood why. Mam's filled in the gaps for me since Dad died. He saw the lack of freedom that Sponsorship brought. People were being rescued from poverty and given what looked like wonderful opportunities, but at what cost? Decisions were taken from them; simple freedoms such as where to shop, eat or take holidays were denied them. Bad things happened to anyone who questioned the Sponsors, yet no one dared accuse them.

  ‘Until Dad. He dared, and for a long time it looked as though the Sponsors actually had an adversary capable of keeping them in line. They knew they couldn't be seen to discipline Dad with threats and violence as they could with the poor, terrified people they Sponsored. They certainly couldn't make him disappear; he was far too much in the focus of the international football world. I can remember the way people used to react to us, even though I was only young at the time. At school, other kids held me in some kind of awe. Looking back, I think they wanted to be friends, they wanted to know more about Dad, but they were equally scared of their parents’ Sponsors.

  ‘Then, not long before my eighth birthday, Dad changed. He started to become quieter, more worried. He wasn't so quick to question everything the Sponsors did. He was still at the peak of his football career and so still ver
y much followed by the world's press, but something had managed to knock his confidence. Again it's been Mam who's filled the gaps for me. It was at this time that he started receiving threatening letters, getting increasingly nasty until the final one pretty much broke him. It arrived a week or so after my eighth birthday and was just a picture of a gravestone with Dad's name and two dates. One was Dad's date of birth; the other was obviously meant to depict his date of death.

  ‘It was the date of the following Saturday, only four days away when Dad received the letter.’

  Abi paused, tears in her eyes giving away how much the memories still hurt.

  ‘We were at home that day,’ she continued, referring to the football team her father had played for with so much success. ‘Security was stepped up to the maximum for the match; nothing was going to hurt Dad, not during the game anyway. Afterwards, we'd be heading straight back to Applethwaite so Dad could surround himself with his family until the fateful day was over. That was the plan.

  ‘In the final ten minutes of the game we were awarded a throw-in.’ Abi stopped to compose herself – the next words were going to be very difficult to speak as she recalled the worst day of her life.

  ‘We got a throw-in directly in front of the hospitality box that I was in. Grandad was there too, and Mam, and Cameron. Thank God he was too young to remember. Dad went over to pick up the ball. He didn't take throw-ins; he was just nearest…’