The LBD Project
- Cover
- 1 - Moving Day
- 2 - Dear Diary
- 3 - Out Clubbing
- 4 - Bad Timing
- 5 - Unexpected Repercussions
- 6 - Just Good Friends?
- 7 - Surprises In The Night
- 8 - Caveat Emptor
- 9 - Hugs And Kisses
- 10 - Helpful Advice
- 11 - Shortcut Home
- 12 - More Helpful Advice
- 13 - Frogs And Princes
- 14 - Shooting Stars
- 15 - Acceptance
- 16 - 0 to 60 in 5.8 Seconds
- 17 - Epilogue
- Cast
- Comments
7 - Surprises In The Night
Helen lay in the dark, staring at the ceiling - her mind in turmoil.
She heard footsteps on the stairs, they stopped on the landing below - her parents were going to bed.
Then, the bass of the toilet flush; the contralto of the pipes filling the cistern; the tenor of the header tank; the soprano of the final burst of water through the filler value. If nothing else, the new house was very musical.
The house fell silent. She returned the stare of the ceiling - it didn't blink.
A rhythmic creaking edged into her brain.
"Get a room!", she cried, rolling over, puffing up her pillow and burying her head in it.
"Oh, you have", the pillow muffled.
"Damn, damn, damn!", she came up for air, "DAMN!"
She reached under the bed for her tablet and swiped it on. A quick web search confirmed that Darwin had indeed married his cousin, Emma - nice name she thought absently.
(It wasn't that she didn't believe her mother, but independent validation was one of the tenets of good research.) So, that explained one of Kit-Kat's photocopies, but what about the other?
She rolled out of bed, padded over to her desk and flicked on the desk lamp.
She studied the genealogy. Victoria had had nine children - Kit-Kat had ten ... score one to Gran! They'd married extensively into the European royal families - she thought the likelihood of catching a Prince minimal ... she just got the frogs.
So what?
She stared at the copy ... it didn't blink either.
In desperation, she tried a word-search trick; closing her eyes she pushed the image of the page from her mind and replaced it with fluffy kittens (why did they all have blue eyes?)
and cute baby animals (why were they all being held by a shirtless, blond farm-hand?). She opened her eyes and looked at the copy.
She blinked in surprise.
How had she missed that? Kit-Kat hadn't highlighted Victoria; she'd highlighted Victoria AND Albert. Helen traced their lineage backwards ...
"O! ... M! ... G!", she exclaimed.
She went back to bed, deep in thought.
She got out again,
turned off the desk lamp, and then snuggled under the duvet to resume her ceiling vigil. Kit-Kat's opinion on the matter was clear to her, but she was still very confused.
Sleep finally overtook her.
The alarm clock exploded into life. An arm emerged, snake-like, from under the duvet and writhed around seeking the snooze button. Finding it, it retreated into the warmth.
The alarm sounded again. Helen rolled out of bed, bleary eyed but smiling, and silenced it. She had a plan, Project LBD was back on track.
"Carpe diem!", she cried, dashing across the chill landing and into her bathroom.
Twenty minutes later she emerged, feeling (and looking) much better.
6 - Just Good Friends?