Free The Nothing Girl by Jodi Taylor

You’re twenty-eight years old. You can do as you please.
    ‘They’ll lock me away.’
    ‘ No, they won’t. The only locks are the ones inside your own head. I know this is hard, but it’s vital you stay calm. Don’t allow them to agitate you. Try and deal with things one at a time, quietly and with restraint. This may well be your only chance. Take it. ’
    It’s all very well saying ‘keep calm’ but not half so easy to do. I was well aware of the potential for disaster and it looked as if I would be facing it on my own. Where the hell was Russell? Had he been frightened away? Had he changed his mind? Had Francesca suddenly said yes, and he’d forgotten all about me?
    ‘ Stop that, ’ said Thomas, quite sharply for him . ‘ Stop torturing yourself. There’s any number of good reasons why he’s not here yet. Can you hold the fort until he is? ’
    ‘Yes,’ I said. And then with more determination, ‘Yes, I can.’
    ‘ Good girl. ’
    We heard a step on the stair.
    ‘ Good luck. ’
    Uncle Richard tapped on the door. It would never be Aunt Julia. The last time she was up here was to supervise the hanging of my new curtains, about ten years ago.
    I threw myself into a chair and picked up a book.
    ‘ Upside down. ’
    I righted it and called, ‘Come in.’
    ‘Ah, Jenny, good morning.’
    ‘Hello.’
    ‘Can you come downstairs a minute please? Your aunt and I would like a quick word.’
    I followed him down to the lounge, a symphony in pale blue and grey and with furniture I hadn’t realised was so desperately uncomfortable until I sprawled on Russell Checkland’s baggy, saggy stuff.
    Aunt Julia was livid. Absolutely livid. I could see it in her restless pacing and the angry glitter in her eyes.
    She wheeled round as I entered.
    ‘ Go slowly, ’ advised Thomas. ‘ Make her wait. It will either slow her down too, or she’ll explode. Either way is good. Just don’t let her rush you into saying or doing anything rash. ’
    I wasn’t asked to sit down. I’d lived in this house twenty years and still I felt I had to be asked to sit down. That wasn’t right. I’d never minded before, but now I did. My heart rate slowed a little, my legs straightened, and I lifted my head.
    ‘ Well done. ’
    ‘What have you been doing? What on earth do you think you’ve been doing? What have you been doing to make that disgusting man think –?’
    ‘That’s enough, Julia. Please sit down and calm yourself. Until we hear what Jenny has to say this may be no more than a storm in a tea cup. Now, Jenny,’ he continued kindly, ‘I think you must know what this is about.’
    Kind or not, I still hadn’t been asked to sit down. I was standing on the rug like a naughty schoolgirl and I was becoming a little angry.
    ‘ Good for you, but use it, don’t waste it. ’
    I raised my eyebrows at Uncle Richard. I would make him say it.
    He coughed quietly. ‘This morning I had a visit from Russell Checkland. He seems to be under the impression that you have agreed to marry him and visited my office to inform me of that fact. Is this actually true?’
    I took a breath, but Aunt Julia burst in from the other side of the room.
    ‘Of course it’s not true, Richard. How could it be? I can’t believe you didn’t throw him out of your office.’
    ‘Well, he’s quite a large young man and he was perfectly polite about it. And it’s really not good for business for clients to see people pitched, willy-nilly from our premises. Besides, as you can imagine, I questioned him closely and he was very definite. He has proposed marriage to our niece and she has accepted him.’
    She turned to me. ‘Say this isn’t true. Tell us he’s lying.’
    Since I couldn’t do any such thing, I remained silent.
    ‘Do I take it,’ said Uncle Richard, ‘that your silence means he is, in fact, telling the truth?’
    I took another breath, but Aunt Julia was off again. ‘I don’t care whether it’s true or not. It’s nonsense. It will