Page 26 of Mercury Rising

Another furore came from upstairs.

“I’d better go,” Cath said, leaving them to it.

“Do you think they’ll be okay?” Mercury asked, handing Nick his mug.

“Of course. They’re hardly going to eat him, are they? Deep down, the kids love getting their emotions out with paint. It’s really effective. I must warn you. They’ve asked if you can go and see the finished products.”

“I’m not exactly popular in the art world at the moment. I promise I have no red wine on my person.”

They went through into the office. Mercury was so relieved that things appeared to be okay although he didn’t want to simply brush it under the carpet.

He sat at his desk. The huge stack of logbooks was where he’d left them.

“About Friday,” he began.

“I wanted to talk to you about that,” Nick replied. “I think I owe you an apology.”

“Me?”

Nick shifted uncomfortably on his chair. “I think I judged you a little harshly. I can’t help being protective over these kids. Social media is the worst thing that happened to teenagers.”

Mercury frowned. “You think?”

“Of course. They’re expected to show these perfect lives in the best clothes. Don’t even get me started on the weirdos that hang around on there.”

Mercury couldn’t argue with that. He had received more than his fair share of filthy and threatening messages.

“You’re right,” he replied. “I wouldn’t have been able to handle that at their age. My mother wouldn’t let me have any accounts until I was eighteen.”

Nick nodded. “I can imagine it’s ten times worse being famous.”

Madeline’s fame had always been there. It was a fact of Mercury’s life. That didn’t make it always smooth sailing.

“When I was fourteen, someone followed me home from school,” Mercury said. “Ever since we came to London, my mother’s insisted on security. I found it so embarrassing. I begged her to stand them down. In the end I succeeded. Six months later, this man appeared in the park.”

Nick frowned. “What happened?”

“I ran,” Mercury explained. “And didn’t tell my mum. She would have insisted on getting another bodyguard. Two weeks later, the same man was disturbed in the garden by Gwen, our housekeeper. He attacked her to try to get in the house. He kept screaming he was married to my mum and my natural father.”

Nick stared at him, his eyes wide. “That must have been terrifying.”

“We were out, but Gwen got pretty roughed up. Thankfully, my paranoid mother had made sure cameras were installed everywhere. Honestly, our house would giveBig Brothera run for its money.”

“Did it go to court?”

Mercury shook his head. “He pleaded guilty, thankfully. Poor Gwen was in no shape to face a trial.”

“What happened to her?”

“Nothing. She still works for us. Mum promised her a job for life and a massive wage increase. Honestly, she’s the best.”

“Did the guy get jail?”

“Yeah, a few years. He’ll be out now. Thankfully, we’ve not heard anything from him. If he comes within a square mile of us, he’ll go straight back inside.”

Nick sipped his tea. Mercury noticed he didn’t grimace. That had to be progress.

“He would have had a shit time,” Nick said. “Men who attack women aren’t treated very nicely.”