Page 49 of Mercury Rising

“Good stuff,” Mercury replied. “I’d better go and supervise the kitchen. I dread to think what Hassan is up to.”

He went to the door.

“Mercury,” Nick said. “I do want to talk to you at some point. About us.”

“Me too,” Mercury replied. “Just not yet. Let’s not ruin things.”

As he walked through into the kitchen, Mercury cursed inwardly. Why did they have to talk? Couldn’t they just let things develop naturally? He understood that Nick might feel conflicted. Mercury really should control himself in Bodhi House. If one of the kids got wind of what was going on, it wouldn’t be a secret for very long.

He grudgingly supposed Nick was right after all. Perhaps they did need a chat to establish boundaries and intentions. That had never been Mercury’s way.

And look at the catalogue of disasters I’ve had.

Two days later and Mercury stood at the front door. The photographer would be there at any minute. The house was spick and span. The kids had arrived in their best outfits. Even Eddie had managed to arrange cover to attend. It touched Mercury greatly. It wouldn’t have been the same without him.

A Mercedes pulled up. That had to be him. Out hopped a small man with bright pink hair. The kids would absolutely love this.

“Hello,” the man shouted.

“Hi,” Mercury replied.

The man hauled a bag almost bigger than him from the back seat and slung it over his shoulder. He came down the garden path.

“You must be Mercury?”

“That’s me.”

“I’m Martin. Jeannie told me about this place. I must say, you’re a surprise. I expected you to go full Paris Hilton.”

Mercury ignored the comment. He needed Martin on side. Besides, most people had expected that. He was more than happy to prove them all wrong.

He showed Martin through. The kids were lined up like modern Von Trapps. Nick stood behind them like a proud father.

“My goodness,” Martin said. “We do have a photogenic crowd. That makes things much easier. If you’d been ugly, I would have had to hide you behind the sofa.”

The kids all burst into laughter. Instantly, Mercury relaxed.

“Where shall we start?” Martin asked.

“The cinema room,” Mercury said. “Come with me.”

He led Martin into the room.

“In my head, I visualised the kids watching a movie. Can you set it up it so it appears the screen is lighting them? They’ll be all bright-eyed and innocent.”

Martin frowned. “I can see you’ve done some homework.”

“Oh, I have all the shots in my head.”

“Lucky me,” Martin said drily.

“Obviously, I’ll take instruction from you.”

“Wonderful,” Martin replied. “It’s all become clear why you’ve been reborn into a do-gooder.”

Mercury didn’t like his tone. “What do you mean?”

“That man. He’s gorgeous. I expect you’ll be working late one night and, whoops, your clothes fall off. Or has that already happened? Word on the grapevine is you’re spending every waking minute here. Probably a few sleeping ones too if I know Mercury Morrison.”