Page 20 of The Labours of Lord Perry Cavendish
Blinking, he glanced up to find Zander watching him with a curious expression.
“You didn’t hear a word of that, did you?” Zander said, with mock annoyance, though it was obvious from the twinkle in his eye he didn’t really mind.
“Sorry,” Perry said gruffly. “You know I’m a slow top. What were you saying?”
Zander shook his head disapprovingly—that was for the slow top comment, but he didn’t tell Perry off. “Jonny was telling us that he thought he might paint both of you together—as Herakles and Hylas.”
Perry cleared his throat. “Yes,” he said. “I’m going to be Hercules—Herakles,I mean—and Jonny’s going to be Hylas.”
Adam tapped his chin, considering. “Weren’t they lovers?”
“No,” Perry said, proud that he knew something Adam didn’t. “Hylas was Hercules’s arms-bearer.”
Adam frowned. “Are you sure?” He glanced at Jonny, a question in his gaze.
“Actually,” Jonny said, with an apologetic look in Perry’s direction. “He was both.”
Perry felt his own face flush—again. He felt stupid now, when a moment ago he’d felt quite clever. “Oh,” he said. “Only, you said earlier—”
“I know,” Jonny interrupted quickly. “I did. I just didn’t mention the other part because, well, I didn’t want—” He broke off awkwardly.
“Didn’t want what?” Perry echoed uncertainly.
Jonny said unhappily, “I didn’t want you to—to think I was trying toengineersomething.” He flapped his hand between the two of them awkwardly, and too late, Perry realised that perhaps he ought to have let the point drift.
He cleared his throat and said, “I wouldn’t have thought that. I don't think much ofanythingmostly—I’m a bit of a dolt, really.”
“Well, this is interesting,” Adam said drily. He was staring straight at Jonny, but Jonny ignored him, addressing Perry instead. “You’re not a dolt,” he said firmly. “Or a slow top—far from it. I only met you yesterday, and that much is clear to me.”
Perry’s chest ached, and he wasn’t even sure why, but he knew he’d think about this moment later, when he was alone. Jonny defending him—from Perry himself, but still—and smiling at him sosweetly. Jonny with his copper-penny hair and that emerald-green waistcoat, looking as bright and colourful as the box of paints he’d shown Perry earlier.
“Bravo, Jonny,” Zander said, distracting Perry from his thoughts. “I keep telling him that, but perhaps he’ll listen to you.”
Perry cleared his throat. “Well, that’s very decent of you both, but I’m still dashed glad I had Zander at school with me. If I hadn’t had him to help me, I’d never’ve been able to sit down with the number of thrashings I’d’ve got.” He gave Jonny a crooked smile and added, “I wasawfulat school. Zander used to get himself into trouble all the time doing exercises for me and letting me pass them off as mine.” He winked at Zander. “He earned himself nearly as many thrashings as me.”
“Rest assured you’re not alone, Peregrine,” Jonny said lightly. “I don’t have the fondest memories of my schooldays either—my bulwark was Adam.” He smiled affectionately at his friend across the table.
“And you were mine,” Adam replied. “Even more so.” He made a face. “It was a horrible school. I was glad to see the back of it—especially Horace Underwood. He was a nasty piece of work.”
Jonny nodded. “He still is, though he’s well on the way to drowning himself in a brandy bottle—if he doesn’t die of syphilis first.”
“What did he do?” Perry asked. The thought of Jonny being tormented by anyone had his gut twisting.
Jonny waved his hand dismissively. “In my case, the usual sort of thing boys like Horace do to boys like me—calling me girls’ names, tripping me up, pushing me over. It wasn’t pleasant, but I wasn’t his only victim. In Adam’s case, he was much nastier. He thought Adam shouldn’t be at the school at all because his father wasn’t born agentleman,and he set out to make his life a misery.”
Perry glanced at Adam who shrugged.
“The other boys saw which way the wind was blowing,” Adam said. “No one stood up to Underwood—they either joined in with him or just kept out of it. All except Jonny.” Adam smiled at Jonny then, and his eyes shone with affection. “Jonny defied all common sense and became my friend—my only friend—and in doing so, he put a target on his own back. So we looked out for each other after that.”
“Which, let’s be honest, worked out rather better for me than you,” Jonny said with a grin. He winked at Perry. “When I was being hung upside down by my ankles, Adam would come in with his fists flying. When the same happened to him, I was rather less effective.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Adam said, eyes twinkling now, “Some of your insults were downright devastating. I’ll wager your sharp tongue left a few wounds.”
Jonny chuckled. “That’s true. But sharp wit requires a bit less bravery than fists, my dear.”
“Nonsense,” Adam said firmly. “You’re the bravest person I know.”
Jonny scoffed. “Foolish maybe, not brave. Come on, Adam, you know me better than that. Have you forgotten our journey here already? I just about had hysterics when we got stuck in that awful mud rut.”