The Favours and Fortunes of Katie Castle by Rebecca Campbell

Author:Rebecca Campbell [Campbell, Rebecca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Women, Urban, Humorous, General, Action & Adventure, Classics
ISBN: 9780007571581
Google: 0nkPDQAAQBAJ
Amazon: 0007117892
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2002-04-01T23:00:00+00:00

chapter twelve

the second time as farce

What an odd week that was. I know I should have been grieving for the life that I had lost, but somehow I never quite got round to it. Perhaps I was still in post-traumatic stress mode, still too numb and shocked to face the horrid reality. Objectively, my world had crumbled, but some combination of that numbness, and the old faith in my own ability to rise through quickness of thought and ruthlessness of action insulated me from the fact. Things just didn’t seem too bad.

I awoke on the Monday morning to the sound of Veronica heavily entering her tights. She reminded me of a kind of animal that I couldn’t remember the name of. Something large, and slow, and harmless, but also deeply strange.

‘Oh, you’re awake,’ she said, cheerily. ‘I have to go to work. I’ve left some keys out for you – just treat this as your home.’

‘Tapir,’ I said, blearily.

‘Pardon?’

‘I said thank you.’

I quickly showered and coffeed, and then set to work. I had some serious calling to do. I thought it was at least worth one more try to see if Penny had calmed down and realised that she couldn’t get by without me. A familiar, but subtly changed, voice answered. It was Sukie.

‘Can I speak to Penny.’

‘Is that Katie?’

‘You know it is. Just please put me through.’

‘She’s very busy. I’m screening her calls.’

‘Not from me.’

‘Particularly from you.’

‘Look, Sukie, I know that Penny has given you my job … temporarily, but we both know you haven’t the experience or the balls for it. In two weeks Penny will realise that she can’t manage, and then I’ll be back. If I were you, I really wouldn’t antagonise me.’ I didn’t want to sound like a bitch, but I had to take a hard line. I expected meek submission. This was a girl, after all who, a mere three days before, had to do whatever I told her to, whether it was making my coffee, calling my hairdresser, or polishing buttons.

What I got was laughter.

‘Katie, you poor, poor thing. Don’t you understand what’s happened? You’ve been purged. You don’t exist any more. Penny won’t speak to you because she can’t even pick up the frequency of your thin, common little voice. Katie, you don’t register. And Penny’s said that she’s always wanted someone more like me to help represent the company. Someone with more … panache … elegance.’

She meant, of course, money, class.

‘Listen to me, you humpy-backed dwarf, either you put me through right now or …’ click.

Be cool, be calm, I told myself; it’s immature to rage impotently when someone hangs up. I spent two minutes raging impotently, pulling leaves off the weeping fig by the phone. The Cretin appeared briefly at the top of the stairs in his T-shirt and boxers. He looked baffled for a moment, and then retreated.

On the off chance I tried Ludo at the flat – I didn’t entirely swallow the eagle egg. No answer. I tried his school.

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