Chapter 68. Conspirators.
Rebecca rang Tina later that day.
âWe was wonderingâŚNikki anâ meâŚwevver it would be all right if Philip stayed at Jenniferâs over half term. You know, right froo â from when school breaks up.â
âI donât see why not, Becca. As long as he does his revision.â
âOh, weâll make sure of that.â
âI didnât know you were friends with Jennifer.â
âNoâŚwell I ainât, really. But âe seems to like âer anâ âer friends, and Nikki fought it would, like, give me a breakâŚâ
âAh, I see. Yes, Iâm sure you do need a break. He can be a bitâŚdemanding.â She paused. âDoes he know about this littleâŚholiday, yet?â
âNot really. We were âopinâ it could be a surprise.â
âYou can count on me. Iâll tell my mum.â
âFanks, Tina. Er, we might need some of âis cloves anâ fingsâŚâ
âCome round and help yourself. Any time. Everythingâs here. Fairy costume, baby stuff, the lot. Take whatever you want.â
For her part, Nikki arranged to meet Jennifer and the others at Jenniferâs house the following Tuesday evening. She didnât warn them Rebecca was going with her, and when Jennifer opened the door and saw her she jumped. She looked from one to the other.
âYou didnât tell meâŚâ
âDonât worry, Jennifer,â said Rebecca. âIâm sorry about the uvver day, but thatâs over now.â
âYou know, we would never have really shown it to anyoneâŚâ
âI know. But you panicked him. It werenât fair, anâ I look after my bloke, see?â
âYes. Iâm sorry.â
âSo can we come in?â asked Nikki.
âOh, yeah, sorry. The others are in the lounge.â
And they were. Sadie, Freida and Desdemona. They looked startled at the appearance of Rebecca.
âItâs okay, girls,â Jennifer reassured them. âRebeccaâs not angry any more.â
Sadie looked curious. âWhatâs going on, then? Is this about Philip.â
ââOw did you guess?â
âRebecca needs a little help,â said Nikki, âand we had an idea how she could get it. But we canât do it without you guys.â
âTell us,â said Freida. âDonât keep us in suspense.â
They unfolded their plan. Their listeners' eye widened. Jenniferâs were sparkling with excitement.
âWe can easily keep him in there. Thatâs my manor. My mum never interferes, and we could even chain him up if necessary. We've done it before. But what would we be allowed to do?â
âRebeccaâs having a hard time coping. You know what Iâm saying.â
âYeah,â said Desdemona, âwe know what heâs like. Do you remember at the restaurant, when we first found him holding that big ice-cream? I hardly had to touch him, and he wasâŚâ She blushed. âOh, sorry Becca. I didnât mean anythingâŚâ
âThatâs okay,â Rebecca laughed, âit donât take much to get âim going all right.â
Nikki resumed. âSo heâll need regular attention. A lot of it. Enough to make him think what itâs like to be on the receiving end. But heâs to be allowed to study every morning till twelve. You know what a swot he is, and we want him to pass his exams, donât we?â
âHe can work at the table. Iâll clean it up and put a new angle-poise in there.â
âPerfect. What you do with him is really up to you, so long as he learns his lesson.â
âOh my god,â murmured Sadie, âthis is gonna be such fun.â
âHow are you going to get him here?â asked Jennifer. âI doubt heâll come willingly.â
âWeâre workinâ on that,â replied Rebecca. âWeâll manage it someâow.â
Desdemona seemed to be getting quite turned on by the thought.
âWeâll have him all to ourselves, right? Our little plaything. And there I was just thinking nothing was happening this half-term, and how boring it was going to be! And we even have a few days to think up evil ideas. Do you have any special requests, Becca?â
âNot really. I know youâll be kind to âim, anâ give âim plenty of what âe likes.â
âDonât worry about that!â
Rebecca glanced at Nikki. âThere is one fingâŚâ
âYes?â
Nikki replied for her. âAh. Yes. Poor RebeccaâŚ. I understand she has to pay him rather a lot ofâŚlip service, I think I could call it. Thereâs only so much of that a girl canâŚswallow. I donât know ifâŚâ
âWeâll take care of it, Becca. Rest assured, weâll take care of it,â put in Jennifer, with a meaningful smile.