Beautiful Freaks (13 page)

“The real world is becoming fiction,” Steptree said to himself. “A world where the imagination becomes real
,
and t
he real becomes imagination; one t
errifying paradox.”

This habit o
f speaking his thoughts out l
oud was new
and
Steptree didn’t care for it. It was the behaviour of the insane.

“
Who
are you talking to, darling?” Meg’s voice was thick with sleep and innocence
.

“No one, my love!
I was just talking with the dark
ness
.”
He offered a weak smile.

“Come to bed.” She yawned.
“I’ve missed you.”

She folded her arms around his neck and held him in a bed-warm hug. She smelt of talcum powder and rose water. As the whole world fell apart, as the end of the century killed the age of certainty, Meg was a fixed point. He stretched out his hand to rest on her arm and let his head fall back into the warmth of her shoulder.

“I’ve missed you too.” He kissed her arm, felt the warm, solid flesh beneath his lips.

“Let’s go to bed.”

She let him go and waited, holding out her hand behind her, inviting him to take hold of it. She led him upstairs but before he followed her into their bedroom he pulled away to go and check on their daughter,
Elsie
. He loved to look down on her
whilst she
sle
pt
, to imagine what dreams were playing through her head. When he looked at her
,
the
answer to all questions
of the universe were
momentarily answered. He leant down, kissed her clammy, sleepy forehead
,
and tiptoed out of the room to join his beautiful wife.

*

It
was
soon clear that Hugh was not a very intereste
d chess player. It came too easily
to him. He’d pick up his piece
as a side-thought
between a gulp of whisky and a drag of his cigarette
, then
let
the
piece slide between his fingers so that it landed with a slight wobble. Despite his apathetic appearance, the game Hugh played was swift and deadly. Within less than twenty moves Kaspian was in checkmate. He knew that no matter how many times he played, he’d lose. It made
playing
the game sort of pointless.

“Are you bored, Kaspian?”

Kaspian looked at him, cocking his head to the side as if he were trying to interpret the question. “Bored, what do you mean?”

“I mean are you bored of your life – the way it’s panning out? Is it all you thought it would be?”

Kaspian cracked a smile, “I think it might be a little too early to tell?”

Hugh returned his smile. “Yes, of course.” He raised his glass and took a sip from it.

“I mean,” Kaspian began to talk
with no idea of
where
he was h
eading, “there’s a great big world in front of me and I’ve means to explore it but…”

“…
but
it’s knowing where to start.”
Hugh finished Kaspian’s sentence for him.

“Yes – that’s it exactly. It’s almost as if there are just too many choices.”

“Maybe the thing is not to make a choice.” Hugh exhaled a perfect smoke circle. “Maybe the thing is to let yourself be led … appoint a sort of guide.”

Kaspian’s mouth twitched into a smile. “And I suppose you’re touting for business.”

Hugh laughed, “I suppose I am. How about it? How about we go out and find some adventure?”

Kaspian
looked back towards the yellow-
lit doors of the study. He could hear the thundering laughter and excited chatter. Shadows poured drinks from decanters and raised pipes to lips. They looked like they were settling in for a night of old man chatter. It didn’t hold much appeal.

“They probably won’t even notice we’ve slipped off,” Hugh said
,
recognising Kaspian’s childlike apprehension.

“Maybe … just for an hour or two.”

“Good man!” Hugh was already stood
,
checking his pockets for cash and cigarettes.

“But my wallet and hat?” Kaspian worried.

“Don’t fret about that – I’ve got everything we need.”

With that
,
Hugh checked the coast was clear before making off across the lawn and slipping out of the side-gate. Kaspian followed, his heart beating a little faster than it was used to
. T
he glitter of excitement
sparkled
in his eye.

“Where are we going?” Kaspian giggled.

“Somewhere more fitting for a man’s eighteenth birthday celebration.”

“Where?”

“To The G
arden of Eden.” Hugh winked and a wicked, enticing smile filled the whole of his face.

“The
G
arden of Eden?”

“Oh, yes. You are going to love it! It’s totally wicked.”

9

THE GARDEN OF EDEN

At that time of night, the
ways through the city
were
perilous
. Kaspian couldn’t help but feel anxious.
Hugh knew his way through the labyrinthine streets as if
they were his own empire and strode confidently ahead, seeming to pay no heed to the hundred threats Kaspian felt.

They travelled through the bawdy streets of Soho
,
and even though it was after the closing time, the streets swarmed with life.
It
was like one great melting pot of man
.
T
he usual distinctions
between the classes were
blurred by one human desire: Lust.

Kaspian had never walked the London streets at such a late hour. When he and Heartlock had, on rare occasion, made a trip to the thea
tre or out for supper at a club,
they had always ensured a cab was waiting outside the door. He had never realised that such life and energy existed in the sleeping hours. And everywhere Kaspian looked, there were women
;
exotic birds strutting their way through the streets. Their makeup was so thick that it gave the appearance of a masked ball
,
as if every night was carnival
.

Under the flare of the theatre gas-lamps the women
looked like
animated dolls
.
Kaspian found something both repulsive and fascinating about them. In theatre-land the streets tangled into a delicious web of dreams and desires. Just when you were losing your
self in them, some rough-caked
drab or prize-ring tout would jump out of the shadows and chatter in your face, snapping you into reality.

Kaspian let Hugh wander slightly in front, as if he were his own personal Virgil leading him through the various circle
s
of Hell. Bright lights shone through the coloured glass of
the
coffee houses. Doxies with bare shoulders and over
-
large décolletage accosted him with baskets of heather and other cheap trinkets. Preachers spouted the
warning
words
from The Book of
R
evelation.

“Watch your pockets,” Hugh shouted over his shoulder. Kaspian had obliviously collected a small trail of boys who danced about his shadow
,
waiting for the slim pickings of his pockets.

As Kaspian looked on them, they scarpered like rats into sewers.

“What is this place?” Kaspian asked with awe.

Hugh turned on his heels flamboyantly and tipped his hat. “This is the Garden of Eden
,
my innocent friend.” He
spun
on his heels
and
lift
ed
his walking cane into the air point
ing it in
the
  direction
of their destination
. “And now all we need to do is find Eve.”

They were in the Haymarket region of town, threading their way towards the epicentre of Hell. When they arrived at the doors of
it
, nothing could have looked more respectable.

Two large marble columns flanked an imposing black door. A large brass lion knocker was g
uardian. Here there were no gas-
lamps or colourful women inviting you in. It almost looked as if
the house
was
sleeping. A small brass plaque on the
right hand
side
of the door
was engraved with the simple message
:

EVANGELINE’S

Strictly Members Only.

Using the silver top of his cane,
Hugh tapped
out three solid knocks followed by a pause and then another two on
the door. Kaspian wished he had his with him – and his top hat. He felt
like an
amateur
.
It sounded
like an obvious code, Kaspian thought,
but
t
he
n he
could have been imagining it.

A very respectable butler opened the door and wished them both a good evening, reaching out to take Hugh’s cane. It was evident that his companion was no stranger to this house.

“Please inform Eve that I have a special guest with me this evening.”

“Sir, he shall be made most welcome.”

The butler bowed before leaving Hugh to make his way through the familiar hallway. The house had been deceptive. On the outside it had looked like any other wealthy residential house in the Haymarket
,
but on the inside it was as if Kaspian had entered a fairytale world of dreams.

Like a somnambulist making his way through a rich fantasy, Kaspian found he couldn’t take all the exotic information in at once. A glass of champagne somehow found its way into his hand and his jacket had been removed so that he was stripped down to his white waistcoat.

Chandeliers, hanging with hundreds of crystal droppers
,
spread small rainbows dancing over the
reflective
surfaces
,
and the
heavy
scent of rich
roses filled his nose. Somewhere
with
in the
shadows of the
room, music played
.
When
he
finally located
it
s source,
he couldn’t be sure that what he was seeing was real. Four beautiful young women dressed as angels played a collection of
stringed
instruments.

“Am I dead?” Kaspian asked breathlessly.

Hugh chuckled and responded, “No, dear boy, you’re just about to start living!” He
led him over to a small table, set for supper. A bottle of Moet and Chandon was already on ice in a silver bucket. He invited Kaspian to sit and waved over to the waitress, who was also dressed in the diaphanous and slightly transparent dress of a heavenly host.

“A dozen oysters if you please, Amelia.”

She flashed him a smile
that
told
Kaspian that
Hugh knew Amelia well.

“This isn’t quite what you’re thinking, Kaspian.”
Hugh
unfolded his napkin and spread it over his lap before downing his reception champagne and topping his glass up from the waiting bottle.

“I’m not sure I know what I’m thinking,” Kaspian smiled.

“I haven’t brought you to a whorehouse.”

“No?
” Kaspian shook his head and grinned. “
It
’s
how I imagine one might look like.”

Hugh burst into a lively laughter even though Kaspian hadn’t intended to be witty.
“I bet it is
!
Isn’t it just paradise?” He topped up Kaspian’s glass. “No, here the girls are strictly off limits. The motto at Eve’s is very simple, ‘
You
can look but you can’t touch
.’
”

“I see.” Kaspian picked up his napkin and spread it over his lap before screwing his eyebrows together. “Actually, no I don’t see.”

“Oh, but you will.”

Within five very short minutes
,
one of the divine angels delivered a large platter of oysters to the table. The champagne was deliciously cold and this
,
combined with the sight of beauty
all around him,
made Kaspian felt as if he had slipped into another reality.