Ravensborough by Christine Murray Read Free Book Online

and Rupert made a gorgeous breakfast of French toast and bacon for the three of us. He won extra brownie points for getting in my favourite brand of coffee.
    ‘This is really good,’ I said to him through a mouthful of food. ‘Thanks.’
    ‘No problem,’ said Rupert smiling at me. ‘I’m glad you like it. But you’re going to have to hurry if you want to finish your breakfast before church.’
    ‘Church?’ I asked. This was a new development. My family had never been particularly religious and I could count on the fingers of one hand the amount of times I’d been inside a church. I looked to Mum for confirmation.
    ‘Rupert goes to church every Sunday, most people in the Rationalist areas do,’ said Mum. ‘It’s a real family thing. You will come, won’t you?’
    I heard the slight pleading note in her tone. I sighed. An hour in a cold building listening to interpretations of a book I had no interest in reading did not sound appealing. But I supposed once wouldn’t hurt. I’d talk to her another time about changing this family custom though. There was no way I was signing up for church on a weekly basis.
    I went upstairs and changed into a loose dress that was suitably modest. I shrugged on my heavy coat.
    When I got to the bottom of the stairs Rupert sighed.
    ‘Do you not have another coat that’s a bit more...well...suitable?’
    I shook my head. ‘No, this is all I have.’ I could see a solution in his eyes so I quickly interrupted before he could say anything.’
    ‘I’m not going without a coat, I’ll freeze.’
    ‘It isn’t that cold yet,’ he argued smoothly.’ It’s only autumn, after all. And we’re driving there in the car. A cardigan will keep you warm enough.’
    ‘No it won’t. I’m not acclimatised yet.’
    ‘Well you can’t go like that.’
    ‘Then I won’t go at all,’ I said firmly.
    It was our first stand-off. We’d never so much as exchanged a cross word before. But there was no way I was backing down. Rupert must have sensed this because he said that my coat was ok for this week. As this was the one and only week I was planning on going that was good enough for me.
    When we got to the church I could see why Rupert had been so worked up about my clothing. Going to church in affluent Chesterfield was apparently a very big deal. The men were all dressed like Rupert, in suits that were cut so sharp that even I could see how expensive they were. The women were dressed like they were attending a society wedding. The whole thing reeked of money.
    ‘Do people dress like this every week, or is this a special occasion?’ I asked Mum.
    ‘As far as I know this is how they dress every week,’ she replied.
    Right, I was definitely not coming next week.
    In the middle of what seemed to be a homage to Sex and the City, I was surprised to see a familiar face among the crowd.
    ‘Hey, Cat!’ I shouted over to her.
    She looked over and smiled at me. I introduced her to Mum and Rupert as a friend from school.
    ‘Cat Rodriguez...are you by any chance related to Councillor Rodriguez?’ asked Rupert.
    ‘I’m his daughter,’ she replied.
    ‘Councillor Rodriguez is a well respected member of the Avalonian government,’ said Rupert by way of explanation to me. ‘With your father in the government, the country is in good hands.’
    Cat smiled. ‘Thank you very much, Mr. Davenport.’
    ‘Oh, call me Rupert.’
    He moved off to introduce Mum to someone else.
    Cat was dressed in long blue DKNY coat that reached to the middle of her calf. I recognised it from a spread in a magazine that I’d read in the plane on the way over. She also wore a pair of black high heeled boots in soft leather.
    ‘I didn’t realise that high fashion was such a part of going to church in Avalonia,’ I said to Cat.
    She gave me a once over with her eyes. ‘Obviously,’ she said drily.
    Ok, that was a bit of a bitchy comment, but there was a bit of truth in it, so I couldn’t really say anything,