Caching XML in cfcs MX 7 problem?

<cfcomponent displayname="Client Side Include Schema" extends="MachII.Framework.Listener">

	<cfscript>
		variables.cssSchemaObj = "";
		variables.schemaPath = "";
		// etc.
	</cfscript>
	
	<cffunction name="configure" access="public" returntype="void" output="false">
		<cfset var xmlString = '' />
		<!---
			In the configure we pickup all the params etc and set them in the variables scope where applicable.
		--->
			
		<cffile action="read" file="#variables.schemaPath#" variable="xmlString" />
		<!--- create the xml object --->
		<cfset variables.cssSchemaObj = xmlParse(xmlString) />
	</cffunction>

	<cffunction name="getIncludes" access="public" returntype="struct" output="true">
		<cfargument name="event" type="MachII.framework.Event" required="yes" />
		<cfscript>
			var includes = structNew();
			var pageName = lcase(arguments.event.getArg("pageID"));
			// etc.
				
			includes.styles = arrayNew(1);
			includes.scripts = arrayNew(1);
				
			// set the stylesheet paths
			node = xmlSearch(variables.cssSchemaObj, "//page[@name='#pageName#']");
			if(not arrayIsEmpty(node) AND isArray(node[1].xmlChildren)){
			for(i=1; i LTE arrayLen(node[1].xmlChildren); i=i+1){
				if(node[1].xmlChildren[i].xmlName is "stylesheets"){
					style = structNew();
					style.media = node[1].xmlChildren[i].xmlAttributes.media;
					style.stylesheets = arrayNew(1);
					/*
						NOTE : node[1].xmlChildren[i].xmlChildren contains the expected
						nodes etc. when added to the debug of the exception email notices
					*/
							
					for(x=1; x LTE arrayLen(node[1].xmlChildren[i].xmlChildren); x=x+1){
						
						/*
							Loop through all the children and do stuff with them, this is where we have problems.
							
							Although in the debug of the exception email node[1].xmlChildren[i].xmlChildren has the expected nodes and attributes this next part falls over (sometimes with a blank exception, sometime not).
							
							If I try adding node[1].xmlChildren[i].xmlChildren[x] to
							the exception debug then I usually get 'undefined array index'.
						*/
						row = node[1].xmlChildren[i].xmlChildren[x].xmlAttributes.path;
						
					}
				}
				
			}
			
			return includes;
		</cfscript>
	</cffunction>
</cfcomponent>