Levine served her a mineral water, pointed out her seatbelt then strapped himself in near the cockpit – the pilots left the intervening door open and chatted over their shoulders to him. She noticed that they too referred to Emerson as ‘H.E.’.
Her excitement at surprising Jimmy was tempered with awe at knowing a man who changed castles more frequently than other men changed their socks; a man who so casually loaned her a private jet. It was perfectly possible that Jimmy hadn’t even seen the stupid newspaper, that he was still lying crashed-out in bed. She would buy a copy when they landed, to see how horrendous it really was. Maybe they could laugh it off together over a room-service lunch and a naughty bottle of champagne. As the jet took off, she felt as if she were in the middle of a strange but luxurious dream.
Darling Sweetheart often took her up in his plane, up over the house and up over the village. Then the cows were like breadcrumbs and Kilnarush was a toy town, a triangle of grey buildings around the Market Square. From high up, she could see that the Market Square was definitely a triangle and not a square, even though everyone called it a square and the street sign on the corner of McGettigan’s shop said square too. Her school had a flat roof, but she didn’t look at that much. Once, when she’d told Mrs O’Kane that she’d seen the school from high up in Daddy’s aeroplane, Katie Brennan and Hannah Cowen had punched and kicked her at break-time and called her a spoiled little bitch and told everyone else in the class not to speak to her.
Whin Abbey was so big from above that it seemed like another village, with its higgledy-piggledy roof and its courtyard and barns. She could even see Mr and Mrs Crombie’s little house in the trees. Mr and Mrs Crombie were old. They were nice to her, like a granny and granda, that was if she’d had a real granny and granda. Mr Crombie worked in the fields and in the gardens. Mrs Crombie tidied the house. She said she kept it, which was funny because Darling Sweetheart had bought it for her and her mummy to live in, so how could Mrs Crombie keep it? But every time she asked about that, Mrs Crombie would laugh and promise her rhubarb crumble for tea if she would be a good girl and let her keep the house.
The Crombies grew rhubarb behind their lodge. Mr Crombie scattered ashes from his fireplace on the rhubarb plants with their big rubbery leaves. He said rhubarb liked ashes. Once when Mr Crombie let her pick some, she had broken a piece in half to see if there were ashes inside. There weren’t, but he made her promise never to put raw rhubarb in her mouth, because it was poisonous. But how could something poisonous taste so lovely with custard? And why did it like ashes? And since rhubarb couldn’t speak, how did Mr Crombie know all that?She brought a piece of Mr Crombie’s rhubarb to Darling Sweetheat, so he could make it speak, but he had said he wasn’t in the mood.
His plane had a propeller on the front and was big on the outside but very little on the inside and made an awful racket. She sat beside him on a red seat. He wore things on his ears – headphones – and he couldn’t hear her when the plane flew, even when she shouted. The first time he’d taken her up, she had been terrified and had cried until they came down again. But since then, she’d learned that when he asked her to go in the plane, that meant he wasn’t leaving, because he never took her with him when he went away. So she always made herself say yes.
When Darling Sweetheart was home, he kept the plane in the big field past the meadow. Workmen had built a red shed called a hangar and there was a floppy orange thing on a pole, a wind sock. Mr Crombie always said his most important job was to keep the grass in that field cut very short. He cut it with a blue tractor that pulled a mower, then another thing that looked like a giant roller. Annalise thought that Mr Crombie could
Her excitement at surprising Jimmy was tempered with awe at knowing a man who changed castles more frequently than other men changed their socks; a man who so casually loaned her a private jet. It was perfectly possible that Jimmy hadn’t even seen the stupid newspaper, that he was still lying crashed-out in bed. She would buy a copy when they landed, to see how horrendous it really was. Maybe they could laugh it off together over a room-service lunch and a naughty bottle of champagne. As the jet took off, she felt as if she were in the middle of a strange but luxurious dream.
Darling Sweetheart often took her up in his plane, up over the house and up over the village. Then the cows were like breadcrumbs and Kilnarush was a toy town, a triangle of grey buildings around the Market Square. From high up, she could see that the Market Square was definitely a triangle and not a square, even though everyone called it a square and the street sign on the corner of McGettigan’s shop said square too. Her school had a flat roof, but she didn’t look at that much. Once, when she’d told Mrs O’Kane that she’d seen the school from high up in Daddy’s aeroplane, Katie Brennan and Hannah Cowen had punched and kicked her at break-time and called her a spoiled little bitch and told everyone else in the class not to speak to her.
Whin Abbey was so big from above that it seemed like another village, with its higgledy-piggledy roof and its courtyard and barns. She could even see Mr and Mrs Crombie’s little house in the trees. Mr and Mrs Crombie were old. They were nice to her, like a granny and granda, that was if she’d had a real granny and granda. Mr Crombie worked in the fields and in the gardens. Mrs Crombie tidied the house. She said she kept it, which was funny because Darling Sweetheart had bought it for her and her mummy to live in, so how could Mrs Crombie keep it? But every time she asked about that, Mrs Crombie would laugh and promise her rhubarb crumble for tea if she would be a good girl and let her keep the house.
The Crombies grew rhubarb behind their lodge. Mr Crombie scattered ashes from his fireplace on the rhubarb plants with their big rubbery leaves. He said rhubarb liked ashes. Once when Mr Crombie let her pick some, she had broken a piece in half to see if there were ashes inside. There weren’t, but he made her promise never to put raw rhubarb in her mouth, because it was poisonous. But how could something poisonous taste so lovely with custard? And why did it like ashes? And since rhubarb couldn’t speak, how did Mr Crombie know all that?She brought a piece of Mr Crombie’s rhubarb to Darling Sweetheat, so he could make it speak, but he had said he wasn’t in the mood.
His plane had a propeller on the front and was big on the outside but very little on the inside and made an awful racket. She sat beside him on a red seat. He wore things on his ears – headphones – and he couldn’t hear her when the plane flew, even when she shouted. The first time he’d taken her up, she had been terrified and had cried until they came down again. But since then, she’d learned that when he asked her to go in the plane, that meant he wasn’t leaving, because he never took her with him when he went away. So she always made herself say yes.
When Darling Sweetheart was home, he kept the plane in the big field past the meadow. Workmen had built a red shed called a hangar and there was a floppy orange thing on a pole, a wind sock. Mr Crombie always said his most important job was to keep the grass in that field cut very short. He cut it with a blue tractor that pulled a mower, then another thing that looked like a giant roller. Annalise thought that Mr Crombie could
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