lovingly prepared by Em, who was inclined to hover over her – but then, we’d never seen Anne looking ill before. She moved stiffly, and there were dark circles under her eyes.
Bran stared across at her and smiled. ‘There’s no reason why we can’t
all
use the click language,’ he said in perfectly intelligible English, before resuming the creation of a strange triple-decker sandwich that involved a lot of marmalade and bacon, watched with fascination by the two little girls.
Frost came in with a mouthful of letters and spat them onto the carpet.
‘Must all my post be covered in dog saliva?’ demanded Father distastefully.
‘Beats me why folks bother writing to you at all, you great lump of nowt,’ Gloria said, coming in just then with more toast and the teapot.
‘Thank you for that vote of appreciation,’ he said. ‘Do you think you could ask Walter if he’d take a look at my desk? One of the legs is a bit wonky.’
He and Jessica exchanged fleeting but meaningful glances.
‘I’m not surprised,’ Gloria commented cryptically, and patted me on the head like an infant in passing as she went out again.
Jessica was rather daringly eating a boiled egg, but I didn’t think she would make it through the whole gargantuan repast; she’d already had one spoonful and a bite of dry toast.
‘Well, it’s nice to meet all Ran’s family at last,’ she said, ‘even if Anne and Em do rather dwarf poor little me!’
‘Bran and I aren’t much taller than you,’ I pointed out.
‘No – you two certainly don’t take after Ran, do you? In fact, it’s hard to believe you are related!’
‘Charlie looks exactly like her mother – Lally Tooke,’ Ran said, looking up from his paper.
‘And does Bran look like
his
mother?’ asked Jessica, slightly waspishly.
‘I don’t know. I can’t remember,’ he replied calmly. ‘It was all a long time ago. Aren’t those girls going to be late for school?’
Jessica looked up at the clock, squawked, and dragged her protesting children away. I peeled the rest of her boiled egg and tossed it to Frost, who ate it in one gulp.
Not having to go to the nursery ever again made me feel inordinately happy – until I discovered the hate mail from Angie, dewed with dog drool, under the table.
… better start looking over your shoulder, Charlie, because I’m coming to Upvale. Soon everyone will know you’re a murdering whore, leading men on and then turning on them …
Life was just a rollercoaster of pleasure lately.
Chapter 11: Parting
Health Check, No. 1
There are few minor ailments that cannot be alleviated by the application of two large gin and tonics.
‘Get your coat,’ Em said, appearing on the stairs after dinner.
‘Why, where are we going?’
‘Freya’s house – it’s her turn.’
‘What for?’ I asked, obediently pulling on my coat and hurrying after her. Flossie’s snores reverberated up the stairs behind me.
‘The discussion group. It was a reading group, but now we just meet and discuss – stuff. And anyway, Freya’s husband’s coming back tonight to collect his things, and he has a violent temper.’
‘I didn’t know she had a husband.’
‘Had’s the operative word. She’s thrown him out and got an injunction against him, but a fat lot of use that is. Still, she’s being fair – she’s letting him come round tonight to remove his half of their belongings.’
‘But I thought she had magic powers. Can’t she just do something nasty to him?’
‘You’ve never seen so many boils on one man’s neck,’ Em said. ‘But that was Xanthe Skye – Freya’s powers lie in other directions.’
I didn’t ask what. Already it sounded like a fun evening.
‘Who else will be there? I’m not feeling very sociable.’
‘Madge comes, and she isn’t terribly sociable either – and Susie from the nursery, and Xanthe Skye and Lilith, of course. Madge’s old father is driving her mad – and ours is driving
me
mad.
Bran stared across at her and smiled. ‘There’s no reason why we can’t
all
use the click language,’ he said in perfectly intelligible English, before resuming the creation of a strange triple-decker sandwich that involved a lot of marmalade and bacon, watched with fascination by the two little girls.
Frost came in with a mouthful of letters and spat them onto the carpet.
‘Must all my post be covered in dog saliva?’ demanded Father distastefully.
‘Beats me why folks bother writing to you at all, you great lump of nowt,’ Gloria said, coming in just then with more toast and the teapot.
‘Thank you for that vote of appreciation,’ he said. ‘Do you think you could ask Walter if he’d take a look at my desk? One of the legs is a bit wonky.’
He and Jessica exchanged fleeting but meaningful glances.
‘I’m not surprised,’ Gloria commented cryptically, and patted me on the head like an infant in passing as she went out again.
Jessica was rather daringly eating a boiled egg, but I didn’t think she would make it through the whole gargantuan repast; she’d already had one spoonful and a bite of dry toast.
‘Well, it’s nice to meet all Ran’s family at last,’ she said, ‘even if Anne and Em do rather dwarf poor little me!’
‘Bran and I aren’t much taller than you,’ I pointed out.
‘No – you two certainly don’t take after Ran, do you? In fact, it’s hard to believe you are related!’
‘Charlie looks exactly like her mother – Lally Tooke,’ Ran said, looking up from his paper.
‘And does Bran look like
his
mother?’ asked Jessica, slightly waspishly.
‘I don’t know. I can’t remember,’ he replied calmly. ‘It was all a long time ago. Aren’t those girls going to be late for school?’
Jessica looked up at the clock, squawked, and dragged her protesting children away. I peeled the rest of her boiled egg and tossed it to Frost, who ate it in one gulp.
Not having to go to the nursery ever again made me feel inordinately happy – until I discovered the hate mail from Angie, dewed with dog drool, under the table.
… better start looking over your shoulder, Charlie, because I’m coming to Upvale. Soon everyone will know you’re a murdering whore, leading men on and then turning on them …
Life was just a rollercoaster of pleasure lately.
Chapter 11: Parting
Health Check, No. 1
There are few minor ailments that cannot be alleviated by the application of two large gin and tonics.
‘Get your coat,’ Em said, appearing on the stairs after dinner.
‘Why, where are we going?’
‘Freya’s house – it’s her turn.’
‘What for?’ I asked, obediently pulling on my coat and hurrying after her. Flossie’s snores reverberated up the stairs behind me.
‘The discussion group. It was a reading group, but now we just meet and discuss – stuff. And anyway, Freya’s husband’s coming back tonight to collect his things, and he has a violent temper.’
‘I didn’t know she had a husband.’
‘Had’s the operative word. She’s thrown him out and got an injunction against him, but a fat lot of use that is. Still, she’s being fair – she’s letting him come round tonight to remove his half of their belongings.’
‘But I thought she had magic powers. Can’t she just do something nasty to him?’
‘You’ve never seen so many boils on one man’s neck,’ Em said. ‘But that was Xanthe Skye – Freya’s powers lie in other directions.’
I didn’t ask what. Already it sounded like a fun evening.
‘Who else will be there? I’m not feeling very sociable.’
‘Madge comes, and she isn’t terribly sociable either – and Susie from the nursery, and Xanthe Skye and Lilith, of course. Madge’s old father is driving her mad – and ours is driving
me
mad.
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