Then she was even angrier with herself for being so unsympathetic.
Of course everyone told her how brave they both were. It was one of the ways people coped with cancer, to see it as an ennobling experience. But the truth was cancer hadn’t enlarged their spirits, it had reduced them, made them both petty-minded and cross.
But then she looked at Phil again. His cheeks were ruddy. He looked the happiest Karen had seen in months.
She was going to have to go along with this plan. She’d been studying the ground, but now, looking up, she caught Grace’s eye. The pain there made Karen feel slightly sick.
But that couldn’t be Karen’s problem. Throwing her shoulders back, she said, ‘Absolutely. There’d be plenty to keep me busy here. And there’s nothing I love like a challenge.’
Phil realized they’d gone too far, made it a bit too obvious that they were gagging for the place. Time for a hasty retreat if they were going to get it at the knockdown price he had in mind.
‘Of course we need to have a serious conversation about this.’ He looked at his watch. ‘Crikey, is that the time? We’d better be making tracks soon if we’re going to make it back to London in time for Robin Hood .’ They walked back along the drive, hugging themselves against the cold. When they reached the car, hands were shaken again.
‘We’ll be in touch very soon,’ Phil promised.
‘Oh my God, Dad. We’re going to live in a… castle,’ said Bea, as they drove off.
‘ Not a castle. An Elizabethan manor house ! Mum, why does she keep saying castle?’
‘Well, we don’t know that for sure, darling,’ Karen said. ‘We just need to do the maths.’
‘But Daddy’s rich since he sold his company,’ Bea said.
‘God, Bea, you don’t go around at school telling everyone Daddy’s rich? That’s sooo embarrassing.’
Phil laughed as they headed back over the little stone bridge. ‘Not rich, darling. Well, not very rich. But we can afford this place. Would you like it? Would you really like to live here?’
‘Yesss!’ the girls clamoured. Phil laughed again. And Karen’s last vestiges of hope withered and died. If his little princesses wanted it, there would be no argument.
‘Where shall we go for lunch?’
‘Somewhere that does spaghetti bolognese,’ Bea said.
Eloise rolled her eyes. ‘Not spaghetti. Penne. Much nicer.’
‘And vanilla ice cream,’ Bea continued undeterred.
‘Pistachio for me. That’s my favourite.’
You’ll be lucky getting pistachio out here in the sticks , Karen thought. But she just smiled again as Phil cried, ‘Ladies. Your wish is my command.’ It was amazing how obedient her facial muscles could be.
8
Lucinda spent virtually all weekend with Cassandra, her old schoolfriend from La Chêneraie, watching cheesy films, listening to her weeping and periodically saying, ‘There, there.’ Privately, she thought Cass was well out of it. Tim, the dumper, had so clearly been an arse. Lucinda remembered the first time Cass had introduced them at a party. There was a smugness about him, a look in his eyes that said, ‘Hey, I’m good-looking, I work for a bank, I earn ludicrous amounts of money in return for screwing the economy, therefore I’m every woman’s Holy Grail and don’t I know it?’
‘Hi,’ Lucinda had said brusquely, determined not to boost his ego further.
‘Lucinda’s an estate agent,’ Cass had said, eyes shining, obviously thrilled to be introducing the two most important people in her life to each other.
‘Oh yeah,’ he’d smirked. ‘What do you call twenty estate agents chained together at the bottom of the sea?’
‘I don’t know,’ Lucinda replied, thinking, Yawn, yawn, yet another one who thinks I’ve never heard an estate agent joke before . ‘But I know what you call twenty bankers. A damn good start.’
He’d laughed brittly. ‘Touché,’ he’d said and turned away.
From then they’d hated each other. Not in a sexy,
Of course everyone told her how brave they both were. It was one of the ways people coped with cancer, to see it as an ennobling experience. But the truth was cancer hadn’t enlarged their spirits, it had reduced them, made them both petty-minded and cross.
But then she looked at Phil again. His cheeks were ruddy. He looked the happiest Karen had seen in months.
She was going to have to go along with this plan. She’d been studying the ground, but now, looking up, she caught Grace’s eye. The pain there made Karen feel slightly sick.
But that couldn’t be Karen’s problem. Throwing her shoulders back, she said, ‘Absolutely. There’d be plenty to keep me busy here. And there’s nothing I love like a challenge.’
Phil realized they’d gone too far, made it a bit too obvious that they were gagging for the place. Time for a hasty retreat if they were going to get it at the knockdown price he had in mind.
‘Of course we need to have a serious conversation about this.’ He looked at his watch. ‘Crikey, is that the time? We’d better be making tracks soon if we’re going to make it back to London in time for Robin Hood .’ They walked back along the drive, hugging themselves against the cold. When they reached the car, hands were shaken again.
‘We’ll be in touch very soon,’ Phil promised.
‘Oh my God, Dad. We’re going to live in a… castle,’ said Bea, as they drove off.
‘ Not a castle. An Elizabethan manor house ! Mum, why does she keep saying castle?’
‘Well, we don’t know that for sure, darling,’ Karen said. ‘We just need to do the maths.’
‘But Daddy’s rich since he sold his company,’ Bea said.
‘God, Bea, you don’t go around at school telling everyone Daddy’s rich? That’s sooo embarrassing.’
Phil laughed as they headed back over the little stone bridge. ‘Not rich, darling. Well, not very rich. But we can afford this place. Would you like it? Would you really like to live here?’
‘Yesss!’ the girls clamoured. Phil laughed again. And Karen’s last vestiges of hope withered and died. If his little princesses wanted it, there would be no argument.
‘Where shall we go for lunch?’
‘Somewhere that does spaghetti bolognese,’ Bea said.
Eloise rolled her eyes. ‘Not spaghetti. Penne. Much nicer.’
‘And vanilla ice cream,’ Bea continued undeterred.
‘Pistachio for me. That’s my favourite.’
You’ll be lucky getting pistachio out here in the sticks , Karen thought. But she just smiled again as Phil cried, ‘Ladies. Your wish is my command.’ It was amazing how obedient her facial muscles could be.
8
Lucinda spent virtually all weekend with Cassandra, her old schoolfriend from La Chêneraie, watching cheesy films, listening to her weeping and periodically saying, ‘There, there.’ Privately, she thought Cass was well out of it. Tim, the dumper, had so clearly been an arse. Lucinda remembered the first time Cass had introduced them at a party. There was a smugness about him, a look in his eyes that said, ‘Hey, I’m good-looking, I work for a bank, I earn ludicrous amounts of money in return for screwing the economy, therefore I’m every woman’s Holy Grail and don’t I know it?’
‘Hi,’ Lucinda had said brusquely, determined not to boost his ego further.
‘Lucinda’s an estate agent,’ Cass had said, eyes shining, obviously thrilled to be introducing the two most important people in her life to each other.
‘Oh yeah,’ he’d smirked. ‘What do you call twenty estate agents chained together at the bottom of the sea?’
‘I don’t know,’ Lucinda replied, thinking, Yawn, yawn, yet another one who thinks I’ve never heard an estate agent joke before . ‘But I know what you call twenty bankers. A damn good start.’
He’d laughed brittly. ‘Touché,’ he’d said and turned away.
From then they’d hated each other. Not in a sexy,
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