“They’ve sold their house,” Janice says, looking wistful. “Did very well out of it, actually.”

“And is he OK?”

Mum and Janice exchange looks.

“He’s been throwing himself into his hobbies,” Janice says at last. “Keeping himself busy. His new thing is woodworking. He’s made all sorts of things for us!” She looks slightly beleaguered. “Three garden benches… two bird tables… and now he’s working on a two-story summerhouse in the garden!”

“Wow!” I say politely. “That’s great!”

An oven timer suddenly starts pinging, and I look up in surprise. Has Mum taken to baking while we’ve been away?

“Are you cooking something?” I peer at the oven, which appears to be dead.

“No!” Mum gives a trill of laughter. “That’s to remind me to check eBay.”

“eBay?” I stare at her. “What do you mean, eBay?”

How would Mum know about eBay? She doesn’t know anything about computers. Two years ago I suggested she give Luke a new mouse mat for Christmas and she went to a pet shop.

“You know, darling! Internet shopping. I’m bidding on a Ken Hom wok, a pair of candlesticks”—she pulls a flowery notepad out of her pocket and consults it—“oh yes, and a hedge trimmer for Dad. Used only once!”

“eBay is marvelous!” chimes in Janice. “Such fun. Have you used it, Becky?”

“Well… no.”

“Oh, you’d love it,” says Mum at once. “Although I couldn’t get through last night to check on my Portmeirion plates.” She clicks her tongue. “I don’t know what was wrong.”

“The domain servers were probably down,” Janice says knowledgeably. “I’ve been having trouble with my modem all week. Biscuit, Becky?”

I cannot get my head round this. Mum? On eBay? Next she’ll be saying she’s up to level six on Tomb Raider.

“But… you haven’t even got a computer,” I say. “You hate modern technology.”

“Not anymore, love! Janice and I did a course. We’ve gone broadband!” She looks at me seriously. “Let me give you a word of advice, Becky. If you’re going broadband, I’d install a decent firewall.”

OK. This is all wrong. Parents are not supposed to know more about computers than their children. I nod carelessly and take a sip of coffee, trying to hide the fact that I don’t have a clue what a firewall is.

“Jane, it’s ten to twelve,” Janice says cautiously to Mum. “Are you going to…”

“I don’t think so,” Mum says. “You go on.”

“What is it?” I look from face to face. “Is something wrong?”

“Of course not!” says Mum, putting down her coffee cup. “It’s just we agreed to go to the Marshalls’ lunch party today, with Janice and Martin. But don’t worry. We’ll send our apologies.”

“Don’t be silly!” I say at once. “You must go. We don’t want to mess up your day.”

There’s a pause.

“Are you sure?” says Mum.

She wasn’t supposed to say that. She was supposed to say, “How could my precious daughter mess up my day?”

“Of course!” I say, in overbright tones. “You go to your lunch party and we’ll have a proper chat later.”

“Well, OK,” says Mum. “If you’re sure.”

“I’ll pop over and get ready,” says Janice. “Lovely to see you back, Becky!”

As she disappears through the kitchen door I look at Dad, who’s still staring out the window, brooding.

“Are you OK, Dad?” I say. “You’ve been really quiet.”

“Sorry,” he says, turning round with a quick smile. “I’m just a little distracted at the moment. Thinking about… a golf match I’ve got next week. Very important.” He mimes playing a putt.

“Right,” I say, trying to sound cheerful.

But inside I feel more and more uneasy. He’s not really thinking about golf. Why is he so cagey?

What is going on?

“So…” I say lightly. “Who was that I saw you with earlier? That woman you were with.”

It’s like I’ve let off a gunshot or something. Mum and Dad are both paralyzed. I can see their eyes darting toward each other, then looking away again. They both look totally panic-stricken.

“Woman?” says Mum at last. “I didn’t…” She looks at Dad. “Did you see a woman, Brian?”

“Maybe Becky means… that passerby,” he says in a stilted tone.

“That’s right!” exclaims Mum in her theatrical voice again. “There was a woman just passing by on the street. A stranger. That must have been it, love.”

“Right. Of course.”

I try to smile, but inside I feel a bit sick. Are Mum and Dad lying to me?

“Well… you go off to your lunch party!” I say. “Have a great time!”



As the front door slams I feel like bursting into tears. I was so looking forward to today. But now I almost wish we’d never come back. No one seems particularly excited to see us. My rare, exotic treasure isn’t exotic or rare. And why are Mum and Dad being so weird?

“Do you want another cup of coffee?” asks Luke.

“No, thanks.” I scuff my foot on the kitchen floor.

“Are you OK, Becky?”

“No,” I admit in a small voice. “Not really. Coming home isn’t like I thought it would be.”

“Come here.” Luke holds out his arms and I nestle into his chest. “What were you expecting? That they would drop everything and throw a party?”

“No! Of course not!” I look up and meet Luke’s eye. “Well… maybe. Kind of. We’ve been away all this time and it’s like… we just popped out to the shops!”

“It was always going to be a gamble, surprising everyone,” he says reasonably. “They weren’t expecting us for another two months. It’s no wonder they’re a bit thrown.”

“I know. But it’s not just that.” I take a deep breath. “Luke — do you think Mum and Dad are… hiding something?”

“Yes,” says Luke.

“Yes?”

I’m gobsmacked. I was expecting him to say, “Becky, you’re imagining things,” like he usually does.

“There’s certainly something going on.” Luke pauses. “And I think I know what it might be.”

“What?” I stare at him, agog.

“That woman who was with them. The one they wouldn’t tell us about? I reckon she’s an estate agent. I think they’re considering moving.”

“Moving?” I echo in dismay. “Why would they do that? This is a lovely house! It’s perfect!”

“It is a bit big for them now that you’ve gone… ”

“But why on earth wouldn’t they tell me?” My voice rises in distress. “I’m their daughter! I’m their only child! They should confide in me!”

“Maybe they thought you might get upset.” Luke suggests.

“I wouldn’t get upset!” I exclaim indignantly.

Abruptly I realize I am upset.

“Well, OK, maybe I would. But still, I can’t believe they’d keep it a secret!”

I break away from Luke’s arms and walk over to the window. I can’t bear the idea of Mum and Dad selling this place. My eyes sweep over the garden in sudden nostalgia. They can’t leave this garden. They just can’t. This is where I learned to walk. This is where Luke and I got married.

Suddenly my attention is caught by the sight of Tom Webster in the garden next door. He’s dressed in jeans and a T-shirt that says MY WIFE LEFT ME AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT and is struggling to carry the hugest plank of wood I’ve ever seen.

Blimey. He looks quite ferocious.

“It may not be that,” Luke is saying behind me. “I may be wrong.”

“You’re not wrong.” I turn round miserably. “It has to be that. What else could it be?”

“Well… don’t think about it. Come on. It’s the christening tomorrow. You’ll see Suze!”

“Yes.” I feel my spirits rise. “That’s true.”

Luke’s right. Maybe today hasn’t gone quite according to plan — but tomorrow will be fantastic. I’ll be reunited with Suze again, my best, most closest friend in the whole entire world. I just can’t wait.


Five


THE TWINS’ CHRISTENING is being held at Suze’s parents’ house in Hampshire, because they’ve been living there while the east wing of Tarquin’s Scottish castle is being rebuilt. They would have used his house in Pembrokeshire, but at the moment it’s being lived in by some distant cousins. And his house in Sussex is being used as a location for a Jane Austen film.

This is what Suze’s family is like. Nobody has just one house.

As we drive down the familiar tree-lined avenue I’m jumping with excitement. The stone house looks as huge and grand as ever with its pillared entrance, although some of the ivy has been pruned away from the front. Two stone griffins stand like sentries by the front door, and there are flower garlands around their heads, just like there were on Suze’s wedding day.

“Hurry up!” I say as Luke maneuvers the car into a parking space. He hasn’t even turned off the engine before I’m leaping out of the car and sprinting over the gravel toward the house. Now that I’m here, I just can’t wait to see Suze!

The heavy front door is ajar and I push it open. Inside, the huge flagstone hall is decorated with the most amazing arrangements of lilies. A pair of waiters are striding through with champagne glasses on a tray. And on the ancient chair by the fireplace is a discarded saddle. Nothing’s changed here, then.

The waiters disappear down a corridor, and I’m left alone. Walking over the flagstones, I suddenly feel a bit nervous. What if Suze has gone all weird, like my parents?

And then I spot her through an open door, standing in the drawing room. Her blond hair is up in a chignon and she’s wearing a gorgeous print wrap dress. And in her arms is a tiny baby dressed in a long christening robe. Wow. That must be one of the twins.

Tarquin is standing nearby holding a second baby, which is also in a christening robe. And although he’s wearing the most ancient suit in the world, he’s actually looking pretty good! Not quite as… stoaty. It occurs to me that maybe Tarquin will get better looking the older he gets. When he’s fifty he’ll probably be a sex god!