finished brushing her own teeth then gave her face a quick wash.
Emily didn’t like it when Izzy fell silent. When it came to expressing what they really felt, neither of them were talkers, but Izzy was the queen of babbling on about anything and everything. Like a toddler. Not talking about anything at all? Not a good sign.
It had to be The Other Thing.
After they’d walked back past the kitchen tent where Freya and Charlotte were herding their children away from the cake tins, Emily grabbed Izzy in a loose headlock.
‘You. Me,’ Emily said to the big ball of curly half-fro in her face. ‘Talky talky.’
Izzy squirmed against her, then nuzzled into Emily’s neck and made purring noises. That was more like it. The Izzy she knew and loved. ‘I don’t wanna!’
Emily shook her off. ‘We have to. For Luna.’ She felt like a bitch for adding that part, but … needs must and all that.
Izzy’s shoulders slumped. The gesture of defeat felt like a sucker punch. It wasn’t like Emily wanted to have the talk. Or be the grown-up. She was as rattled by everything as Izzy was.
‘Tomorrow? Later? We can meet in London. Talk then. Once I’ve got all of the paperwork together,’ Izzy pleaded.
‘Isn’t it in the van? I thought you said you had everything with you.’
Izzy shrunk another few centimetres. ‘Most of it. I just … C’mon, Emms. I don’t want the girls to accidentally see. Or Luna.’
Both good points. Even so. Emily jabbed at the air between them. ‘You’re not leaving here without the two of us coming up with a proper plan.’
‘I have a plan. It’s a good plan.’
‘It’s not a good plan. Nor does it seem to involve Alf.’
Izzy fuzzed her lips. ‘Why should it?’
‘He’s the father of your child, idiot.’
That got Izzy’s back up. ‘He doesn’t even know her!’
‘So maybe now’s as good a time as any to change that. Go for a weekend. Take a city break.’
‘Yeah, right. Oh, hi Alf! Remember that night on the beach ten years ago with the girl with the big hair? Look! We made a mini us. Copenhagen’s brill! Should we go see the mermaid?’ She looked out towards the castle. ‘Besides. There’d be no one to look after Bonzer.’
Emily’s shoulders scrunched up to her ears in frustration. ‘What’s up with the elephant puppy, anyway?’
‘Luna’s pretty wobbly about things.’ She held up a hand so Emily would let her finish. ‘About leaving Hawaii. Starting in a new school. Not knowing anyone. I decided we needed a comfort dog.’
The two of them were going to need a damn sight more than a dopey-faced therapy puppy if things didn’t go according to Izzy’s so-called plan.
When they reached Emily’s yurt, Izzy gave her a kiss on the bonce, filling Emily’s nostrils with that crazy almond vanilla scent of hers. ‘Night night, Dr Cheung.’
Emily made a show of wiping off the kiss and waved goodbye without looking back.
When she got into the tent and began to undress, she shivered. It was chilly enough that, for the first time in a long while, she actually wanted a good old-fashioned cuddle.
Easing the quilt out of Callum’s fist, Emily curled up next to him. After an evening playing board games with Luna, then on to an intense-looking ‘what do you do’ talk with Monty, the man deserved a prize. Though he was clearly asleep, he pulled her into a tight, snuggly embrace.
He was a great snuggler. She mostly hated the whole body-against-body thing. The heat bodies generated. But if, like now, she was facing out and had the bulk of their very large bed as an escape zone, it was actually all right. When Izzy had crawled into her bed back in uni it had driven her bonkers. On a number of levels.
She let herself be tugged in close to Callum. Feel the steady thump thump of his heart against her back.
Why hadn’t she just come out with it when she had the chance?
Told them Callum was just a mate.
Because. That’s what she did.
Once she overcame thousands of years of Chinese tradition and told her parents …
Ping!
Swear to god her mother had a sixth sense. She tugged the phone across to her.
Listen. Mr Chang from next door has cousin visiting from China. Hunan Province. Tall. Good idea for you to come for Sunday dim sum.
She flipped the phone over and took a deep inhalation of cotton, canvas and earth. It was quite cosy, this. Snuggling with someone with all of that fresh air circulating around them.
Good bed. Soft sheets.
The quiet.
It was really, really quiet.
Almost quiet enough to hear the skittering of a field mouse.
Instantly, Emily was wide awake again.
God, she hated camping.
As they hung their tea towels on the Aga, Freya got the sense Charlotte wasn’t quite ready to go.
‘Everything all right?’
‘Yes! Of course,’ Charlotte said unconvincingly. ‘Why do you ask?’ She swiped at the perfectly clean counter with a J-cloth.
‘Nothing really. I just … I kind of got the sense that everything might not be tickety-boo with Oli.’
Charlotte looked physically ill. ‘What? No. Everything’s fine. I’m just being a bit funny about turning forty.’
‘Don’t be daft. You look as young as you did the day you got married.’
Charlotte’s smile faltered.
Ah. It was definitely about Oli. Freya felt that bloom of solidarity that came from discovering she wasn’t the only one wading through the magical wilderness of a long-term relationship.
Charlotte’s laugh fell flat. ‘Perhaps I’m just a bit worried about tomorrow.’
‘Why?’
‘Ohhh. You know …’ She threw Freya a quick glance then set about refolding all the tea towels. ‘My in-laws are coming and all of our friends. I mean … obviously you’re my friends, but these are more Oli and his family’s group. Some of the children’s friends and their parents. They can be a bit cliquey. High expectations always make me a bit edgy.’
‘Is this party meant to be for you or for Oli?’
Charlotte threw her a sharp look. ‘For me, of course. We’d hardly be camping if it was Oli’s party.’
‘Well,’ Freya said, ‘I think this place is amazing. Anyone would be hard pressed to find a better venue.’
‘Oh, believe me they do.’ In a very un-Charlotte-like move, she began ticking things off on her fingers. ‘So far this year, we’ve been to all of the Soho House venues – private rooms. Babington House. Twice. A château in France. A snowmobile trek to see the Northern Lights with two nights in an ice hotel. Oh. And a weekend at a country estate in Ireland.’ She pulled a small handkerchief out of an invisible side pocket and fretted at its scalloped edging. ‘My children didn’t want to tell their friends. About the glamping. In truth, they didn’t want to come at all. Oli had to bribe them.’
‘Oh, Lotte.’ Freya pretended not to notice Charlotte swiping at her eyes.
How awful.
Sure. Freya sometimes had rich people