When Penny is out of earshot, helping Thomas feed the others, Ward leans against the gate. ‘Quickly,’ he murmurs, his face so close to mine that for a brief insane second I wonder what it would be like to kiss him. ‘How much did that place round the corner go for?’
I whisper the figure before forcing myself to walk away, aware that Ward is watching me.
On the way home I decide to keep the conversation strictly to work. ‘They seemed happy with the price, didn’t they? I reckon that went pretty well. Thanks for bringing me. You were right, you know, it was good to get out of the office, nice to have a change of—’
‘Jeremy underused you,’ Ward interrupts. ‘You know that, don’t you, Wild?’
‘What’s with all thisWild?’ I ask, deflecting his compliment. ‘We’re not at boarding school.’
‘It’s shorter than January and I’m not keen on Jan.’
My mobile rings. I dig around in my handbag, alarmed when I see Ruki’s name on the screen. She never rings unless there’s a problem. Has she lost Isla? Isla is one person amongst nine hundred pupils. How can teachers monitor nine hundred people leaving the school grounds safely?
‘Everything OK?’
‘Yes, fine,’ Ruki says, although she doesn’t sound it.
‘What’s happened?’
‘Isla fell.’ Isla trips over all the time. ‘She says she was pushed.’
‘Who pushed her?’
‘Gemma Sanders.’
I know Isla doesn’t get on with this girl.
‘Is she hurt?’ I catch Ward looking at me.
‘No, just a little shaky, so I wanted to warn you.’
‘I understand. Tell her I’ll be home as soon as I can.’
‘Please don’t worry. She’s fine.’
After the call I tell Ward what happened, knowing Isla wouldn’t lie, she wouldn’t becapableof it. Deep down I fear this might not be the last incident with Gemma. I stare out of the window recalling my own days at school, seeing Toby Brown and his friends pinning my arms back after lessons one afternoon and taking it in turns to punch me in the stomach. ‘Harder!’ they’d shouted. When Granny saw the evidence of a broken rib she promised never to send me back into the clutches of this thug. ‘I dread Isla being singled out,’ I confess to Ward.
‘Bullied?’
I nod, telling Ward briefly what had happened to me and how at secondary school Granny had advised me not to tell anyone about my parents dying, that what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt me.
‘Did that work?’
‘For a while, but then I was stupid enough to trust Amanda Young and she told the whole school.’
‘Funny how you always remember their names.’
‘Amanda Young said, in front of the whole class, that her parents had said I must have done something wicked in a past life to end up with no mum and dad. Up until then I’d always gone down the ignore them route, but something snapped. I went up to her’ – it’s as if I am back in that classroom, I can see her face; Amanda had fine blonde hair and cold blue eyes – ‘and slapped her across the cheek.’
I see myself in my navy uniform, shouting, ‘If you ever come near me or say anything about my mum and dad again I will hit you again, do you understand?’ Most of the class had gathered around Amanda, except for one girl who stood by my side: Lizzie.
‘Sorry, this is really depressing. Isla isn’t hurt; that’s all that matters.’
Ward puts his foot down, promising he’ll get me home soon. We drive some distance without talking until he breaks the silence. ‘You see this scar?’
It’s the scar I have noticed before, on his left hand.
I nod.
