‘Oh!’
‘The weather forecast is almost as important as religion in our house,’ Tasha said with a grin. ‘It’s a bit like a cup of tea and prayers. Granny couldn’t possibly start or end the day without any of them.’
‘Does twenty percent warrant an umbrella?’ Jules asked.
‘You’re asking someone who doesn’t even own an umbrella, just coats with hoods.’
‘That sounds much more practical, but my coat doesn’t have a hood so perhaps I’ll put an umbrella in my basket just in case.’
‘Whathaveyou got in there?’ Tasha asked, peering into the wicker basket which Jules put on the garden table.
‘Cardigan in case it turns cold, flip-flops in case it goes really hot, sun cream, water bottle, sun hat, book to read, small sketchpad and pencils, scarf…’
‘Scarf!’ Tasha scoffed. ‘You don’t need a scarf. This is summer on the Isle of Wight, the driest, warmest place in the British Isles.’
Jules pressed her lips together.
‘Maybe you’re right. I’ll take the scarf out.’
‘And I can see a packet of biscuits and some plasters. Oh, my goodness, there are bananas in here, too, and something wrapped in foil.’
She took out the packet and sniffed it.
‘Is that cheese?’
‘It’s a protein snack.’
‘There’s a tearoom there, you know, and don’t forget our picnic.’
‘Going around interesting buildings makes me hungry,’ Jules said. ‘I get these blood sugar dips from taking in all the information…’
‘Okay, the biscuits can stay,’ Tasha agreed. ‘Don’t want you keeling over on us. Are you planning to leave some of this in the car or carry it around with you, because this basket’s pretty heavy? If you take this much just for a day out, I’d hate to go on holiday with you.’
‘I like to be prepared for any eventuality.’
‘Like my dad,’ said Erin, coming to stand next to them and rolling her eyes at Tasha. ‘Flares in case we get lost between here and Carisbrooke, stretcher in case one of us falls off the battlements…’
‘…hot air balloon in case we need to make a getaway from the inner courtyard,’ Tasha added with a giggle. ‘What is it with grown-ups?’
‘I can hear what you’re saying,’ Lance said, strolling across the grass towards them, ‘and you may mock, but remember that time Fitz fell exploring rock pools at that remote beach in Devon and I hadn’t got any plasters to put over his badly cut knee. I learnt my lesson the hard way.’
‘Jules has got emergency supplies, too,’ Tasha piped up.
‘Then we must be ready to go,’ Lance said, throwing her a warm smile.
She locked the back door and took a deep breath. There was no getting out of it.
As they drove along the country roads Tasha and Erin chatted away in the back about schoolfriends and boys and things they’d watched on YouTube while Lance stared studiously at the road.
‘Here we are,’ he said, after about fifteen minutes, and Jules realised she had intermittently been holding her breath thewhole way. He turned the car down a small lane with houses either side before it opened up suddenly into an entrance to the car park, the castle walls towering to the left. He flung open his car door as if he, too, was in a hurry to get out.
‘We’ll come back and get the picnic and anything else we need later,’ he said to the girls. ‘Why don’t we meet in our usual place at one o’clock?’
Jules felt her panic levels rising. She’d thought they’d all be wandering around together. Tasha swung a neat little bag over her shoulder and made eye contact.
‘We’re going to look at the donkeys, Jules. Do you want to come? They’re really cute.’
‘Oh, thank you, that would be…’
