‘Isobel?’ Heather said, her voice still low but firmer now. ‘Listen here. I have no idea where they came from, but it would bebeyondstupid to do that test.’
Issy frowned. ‘Why?’
‘For God’s sake, Isobel. Don’t be daft. It might be a fun Christmas gift in most families, but in a family like ours …’
‘What?’ Issy asked, playing dumb, trying to make her mother come out and say what she was thinking.
‘A lot of people want what we’ve got, Isobel—’ her mother let out a little laugh, ‘—and you just never know …’ She sighed heavily. ‘You’ve always been naive about the way the world works.’
‘Bloody hell,’ Issy muttered under her breath.
Her gaze landed on the box, which still sat on the coffee table. Someone must know something, something about their family, about their relationships to one another. What other explanation could there be?
She looked from Felix to Spencer. They both seemed distracted, slightly outside of the conversations they were having. Were they also thinking about the mysterious DNA tests, thoughts travelling backwards and forwards in time, wondering who had planted them under the tree and what they might reveal? Spencer had a deep crease between his brows. He looked up and caught her eye, then looked quickly away again.
She noticed Hugh slip into the room, head down, and join the larger conversation. She checked her watch. They’d left the dining room twenty minutes ago. Where had he been? On the phone again? Then someone else slipped quietly into the room.
The waitress.
Issy’s chest tightened. ‘Isobel,’ Heather murmured.
Issy looked back at her mother. ‘What?’
‘Promise me you won’t do the test.’
Issy exhaled. ‘You’ve made your point, loud and clear. Thanks, Mum.’ She needed to get out of there. She stood up. ‘Hugh, it’s time for us to go.’
The conversation stopped abruptly. ‘Oh, okay,’ he stammered.
Helen looked grateful for the interruption. ‘Spence, we should go too. I’ll round up the girls.’
Heather looked at Felix, whose eyelids were droopy, then at Polly. ‘It’s time to take Felix home too, sweetheart.’
Polly leapt to action. ‘Come on, Felix.’
‘But I just opened another beer,’ he said, holding up his bottle, which was almost full.
‘You’ve had enough,’ Malcolm said. ‘I assume you’re driving, Poppy.’
Polly nodded, ignoring his error.
‘It’s Polly, Dad. Jesus Christ,’ Felix said.
Malcolm shrugged vaguely, as though her name was immaterial. Polly extended a hand to pull Felix up from the sofa. He leaned heavily against her, steadying himself on his feet.
Issy picked up the DNA test from the coffee table and turned to follow the others.
As they stood on the cobblestone driveway, saying their goodbyes, it struck her that she didn’t trust any of them. She was surrounded by liars. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, suddenly queasy. Slightly off balance, as though everything she thought was solid and real was a flimsy illusion.
Daisy put a hand on her arm. ‘Are you okay, Auntie Issy?’
Issy nodded, but she felt overwhelmed and weary, worn down by her own suspicion and speculation. She couldn’t live like this, always sensing there was something she wasn’t being told.
She tightened her grip on the box in her left hand. It wouldn’t lie. It couldn’t. It didn’t have an agenda. It didn’t stand to gain anything. It had nothing to lose.
It would tell the truth, no matter what.
She would do it, she decided. She would do the test as soon as she got home.
