Cressida laughed. ‘Oh! I was going to wait until we were sharing a nice cup of tea, later. I’ve got some new organic herb tea that is a super detox.’
‘Let’s hear about it now,’ said Gilly, her words and expression jolly, her feelings obviously less so.
‘Better get your tablet,’ said Martin, who hadn’t said a lot up until now except to goad his sister.
Cressida came back to the table and sat down next to Gilly, pulling her chair in close. She laughed again. ‘You may not know this, but I have a terrible Rightmove habit!’ she tinkled.
‘Really?’ said Gilly, obviously genuinely surprised.
‘Yes!’ said Cressida. ‘And I’ve found something really rather exciting. Let me find it for you.’
Helena got up, determined she wasn’t going to miss out on any excitement going. Besides, the sooner the plan had been shared the sooner they could go home.
‘Look!’ said Cressida. ‘Isn’t it to die for?’
Revealed on Cressida’s favourite website – one which Helena was quite fond of too – was indeed a lovely property.
It was a mansion, with seven bedrooms, four reception rooms and multiple bathrooms. There was a tennis court and lovely grounds. There was even an outdoor swimming pool and accompanying pool house. Unsurprisingly, it was very expensive.
‘But you could never afford this, could you?’ asked Gilly, looking at her son, who had a very good job but surely not good enough to support the sort of mortgage they’d need to buy this enormous house.
‘And look!’ said Cressida, ignoring this question. ‘It has a granny annexe!’ She clicked along to the picture.
Helena leaned in. She peered at the double bedroom (double doors on to the garden), kitchenette, and living room which was big enough for a three-piece suite if the furniture was arranged more or less sideways. There was a huge television onthe wall. ‘Hmm,’ she said, ‘I wouldn’t care to put my granny in there. If I had one.’
‘You could let it,’ said Gilly. ‘Airbnb, or just bed and breakfast. Would you want to do that?’
Cressida looked annoyed and disappointed. ‘Well, no, we wouldn’t want to do that. We’d want you to live in it, Gilly.’
‘Me? Why?’ Gilly sounded confused.
‘It would be so handy. You could see so much more of Ismene than you usually do,’ explained Cressida. ‘You’re always saying you don’t see enough of her.’
‘That is true, Grandma,’ said Ismene. She was a solemn, truthful child. Helena liked her but found her a little unnerving.
‘But you already live quite near,’ said Gilly, ‘I don’t see why you moving would make me see more of Issi – Ismene,’ she corrected herself quickly.
‘Cress wants to go back to work full time,’ said Martin.
‘Then you’d need this space for a nanny,’ said Gilly quickly. ‘But I still don’t see how you’d afford this house.’ She smiled at Cressida. ‘Unless you’ve been offered a really well-paid job, which of course you so deserve and could obviously do.’
While Helena was privately vomiting at her mother’s obvious sucking-up to Cressida, she did wonder if there was a hidden message in her flattering words.
‘Ah!’ said Cressida. ‘Although I have got a job offer with a very good package, this is where we come to our exciting plan!’
‘Which is?’ said Gilly.
Helena recognised a hint of steel in her mother’s gentle enquiry.
Some of Cressida’s confidence left her. ‘Gilly, we think it’s time you thought about downsizing. Although you’re amazing for your age, you’re not getting any younger.’
‘Not even you are doing that, Cressida,’ said Helena.
‘My age?’ said Gilly, her tone a combination of bemused and affronted. ‘I’m still in my fifties! Surely I don’t have to be thinking about my age yet!’
‘The bed and breakfast is a lot of hard work,’ persisted Cressida. ‘You often say so.’
‘But Mum loves her B & B!’ said Helena. ‘Are you suggesting she gives it up? And even if you are, there’s no reason why she should move into a granny annexe.’ Helena was aware she was being disingenuous; she knew what was coming but she wanted Cressida and her brother to say it.
