My mother rolls her eyes, though her lips twitch in amusement. “I’m sure it won’t come down to that.”
“I’m just saying, I’ll provide you an alibi.”
“Miles, shut up,” I snap, though it’s more weary than annoyed. “Mum, can we go?”
“Yes, darling. James is bringing the car around.” She nods and walks out of the kitchen.
Miles and I follow down the corridor, accompanied by Dolly, Maud, and Hamish the Labradors, because they always have to know what’s happening.
I stare out of the huge mullioned windows that line each side to the wide lawns below. Beyond that, fields stretch as far as the eye can see, some dotted with cows, others with horses. Ironically, it’s a stunning day, where thunderous clouds would be more suitable. The skies are clear, and the air is crisp. The best kind of day.
But then my eyes catch Max’s fire engine on the veranda, and the rage bubbling under my skin becomes too much.
“Fuck.” My fingers press into my temples before a migraine sets in.
Miles’s hand clamps around my neck, and he pulls me in. “It’s going to be okay. This is Max’s home.”
“Where’s Clem?”
“In the gym, but I’ll take her on the school run later. Auntie and Uncle to the rescue.” Miles victory pumps his fist.
“Thanks. Sorry it’s all happening on Birgitta’s dayoff.” I open the front door to where the car is waiting, and my mother is already in the back seat. I slide in next to her. “I’ll text you when it’s over.”
“Ready?” asks James.
I nod and debate asking him to play Ice Cube for good luck, but in the end, we drive in silence. At least until we get to the end of the driveway.
“James said Story MacIntosh was helping you with the Valentine committee.”
I glance at him, expecting him to meet my eye through the mirror, but his focus stays straight on the road. He’s excellent at pretending not to hear anything, which is why half the time we forget he’s there and how one hundred percent of the time our mother knows everything. Because he’s told her.
“She was. She’s part of the school representation. The choir is singing.”
“And I hear she helped you with Churchill the other week?”
I nod. “She found him and called the surgery.”
“How is he?”
“Back to normal. I saw him in Alex’s garden this morning on the way back from dropping Max.”
She chuckles as she looks out the window. “But she’s back for good now?”
I sigh. “I don’t know, Mum. Why?”
She turns her body toward me, reaching over the center console to take my hand. “Hendricks, Max is six this year. In that time, I’ve never seen you even remotely interested in meeting awoman?—”
“Mum—”
“Don’t interrupt. I know the past few years have been a lot, that you haven’t wanted to bring someone into your life for Max’s sake, and I respect that. I think it’s the right thing to do. But . . .”
Of course there’s a but.
“I think you’ve been waiting for Story. And now she’s here.”
“I—”
“You know I always suspected the two of you would end up together, and truth be told, it made me very nervous. You were so young when you met, and you spent all your time together whenever Miles was off with polo. I can’t say I wasn’t happy you seemed to drift apart when you went to university. Her mother told me she had a boyfriend in Australia, but she broke it off?—”
