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wondered whose mother she could be. She’d thought she was the last to be collected, as taxi drivers had no sense of family loyalty to ensure they were on time. She was surprised, therefore, to see the arched doorway of the side entrance open, and Sophie Liddiard burst out, followed in hot pursuit by her younger sister Georgina, who was for some reason sporting a pair of reindeer antlers
    ‘Darlings!’ The woman gave each girl a quick hug. ‘I’m sorry I’m so late. I had to wait ages for the farrier. You know he’s always late…’ The three of them chattered and laughed as they loaded up the end-of-term paraphernalia. They looked more like sisters than a mother and her two daughters. Mandy bit her lip and turned to watch a subdued Rover making its way up the drive. This looked more like it. She picked up her case and walked down the steps. As she passed the Liddiards’ car, Sophie smiled at her sympathetically.
    ‘Is this your dad?’
    Mandy shook her head. ‘He’s sent a taxi. He’s away on business till Sunday.’
    Sophie looked aghast. ‘You mean you’re going to be on your own till then?’
    Mandy did her best to make it sound no big deal. ‘It’s OK – the housekeeper’s going to sleep in. And she’ll do my meals and stuff…’ She couldn’t make herself sound convincing. Who in their right mind would want to spend three days rattling about in a huge, sterile house with a half-deaf housekeeper for company?
    Sophie turned to her mother. ‘Can Mandy come back with us?’
    Lucy smiled without a second thought. ‘Of course. If you’re sure your parents won’t mind?’
    Mandy hesitated. She wasn’t used to lowering her guard, and she was embarrassed that she’d made the Liddiards feel pity for her. Perhaps they felt obliged to invite her. She looked at them: Sophie was surveying her with genuine anxiety and her mother’s smile was warm and inviting, not that of someone who’d been cornered. As the taxi driver climbed out of his car and approached her, she suddenly found herself knocked flying by the loo brush, who’d finished her perusal of the flower beds and was now greeting her with a warm, joyous lick.
    ‘Pokey!’ Sophie pulled at the dog’s collar to no avail.
    ‘Miss Sherwyn?’ The driver’s nasal voice betrayed his Birmingham origins.
    In the midst of the chaos Mandy’s mind was suddenly crystal clear. She smiled at Sophie’s mother. ‘I’d love to come. My parents won’t mind a bit.’
    She didn’t add that they probably wouldn’t even notice and, minutes later, found herself sitting in the front seat, having pushed aside a mound of cassettes, Fox’s Glacier Mints, riding gloves and loose change. She’d phone dad’s secretary Irene later, tell her what she was doing.
    ‘There’s a box of eclairs in the back somewhere,’ said Lucy. ‘I knew you couldn’t wait till supper.’
    A hurried search produced an empty box. A sated Pokey stuck her head over the back seat. There were howls of protest from Sophie and Georgina.
    ‘Never mind,’ said Lucy. ‘Nearly home.’
    There was much arguing over what tape to put on. Lucy overruled them all and pushed Nina Simone into the tape deck. They all started singing along: ‘My Baby Just Cares for Me’…
    Half an hour later, Lucy slid the car through a huge stone gateway that no longer bore any gates, and up a pot-holed drive that sprouted grass at regular intervals. In front of them lay a house that looked as if it had nestled in this spot since the dawn of time, and had actually laid down roots. It was a substantial size, but so mossy, mellow and crumbling that it didn’t seem at all grand. It didn’t stand to attention, or seem worried about the odd missing roof tile or cracked window. Like a truly beautiful woman, it stood unselfconscious and with no need of cosmetic artifice. It took Mandy’s breath away.
    ‘How long have you lived here?’
    Sophie wrinkled her brow trying to calculate.
    ‘I don’t know. For ever.