The House on Cold Hill

5

Monday morning came as something of a relief to Ollie. The rain had finally stopped and a brilliant, warm, late-summer sun was shining. Caro had gone to work at her office in Brighton shortly after 7.30 a.m. and at 8.00 a.m., listening to the Radio Four news, he got out Jade’s Cheerios for her breakfast, while she busied herself, first feeding the cats, then switching on the Nespresso machine, which she loved using, to make her father a coffee. Amazingly, Ollie thought, she had actually got up early this morning! But even so they were running short of time and, anxious not to be late for her first day at her new school, he gulped down his muesli, then hurried her out to the car and checked she had belted up.

As he drove, Jade, in her uniform of black jacket, yellow blouse and black pleated skirt, sat beside him in nervous silence. Neil Pringle was on Radio Sussex, talking to a Lewes artist called Tom Homewood about his latest exhibition.

‘Looking forward to your new school?’ Ollie asked.

‘LOL.’

‘What’s that meant to mean?’

‘Yeah, right. All my friends are still going to King’s in Portslade.’ She looked down at her phone. ‘St Paul’s, Burgess Hill. It sounds like a church, Dad!’

‘It seems to be a lovely school, and you know the Bartletts? Their triplets went there and loved it.’

Ollie saw her checking her phone; she was back on Instagram. At the top of the display was Jade_Harcourt_x0x0. Below she had rows and rows of thumbs-down emoticons alternating with scowly faces.

‘Listen, lovely,’ he said. ‘Give it a chance, OK?’

‘I don’t have much choice, do I?’ she said without raising her head.

He drove on in silence for some moments, then he said, ‘So your Gran came up to your room yesterday evening, but didn’t say anything?’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Phebes saw her — we were FaceTiming.’

‘And your Gran didn’t say anything?’

‘No, she just went out again. Is she angry with me or something?’

‘Why should she be angry with you?’

‘Phebes said she was looking kind of grumpy.’

Ollie drove the rest of the short journey in silence, thinking, while pinging and clicking noises came from his daughter’s phone. Thinking about last night. His parents-in-law had sat with him and Caro in the kitchen. He’d given Dennis a large whisky and Pamela, who was driving as she had to these days, drank one tiny drop of red wine. They’d seen them off, Pamela telling him to say goodbye from them to Jade.

She had very definitely not gone upstairs.