‘It looked very accidentally-on-purpose to me.’
Kate screwed up her courage and got out of bed, tugging her T-shirt down as she joined Will at the window. Brian was now sprawled on the Twister mat. She ducked as he looked up.
‘D’you think he saw me?’ she whispered to Will.
‘No. But he must have noticed you weren’t in bed this morning.’
‘Maybe I could say I got up early and went for a walk.’
‘Before sunrise?’
‘Good point.’ Kate chewed her lip anxiously. ‘I know! I’ll say I didn’t want to disturb him and spent the night in Josie’s room.’
‘It’s exciting having an affair, isn’t it?’ Will grinned at her.
‘We’re not having an affair,’ Kate said primly.
‘No, but it feels like it, doesn’t it? Sneaking around, thinking up lies, getting caught in the wrong bedroom.’
‘Ah, but I don’t intend to get caught.’
‘Too late.’ Will nodded to the garden. Kate had accidentally broken cover while they were talking and Jake had spotted her. He was now waving at her, and Brian had followed his gaze: he was squinting up at her and Will in their various states of undress and didn’t look happy.
* **
When she had showered, dressed, plucked her eyebrows and done everything else she could think of to put off the evil moment, Kate went downstairs for breakfast. In the kitchen she found Helen, normally the soul of calm unflappability, in a serious hump, banging pots and slamming cupboard doors.
‘Good morning.’ Kate flopped down at the table. She was still feeling rather delicate.
‘Morning,’ Helen said shortly, through pursed lips, and dumped a bowl in front of her.
‘Thanks,’ Kate croaked and shook corn flakes into it.
Helen returned to pouring flour, sugar, melted butter and milk into a mixing bowl without measuring anything – making muffins, Kate decided.
Jake came in from the garden and leaned his arms on the table.
‘Brian thinks Mum’s trying topoisonus!’
‘What?’
‘Me and Sam. He says the stuff she gives us to eat is poison.’
Kate put her head into her hands. They’d only been here one night and already Brian had managed to piss everyone off – including her.
‘That’s one of the things he says is poison,’ Jake told her, as she poured milk onto her cereal. ‘It’s not, though, is it?’ he asked.
‘No, of course not, Jake. Sorry, Helen.’ Her sister-in-law was now furiously beating her mixture. It was on the tip of Kate’s tongue to say that under-mixing was the key when making muffins, but she thought better of it. ‘Where is Brian anyway?’
‘He’s gone to the village shop to hassle poor Mrs Delaney about soya milk,’ Helen said.
‘I think you’re in trouble with Brian too,’ Jake told her.
‘Oh? Why?’
Jake put his head on one side, considering. ‘Well, Ithinkit’sbecause he wanted you to have a sleepover with him and you had one with Will instead.’
‘Oh,’ Kate said faintly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Helen’s eyes widen.
