‘There she is!’ Diane sweeps out of the kitchen behind Sadie. ‘There’s my clever granddaughter.’ The two of them walk over to us.
I realise my whole body is rigid and I have to force myself to relax my facial muscles into some semblance of a smile.
‘Well done, Eva!’ Diane says, handing her an envelope. ‘Here’s a little something to go in your bank account. A prize for doing so well.’
I have to stop myself from saying that passing the test itself is reward enough. I don’t want my children to receive a gift every single time they do something. It drives me mad that she keeps giving them money and buying them stuff. Pretty soon Diane will be giving them gifts for getting a gift. I just hope it isn’t too much money. If it is, Eva can put it towards her university fees or something.
‘Thank you, Grandma!’
‘It’s my pleasure, darling. And look who I invited!’
The girls are a little shyer in Sadie’s presence today. They haven’t seen her for four months and the easiness they once had has faded.
‘How are my favourite girls?’ Sadie asks, her eyes alight.
‘Fine, thank you,’ the girls reply.
‘I had to invite the person responsible for getting Eva through her exams,’ Diane says. She turns to a cluster of her golf-club friends. ‘This is the nanny who tutored Eva. Brains as well as beauty.’
Sadie blushes and looks down at her feet.
‘Don’t be bashful. You made a deep impression on my granddaughters’ lives. Today is a congratulation for you, Sadie, as well as Eva.’
‘Well,’ Sadie says quietly. ‘I don’t know about that. I was only her tutor for a few weeks.’
‘And look how much you achieved in that time,’ Diane says. ‘Robert and Gemma are very grateful to you. We all are.’ Diane raises her glass. ‘To Sadie!’ she cries.
The cluster of people around us also raise their glasses. ‘To Sadie!’
Luckily, I don’t have a drink yet, so I can’t make the toast. But I’m now desperate for a glass of something cold and alcoholic. Suri has read my mind and lifts a glass of champagne from the tray of a passing waiter, depositing it in my hand. Luckily, Diane’s parties are always well catered, with the booze flowing freely. A legacy from her husband’s days, who was partial to a drink or five.
I down half the glass and plaster a smile on my face.
‘Hi, Diane. Hi, Sadie.’
‘Lovely to see you, Gemma,’ Sadie says. ‘You’re looking well.’
‘You too.’ I’m not going to ask her what she’s doing these days. I don’t actually want to know. I drain the rest of my drink and reach for another.
Thankfully, Amelia comes over and my attention is taken away from our former nanny for the moment. While I chat with Amelia and Suri, I spy, on the edge of my vision, that Robert and Sadie are now deep in conversation. And it doesn’t look like a light-hearted, social chat either. It looks more intense than that. What could they possibly be talking about?
The champagne has gone straight to my head. I should probably eat something. I glance around for a waiter with food, but another tray of drinks come past so I swap out my empty glass for another new one.
‘You’re knocking them back a bit,’ Suri says with a grin.
‘I need anaesthetic against Diane and Sadie,’ I say a little too loudly.
‘Shh.’ Suri puts a finger to her lips and giggles. ‘You’ll get into trouble.’
‘I’m fine,’ I reply, realising that my words are a little slurred.
‘Just going to nip to the loo,’ Suri says. ‘Stay there, and when I get back, I’m going to get some food inside you. It’s dangerous being drunk around you know who.’ She tips her head in the direction of Sadie. ‘Where’s the loo anyway?’
I point out the downstairs cloakroom and then turn back to Amelia, who has a strange expression fixed to her face.
‘You okay?’ I ask.
‘Promise not to say anything to anyone,’ she murmurs.
