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They both knew Alice wasn’t fond of flying.
Jeffrey nodded and held up the note. ‘Well, at least she left a note to tell us where …’ Jeffrey was already skim-reading the note. ‘Ah.’
‘What is it?’ Freya asked.
Jeffrey quickly folded the note and shoved it in his trouser pocket. ‘She said she wanted to get away for a few days.’
Freya frowned. ‘Is that it?’
Jeffrey looked at her sheepishly and nodded, although that wasn’t quite it.
‘She didn’t say where she was going?’
He shook his head. ‘No.’
Theo chipped in, ‘Well, she obviously isn’t flying anywhere with three pets.’
Jeffrey nodded. ‘That’s true.’
Freya grimaced. She turned to her father. ‘That’s not very helpful. You’re meant to be exchanging contracts soon. Did she say how long she’d be gone?’
Jeffrey shook his head.
Freya got out her mobile. ‘Well, let’s find out. And while we’re at it, I want to know where she is!’
So did Jeffrey.
Theo glanced at the plate of sandwiches in his hand. ‘I know it’s not lunchtime, but I felt a bit peckish.’
Jeffrey remained expressionless. His future son-in-law was always peckish. It was a shame he didn’t offer to do any grocery shopping. To be fair, he did contribute to the food bill, but that was all Alice and Jeffrey got out of the two of them.
There was a buzzing noise that sounded like someone had received a text. Jeffrey looked at his phone. Theo and Freya looked at theirs too.
Freya said, ‘It’s coming from the kitchen.’ She returned a moment later, carrying another mobile phone. She held it up. ‘Oh, no. She’s forgotten her phone!’
Or she left it behind on purpose, thought Jeffrey. It seemed possible, given the content of the note.
Freya slipped the phone into the back pocket of her jeans and said, ‘Now how are we going to find her?’
‘We’re not,’ said Jeffrey, sighing heavily.
Freya looked at her dad. ‘So, we wait?’
‘I imagine she’ll only be gone for the weekend.’ At least, that was what he hoped.
‘And if she’s not …?’
All three of them fell silent until Jeffrey said, ‘Look, I’ve got papers to mark. I suggest you all go back to whatever it is you were doing. There’s nothing to worry about.’ Jeffrey was doing his best to sound upbeat, even though that wasn’t how he was feeling – far from it. What he wanted was for everyone to vacate his study so that he could sit down, re-read the note, and look in that box to find out exactly what she’d discovered.
‘I’ve got to get to work,’ said Freya.
‘Yeah, me too,’ added Theo, picking up a cheese and pickle sandwich off his plate as he sidled out of the room first.
Freya hesitated. ‘Is everything all right, Dad?’
‘How do you mean?’ Jeffrey frowned. It was a rather stupid answer to a stupid question. How could everything be all right when she’d backed her mother into a corner regarding selling the house? Was it what Alice really wanted? Now, he wasn’t so sure. And now there was the box she’d discovered in the loft.
‘I meant, is everything all right between the two of you? It’s just, it’s not like Mum to … you know, go off like this.’
