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‘I saw them together, Dad and Chiara, that weekend when Dad said he was golfing with his friends. But perhaps Chiara likes golfing too?’ She tailed off.
‘Where did you spot them?’ Caitlin asked quietly.
‘Waterloo Bridge.’
‘There’s not much golfing available in central London,’ said Caitlin. ‘What were they doing?’
‘Nothing. Just standing there, looking at the view and getting in everybody’s way.’
‘Standing close together?’
‘Yeah, I think so.’ Maisie sighed. Her dad’s arm had been around Chiara’s shoulder, and Chiara had had her arm around his waist. It was absolutely disgusting because her dad was well old, and Chiara was only in her mid-twenties. But there was no need for Caitlin to know all of the details. Her stepmother could be annoying but, right now, Maisie felt sorry for her. ‘I never did like Chiara. She always laughed too loud at Dad’s stupid jokes.’
‘Yes, she did.’ Caitlin’s lips pulled into a tight line. ‘Did you tell your dad what you’d seen?’
Maisie shook her head. ‘No. I tried to pretend to myself that I hadn’t seen anything. I shouldn’t even have been there. I was catching a train at Waterloo but it was delayed and I was bored, so I went for a wander to pass the time.’
‘But you said that your dad asked you to keep quiet about it.’
‘Yeah. Chiara must have spotted me and blabbed ’cos he came into my room a couple of days later and said I’d got it wrong and I shouldn’t say anything to you about it. But if I’d got it wrong, why did I need to stay quiet?’
‘Indeed.’
Caitlin was sitting very still and Maisie resisted the urge to push her arm through her stepmother’s in a show of solidarity against the patriarchy.
‘Is that why you’ve been so rude to him lately?’ asked Caitlin, still not moving. Her cheeks had paled and she looked…old, thought Maisie. Old and sad.
‘I s’pose. I didn’t think it was fair of him.’
‘It wasn’t fair at all to ask you to keep a secret like that.’
‘I didn’t want to keep it. I didn’t like what he was doing, even though you can be dead annoying sometimes.’
Caitlin gave a slight smile. ‘So can you, Maisie.’
Maisie twisted her mouth. She knew it was true, but it was hard to be smiley and polite when, inside, all she felt was this unending rage and confusion and sadness. She loved her dad but she hated him for cheating on Caitlin. She’d grown more fond of Caitlin than she’d ever admit, but her stepmother would disappear soon enough – especially now her dad was playing away.
‘If you didn’t know about Chiara, why were you and Dad having problems?’ she asked in a small voice.
Caitlin took hold of Maisie’s hand again. ‘I have something to tell you that’s going to be hard for you to hear. I’ve had trouble getting my head around it.’
Maisie was finding it hard to breathe. What on earth was coming? What could be worse than your husband, the man you trusted, cheating on you? Please don’t tell me, she thought, focusing on the branches of the tree in Jessie’s garden that were swaying in the wind. They looked black against the snow still nestling on the roof of the cottage opposite.
‘Your dad loves you very much, Maisie. You know that. But the truth is, he has a problem, with gambling.’
Was that all? Maisie began to relax because Caitlin was just being stressy. ‘Sure, he likes betting on the horses and football. So what? It’s not a crime.’
‘He likes betting on anything and everything,’ said Caitlin, sounding sadder than Maisie had ever heard her. ‘And he’s lost a lot of money recently. In fact, he’s lost so much money, I’m afraid we need to lose our house to help pay off his debts. It’s on the market now and is going to be sold.’
‘Sold?’ Maisie felt her mouth fall open and couldn’t summon up the energy to close it. They had to sell their home. She pictured her bedroom and it suddenly didn’t matter that the walls were a different shade of purple from Madison’s regularly Instagrammed bedroom. It was her sanctuary – but it would soon belong to someone else.
‘Dad contacted me today to say that a buyer’s been found for it already. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.’
‘So where’s Dad now? Is he really working away?’
‘Yes, he’s in Gran Canaria at a work conference. He really is – I’ve seen it advertised online. And when he gets back, I expect he’ll stay either with his parents or with Uncle Ray for a while.’
‘Is Chiara at the conference too?’
