Page 14 of The Only Way Is Up

Ruby nodded. ‘If you need any essay help, I’m your gal. I’m going to my dad’s on Monday though.’ She took his pen and deftly wrote her phone number on the corner of his notepad, then returned to their table.

‘How was that?’ whispered Ruby as they sipped their tea.

‘A masterclass,’ said Daisy with a smile.

Ruby’s phone buzzed as she and Daisy were halfway down the school drive, enjoying the squelch of wet leaves beneath their boots and the misty tendrils of afternoon sunshine casting long shadows through the beech trees. She opened the text and showed it to Daisy.

If you’re serious about helping with my essay then yes please. Here for a few more hours, or tomorrow? Will.

Daisy was impressed. ‘Man, you work fast.’

Ruby looked smug. ‘I learnt from an expert.’

‘I’m going to assume you’re talking about your dad,’ Daisy laughed. ‘What do you want to do?’

Ruby thought for a second. ‘I’d quite like to go back, I guess. But does that look desperate?’

‘Who cares? You’re going to your dad’s on Monday and I’ll be back in London soon, so you’ll probably never see him again. Fill your boots.’

‘Oh God, that’s really depressing,’ said Ruby with a sad pout. ‘He was cute. Best I head back then.’

Daisy tucked her scarf around Ruby’s neck and kissed her on the forehead. ‘Don’t go anywhere other than the pub and be back before it gets dark. If for any reason he can’t walk you home, call me and I’ll come and meet you by the school gates.’

Ruby smiled and nodded, then turned and headed back up the driveway. Daisy watched her go, feeling a mix of love and grief bubble up in her chest. Ruby had her head screwed on, and Daisy hadn’t forgotten how it felt to be fifteen. In her case every minute of her day had been monitored and managed by adults, including Stella. She didn’t want that for Ruby, she wanted her daughter to be free to make her own decisions and navigate those choppy teenage waters alone.

And talking of choppy waters, it was time to decide what to do about Christian.

CHAPTER EIGHT

In the end it was two weeks before Daisy could deal with anything, because by Sunday Ruby was begging to stay in Shipton Combe for the whole of half-term so she could spend more time with Will. Daisy didn’t mind and Simon was OK about it, since Ruby was spending Christmas with him and Archie. So, Will and Ruby spent part of each day doing their homework and playing board games together in the Shipton Arms, and Daisy made the most of the opportunity to spend quality time with her daughter. They cooked, watched movies and carved Halloween pumpkins together, and Daisy managed to push Christian from her mind for a decent chunk of each day.

This was made much easier when he announced he was going to China for a few weeks to commentate on a tennis tournament for Sky Sports. The time difference made it easy to avoid speaking or seeing him – WhatsApp messages were less tense, and by the time he got back she’d have decided what to do. She’d been keeping an eye online for any other gossip about him, but there was nothing new, so maybe it was just idle speculation. But Daisy’s gut told her it was more than that, and now she couldn’t help but think of all the times she caught him looking at other women and dismissed it as nothing. Christian had an insanely high sex drive, but Daisy hadn’t seen him for weeks. Was it out of the question that he’d go elsewhere, even though they were engaged? She could only put off finding out for so long.

Daisy arranged the call with Katie for Ruby’s final Sunday morning while she was saying her goodbyes to Will, taking advantage of the fact that his parents were in church. Through some gentle questioning Daisy had established that there’d been some kissing, a first for both of them. But Will wasn’t pushy or anything, and mostly they just hung out and chatted. So Daisy pushed the million mum-anxieties aside and took her phone over to the sofa by the fire, taking a minute to catch up on a few messages from friends and colleagues, all saying how much they missed her and asking if she was going to be at this dinner or that industry event. Replying with ‘I’m away for a while’ felt like such a relief, like she was finally having the chance to decompress after twenty-five years of the same parties and the same faces.

She and Katie chatted for a while about the press situation. There had been a few mentions on social media that Daisy had been spotted in the Cotswolds without Christian, and a blurry photo of her buying flowers in Waitrose, but nothing that Katie was worried about. And they caught up on Daisy’s progress with the recipe book, which was now the official reason as to why Daisy was holed up in the Cotswolds.

‘So why have you actually called me?’ Katie asked astutely; she never missed a trick. ‘This is all Monday morning stuff. You never ask to chat on Sunday unless it’s urgent.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Daisy said miserably. ‘I’ve just sent you a screengrab from one of those celeb gossip newsletters. It’s from a few weeks ago, but there’s something in it that I think you should read.’

‘Hang on.’ Daisy could hear the tapping of Katie’s fingers, then a short silence as she read the text. ‘FUCK.’

‘Quite,’ Daisy nodded. ‘It might be nothing, but obviously I need to know one way or the other.’

‘Yeah. But you don’t think it’s nothing, do you?’ asked Katie carefully.

‘No. I don’t think it’s nothing. But before I do anything, I need to know how big a something it is.’

‘Right. When’s he back from China?’

‘In a week or so.’

‘Hmm. OK. Leave it with me. I know some people who can find out. Super-discreet people.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Of course. Don’t worry about it.’