Page 63 of The Only Way Is Up

‘Fine, I’ll call and tell him absolutely not.’

Katie burst out laughing. ‘I told him you’d say no.’

‘Anything else?’ asked Daisy breezily, still trying to get her head around why any company would think she’d want to capitalise on The Incident by promoting their pants. Who would do that? Although Daisy could name a lot of celebs who would do pretty much anything for a hundred grand, but she’d already surrendered her dignity once this year.

‘A couple of charity things in the spring that you’ll be fine with, Roger’s sent the details over. Also OK! – apparently, since there’s no sign of an engagement interview, they’ve asked to do a shoot to celebrate your fortieth birthday instead. An “at home with Daisy” type thing. They’re offering megabucks; even more if Christian’s there.’

Daisy barked out a laugh that made Hank jump off the sofa. ‘Sorry, Hank!’ she squealed.

‘Who’s Hank?’ asked Katie suspiciously.

‘The dog . . . And that’s absolutely no to letting OK! into my home.’

‘I told Roger you’d say that as well. He said . . . hang on.’ Daisy could hear Katie riffling through the pages of her notebook. ‘He said can you please say yes to something because he needs a new car.’

‘I’ve said yes to dog-sitting Hank,’ Daisy muttered darkly, ‘and it’s looking very likely I’ll say yes to judging homemade cakes at the Shipton Combe village fete. There’s no fee, but tell Roger I might be able to get him a half-price lemon drizzle.’

‘I’ll let him know,’ said Katie dryly. It was one of the many things that Daisy loved about her – she never tried to persuade Daisy to do anything she didn’t want to. She and Roger both worked incredibly hard on her behalf, so she should probably throw them a bone.

‘I’ll tell you what,’ said Daisy. ‘Tell Roger I’ll do a “Forty, newly single and happier than ever” interview with OK! in a month or two, once all the Christian stuff is out in the open. But not in London. Maybe in Portugal at half-term.’ Her London house would have been empty for over four months by then and she really couldn’t be bothered to give it a glossy magazine overhaul.

‘He’ll be so excited!’ They both had a chuckle. Roger was well-known for being a bit dry and rarely getting excited about anything. ‘Talking of your fortieth, what’s the plan?’

Daisy drained her tea and shuffled her legs so Hank could snuggle into the crook of her knees. ‘Just a quiet family thing here, I think. Simon and Archie are back down to pick up Hank, so it’ll be them and Ruby and my mum, no big celebration. I might get together with some friends when I get back to London, but to be honest I’m happy to let it pass without making a big fuss. It’s been a rubbish year.’

‘Fair enough,’ said Katie. ‘Roger and I have got you a present, I’ll send it down.’

Daisy felt a rush of warmth for Katie and Roger; they’d had her back for so many years. ‘You didn’t need to do that.’

‘I know – turns out I’m a sentimental bitch.’

‘Well,’ said Daisy. ‘I appreciate it.’

She heard Katie close her notebook decisively. ‘I need to go. Have a good week, stay out of trouble, don’t snog any randoms.’

‘I’ll do my best,’ Daisy responded with a smile. She hung up the phone and planted a kiss on Hank’s head. ‘You don’t count.’

Daisy messaged Melanie after breakfast to see if she fancied a walk or lunch out somewhere, but by midday she could see from the absence of blue ticks that Melanie hadn’t even read her message, let alone replied. She felt a flurry of concern, wondering what Melanie could be doing that meant she hadn’t glanced at her phone all morning. They hadn’t seen or spoken to each other since she’d dropped her and Will home last Friday, and she had no idea what Gerald’s behaviour had been like over Christmas. After drumming her fingers on the kitchen counter thoughtfully for a few minutes, Daisy grabbed her coat and handbag and clipped Hank onto his lead.

It took a few minutes of persistently ringing the bell to the rectory before Melanie appeared with her hair in a nest, her cardigan on inside out and dark shadows under her eyes, crusted with yesterday’s mascara.

‘My God,’ gasped Daisy. ‘Are you OK? You look terrible.’ She glanced around for Gerald, but there was no sign of him.

‘I’m fine,’ Melanie smiled weakly, squatting down to stroke Hank. ‘Sorry, I’m a bit all over the shop.’

‘Who is it?’ bellowed Gerald’s voice from upstairs.

‘It’s Daisy,’ replied Melanie with an apologetic glance.

‘Tell her to bugger off!’ came the voice from above.

Daisy raised her eyebrows in horror. What on earth had happened?

Melanie laughed awkwardly, then grabbed her raincoat from the peg and dragged on a pair of trainers. ‘I’m popping out for ten minutes,’ she called up the stairs. Gerald didn’t reply, so Melanie hurried outside and closed the door behind her. Daisy caught a whiff of cheese and fish and wondered if anyone in this house had emptied the festive bins.

‘What on earth is going on?’ Daisy hustled Melanie over to the gate to the churchyard. ‘I messaged you earlier to ask you out for lunch, but you didn’t reply.’

‘Oh God, sorry,’ said Melanie. ‘I haven’t looked at my phone all morning.’