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‘—then they can go to ’ell, frankly,’ Vivienne was saying.
‘We don’t use that expression,’ said the man with dreadlocks sharply to Vivienne, who turned pink.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean—’
‘We don’t wish hell on anyone,’ said the young man. ‘UHC members don’t want to swell the Adversary’s ranks.’
‘No, of course not,’ said Vivienne, now scarlet. ‘I’m really sorry. Actually, I need the bathroom…’
Barely a minute later, the shaven-headed, grumpy-looking young woman who’d been recently relocated from another UHC centre entered the rapidly filling hall. After glancing around, she headed for Vivienne’s vacated space. Robin thought she saw the idea of telling her the seat was already taken cross Kyle’s mind, but after opening his mouth he closed it again.
‘Hi,’ said the always talkative Amandeep, holding out a hand to the woman in glasses. ‘Amandeep Singh.’
‘Emily Pirbright,’ muttered the woman, returning his handshake.
‘Pirbright? Whoa – is Becca your sister?’ said Amandeep.
Robin understood Amandeep’s surprise, because the two young women didn’t resemble each other in the slightest. Aside from the contrast between Becca’s well-groomed, glossy bob and Emily’s almost bald head, the latter’s perpetual expression of bad temper formed a greater contrast to Becca’s apparently unquenchable cheeriness.
‘We don’t use words like “sister”,’ said Emily. ‘Haven’t you learned that yet?’
‘Oh, yeah, sorry,’ said Amandeep.
‘Becca and I used to be flesh objects to each other, if that’s what you mean,’ said Emily coldly.
The group of established church members who’d been whispering when Robin sat down had now subtly angled their bodies away from Emily. It was impossible not to draw the conclusion that Emily was in some form of disgrace and Robin’s interest in her doubled. Fortunately for her, Amandeep’s incorrigible sociability swiftly reasserted itself.
‘So you grew up here at the farm?’ he asked Emily.
‘Yeah,’ said Emily.
‘Is Becca older or—?’
‘Older.’
Robin thought Emily was conscious of her silent shunning by the group beside her.
‘That’s another old flesh object of mine, look,’ she said.
Robin, Amandeep and Kyle looked in the direction Emily was pointing and saw Louise wheeling the usual vat of noodles along, ladling them out onto plates at the next table. Louise glanced up, met Emily’s eyes, then returned stolidly to her work.
‘What, is she your—?’
Amandeep caught himself just in time.
A few minutes later, Louise reached their table. Emily waited until Louise was on the point of dropping a ladleful of noodles onto her plate before saying loudly,
‘And Kevin was younger than Becca and me.’
Louise’s hand shook: hot noodles slid off Emily’s plate into her lap.
‘Ouch!’
Expressionless, Louise moved on down the line.
Scowling, Emily picked the noodles out of her lap, put them back on her plate, then deliberately speared the only chunks of fresh vegetable out of what Robin was sure was tinned tomato, set them aside and began to eat the rest of her meal.
‘Don’t you like carrot?’ asked Robin. Meals were so scant at Chapman Farm, she’d never before seen anyone fail to clear their plate.
