‘Well that’s typical.’ Elise rolled her eyes. ‘You spoil everything.’
‘Oh come on, Rosamund, it could be fun,’ Jackson said. ‘Are you up for it, Caroline?’
‘I don’t mind.’ She sounded tired, as though she would much prefer to return to her cottage.
‘Thomas?’ Maddie said.
‘Yep, why not?’
‘Count me in too,’ said Neil, rubbing his hands together.
‘Yay, thanks, Dad,’ Elise said. ‘Love you.’
‘Love you too, sweetheart.’
‘More than anything?’
‘More than anything.’
‘Will you play, Robert?’ Elise asked.
Amelia glanced at her dad. His eyes were closed, clearly desperate to shut out the evening. ‘Not me,’ he said. ‘I’ll be heading back soon.’
‘Nor me,’ Rosamund said. ‘I hate this kind of game. Far too intrusive.’
Elise rolled her eyes. ‘Amelia, will you play?’ she asked. ‘Lark, what about you?’
Lark didn’t look up from her phone. ‘Not even if my life depended on it,’ she said.
‘I’ll watch,’ Amelia said, and her dad smiled, as though acknowledging their similarities.
‘OK. You start, Caroline,’ Elise said.
‘OK then.’ She smiled, but her eyes were dull. ‘When I was young I had a beautiful collie dog and we named her Lassie after the films.’
Lie. You would have told me, Mum, Amelia thought.
‘What films?’ asked Elise.
‘They were about a beautiful dog who was a hero.’ She was wearing the wig she had on earlier, and kept fiddling with it, scratching her forehead. She seemed self-conscious, and Amelia wanted to tell her she looked beautiful with or without the wig.
‘The films were long before your time, Elise,’ Neil said. ‘And mine too, come to that.’
‘Lie,’ Elise said bluntly.
‘Aren’t you going to ask my mum some more questions first?’ Thomas said.
‘No, I can tell she’s lying. I have a gift. I always know when Rosamund is lying.’ She glared at her stepmother. ‘Don’t I, Rosamund?’
‘Lie,’ said Thomas, ignoring Elise’s dig at Rosamund. ‘I’m sure you would have told us about it, Mum.’
‘Unfair advantage,’ Jackson said with a laugh. ‘I’ll say lie too.’ His eyes were on Lark again. Amelia had seen it before. The way he looked at her. Couldn’t Mum see it?
‘Lie,’ Neil and Maddie said together.
‘Yes, it’s a lie; you caught me out.’
‘Dad, it’s your go.’ Elise was in full control of the game, and loving every moment. She was a spoilt girl – a little irritating.
Neil tapped his lip with his forefinger. ‘OK. When I was at school, a bunch of boys locked me in the caretaker’s cupboard over the weekend. I had to use a bucket for the loo.’
‘That’s so gross,’ Lark muttered, turning up her nose, eyes still glued to her phone.
‘Oh, Dad, that’s awful,’ Elise cried. She jumped up and came up behind his chair. Wrapped her arms around his neck.
‘You don’t even know if it’s true yet,’ Lark said, finally looking up.
‘True,’ Jackson said. ‘I bet you were a bit of a dork at school, so it kind of has a ring of truth about it.’
‘How did it happen, Neil?’ Maddie asked, her voice soft and caring.
He widened his eyes, and glanced over his shoulder at Elise. ‘Am I supposed to say?’
‘Yes, people can ask questions, Dad.’
‘Well, the boys grabbed me and shoved me in there for being a swot, which, to be fair, I was.’ He gave an awkward laugh.
‘Well I’m hoping it’s a lie,’ Elise said, ‘but if it’s true, I’ll track them down and kill them. Sometimes revenge is the only way.’
‘Lie,’ Maddie said.
‘No, definitely true,’ Jackson said.
‘It is true,’ Neil said.
‘I guess boys will be boys.’ Jackson took a gulp of his drink. ‘And look at you now – doing better than they are, is my guess.’
‘Oh yes.’ Neil nodded. ‘One of them is in prison, I believe.’ He laughed. ‘Though to be fair we were just kids. I forgive them.’
‘You’re far too kind, Daddy,’ Elise said, her eyes on Rosamund. ‘Too forgiving.’
‘Not always, sweetheart, not always.’
The atmosphere was suddenly heavy. ‘Jackson, it must be your go,’ Maddie said, as though trying to extinguish the rising tension.
Jackson grinned, and there was a beat before he said, ‘My parents died of carbon-monoxide poisoning in the caravan I grew up in.’
‘Seriously?’ Lark’s eyes moved from her phone to his face. ‘You’re going with that?’
‘I didn’t know that.’ Caroline’s eyes widened. ‘It’s got to be a lie.’
Rosamund stared Jackson’s way, her eyes boring into him, a puzzled look on her face. ‘True,’ she said.
‘You’re not even playing, Rosamund.’ Elise screwed up her face, and, clenching her fists, turned to Jackson. ‘Was it like being on holiday, all the time?’
‘No,’ Jackson said, leaning back in his chair. ‘It was a living hell.’
‘You really don’t look the type to have grown up in a caravan, Jackson.’ Neil narrowed his eyes. ‘Convince me.’
‘Well, my parents were travellers. I grew up moving from place to place, finally heading for the US on my own when I was eighteen.’ He laughed, shrugged. ‘It’s no big deal.’
‘It is if it’s true.’ Caroline’s voice was tense.
Amelia looked over at her dad. Was he smiling? Was he happy to see a crack forming?
‘I think it’s true,’ Elise said. ‘Come on put us out of our misery, Jackson.’
‘It’s true,’ he said.
Amelia saw the shock in her mum’s eyes, her cheeks flushing.
‘Did you know?’ Amelia whispered, seeing the shock in her mum’s eyes.
Her mum shook her head, as Jackson placed his hand over hers. ‘I honestly didn’t think it was important enough to tell you, Caroline,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t exactly the best time in my life.’
‘Are you OK, Mum?’ Amelia asked.
‘She’s fine,’ Jackson said, his eyes boring into the side of her mother’s head. ‘Aren’t you, darling?’
‘Of course, yes. It’s no big deal. No big deal at all.’
‘My go,’ Elise said.
‘Maybe we should call it a night,’ Jackson said. ‘What do you think, Caroline?’
‘Yes, I’m tired. I thought maybe we could all go for a walk in the forest in the morning; it’s meant to be sunny.’ She went to rise.
‘No!’ Elise yelled. ‘It’s my go, and I’m having it whether you like it or not.’
Jackson glared at Neil, as though asking him to chastise his child,
