‘Meredith definitely agreed to this?’
‘Relax, Grace, she was fine about it,’ Annabel replied, trudging along next to her.
Before they’d even turned off the road, they could hear children squealing. As they watched, three boys raced into view, padded out in thick coats, hats, scarves and gloves. They stopped their chase for a moment, gaping at Grace and Annabel.
‘Is your grandma here?’ Grace asked, at which the youngest boy came over, took her by the hand, and pulled her along towards the side of the house, leaving Annabel and Millie behind.
‘No!’ Grace said in protest, having to run to keep up, ‘I think she’d rather we knocked.’ But the child just giggled, and then burst through a door into a large kitchen. For a brief moment Grace hoped she might be able to sneak out again, but a couple she had never seen before had abruptly curtailed their conversation and turned to stare.
‘Sorry,’ Grace said, as the boy who had brought her disappeared through another door. ‘I was looking for Meredith.’
‘Ah,’ said the woman, coming forward with her hand outstretched. ‘You must be Annabel. Mum said you were coming. I’m Veronica, her eldest, and this is my husband Steve.’
Veronica was wearing jeans and a jumper, but Steve was in a suit and tie, as though he had just come from work. As he came across to shake Grace’s hand, Meredith’s dog Pippa barged through the inner door. The animal flew across the room, jumping up at Grace and sending her staggering backwards beneath its weight. Grace tried to catch the dog’s paws to steady herself, but she was pushed out of the kitchen door into the garden, landing with a thump on the snow.
Annabel rounded the corner with Millie, as Steve rushed outside and grabbed the dog’s collar. ‘Pippa, come here,’ he ordered, leading her back indoors.
‘Are you all right?’ Veronica asked apologetically, offering Grace a hand up. ‘I’m sorry. Bobby shouldn’t have let her out.’
‘I’m fine,’ Grace said when she was on her feet, dusting herself off. ‘I’m Grace. This is Annabel.’ She looked towards Annabel to find that her sister was almost doubled up laughing, and gave her a pretend scowl. ‘And this is my daughter, Millie.’
Millie was leaning forward in the pushchair, her mouth hanging open as she looked between her mother and the door where the dog had disappeared.
‘Come on in,’ Veronica said. ‘We’ll give Mum a shout. Hasn’t this weather been awful? Mind you, it keeps the kids busy – they’ve been out playing in it all day.’
Once they were inside, Steve indicated an open bottle of wine. ‘Can I get you both a drink?’
‘One of those would be lovely,’ Annabel agreed.
‘Water’s fine for me, thanks,’ Grace said. ‘Did you all have a good Christmas?’
‘Great, great,’ Veronica replied. ‘The snow’s made it difficult to get back to Ockton, so we’ve been staying here. I don’t think Mum was banking on us all being here for so long, but she’s coping very well.’
‘She loves it,’ Steve said. ‘I’ve given her a shout, she’ll be here in a second.’
At that moment, Meredith appeared. As usual, the older woman had composed her expression to one of courteous welcome, and it was impossible to tell if there was genuine feeling behind it.
‘Hello, Meredith,’ Annabel said, but Meredith was looking at Grace.
‘I didn’t know you were coming, Grace.’
Grace was caught off-guard – was she not welcome now? ‘I wanted a word with you.’
The older woman’s eyebrows rose a fraction. ‘Come through to the lounge, then,’ she said.
Grace unbuckled Millie from her pushchair, and followed Annabel through the house. They entered a cosy lounge room where a fire was blazing. Pippa sat by the hearth, and began to get up as they approached, until Meredith commanded, ‘Stay.’ The dog lay back down again and put her head on her paws.
Meredith made a formidable matriarch, Grace thought. Not someone to get on the wrong side of. She hadn’t seen any photos of Ben around the place, and wondered how his mother felt about his return to the village.
Meredith invited them to sit on a sofa, and perched on a chair, facing them. Grace had brought a few small board books to keep Millie entertained, and now she sat her daughter on her lap and handed her the pile.
‘Right,’ Meredith said, ‘I’m happy to answer questions, Annabel, but I don’t want my photograph taken.’
‘All right then,’ Annabel agreed, fishing a notepad and pen from her bag. ‘I’ll find something else.’ She looked beyond Meredith for a moment. ‘That’s a really unusual fireplace.’