He cocked his head, considering her. For once, the words of someone else had penetrated the thick shell of his self-esteem. ‘For the sake of buggering barnacles,’ he said, rolling his eyes. ‘All right, Miss Goody Two Shoes. I’ll stick to mineral water. Just for you. But remember that when I want a favour from you.’

He strode into the pub, oblivious to her saying, ‘Obeying the law isn’t a favour.’ Wearily, she followed him inside and found him at the bar ordering two sparkling mineral waters. ‘If I can’t drink, neither can you,’ he said dismissively.

‘I’m still only seventeen so I can’t drink legally in a pub anyway,’ Cat said, taking her glass and crossing to a table in the window. She prayed her brother would not be much longer for she did not know how much more of this conversation she could endure.

Her companion was all brag and bluster, exaggeration and embellishment, hyperbole and histrionics. Nothing in Cat’s life had prepared her for John Thorpe. Her own family were direct and matter-of-fact to the point of dullness. Even the Allens, who moved in relatively exalted circles, never boasted about their connections or inflated their own worth at the expense of others. But John was a man who never owned a mistake, whose every anecdote showed him in a glowing light, whose skills and abilities were second to none. Cat was certain she was supposed to marvel that he had deigned to honour her with his presence.

It was all very perplexing because it was so unexpected. Bella spoke of him with such warmth, praising his sense of fun and his generosity. And James, her sweet-natured, clever brother, had told her that women found him irresistible. Neither had so much as hinted at how wearyingly self-absorbed his conversation was. Briefly, Cat considered the problem might lie with her and her undoubted lack of social sophistication. But when James and Bella finally joined them, the atmosphere changed completely and Cat found herself having fun.

The drive had given them all an appetite for the fish and chips – excellent as billed – and they were soon back on the road, much to the relief of Cat, who was mindful of Ellie Tilney’s schedule for the afternoon. She gritted her teeth and blotted out both the return journey and the blowhard bullshit of her companion with a full-blooded daydream of how the rest of the day would play out.

When they arrived back in Queen Street, Cat felt obliged to invite them in for tea and cakes. Bella was halfway out of the car when she looked at her watch and screamed. ‘Look at the time. OMG, how did it get so late? It’s past three o’clock and Ma has tickets for a play at Summerhall at four.’

‘For us too?’ her brother demanded, sounding disgruntled.

‘Yes, she managed to get her hands on a pair of returns this morning.’ Bella got out of the car and wrapped Cat in a tight hug. ‘This is so stupid, when am I ever going to get to talk to you? This totally sucks. We’re going on to dinner afterwards with some family friends, so boring. I’d much rather we were together.’

Cat was torn between missing their intimate chats and wanting to be rid of them all so she could track down Ellie Tilney. ‘It’s OK,’ she said. ‘Susie has tickets for the Book Festival this evening. A crime writer and a historical novelist.’

John rolled his eyes. ‘Rather you than me.’

‘Will we see you later?’ Cat asked her brother.

Looking faintly embarrassed, he said, ‘Like Bella said, her mum managed to get a pair of tickets. I don’t want to let her down after she put herself out for me like that.’

‘And he might as well come to dinner since he’s staying with us,’ Bella added. ‘So we’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?’ She air-kissed Cat on both sides then jumped back into the car with a cheerful wave.

Cat ran upstairs, reckoning she just had time to brush her hair after its buffeting in the car. And maybe to change into a fresh T-shirt that didn’t smell of petrol fumes. As she burst in, she almost crashed into Susie, who was hanging up her wrap. ‘Oh, there you are,’ she said, her capacity for stating the obvious undiminished by her exposure to Edinburgh intellectual life. ‘Did you have a lovely time?’

Cat had been brought up always to have something positive to say about any experience. ‘The fish and chips was excellent.’

‘Martha said it would be. She was thrilled that the four of you were going off together.’ She went through to the kitchen, Cat at her heels.

‘You saw Mrs Thorpe this morning?’

‘We met up for coffee in George Street. And who should we see but Ellie and Henry Tilney.’

Taken aback, Cat said, ‘But Ellie told me she had tickets for the Pleasance today.’

Susie nodded sagely. ‘That’s right, so she did. But you know everybody’s been raving about the South African production of Macbeth in the main festival, and it turns out that one of the family knows the company manager and he snagged them some tickets for this afternoon’s matinee. So Ellie handed back her Fringe tickets and was all set for Macbeth with her father and Henry.’

‘Oh.’

‘We had a lovely chat. They’re really charming, Henry and Ellie. They remind me of you and James, such good manners and such attractive personalities. Ellie was wearing a beautiful dress, cream with tiny sprigs of herbs all over it. Almost Regency looking. She’s obviously got very individual taste, that girl.’

‘Yes, apparently.’

‘Martha’s friend Helen was with us, and she told us all about the family after Henry and Ellie had gone.’

Now Cat was eager. ‘What did she say?’

‘Their family home is in the Borders, Northanger Abbey. Helen says they’ve lived there since before Flodden, whenever that was. And they’re very well off.’ Susie filled the kettle and turned it on.

‘And are their parents both here in Edinburgh with them?’

Susie frowned. ‘Now, what did she say ... ? They can’t both be dead otherwise who would have sorted the tickets out ... I think their mother is dead. Yes, I’m sure she is, because Helen said Ellie inherited her mother’s jewellery. Now what else was it she said ... ? Oh yes. Apparently the mother was practically a recluse for years before she actually died.’ Susie gave Cat a knowing look. ‘And we all know what that means, don’t we?’

‘Do we?’

Susie raised her eyebrows. ‘Well, there’s no reason why you would know, my dear. You’ve so little experience of the world. But often it means ...’ she lowered her voice, ‘... mental health problems. Sometimes as a result of domestic abuse. Physical or psychological. Not that Helen said that in so many words, but reading between the lines ...’

Cat, lacking the experience to distinguish speculative gossip from truth, gathered the information as if it were gospel. ‘That doesn’t sound good. What about the other brother, Freddie? Did you pick up any info about him?’

Susie looked doubtful. ‘She didn’t say, I don’t think. But it was lovely to run into them.’

‘Did they ask after me?’ She hardly dared ask the question, but she needed to know the answer.

Susie put a finger to her chin. ‘Now I come to think of it ... No, I don’t think they did.’

Crestfallen, Cat enquired no further. She had heard enough, and she excused herself, rushing to her bedroom and throwing herself down on the coverlet. The knowledge of what she had missed festered in her heart, and the more she felt the anguish of missing out on the Tilneys, the more she disliked John Thorpe and his stupid red sports car. That, she vowed, would be the last moment of her time she would waste on that blowhard bore.

10

The following morning, Cat walked up to the Book Festival grounds with the Allens. Mr Allen was intent on listening to some economist talking about first world problems, so the two women were free to drink coffee and eat shortbread till their friends joined them. They’d barely settled themselves with lattes and biscuits when the entire female division of the Thorpe family arrived, along with James. Cat was thrilled by the absence of John Thorpe, but she said nothing in case it was construed as taking an interest in his whereabouts. And then someone might text him and summon him and her morning would be ruined.

While James queued to fulfil everyone’s orders for hot and cold drinks, Bella slung an arm round Cat’s shoulders, complaining about the length of their separation. ‘At last!’ she said, drawing her chair closer. ‘How’s tricks? I mean, not that I need to ask because you look stunning. You’ve done something different with your hair, haven’t you? Man, you are trying to make yourself irresistible, nobody else in Edinburgh’s going to get a look in, you evil witch. My bro totally fancies you, and obviously Henry Tilney feels the same way since he came back to Edinburgh and made a bee-line for you. Like, wow. My ma says he’s practically edible. You have to introduce us, right? First chance? I’m buzzing to meet him. Is he around this morning?’

‘I haven’t seen him.’

‘Oh, poo. Am I never going to meet this stallion? Oh, but, do you like my new top? Ma has this woman who makes stuff for her and I got her to do this to my own design. Cool, right? I thought Edinburgh would be more interesting fashion-wise, didn’t you? But it’s really quite dull. Considering they’re all so creative, their clothes are like, totally similar. Jamie and I were just saying this morning how we’re really tired of the city, and how we were gagging for the countryside. Honestly, you wouldn’t believe how in tune we are. We think the same about everything. I’m really glad you weren’t with us because you’d have been ripping the piss out of us.’

‘Why would I do that?’