She looked around at the sparsely furnished apartment and admitted that he had a point.
‘Listen, if you want me to stay, you only have to say . . .’
‘No, I want you to do the right thing,’ he said. ‘And I think it’s the right thing to go with Diana. But I do want you to come back.’
‘I’m going to have fun,’ she said, with a playfulness she didn’t feel. If he thought she was going to be depressed about his rejection of her, he had another think coming. ‘Have fun, do a bit of snooping around, catch up with old friends, snog a few unsuitable men, and then I’ll come back.’
‘Don’t have too much fun . . .’
How dare he? she thought, grabbing her bag and making for the door.
‘Don’t worry about me,’ she said, brushing past him, their arms touching, a crackle of electricity passing between them. ‘Don’t worry about me at all.’
10
Diana’s body clock was all over the place. She had been tempted to spend the night in Bangkok; the city had some of her favourite hotels and shopping centres – the delicious spa at the Sukhothai, the rooftop restaurant on the Lebua with its views right over the city – but she was desperate to get back, for the sake of her mental well-being if nothing else. The lack of sleep was starting to have an impact on her body; she was getting headaches and feeling spaced out. If Rachel hadn’t been by her side, she wasn’t sure she would have been able to find the right gate at the airport. All she could think about was her lovely soft bed at Somerfold – if she could only make it there, everything would be all right.
It wasn’t far now, at any rate. Mr Bills had met them at Heathrow, and the car was now sweeping through the Berkshire countryside, the green hedgerows and trees soothing after the overbright and crumbling urban sprawl of Bangkok. Diana certainly fel
t calmer here, although she wasn’t exactly sure that was a logical response: there were going to be awkward questions to answer when she arrived with her estranged sister. She looked across at Rachel, dozing with her head back on the seat. They had hardly spoken since they had left Ko Tao; Rachel had seemed preoccupied with something. Perhaps she was simply worried about coming back to England. Three years was a long time, and must have seemed even longer to someone who may well have expected to stay away for ever. That was a strange thought now that Rachel was sitting only inches away. For so long Diana had expected the same thing; in fact had wished to never see her sister again. Was I too hard on her? she wondered. No, what Rachel had done had been spiteful, selfish and unforgivable. And yet here Diana was, inviting her back into her life. Not forgiving her, not that, but she was certainly pinning all her hopes on her little sister. She supposed it was simply a measure of how desperate she was.
‘Where are we?’ murmured Rachel, squinting out of the window. ‘This isn’t Notting Hill.’
‘We’re not going there. We’re going to Somerfold.’
‘The country place?’ Diana thought she said the words with a trace of sarcasm, but perhaps it was just sleep. ‘Will Mum be there?’ she added.
‘No, she’s up in London for a friend’s birthday.’
Diana could see the relief on her sister’s face. They both knew their mother was unlikely to welcome Rachel with open arms. Sylvia Miller had always been a world-class grudge-bearer; she had refused to mention their father’s name from the day he had walked out, had even refused to go to his funeral after his death from cancer. There was little chance she would welcome her younger daughter with open arms, especially as Diana had defied her by going to Thailand to fetch Rachel. They would have to meet at some point, of course, but Diana was content to avoid that moment for the next couple of days at least.
‘I bought something for Charlie,’ said Rachel, rooting in her tote bag and pulling out a large teddy bear dressed in a T-shirt emblazoned with the words I Thailand. ‘I picked this up at Samui airport when you went to the ladies’. What do you think?’
‘He’s a bit old for that,’ Diana replied, trying not to smile. ‘If you’d got him the new iPod I think it’d be more his style.’
‘Well, it’s the thought that counts,’ Rachel said, looking a touch put out. ‘Perhaps we can all do something together at the weekend?’ she asked more hopefully.
‘I told you. He’s at school.’
‘Doesn’t he come home on Fridays?’
Diana shook her head. She could see her sister’s disappointment. Charlie and Rachel had always got on like a house on fire. A closet tomboy, Auntie Rachel had taught her son how to ride a bike and do all the rough-and-tumble boy things like climbing trees and building dams.
‘Well, I’ll send it to him,’ she said. ‘Maybe he can tell his mates he went to Thailand for a full-moon party.’
They turned off a country lane and through a set of gates on to a long driveway. To the left was the lake, and set on a low hill overlooking it was Somerfold. Diana sighed with relief at seeing her home.
‘Bloody hell,’ said Rachel, sitting forward. ‘Is this it? It’s massive!’
Diana realised that her sister would never have seen or possibly even heard of their country home.
‘How big is it?’ gasped Rachel, her face practically squashed against the window.
‘Probably a bit too big,’ said Diana modestly, although she was pleased at her sister’s reaction.
‘How many staff do you need in a place like this?’
‘The minimum, although it’s nice to have people around, to be honest.’