Maggie laughed. ‘More education for him,’ she said. ‘But yes, that will be nice.’ Her heart swelled a little that Will had come good like this, that he had suggested such things moreover, rather than feeling obliged to out of some grudging duty. Then she girded her loins for the next part of the conversation. ‘Now then,’ she said, rather more sternly. ‘Moving on: I was wondering if there was anything you might need to confess to me. Regarding a tequila bottle?’

Amelia’s face went dark pink and she froze, stricken, a triangle of pizza sagging midway up to her mouth. Any hopes Maggie had nursed about there somehow being a good reason for the bottle in the pictures resembling the one she’d won on the tombola immediately went up in smoke. Guilty as hell.

‘Ah,’ Amelia said carefully. You could practically hear the gears in her brain spinning as she tried to think of a plausible excuse. ‘Right. This is what you meant on the phone, about needing to talk.’

‘Exactly. So talk.’

The dark pink was spreading out from Amelia’s cheeks and down into her neck. ‘I’m sorry,’ she mumbled, staring at her coleslaw as if it might somehow help her out here.

Maggie eyed her over a forkful of salad. ‘I need more than that. Come on, Amelia, this isn’t like you. Or is it? Is this what hanging around with Tara Webster and that crowd has turned you into?’

Amelia’s gaze was still lowered. ‘No.’

‘That stuff is so strong,’ Maggie went on. ‘Really, really strong. Drinking spirits might seem wild and grown-up to you, but while your brain is still developing, it’s a bad idea. Plus it’s illegal, by the way. If a police officer had caught you, you’d have been in even bigger trouble.’ She frowned. ‘If you’re going off on your own with friends, I need to be able to trust you.’

‘You can!’ Amelia said.

‘Well, I can’t, can I, if you’re sneaking bottles of booze out and drinking them in broad daylight? Were you trying to impress that boy? Jack, is it? Is that why you did it?’

Amelia scowled and put her pizza down. ‘Dunno,’ she said darkly. Yes, in other words.

‘You don’t need tequila to impress anyone,’ Maggie said, leaning forward. It felt as if she was imparting the biggest life lesson of all; she had to find the right words. ‘Just be you – because being you is more than good enough. You are wonderful, Amelia: funny and clever and fantastic. And anyone who doesn’t think so can . . . Well, they can fuck off, frankly.’

‘MUM!’ Amelia sounded utterly scandalized to hear her mother swear so fruitily. Scandalized and not a little delighted too, Maggie thought, seeing her mouth quirk at the corners.