I already know that Lauren, like her impoverished twin, has no money to spare. Now that she’s finally split with Jude she’s going to be needing all the cash she can lay her hands on too.

‘Can’t you sell something? Some jewellery perhaps?’

Chelsea flashes her ring at me. ‘All gone,’ she admits. ‘This is cheap and cheerful costume jewellery. I hoped that no one would notice.’

I certainly didn’t. ‘And the car?’

‘Not ours to sell. It’s leased by the company and I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to hang on to it.’

‘Don’t you have any friends who could bale you out?’ I suggest, sounding desperate even to my own ears. ‘Perhaps the school could defer the payment until it’s all sorted.’

‘I couldn’t ask that,’ Chelsea says. ‘What would they think of me? Our reputation would be shot to pieces. I have to keep this very quiet, Annie. No one can know.’

Ah, so that’s clearly why we’re meeting at this out-of-the-way place and not one of her regular haunts.

‘But if you’ve got no money, Chelsea, won’t they find out very quickly anyway?’

‘Will you lend it to me or not?’ my sister asks. ‘I don’t know where else to turn.’

I sigh because I don’t know what else to do.

‘We’re family,’ Chelsea reminds me crisply, sniffing back her tears. ‘That’s where people turn when they’re in need. I know that you and Lauren like to keep me out of your tight-knit little twosome, but I am your sister.’

‘We don’t try to keep you out.’

‘But you do,’ my sister says. ‘All of my life I’ve been on the outside. Do you think I don’t notice?’

I feel terrible. I’ve let her down. Both Lauren and I have let her down.

‘So,’ she says, ‘can I count on you?’

‘Of course you can.’ I see my dreams of Peru, the Inca Trail, the Nazca Lines, the pisco sour cocktails, all go up in smoke. My desire to do something daring before I die will have to be put on hold.

‘I’ll happily lend you the money.’ I plaster a smile on my face, give Chelsea a hug and try not to howl in despair. ‘What are sisters for?’

Chapter 99

Chapter 99

When they finally managed to drag themselves out of bed, Zak and Lauren went for a walk.

Zak drove them through the quaint, chocolate-box country side to the busy tourist stop of Lower Slainton. When he wasn’t changing gear, they held hands.

Lauren rested her head back on the car seat, happier than she’d been in a long, long time. She’d slept so well in Zak’s arms that it felt as if all the tension had melted out of her body.