‘Do you want some water, Tamsyn?’

Edie was holding the green glass bottle and without waiting for my reply she leant over to pour some in my glass. The water fizzed as it went in. I didn’t even know they made water fizzy and wondered briefly if it came up from the ground that way. Before Edie had finished filling my glass, however, Eleanor reached over and lifted the neck of the bottle with her finger to stop the flow.

‘Champagne surely, girls? What do you think, Tamsyn?’ Eleanor retrieved the second bottle from the ice bucket and tore off the gold foil then untied the wire caging. ‘Do you like champagne?’

‘I’ve never had it before.’

‘Never?’

I shook my head.

‘Then you absolutely must try some.’ She eased the cork out and it popped like an air rifle.

She poured the sparkling pale liquid into a tall, thin glass and passed it to me. I lifted it up to the light and watched the bubbles race to the surface in a million effervescent pinpricks.

‘I can’t believe your mother hasn’t let you have half a glass before. It’s not right you’ve got to this age and not even tasted it.’

‘I don’t think she’s ever had it either.’

Eleanor looked genuinely horrified.

‘Vile stuff,’ Edie said then.

‘Ah, my darling daughter,’ Eleanor said, whilst sipping from her glass. ‘The very measure of sophistication.’

Edie rolled her eyes and made a face, and I looked away quickly, not wanting to be caught in collusion. Edie’s chair scraped back on the terrace with a loud screech and she disappeared inside the house.

Eleanor drank most of her champagne in one go then topped up her glass. We sat in silence until Edie arrived back at the table with a carton of orange juice. She poured a glass for herself and offered it to me, but I shook my head and sipped the champagne, which wasn’t as nice as I’d hoped it would be, too acrid and not very thirst-quenching.

‘By the way, Edith, if you have to smoke, can you at least put your cigarette ends in the bin? I found three on the terrace morning.’

How could Edie say Eleanor Davenport wasn’t cool? Letting her smoke? That was definitely a cool mother. I tried to imagine what mine would have said if she’d found out I’d been smoking.

‘The wait is over!’ Max called over. ‘The steaks are done!’

He returned to the table and with an air of triumph he placed the white serving plate down. The four steaks bled their red and brown juices all over the china. I grinned. Steak for tea. Granfer wasn’t going to believe his ears.

Someone’s birthday?

No!

Just any old tea?

Yes. Any old tea. Steak and champagne. Can you believe it?

‘I hope it’s cooked as you like it,’ Max said, as he lifted a whole steak onto my plate.

‘Thank you. Yes.’

Max began to vigorously cut into his steak. ‘I must say, it’s lovely to have you with us, Tamsyn. A real treat to have a proper local as our guest. Especially such a lovely one.’