Kate gave Mrs P a hard look – seriously? – but the wily head just smiled back at her. Becky, of course, was fidgeting in her seat with excitement. ‘Can we, Mummy? Please?’

Kate mentally thought through her shift pattern at the restaurant for the following week. Thursday was her night off. Looked like they’d be going to this school, then.

She’d been rendered silent by what she’d just seen: the 200 acres of grounds (actually, she hadn’t seen all of these, just a swathe of green); the new 25-metre pool; the huge, well-equipped gym; the climbing wall; the photos of the trips to Mexico, Silicon Valley, China; the modern classrooms which she’d been told were filled with just a handful of bright-eyed children; the energetic teachers; the peacocks that wandered through the grounds, the kids passing them as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

All this had been presented to her by a girl a mere three years older than Becky, who had more poise and confidence than Kate had ever possessed in her life. In fact, right now, she felt deeply uncomfortable, as if someone had let her look around this place by mistake. She’d looked for fault but found none and, to her shame, had even wanted to dislike this young tour guide but she could criticize nothing, and the girl was warm and funny and had taken Becky under her wing.

They were back in the main hall, a large space with a stage and enough equipment for a West End production, in time for the headmistress’s speech. Small round tables were spread around the room, covered with linen cloths, and as Kate drew nearer, she was astounded to see they were loaded with bottles of wine and sparkling water and tiered trays of canapés and petit fours. With the theatrical lighting set to something soft and inviting, the overall look was like some kind of high-end restaurant.

Kate took a seat, and Becky, wide-eyed, asked her mother’s permission to help herself to cakes. As her daughter got stuck in, Kate looked around the room. The tables were beginning to fill up with prospective parents and pupils, teachers assisting on the sidelines. A couple of people approached her table, nodding a friendly hello as they took their places, while talking with confidence and enthusiasm about what they’d just seen. A woman offered to pour Kate a glass of wine and she got an unexpected surge of bravery. Why shouldn’t she have some wine like these other people were so casually doing? As if it were the most ordinary thing in the world to turn up to a school open day where free food and alcohol were offered. Food that was way more upmarket than she could ever serve at home.

She took a sip and sat up in surprise. It was nice, felt smooth on her tongue. For the first time that evening, she started to relax.

A woman passed by, heading for the next table along, her daughter by her side. Kate’s eyes were drawn to her – or rather, the woman’s coat. It was a subtle pink in what looked like the most luxurious soft wool Kate had ever seen. As the woman sat, the coat undulated in waves and folds around her tall, neat frame. She’d pinned a brooch onto one of the lapels, something creamy and pearl-like, and the whole effect was truly a thing of beauty.