‘God, it’s so great to talk to you both again, you know that?’ Her voice grew cold. ‘Thanks for nothing. You’re the first two people I tell, and what do I get? Only judgement and the third degree. It’s like being back in bloody boarding school.’

Maxie stepped in. ‘Jeannie, don’t get mad. We’re shocked, you have to understand that. We’re worried about you. How you’re going to cope.’

Jeannie’s tone turned cheery again. ‘Oh, women of little faith. I’m young, fit, healthy. We’re supposed to have babies young, aren’t we? Didn’t you listen to anything during those sex education classes? Come to think of it, did we even have sex education classes? Maybe I was sick that day. I thought I could only get pregnant if I went to the cinema with a boy and let him have his way with me in the back row. No cinema involved in this case. Turns out the nuns were wrong about that as well.’ She laughed loudly. ‘Hold on, I need to fill my glass. And yes, it is wine. Aren’t I naughty?’

Maxie and Olivia exchanged glances again. Before they could say anything, Jeannie kept talking.

‘No, I probably shouldn’t be drinking. I’m stopping tomorrow. I know I should be thinking of the baby. I am thinking of the baby. Every day, every minute, every hour. And I will love this baby, and I will look after this baby. And I want this baby, otherwise there are ways I could have avoided having this baby, as I’m sure you also recall from our boarding school days.’

They knew what she was referring to. It had never been discussed openly, but their head prefect had gone missing for a month. On her return a rumour spread that she’d gone away to have an abortion. Whether it was true or not, they’d never known.

Jeannie’s voice was falsely cheery again. ‘So anyway, I wanted you both to know. I hoped you might be happy for me. Not react like two sour old biddies. I can picture you there, with faces like a slapped arse. Do you like that saying? It’s one of Emmet’s. The Irish have some excellent sayings.’

Olivia ignored the insult. ‘Jeannie, are you okay? I’m not talking about you being pregnant. I’m talking about generally.’

‘You seem a bit, I don’t know —’ Maxie didn’t want to use the word manic. ‘Up and down.’