She held her daughter on her lap and told her that Mummy had to go away for a little while for work, but that very soon Daisy and Nana would come and join her for a while in a magic place. ‘It’ll be like a special holiday.’

‘But I want to go with you now, Mumma.’

‘I know, sweetheart. But I need to go and get things ready for you and Nana. Then when you get there, you’ll get such a lovely surprise. You know how you have to wait for big surprises . . . like your birthday, holidays, Christmas? Well, it won’t be fun if you come and nothing is ready. It’s going to be so amazing, you won’t believe it.’

Daisy’s lip trembled but her interest was clearly piqued. ‘Like what sort of surprise?’

‘If I tell you it won’t be a surprise.’ Grace tickled Daisy and she squirmed, giggling.

‘Gimme a clue.’

‘Well, this place is like summer all the time. Lovely and warm. There’s sunshine, swimming pools, beaches, funny monkeys, yummy food, special music and dances: you’ll get to wear your sarong and kebaya that I bought you . . . I think you’ll have a lovely time.’

Daisy clapped her hands. ‘Really?’

‘Promise. And because we’re going for a little while, you’ll need to go to school there, too. But guess what, I’ve found you a super-cool school. That way you can keep learning new words and get better and better at reading.’

Daisy grinned. ‘Maybe they’ll have a guinea pig too? Like Charlie?’

‘Maybe they will,’ said Grace with a chuckle.

Daisy’s brow furrowed. ‘But I like my school here. Will we come back here?’

‘Yes, darling. This trip will be for a month or two, but then we’ll be coming home, and you’ll go back to school and see all your friends again.’ Grace hoped that Lawrence wouldn’t stick his oar in on the schooling issue in the meantime.

The questions went on and on as Daisy’s mood switched from happy to worried, and back again. Finally, when Grace had reassured her that after their holiday in Bali they would come home, Daisy hugged her.

‘Yay!’ she yelled and hopped off Grace’s lap. Flapping her arms with excitement, she ran to find her grandmother, shouting, ‘Guess where I’m going, Nana!’

*

Grace handed her boarding pass to the flight attendant and walked into the air bridge tunnel towards the plane that would take her to Bali. She’d thought she’d never get there: every day during the past week she’d checked her phone and email, dreading seeing something from Lawrence that would make all her plans go up in smoke. But no email came, no text message, no call – nothing at all. Grace’s intense relief was mixed with bitterness. Did Lawrence care so little about his own daughter that he could not even be bothered to call her, or ask about her? After finding her seat, she checked her phone one final time before switching it off for the flight – there was nothing there other than fusspot Spencer bothering her with more irrelevant questions.