‘Saw him what though?’

‘She saw him make her go in my bedroom.’

Cecilia.

And Ruby. Oh God, Ruby.

I saw Nella out.

‘Hang fire, can you?’ The nausea kept rolling through my body, on and on. ‘We’ll make some decisions once we’ve spoken.’

And that made me feel guilty, for some reason. The day I heard about Jonny’s death came into my mind, unbidden.

‘OK.’ Nella turned at the door. There was a small dirty mark on her Burberry coat, I noticed. ‘But it’s our duty to make sure things like this don’t happen to our daughters. They don’t have to put up with the things we did as girls. Did you see Jan Vermaak’s Mummy blog about Lola this morning? That was one of Zach March’s friends too, last night.’

‘No, I haven’t seen it.’ I’d rather read the Sunday Sport.

‘Well, I’d recommend you read it. I can’t say it surprised me. And I have to say – I had my suspicions about that boy anyway.’

‘Which one? Zach?’

‘I’m not at liberty to say much now, but on top of all this, I think he might have been trying to blackmail me.’ She stopped.

‘Blackmailing you? Why?’

‘It doesn’t matter.’ She looked tired and drawn – no make-up on, for once, apart from last night’s remnants. And those dry lips: as if she’d been licking them continuously.

‘See you.’ I closed the door and leant against it for a moment.

Zach? I couldn’t believe anything bad of him, not really – though I knew better than most about trusting anyone. But it was my job to believe my stepdaughter first and foremost, over my best friend’s son.

‘So.’ I walked back into our open-plan lounge and looked at my stepdaughter, who had just appeared silently at the foot of the stairs. ‘What on earth’s been going on?’

Jan: Mum Of The Iced Gems

‘My Darling Daughters’ Blog

N.B.: I will be writing a full piece on the Street Party, never fear, but this post feels more urgent this a.m.

Those who read or watch my content regularly know, as the mum of three gorgeous girls, my very strong feelings on women’s rights. I want an equal world for my daughters, of course – as well as the chance for them to shop in bodacious Boden (see my natty jumper this week on Instagram), and beautify themselves with the ‘leng’ teen brand TeenRock (branch opening soon, Portland St, readers’ discount available).

#MeToo might have helped our girls’ progress and safety to a degree, but I think it’s true to say we’re still skating a thin line between emancipation and protecting our girls these days.

Most of all, I worry that the boys of today still don’t know their place!

Last week, my attention was drawn to the subject by my eldest coming home upset. Eventually, with the help of a few squares of yummy chocolate (can I recommend artisan brand Coco-tastic, available to snap a scrumptious bar up at the divine ChocPalace on Kensington Park Road, 30p discount per chocs with a copy of this blog!), I managed to coax it out of her: