‘Hey,’ she said. ‘Have you got another glass for that wine?’
‘Problems at home?’ said Ramsay. ‘Because let me tell you, nobody is more qualified to discuss domestic issues than the two of us.’
There was a pause, then both men burst out into hearty laughter.
In fact, there was massive comfort in being with the pair of them, Carmen found. Mr McCredie told stories of Antarctic derring-do, and how best to play croquet with an Adélie penguin; Ramsay spoke about how all the money AirBnB-ing one of the wings of the house had brought in had been spent on pyjamas to stop the children tearing around the house wearing more or less nothing. A couple of glasses of wine down, Carmen discovered that she was feeling much more relaxed even though her phone kept pinging every couple of seconds. She focused on utterly ignoring it.
‘So, what’s up with you?’ asked Ramsay eventually. ‘Are all men bastards?’
‘The jury,’ said Carmen heavily, ‘is out.’
‘Remember,’ said Ramsay, who had some form in this area, ‘men are rubbish. They are rubbish at going after women they like.’
‘I agree,’ said Mr McCredie, who had absolutely no form in this area.
‘I know, but he thinks … ’
‘He doesn’t know what he thinks,’ said Ramsay confidently. ‘Even if you think you have made things very clear to him, you could make them more clear.’
‘It’s not that … dreadful popinjay, is it?’ said Mr McCredie, who didn’t speak a lot, but saw everything. ‘The charlatan writer.’
‘No. Kind of. Well. It was for a bit but … no. Definitely not,’ said Carmen. ‘He’s a dendrologist … that means—’
‘Tree chap,’ said Ramsay and Mr McCredie at once.
‘Oh my God, you are such nerds,’ said Carmen, laughing for the first time.
‘The tall boy!’ said Mr McCredie. ‘Oh yes. Absolutely. I quite approve.’
Carmen smiled. ‘Well, that’s something, I suppose.’
‘Is he an academic?’ frowned Ramsay. ‘I’m just saying. It would be nice for someone round here to have some money.’
‘I know, I know.’
‘But you like him?’
Carmen nodded. ‘But he’s seeing someone else. And he thinks I’m seeing someone else. It’s just a stupid mess.’
Ramsay shook his head.
‘Oh, you never know. One thing about dendrologists: very, very patient.’
Carmen smiled.
‘It that true?’
Her phone rang for the ninth time in a row. Sofia. She pressed it reluctantly.
‘Yes?’
All she could hear was slightly damp breathing down the line. Then, finally: ‘ … Auntie Carmen?’
‘Phoebe? Is that you?’
‘Mummy lent me her phone.’
Carmen was annoyed at Sofia’s obvious emotional manipulation. On the other hand, she couldn’t deny its efficacy.
‘Uh-huh.’
‘Are you coming home soon? I want you to say goodnight to me. And tell me a story. Not the one about the bear and the snake though. That one is rubbish.’
‘It is rubbish,’ said Carmen. ‘It sucks.’
‘IT SUCKS.’
‘Okay, don’t say that too loud.’