‘I’ve got no excuses for that. Safe journey, Milly – Lx.’
‘We will shortly be arriving in Leeds,’ the announcement came. ‘Our next station with this train will be Leeds. Please take all your personal belongings with you.’
Laurie got to her feet, stretching out after the two hours she had been seated, and walked out into the station with her suitcase. She found Platform 6 and transferred on to a cramped, smaller train. When it set off it rattled through the landscape, past fields of sheep, stopping at Giggleswick, Long Preston and other places Laurie had never heard of. Apart from a granny doing her crossword, the carriage was empty, so Laurie read Vogue in peace, checked out what Alexa Chung was going to be wearing to Christmas gigs and what Chloe Sevigny was doing her gift-shopping in. After less than an hour she heard the announcement for Skipley.
She looked out of the window as she got her bags. There was nobody – nobody – on the platform. She glanced around at the vast, empty fields and hills. Welcome to Skipley, she thought. Was it too late to swap back?
CHAPTER 8
Wednesday 29th November
‘So, kids. Here we are,’ Rachel said, putting on her best smile as they emerged from the tube station. ‘Brixton.’
Zak and Milly looked around, eyes wide, taking in the busy high street. It was the middle of the day, on a Wednesday and the pavements were full of people. Market stalls bustled, police sirens wailed and a bornagain Christian preached through a loud-hailer. Incense sticks burning on a nearby stall immersed them in a thick patchouli fog.
‘It’s noisier here than at home, isn’t it, Mum?’ Zak said, looking up and holding on to his rucksack straps tightly.
They’d come down by train that morning, and their first stop had been the central London hospital where they’d dropped Bea off. ‘She’ll be in safe hands here,’ Dr Patel, a calm woman in her forties, told Rachel. ‘I’ll be looking after her and overseeing the tests.’ Rachel and Milly helped Bea unpack and get settled, and Zak gave Bea one of his books, a ‘Choose your own adventure’ one promising dragons and fiery volcanoes. She’d politely added it to the stack of travel memoirs by her bedside. ‘Thank you, Zak,’ she said, ‘I’ll look forward to that one.’ Milly leaned in to give her grandma a gentle hug. ‘I hope you feel much better soon, Granny.’
‘Oh, I’ll be just fine,’ Bea said, shrugging off the concern, ‘don’t you worry about me.’
The tube had been bewildering – Zak had to be rescued when the ticket barriers shut on his rucksack – but finally they’d arrived in Brixton, and according to Laurie’s directions they were just a short walk away from her flat. They’d left their larger bags with Aiden to bring down in the car, but each carried a small overnight bag.
‘Right, kids,’ Rachel said. They walked together on to the zebra crossing, but as they stepped out to cross it a cyclist whizzed across their path, forcing them back. When they stepped forward again a moment later a white van beeped at them and the driver shouted something unintelligible out of the window. Zak looked at Rachel, cowed and uncertain. Milly’s face mirrored his. ‘Perhaps let’s cross at the lights,’ Rachel said, walking towards them and hoping she’d got the right direction.
‘I’ve got the route,’ Milly said, showing Rachel her iPhone – Rachel glanced over curiously at the little blue dot moving as they did. ‘Here we are in London town,’ Milly said, affecting the tone of a posh tourist guide, ‘and, to your left, please take note of the local highlights – TopShop, H&M and New Look.’ Rachel couldn’t help smiling as her daughter continued: ‘And beyond the famous Brixton Academy, you’ll see Windermere Road, home to the eminent fashion designer Laurie Greenaway and holiday home of the rich, famous – and the Murray family.’
‘Look, a fox!’ Zak called out, squeezing