have to worry, because Suki was carrying on about cooking.
âDoes your father do the cooking at home, Antonia? Or do you have a cook?â
âWe do not âave a cook,â Antonia replied. âSometimes eet ees Papa, sometimes Mamma, sometimes Nonna, or Iâ¦â
Suki must have got bored then, because she interrupted by asking the rest of us if we had cooks.
I waited till I heard Sasha and Izzy say no, then I shook my head. Emily and Bryony werenât paying attention. Theyâd started their own conversation about Emilyâs farm in Ireland, and I was wishing I could join in, because it sounded really interesting. But unfortunately they were a bit too far away for that.
âWeâve mostly got fields for the cows,â Emily was saying. âBut Mumâs got a massive vegetable garden and a little herb garden. I help her with both of them.â
âI bet the rest of you have gardeners though, donât you?â said Suki.
I looked down.
âWeâve got a man who helps in the summer,â replied Sasha, âbecause my parents are always too busy during the week and too tired at the weekends.â
âSame here,â said Izzy.
âWhat about you, Antonia?â Suki persisted, as my heart raced and my hackles started to rise. Why was she so obsessed with everyoneâs wealth?
âOur garden in Milan ees too tiny, but there ees someone who â what ees the word? â maintains our holiday home and garden.â
Knowing I had to quickly do something to stop Suki turning to me next, I poured myself some water and took a gulp, then pretended it had gone down the wrong way and started coughing.
âAre you all right, Nicole?â asked Izzy, looking concerned. And the others all joined in, checking I was okay. All apart from Suki, who waited till Iâd finished coughing then, just when I thought I was safe from her prying eyes, asked me her horrible question. âHave you got a gardener?â
It crossed my mind that I could easily tell a lie, but Suki had made me angry, and that somehow gave me the confidence to speak out, because why should I care what she thought?
âNo, we donât,â I said firmly. âIn fact we donât have any staff.â
Iâd surprised myself with my bravery, and I liked the strong feeling it had given me. It didnât last long though, because Suki came straight back with, âWell thatâs not true for a start, because I saw you arrive on the first day of term and it was a workman who dropped you off in that old car, wasnât it? I saw that the back was full of paints and ladders and stuff.â
My cheeks felt as though they were on fire and I reached for my water again with a shaky hand. âThis spag bol is boiling!â I said, gulping the water and frantically thinking what to say. The others thought my dad was an artist, not a decorator. âIt was my dad actuallyâ¦heâs painting the house at the moment, you seeâ¦â
The words sounded weak and pathetic even as I spoke them, and Suki looked at me as though I was talking another language. âYour dadâs painting the house?â
âHey, have you seen whatâs for pudding?â said Emily, coming back into our conversation at the perfect moment. âBanoffee pie. My favourite thing. Well, not the ban bit, just the offee .â
We all laughed.
No, thatâs not quite true. The others laughed, and I pretended to laugh, and even though I knew I should try to get back that strong feeling Iâd had for just a second, I couldnât do it. Inside I was crying.
Chapter Seven
After school on Friday, I went to the main school library. Apart from our dorm, that has to be my favourite room. Itâs enormous and itâs got a certain smell. I think it might be the librarianâs perfume, or the furniture polish thatâs used on the dark heavy tables, or it might be just the shelves and