Page 38 of A Sky Painted Gold

“I’m only saying what others will think.” Irene scowls.

“I don’t care what anyone else thinks,” I say mutinously.

“Oho!” Aunt Irene waves a finger in my direction. “That’s all well and good now, but what about in a few weeks’ time when they all go back to London and leave you behind with your reputation in tatters? What will you do then? You ought to be finding a nice boy to settle down with, not running around with those … those … reprobates.”

I feel something hard lodging itself in my chest.

“Leave her alone, Irene,” Midge says wearily. “If Lou likes these people, they can’t be as bad as you think, and they’ve certainly been very welcoming to her. You’re getting yourself all worked up over nothing.”

“This is all your fault, Midge,” Irene continues, turning on her, getting into her stride now. “You let all those children run wild, getting into mischief and doing whatever they like. It’s a miracle your Alice managed to catch an upstanding boy like Jack.”

“Alice could have had her pick of anyone, and Jack’s been in love with her since we were children,” I exclaim hotly.

“Well, more fool him, then,” Irene bites off. “You’re certainly going to have to buck up your ideas if you don’t want to end up an old maid. You haven’t got your sister’s looks to fall back on.”

Oof. That one hurt.

“I’m not going to end up an old maid!” I hiss, jumping to my feet. “I’m only seventeen, for heaven’s sake. Just because you don’t remember what being young feels like, there’s no need to try and turn my life into a tragedy.” I am sick of this. Why does the sum total of my ambition have to be getting married, anyway? Doesn’t anyone else think there is more to life? That I have something else to offer?

“Lou’s right,” Midge says firmly, placing a soothing hand on my arm, and I feel my heart fill with love for her. “And there’s no harm in her having a bit of fun before she settles down.”

I frown, the hard feeling returning in my chest. I wonder what “settling down” means exactly, and when it is supposed to start.

Aunt Irene sniffs again. “You’ll see I’m right in the end,” she mutters darkly. “Then you’ll all be sorry.”

Just then we are interrupted by the door flying open, and Alice barrels in.

“Where is she?” she screeches, and then her eyes fall on me. “Oh, Lou, I heard you were back … you have to tell me everything! You have to tell me everything right now! I’ve been dying, I tell you, just dying!”

Aunt Irene lifts her eyebrows. “You see,” she says smugly. “Wild, the lot of them.”

“Oh, hello, Aunt Irene,” Alice sings sunnily. “Didn’t see you there. You won’t mind if I borrow Lou for a bit, will you?” and with that she is tugging my arm and pulling me from the room back towards the kitchen.

Freya must have gone on the hunt for Tom, because both she and her book are gone. Alice closes the door firmly behind us so that we can no longer hear the tirade against our abysmal manners that Aunt Irene is pouring into Midge’s ear. I feel a pang of guilt. It’s not fair that Midge has to put up with her sister when she gets on her high horse. Midge might have the patience of a saint but sooner or later even she loses her temper with Irene. Still, selfishly, I am relieved that at least I don’t have to listen to her any more.

“Thank God for that,” I say, rubbing my shoulder where Alice has nearly pulled my arm from its socket. “I couldn’t stand being stuck with her for another minute.”

“Is she playing the dragon with you about the Cardews?” Alice asks, perching on the edge of the big kitchen table. “She’s been rattling on about it ever since she found out.”

I groan. “Is it really all over the village?” I ask, moving over to the stove to boil water and make some tea. I need it.

“Of course.” Alice grins. “It’s the most exciting thing to happen for ages. Everyone wants to know what they’re up to over there … including me! Now, come on, don’t leave out a single, tiny detail. Dish.”

“Oh, Alice.” I swoon against the kitchen counter. “It. Was. Amazing.”

“I knew it!” She claps her hands together. “I knew it would be. Tell me everything.”

And so I bring over a pot of tea and a plate of biscuits, and I do. Or, at least, I tell her nearly everything. What I don’t tell her is about the tempest of longing that the visit has unleashed inside me. I’ve peeped into that world now and it hasn’t satisfied my curiosity, it has only stirred it to greater heights. I want more; more life, more light, more of everything.

Alice hangs on every word, and I revel in the feeling of having an appreciative audience. “Will you go back?” she asks finally, cutting right to the heart of the thing.

I try to look offhand about it. “I think so,” I say carefully. “Caitlin says I have an open invitation to drop in whenever I like.”

Alice’s eyes are round. “Really?” she asks.

I nod, taking a sip of my tea. What Caitlin had actually said was that she expected me to be over all the time and that they wanted me for as much of the summer as possible. This was eagerly echoed by the rest of the party, although I couldn’t quite understand why. I mean, I know why the whole thing is exciting for me, but not what I have done to elicit such enthusiasm from them.

“I don’t know quite what to do, though,” I say. “It wasn’t an actual invitation with a date or time or anything. Do you think I can really just turn up?” I try not to sound too hopeful, but the idea of spending the entire summer in that vibrant, exciting world makes me fizz inside.