Whatever Love Is (15 page)

Frankie bit her tongue. It wasn’t the version that Henry had given. ‘So are you going to steer clear of him? He’s trouble.’

Mia nodded. ‘Nick and I are off to Barbados with his family soon, anyway,’ she said. ‘And guess what? Nick’s grandparents have invited Jemma to come along too. Their
other granddaughter, Nick’s cousin, will be there and they reckon Jemma will be company for her.’

‘Wow! Lucky her.’

‘And when we get back, Nick and I will be going to Brighton to seriously flat hunt.’

It occurred to Frankie that Mia sounded as if she were merely reeling off a list of rather boring diary dates. There was none of her usual bragging banter, and her eyes weren’t
smiling.

‘Cool,’ Frankie said encouragingly. ‘You’re so lucky getting a place of your own so soon.’

‘Yeah.’ Mia yawned. ‘I guess. Except . . .’

‘Except what?’

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Mia sighed. ‘Nick and me – we’ve been together since we were fourteen, and everyone expected us to get married one day. I did, I really
wanted to. But now . . .’

‘You’re having second thoughts?’

‘I don’t know. Some days when I’m with him it seems so right and then on others, after I’ve been with . . . well, other times it just seems like it’s all a
sham.’ She nibbled on a hangnail. ‘At least even Nick agrees we shouldn’t get married till we’ve both finished uni,’ she said. ‘So for now I might as well just
go with the flow.’

It didn’t sound to Frankie like the most romantic of suggestions.

‘Francesca! Can you come here for a moment?’

Frankie was crossing the hall on her way to meet Poppy and Lulu and watch The Saltshakers’ lunchtime gig when her uncle called her. He beckoned her into his study and closed the door
behind them.

‘About William’s visit,’ he began.

‘It is still OK?’ she asked anxiously. He looked drawn and tense.

‘Of course.’ Thomas nodded. ‘I was just thinking – we didn’t celebrate your eighteenth in a big way because you were revising flat out for your A2s. It seems
unfair; after all, the others all had big parties. So I thought we should celebrate it properly while William’s here. Throw a party for all your friends.’

Frankie bit her lip and looked at the floor. ‘But parties cost a lot of money,’ she whispered.

‘Don’t you worry about that,’ he said.

She suddenly had an idea. ‘Well, would it be rude – I mean, would you mind if . . .’

‘Come on, dear, spit it out!’

‘Could I have the money instead? Because uni is going to be so expensive and if I had a bit of money I wouldn’t need such a big loan.’

Her uncle frowned. ‘What do you mean, a loan? I pay for the others and I’ll do exactly the same for you.’

‘Really? Oh, thank you,’ she cried. ‘I can’t tell you what that means to me – I was really worried . . .’

‘Well, there’s no need for that!’ Her uncle smiled. ‘And about your birthday – think it over and let me know. We’ll need to get a move on if we’re going
to organise a big bash.’

‘I don’t want anything like that,’ she said firmly, ‘but thank you – I’ll think about it.’

An idea was forming in her head but this wasn’t the time to mention it.

‘I am so in love!’ Lulu sighed, as they made their way across muddy fields to the festival again. At least today the sun was shining. ‘He kissed me –
twice – he is
so
fit.’

‘I take it you’re talking about James,’ Frankie replied. ‘Just be careful – he’s not exactly the reliable type.’

‘Honestly, Frankie, it’s no wonder you’re on your own,’ Lulu countered. ‘Sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind and go for it.’ She frowned.
‘He said he’d see me around this morning. Do you think he will? I mean, he didn’t set a time or anything but then again . . .’

‘See what I mean about reliable?’ Frankie replied. ‘He’s crashed out with a hangover, I guess.’

‘You are such a dark horse, Frankie Price!’ Poppy Grant came dashing up to them, waving her phone in the air. ‘So that’s who you were going to meet last night! And just
how long has this been going on?’ She thrust her phone under Frankie’s nose. ‘I suppose
you
were in on the secret,’ Poppy went on, glancing at Lulu.

‘In on what?’ Lulu asked, peering over Frankie’s shoulder and gasping at what she saw. ‘
FRANKIE
! Why didn’t you say anything?’

Frankie didn’t reply. She was staring open mouthed at the image on the screen in front of her, feeling more and more sick by the minute. It was a close up – a close up of her and
Henry in full-on snogging mode. And someone had posted it on Facebook.

‘So go on, tell us everything!’ Poppy said.

‘Shut up!’ Frankie shouted, at last finding her voice. ‘Did you take this? How did it get on Facebook?’

‘Course I didn’t,’ Poppy protested. ‘I was far too tied up with my own love life to worry about taking pictures of anyone else’s.’

‘So how . . .?’

‘I dunno.’ Poppy shrugged. ‘People post all sorts on the festival Facebook page – I guess someone took it and thought it was a laugh.’

‘Who else has seen it?’ said Frankie, hot with embarrassment and humiliation.

‘How should I know?’ Poppy shrugged again. ‘Alice, of course. Charlie.’

Frankie’s heart sank. If Alice had seen it, she’d be bound to show it to Ned.

‘I don’t see what the problem is,’ Lulu said.

‘Don’t tell me you’ve still got a thing about Ned?’ Poppy said. ‘Alice has got her claws into him big time. She told me that he’s so besotted she can get him
to do almost anything she wants.’

‘She said that?’ Frankie choked the words out through gritted teeth.

Poppy nodded. ‘But hey, what do you care? You’ve got Henry.’

‘I
don’t
care.’ She shrugged, attempting a smile. ‘Ned’s loss, not mine.’

She wondered whether the words sounded as hollow to her mates as they did to her.

She was on her way back to the house when she bumped into Alice, stomping across the field wearing a riding jacket, green wellies and a very sour expression.

‘Hi,’ Frankie murmured, steeling herself for some risqué remark about the picture. Within seconds, however, it became clear that the only thing on Alice’s mind was
Alice. ‘I am so angry I could explode,’ she said. ‘I reckon Ned’s taken leave of his senses.’

Frankie frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

‘This stupid charity! They’ve brainwashed him!’ Alice practically spat out the words. ‘You know what? He’s said he can’t see me today because he’ll be
with a load of snotty-nosed kids in the adventure zone. Can you believe it?’

‘Easily,’ Frankie said. ‘He’s passionate about these kids. Did you know some of them have been in care all their lives, moved from foster family to foster family; some
have been abused, some have —’

‘Don’t you start!’ Alice butted in. ‘I know it’s awful of me, and it’s great that people care, but it’s the last day of the festival and I wanted to
spend it with Ned.’

‘You could always go and help out with the kids,’ Frankie suggested.

‘Get real!’ Alice laughed. ‘And I’ll tell you something else about Ned – something only I know. You mustn’t let on though.’

Frankie’s stomach lurched at the thought of Ned having secrets with Alice. ‘What?’

‘He’s got this crazy idea about being a social worker!’ she confided.

‘Oh that,’ Frankie said nonchalantly. ‘I’ve known about that for ages.’

‘Oh. Have you?’ For a moment Alice looked put out. ‘And I guess you said the same as me?’

‘Which was?’

‘That he’s a complete idiot to even think of doing something so . . . so dire and dead end.’

Frankie took a deep breath. ‘Actually, I told him it was a brilliant idea and that he should go for it,’ she said firmly. ‘I think everyone should do what fires them
up.’

‘But
social work
? I mean, my God, there’s no money to be made doing that. And where’s the kudos? “I’m a social worker” is hardly going to open doors
with the people that matter, is it?’

Frankie stared at her long and hard. ‘I guess,’ she said calmly, ‘that it depends what sort of people matter to you.’

She turned and began walking away, but Alice grabbed her arm. ‘Hey, I don’t want us to fall out,’ she said. ‘If Ned wants to be an idiot and waste his talents, it’s
up to him. By the way, it’s great that you and Henry have got it together.’

‘We haven’t,’ Frankie said firmly.

‘Oh sure, so that photograph was just a friendly peck on the cheek . . .’ Alice laughed.

‘Your brother came on to me, I said I wasn’t interested – end of!’

‘Was that after you had snogged him senseless?’ Alice teased.

‘Believe what you like,’ Frankie said, struggling to keep her voice level. ‘I was there. You weren’t.’

And with that, she turned and walked away, leaving Alice to stare after her, open mouthed.

CHAPTER 10

‘There will be little rubs
and disappointments everywhere.’

(Jane Austen,
Mansfield Park
)

‘J
AMES
,
ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN
M
EXICO
. W
E NEED TO
talk.’

It was Monday morning and Frankie was crossing the hall on her way to catch the bus into Northampton with Poppy when she heard Thomas’s voice.

‘Talk? What’s to talk about?’ she heard James say. ‘You can’t deny what you did, what you let happen.’

‘James, you have to believe me,’ her uncle replied. ‘I didn’t know.’

‘Do you think I’m still some kid in kindergarten?’ James shouted. ‘You’re a businessman. You tell everyone you have your finger on the pulse. You must have
known.’

‘Not all of it, not about the workforce,’ he said.

‘Not the
workforce
, Dad,’ James retorted. ‘The
kids
. Go on, say it. The kids working twelve-hour shifts for a pittance in the kind of conditions you
wouldn’t keep a dog in.’

Frankie glanced at her watch. She’d have to run if she was going to catch the bus but somehow her feet seemed rooted to the spot.

‘Look, Dad. Look at these.’

‘You took photos?’ Thomas croaked.

‘Yes I did,’ James shouted, ‘because I wanted to remind myself every time I was tempted to take money from you in the future just how you came by it.’

‘James, it wasn’t my fault – the factory manager is in charge of all the hiring and firing. I just buy in the finished product.’

‘And stick a Zeppelin label or a Cheeky Cheetah logo on it and sell it at an inflated price,’ James said. ‘How ethical! Now if you don’t mind, I’m out of
here.’

‘No wait,’ Thomas began. ‘I need to explain —’

‘There’s nothing more to say. I’m meeting Jon in Leicester for a jamming session,’ he replied. ‘I need to get my head straight and it won’t happen
here.’

At that moment, Frankie’s phone shrilled in her bag. Grabbing it she saw Poppy’s text.
Where are you? We’ll miss the bus.

She dropped the phone back in her bag, opened the front door and headed down the drive, her mind in a whirl. Was James really saying that Thomas made his money by using child labour? He
wouldn’t, he couldn’t – surely. And yet it seemed James had proof. And judging by the way James had been behaving, whatever had happened was serious enough to hit him – who
usually laughed everything off – really hard.

Thomas said he didn’t know about it and she believed him – to do otherwise was unthinkable.

On Wednesday evening, Tina organised an impromptu farewell supper for Mia, Nick and Jemma before they left for the Caribbean the following day, and all the family were there
– with the exception of James who was staying with Jon – along with the Rushworths, the Grants and Henry and Alice. Frankie had hoped that Poppy would come but she was at a club night
in Northampton with Charlie.

‘Now before we eat, if I’m not very much mistaken, there’s a bit of a surprise for you all!’ Thomas glanced at his watch and then pointed the remote at the TV screen on
the wall. ‘Just a moment or two and all will be revealed!’

Tina was busying herself passing round a tray of canapés (‘All organic, no additives and the bread is gluten free and made by hand by a little man in Thornton Lacey’), Nerys
was regaling anyone who would listen with the ongoing saga of her boiler and the ineptitude of every workman in a twenty-mile radius, and Frankie was doing her utmost to avoid Henry and ignore the
fact that Alice was perched on the arm of the sofa, her hand curled round Ned’s shoulder.