When I opened my eyes the next morning, my heavy heart told me there was something to worry about before my mind caught up with exactly what that was.

I was going to have a big problem in getting Evie to school.

Fortunately, I’d woken early – it was just six thirty. Plenty of time to get myself psyched up and organised, ready for the battle that undoubtedly lay before me. Evie might be small and endlessly cute, but she was a fearsome opponent when she dug her heels in. Any nerves about my first day in the new job melted into oblivion when I thought about the problems it would cause if every weekday became a battle with Evie. The stakes were high and I needed to try to sort things out before they escalated.

I’d already laid out my work clothes last night so I showered, washed my hair and got myself ready for the day ahead. That was the easy part.

Downstairs, I prepared a bowl of Evie’s favourite cereal, poured her a small glass of orange juice – without bits – and prepared to wake her at seven thirty, which was in five minutes time.

Last night when Evie was watching TV, I came into the kitchen and rang Mum to tell her that I thought I’d solved the mystery of what had upset her.

‘Miss Watson tried to get her to tell the others a bit about herself,’ I had explained. ‘Because she’s new to the area.’

‘Well, I’d be surprised if that’s all it was, Toni, she was so upset,’ Mum replied. ‘Anyway, Evie’s a sociable enough girl, she doesn’t need to be put on the spot like that.’

‘Evie isn’t as sociable as she used to be, Mum,’ I tried to reason. ‘Also, she said Nanny told her she doesn’t have to go to school tomorrow if she doesn’t want to. If that’s true, can you stop saying it? Because it really isn’t helpful.’

‘You didn’t see her sobbing outside the gates,’ Mum shot straight back. ‘I said what I could to calm her down after that Watton woman, or whatever her name is, upset the poor mite. The woman is overbearing.’

‘Her name’s Miss Watson, Mum, and as far as I’m concerned, being encouraged to talk to her classmates can only be a good thing. I’m sure it was just first-day nerves on Evie’s part, nothing more than that.’

‘Hmm, well we’ll soon see, won’t we?’ Mum was on her high horse now. ‘Because I’ll tell you now, if she’s in tears when I pick her up this afternoon, I’ll be going straight back inside and asking them why she’s so unhappy.’

‘Don’t get on the wrong side of the school, Mum,’ I said, trying to keep my voice level. ‘Evie doesn’t always know what’s best for her, she’s just five years old.’

I had almost felt Mum’s irritation trickling down the handset and dripping into my ear. She made some inane excuse and rang off.

I shook off the memory of last night’s conversation and checked the time. It was just gone seven-thirty now, so I was going to have to wake her, which wasn’t ideal.

I padded softly up the stairs and stood outside Evie’s door, listening to her soft, regular breaths. There had been a couple of nights where she’d come into my room and woken me, upset from a bad dream she’d had about me. It was only natural, after her Daddy had gone from her life so tragically and quickly, that she’d worry that I might leave her too.

I pushed the door open and crept into the room. Fortunately, the previous owners had left the curtains, but they were thin and barely kept out any light at all. Their choices would have to do for now, but I was going to make sure Evie had the princess bedroom she deserved once I had a regular wage coming in.

I stood for a moment and drank in the sight of my beautiful girl, her golden hair spilling across the pillow. She had Andrew’s lashes, long and dark.

My heart squeezed in on itself when I thought about what she’d been through. She was dealing with a never-ending hurt she didn’t fully understand. Her daddy had been there one minute and gone the next, and now upheaval had struck again in the shape of a new home and a new school.

Was it any wonder she’d withdrawn into herself a bit and didn’t want the spotlight on her in class? I blamed myself. I should have made it clearer to Harriet Watson the day she’d called at the house, but I wasn’t sure what else I could have said. Don’t try to help her integrate or make friends? Leave her completely alone? Ignore her? Of course not. In the long run, Miss Watson’s efforts would pay off, I felt sure of it.

‘Morning, Mummy.’ Evie stretched and yawned and smiled at me sleepily.

‘There she is, my best girl.’ I smiled back. ‘My clever, clever girl who goes to big school now.’

A shadow passed over her face and her fingers clawed at her comfort blanket.

‘Your favourite breakfast is awaiting you downstairs, Your Highness.’ I swept my arm grandly.

‘Frosted Shreddies?’ Her face lit up.

‘Frosted Shreddies indeed.’ I grinned. ‘And fresh orange juice WITHOUT the bits.’

‘Yum!’

Evie pushed her blanket away and shuffled over to me for a cuddle.

‘Now, are you going to be a brave girl for Mummy and go to school again today?’ I ventured. ‘It’s my first day at my new job and I’m a little nervous, too. Can we do it together, do you think?’

‘Yes, Mummy.’ She nodded in full agreement and I silently thanked the great God of Tantrums for giving me this temporary and most welcome respite.

---

An hour later, Evie was washed, fed, dressed and standing in the corner of the short hallway with her arms folded, refusing to leave the house.

‘Evie, please,’ I tried again. ‘You have to go to school.’

‘Nanny said I don’t have to go.’

‘You do. Nanny just said that because you were upset.’ I ran my hand through my still-damp hair. ‘Every little girl and boy has to go to school or their mummy could go to jail. It’s the law.’

She looked mildly concerned for all of two seconds. ‘I DON’T want to go.’

This was getting ridiculous. If we didn’t leave the house in the next five minutes, Evie was in danger of being late.

‘You have to go to school, simple as that,’ I repeated sternly.

‘I want to go to school,’ she said, her eyes shining. ‘But not that school. I don’t want to go to horrid St Saviour’s.’

‘It’s the only school around here,’ I said, reaching for her arm. ‘You have to go there, Evie.’

‘I don’t want to.’ Her voice ramped up an octave as I gently tugged at her arm.

‘Let’s just walk together and see how you feel. Look, it’s a lovely day out there, we can look on my phone and see if there are any Pokémon around to capture on the way.’

Her eyes widened. ‘OK, Mummy, but if I don’t want to go in when we get there, can I come back home with you?’

‘Ooh, look,’ I said, tapping at my phone as if I hadn’t heard. ‘We might find one of these!’ I flashed the screenshot of a suitably monstrous-looking creature.

We walked quite briskly and I led her past hedgerows and seat benches that all might be concealing Pokémon. It worked brilliantly. Until the school gates came into view.

‘I’ve decided I don’t want to go in after all, Mummy.’ She stopped dead in her tracks and folded her arms.

‘Evie, I told you. You have to.’ I took her arm and gently pulled her along.

‘I don’t want to. I DON’T WANT TO!’ Then the tears started, streaming down her cheeks, which she rubbed all over her face, dampening her fringe.

‘Evie, please.’

Parents and children were staring now as Evie started to pull the opposite way, strange faces displaying varying degrees of sympathy, disapproval and fascination. It was becoming impossible to keep hold of her arm and pull her through the side gate without hurting her.

‘Good heavens!’ A voice thundered in front of us. ‘What’s happening here?’

I let go of Evie’s arm in alarm and she stopped struggling immediately. We both looked up to see Harriet Watson standing at the gates, hands on her hips.

Evie froze.

‘Surely this can’t be Evie Cotter, who was such a good girl yesterday?’ She shook her head at me, aghast. ‘Do you know, Mummy, Miss Akhtar said there might even be a sticker for Evie if she behaves as well today.’

Evie inhaled a little sob and wiped her eyes, staring all the time at Miss Watson.

‘A sticker, you say?’ I repeated.

‘Yes, and we don’t give stickers out to many of the children, you know,’ Harriet said. ‘Only the very best behaved girls and boys.’ She took a few steps forward and held out her hand. ‘Now, Evie, if you come along with me, and we walk into class together, Miss Akhtar doesn’t need to know about this little upset this morning, does she?’

Evie shook her head and grasped Miss Watson’s hand, looking up at her with undisguised hope of being given one of the hallowed stickers.

I let out a breath when I saw she’d actually stopped crying.

‘It can be our little secret.’ Harriet tipped her head at me meaningfully and I turned quietly to walk away. ‘Now then, we’re doing some very exciting work in class today. Do you like art?’

‘Nanny says I’m a very good drawer,’ I heard Evie say as the two of them disappeared through the gate. ‘And I can do lots of different sorts of art, even painting faces.’

I watched them go, Evie nodding and answering Miss Watson’s questions. She never even looked back to see if I was still there. An invisible weight lifted from my shoulders and I stretched my neck left and right to try to ease the trapped tension.

Mum might not be impressed, but as far as I was concerned, Harriet Watson was my hero.