The Turn of the Key

I blinked. I felt like it should be me asking the questions, grilling her. Why did I always seem to be on the wrong end of a power struggle? But it was a perfectly reasonable question, so I tried to keep my voice even as I answered it.

“Jack was called away to take some paperwork to your dad. He took the dogs with him—he thought they’d enjoy the trip.”

That hadn’t been what he’d said at all, but somehow I didn’t want to admit to this haughty teenager that I hadn’t felt equal to the task of wrangling three small children and two Labradors.

“When’s he back?”

“Jack? I don’t know. Today, I imagine.”

Rhiannon nodded, chewing thoughtfully, and then said, around a mouthful of food, “By the way, it’s Elise’s birthday tonight and her mum’s invited me over for a sleepover. Is that okay?”

There was something in her tone that made it clear that I was being asked only as a formality, but I nodded.

“I’d better text your mum and check, but of course, that’s fine by me. Where does she live?”

“Pitlochry. It’s about an hour’s drive, but Elise’s brother will give me a lift.”

I nodded, pulled out my phone, and texted a quick message to Sandra.

Rhiannon safely back—wants to go to a sleepover with Elise tonight. Assume that’s okay but please confirm.

The message pinged back almost straightaway.

No problem. Will call 6pm. Give my love to Rhi.

“Your mum sends love and says it’s fine,” I reported back to Rhiannon, who rolled her eyes as if to say, Well, duh. “What time are you getting picked up?”

“After lunch,” Rhiannon said. She swung her legs over the side of the stool and shoved the dirty plate across the counter, towards me. “Laters.”

I watched her as she made her way up the stairs, long legs in school uniform stalking up the graceful curve of the staircase, and then disappearing around the bend.

*

She did not come down for lunch. I wasn’t particularly surprised, given the sandwich she’d eaten a couple of hours before, but since I was making lunch for me and Petra, I felt like should at least ask if she wanted to join us. I tried to speak to her using the intercom function, but it refused to connect. Instead, a message pinged back via the app. NOT HUNGRY. Huh. I hadn’t even known it could do that.

OKAY, I messaged back. As I was putting my phone away, another thought occurred to me, and I pulled it back out of my pocket and reopened the Happy app. Feeling a little queasy, I clicked on the menu that showed the list of cameras available for me to access. As I scrolled down the list to R, I told myself I wouldn’t look, but at least that way I would know . . . but when I got down there, Rhiannon’s room was grayed out and unavailable, which was mostly a relief. There would have been something inexpressibly inappropriate about cameras in a fourteen-year-old girl’s bedroom.

It was as I was spooning yogurt into Petra’s eager mouth, dodging her “helping” fingers as she tried to grab the spoon, that I heard footsteps on the stairs and peered into the hallway to see Rhiannon, holding a small bag in one hand and her phone in the other.

“Elise’s brother’s here,” she said abruptly.

“At the door?” I glanced automatically at my phone, puzzled. “I didn’t hear the bell.”

“Duh. At the gates.”

“Okay.” I resisted the urge to bite back a sarcastic retort. “I’ll buzz him in.”

My phone was on the counter, but I’d barely even opened up the app, let alone navigated the menu of the various gates, doors, and garages I had access too, before Rhiannon was already halfway to the door.

“No need.” She pressed her thumb to the panel and then swung open the front door. “He’s waiting for me down by the road.”

“Wait.” I moved the yogurt out of Petra’s reach and then ran hastily after Rhiannon. “Hang on a sec, I need a number for Elise’s mum.”

“Uh . . . why?” Rhiannon said, heavy with sarcasm, and I shook my head, refusing to get drawn into her defiance.

“Because you’re fourteen years old, and I’ve never met the woman, and I just do. Do you have it? If not I’ll ask your mum.”

“Yeah, I’ve got it.” She rolled her eyes, but pulled out her phone and then cast around for a bit of paper. One of Maddie’s drawings was lying on the stairs, and she picked it up and scribbled a number on the back. “There. Happy?”

“Yes,” I said, though it was not entirely true. She slammed the door behind her, and I watched through the window as she disappeared around the curve in the drive, and then I looked down at the piece of paper. The number was scribbled across one corner along with the name Cass, and I tapped it into the messenger app on my phone.

Hi, Cass, it’s Rowan here, I’m the Elincourts’ new nanny. I just wanted to say thank you for having Rhiannon tonight and if there’s any problems, please call or text this number. If you could let me know what time you’ll be dropping her off, that would be great. Thanks. Rowan.

The reply came back reassuringly quickly, while I was spooning the last of the yogurt into Petra.

Hi! Nice to “meet” you. Pleasure, it’s always nice to have Rhi over. I imagine we’ll have her back by lunchtime tomorrow but let’s play it by ear. Cass.