Read Online A Game For All The Family by Sophie Hannah - Free Book Online
Authors: Sophie Hannah
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it’s not only the children the school gets landed with, is it? See exhibit A.” Ellen points at me, attempting a smile. “Angry parent on the rampage.”
“Right, so it’s not about George and Fleur, then? Them as individuals, I mean.”
“It’s about the Donbavands,” says Ellen. “They’re a particularly difficult family.”
Chapter 2
The Perrine Compromise, and Taking Turns
Perrine, the third daughter of Bascom and Sorrel Ingrey, was brought up in a way that could be called the very definition of compromise. Her parents—both of them equally, in full cooperation—made sure she did her homework so that she never got into trouble at school. They also encouraged her to play a musical instrument, and made sure she did the amount of flute practice that her flute teacher said would be ideal, but when after a year Perrine said she hated these lessons and didn’t want to play the stupid flute anymore, her parents let her give up.
When she got home from school, she was allowed to do what she wanted until dinnertime, unless what she wanted to do happened to be so ridiculous that it wouldn’t be a sensible choice. So, unlike her sister Allisande, who had once spent an entire afternoon squirting pink conditioner all over an expensive Persian rug without either of her parents making a move to stop her, Perrine was allowed to do whatever she wanted within reason .
Her diet consisted mainly of lean meat, healthy oily fish, leafy green vegetables, juicy fruits and fibrous wholegrain cereals, but once a week she was allowed a delicious chocolatey treat, and sometimes she got to eat chips or crisps, though not too often. She was allowed sweets at Christmas, and Easter eggs at Easter. (Lisette wasn’t. To this day, she thinks chocolate is evil and will not countenance its presence in her home. And Allisande wouldn’t know the difference between broccoli and spinach if her life depended on it.)
Perrine was made to tidy her room once a week, but didn’t get into trouble if it got a bit messy in between these times. (This was very different from the case of Lisette, who had been taught from day one that she must keep her room meticulously tidy at all times, and that anything found not to be in its proper place would be instantly thrown in the outside bin with no hope of it ever being retrieved.)
Up to a point, Perrine was allowed to choose what to wear. She wasn’t prevented from dressing up as a princess as Lisette was (because her Socialist father disapproved of any collaboration with the monarchy), but neither was she allowed to walk to the nearest shops in the rain wearing nothing but a black bikini, a pink string vest and flip-flops, as Allisande was when she was only nine.
Friends, acquaintances and members of the extended family were relieved when Perrine came along. “Finally!” they said to themselves and to each other. “Finally Bascom and Sorrel Ingrey are bringing up a child in a normal, well-balanced way.” All those people ought to have been more cautious in their celebratory banter. They ought to have kept in mind that, in spite of their extreme upbringings at either end of the strict-to-lenient spectrum, Lisette and Allisande were both very nice girls.
Perrine Ingrey, on the other hand, would not have been described by anybody as a pleasant child. She was sulky, selfish, prone to enormous tantrums, spiteful and dishonest. She never laughed or made anyone else laugh, and she didn’t have a grain of charm in her. She looked lumpy and had a lumpy, difficult personality to go with her looks. It was impossible to find any good in her at all, however hard you tried. Bascom, Sorrel, Lisette and Allisande all tried very, very hard, and, until Perrine was murdered, they never gave up, but it seemed that nothing could be done to improve Perrine’s character.
“How can this have happened?” everybody in the nearby villages and towns asked, when Perrine Ingrey and not one of her sisters was said to have
“Right, so it’s not about George and Fleur, then? Them as individuals, I mean.”
“It’s about the Donbavands,” says Ellen. “They’re a particularly difficult family.”
Chapter 2
The Perrine Compromise, and Taking Turns
Perrine, the third daughter of Bascom and Sorrel Ingrey, was brought up in a way that could be called the very definition of compromise. Her parents—both of them equally, in full cooperation—made sure she did her homework so that she never got into trouble at school. They also encouraged her to play a musical instrument, and made sure she did the amount of flute practice that her flute teacher said would be ideal, but when after a year Perrine said she hated these lessons and didn’t want to play the stupid flute anymore, her parents let her give up.
When she got home from school, she was allowed to do what she wanted until dinnertime, unless what she wanted to do happened to be so ridiculous that it wouldn’t be a sensible choice. So, unlike her sister Allisande, who had once spent an entire afternoon squirting pink conditioner all over an expensive Persian rug without either of her parents making a move to stop her, Perrine was allowed to do whatever she wanted within reason .
Her diet consisted mainly of lean meat, healthy oily fish, leafy green vegetables, juicy fruits and fibrous wholegrain cereals, but once a week she was allowed a delicious chocolatey treat, and sometimes she got to eat chips or crisps, though not too often. She was allowed sweets at Christmas, and Easter eggs at Easter. (Lisette wasn’t. To this day, she thinks chocolate is evil and will not countenance its presence in her home. And Allisande wouldn’t know the difference between broccoli and spinach if her life depended on it.)
Perrine was made to tidy her room once a week, but didn’t get into trouble if it got a bit messy in between these times. (This was very different from the case of Lisette, who had been taught from day one that she must keep her room meticulously tidy at all times, and that anything found not to be in its proper place would be instantly thrown in the outside bin with no hope of it ever being retrieved.)
Up to a point, Perrine was allowed to choose what to wear. She wasn’t prevented from dressing up as a princess as Lisette was (because her Socialist father disapproved of any collaboration with the monarchy), but neither was she allowed to walk to the nearest shops in the rain wearing nothing but a black bikini, a pink string vest and flip-flops, as Allisande was when she was only nine.
Friends, acquaintances and members of the extended family were relieved when Perrine came along. “Finally!” they said to themselves and to each other. “Finally Bascom and Sorrel Ingrey are bringing up a child in a normal, well-balanced way.” All those people ought to have been more cautious in their celebratory banter. They ought to have kept in mind that, in spite of their extreme upbringings at either end of the strict-to-lenient spectrum, Lisette and Allisande were both very nice girls.
Perrine Ingrey, on the other hand, would not have been described by anybody as a pleasant child. She was sulky, selfish, prone to enormous tantrums, spiteful and dishonest. She never laughed or made anyone else laugh, and she didn’t have a grain of charm in her. She looked lumpy and had a lumpy, difficult personality to go with her looks. It was impossible to find any good in her at all, however hard you tried. Bascom, Sorrel, Lisette and Allisande all tried very, very hard, and, until Perrine was murdered, they never gave up, but it seemed that nothing could be done to improve Perrine’s character.
“How can this have happened?” everybody in the nearby villages and towns asked, when Perrine Ingrey and not one of her sisters was said to have
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