Read Online A Game For All The Family by Sophie Hannah - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sophie Hannah
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between the Dodds and the Ingreys, such as it was, ended on that day.
How, you might be wondering, was Perrine’s jealousy to blame for all the misfortune that befell her? Well, she would never have risked murdering Malachy if the two of them had not been alone in her bedroom together, and they were alone up there for one reason and one reason only: Bascom Ingrey agreed with Perrine that Malachy preferred Lisette and Allisande to her, and decreed that he should not be given yet another chance to ignore Perrine in favor of her more appealing sisters. Sorrel disagreed with her husband and didn’t like the idea of trying to force a bond between Perrine and Malachy if it wasn’t happening naturally. “Wouldn’t it be a better idea to cancel the Dodds’ next visit and never invite them again?” she suggested. Bascom said, “Yes. That will be an excellent idea, once we know for sure that there’s no way of making it work. Let’s try it my way first, and then, if that fails, we’ll put your plan into action.”
“Why is it always your way first?” Sorrel asked. “I’ve noticed that in any situation where we take turns, your turn always comes before mine.”
“You’re right,” said Bascom, who was a little nonplussed. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“It must be because you’re a man,” said Sorrel. “It’s the unavoidable sexism of everyday life.”
“No, dear, it is not,” said Bascom. “It’s that I’m a person who prefers to take action, and you are a person who prefers to let things happen. It stands to reason that someone with my personality type would be keen to act, and would therefore go first, while someone with your personality type would never be in a hurry about anything.”
“True,” Sorrel agreed. “Though in this case, I’m keen to prevent yet another tooth-grindingly awful afternoon with the Dodds from taking place.”
“Yes,” said her husband. “But I’m afraid that here once again, we have to let me have my turn first. The other way around would be scientifically impossible. We can’t cancel the Dodds, never invite them again, and then, next time they come, arrange for Perrine and Malachy to spend some time alone together—because there wouldn’t be a next time, would there?”
Sorrel admitted that he was right. “There will, however, be a next time that we disagree about what to do and how to do it,” she said. “And whenever that is, whatever the subject of disagreement, it’s my turn first.”
“Absolutely,” Bascom agreed.
And that’s how it was decided that on the fateful day of the Dodds’ final visit to the Ingreys’ house, Perrine and Malachy should be sent up to Perrine’s bedroom together, so that they could properly get to know each other. But as we know, no bonding took place that day, only the crunch of bone and the seeping of blood on the terrace beside the fountain.
3
I knew Beaconwood was the right school for Ellen before I’d set foot inside it. The building is a former manor house, longer and deeper than it is tall. It’s painted pink on the outside, with elaborate pargeting all over the front wall. There are beautiful formal gardens of the sort that wouldn’t look out of place outside a stately home, as well as a wildflower meadow and acres of rolling green lawns for the children to make use of. The first time we came here, while we were waiting to meet the head, Alex whispered to me, “Keep an open mind, okay? We’re not going to send Ellen here just because the grounds and the building are stunning.”
“Not just because of that, no,” I said. “And not just because I went to a secondary school that looked and felt like a high-security prison, but maybe a bit because of those things.”
My mind was open enough; if we’d walked into Beaconwood and found sadists in billowing black capes cackling as they whipped the children, I’d have thought twice. Instead, Alex and I found Lesley Griffiths, the head, wearing blue plastic carrier
How, you might be wondering, was Perrine’s jealousy to blame for all the misfortune that befell her? Well, she would never have risked murdering Malachy if the two of them had not been alone in her bedroom together, and they were alone up there for one reason and one reason only: Bascom Ingrey agreed with Perrine that Malachy preferred Lisette and Allisande to her, and decreed that he should not be given yet another chance to ignore Perrine in favor of her more appealing sisters. Sorrel disagreed with her husband and didn’t like the idea of trying to force a bond between Perrine and Malachy if it wasn’t happening naturally. “Wouldn’t it be a better idea to cancel the Dodds’ next visit and never invite them again?” she suggested. Bascom said, “Yes. That will be an excellent idea, once we know for sure that there’s no way of making it work. Let’s try it my way first, and then, if that fails, we’ll put your plan into action.”
“Why is it always your way first?” Sorrel asked. “I’ve noticed that in any situation where we take turns, your turn always comes before mine.”
“You’re right,” said Bascom, who was a little nonplussed. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“It must be because you’re a man,” said Sorrel. “It’s the unavoidable sexism of everyday life.”
“No, dear, it is not,” said Bascom. “It’s that I’m a person who prefers to take action, and you are a person who prefers to let things happen. It stands to reason that someone with my personality type would be keen to act, and would therefore go first, while someone with your personality type would never be in a hurry about anything.”
“True,” Sorrel agreed. “Though in this case, I’m keen to prevent yet another tooth-grindingly awful afternoon with the Dodds from taking place.”
“Yes,” said her husband. “But I’m afraid that here once again, we have to let me have my turn first. The other way around would be scientifically impossible. We can’t cancel the Dodds, never invite them again, and then, next time they come, arrange for Perrine and Malachy to spend some time alone together—because there wouldn’t be a next time, would there?”
Sorrel admitted that he was right. “There will, however, be a next time that we disagree about what to do and how to do it,” she said. “And whenever that is, whatever the subject of disagreement, it’s my turn first.”
“Absolutely,” Bascom agreed.
And that’s how it was decided that on the fateful day of the Dodds’ final visit to the Ingreys’ house, Perrine and Malachy should be sent up to Perrine’s bedroom together, so that they could properly get to know each other. But as we know, no bonding took place that day, only the crunch of bone and the seeping of blood on the terrace beside the fountain.
3
I knew Beaconwood was the right school for Ellen before I’d set foot inside it. The building is a former manor house, longer and deeper than it is tall. It’s painted pink on the outside, with elaborate pargeting all over the front wall. There are beautiful formal gardens of the sort that wouldn’t look out of place outside a stately home, as well as a wildflower meadow and acres of rolling green lawns for the children to make use of. The first time we came here, while we were waiting to meet the head, Alex whispered to me, “Keep an open mind, okay? We’re not going to send Ellen here just because the grounds and the building are stunning.”
“Not just because of that, no,” I said. “And not just because I went to a secondary school that looked and felt like a high-security prison, but maybe a bit because of those things.”
My mind was open enough; if we’d walked into Beaconwood and found sadists in billowing black capes cackling as they whipped the children, I’d have thought twice. Instead, Alex and I found Lesley Griffiths, the head, wearing blue plastic carrier
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