Page 68 of Darling Girls

‘Why isn’t she having fun?’ Miss Fairchild said eventually, with a hint of irritation.

Several possible reasons sprang to mind for Norah – the most obvious being the proximity of Miss Fairchild and her maniacal party-popping. Beyond that, there was the fact that, bizarrely, a Barbie had been shoved into her birthday cake, and also that she’d been forced to wear a pink dress matching the one Miss Fairchild was wearing.

‘Maybe she’s bored?’ Norah suggested.

‘Bored?’ Miss Fairchild seemed perplexed by the idea. ‘Well . . . what shall we do?’

Norah shrugged. ‘Pony rides?’

She didn’t expect Miss Fairchild to agree, so she was shocked when their foster mother glanced down the hill towards the stable, then nodded at Norah.

Wow. Shemustbe desperate, Norah thought.

It only took Norah a couple of minutes to steal down to the stables. Trying to get Bertha back up the hill took longer.

‘Ta-da!’ Norah announced breathlessly when she finally got the stubborn horse to the top.

Amy pointed a chubby finger at Bertha. ‘Horsey!’

Her expression was cautious, well short of a smile, but Miss Fairchild’s face lit up. She even shot Norah a grateful look.

For the next half-hour, Amy sat on Bertha’s back while Miss Fairchild led the pony in circles around the pool, and Norah, Alicia and Jessica demolished the sausage rolls. Amy was still perched on Bertha when Norah noticed the figure loping up the hill. He wore a baseball cap and had a funny way of walking, more of a shuffle really, his feet barely leaving the ground.

Dirk came to a stop several metres away and assessed the scene: Amy on Bertha, the party decorations.

‘Shit,’ Norah said.

Alicia and Jessica looked at her, and she gestured at Dirk. They both blanched.

Norah gave the stablehand a beseeching look.

He rolled his eyes. ‘Bring her back when you’re done,’ he said, and turned and walked back down the hill. Miss Fairchild was so busy with Amy that she missed the whole thing.

‘Look. She’s asleep.’

It was one of the rare moments they’d been left alone with Amy. A few minutes earlier, Amy had been still picking at her dinner when Miss Fairchild had taken advantage of the distraction to go upstairs and run the bath. They’d just finished dinner, and were doing the dishes when Jessica noticed that Amy had fallen asleep in her highchair.

‘Aw,’ Alicia said. ‘Sheispretty adorable.’

‘I think she’s snoring,’ Norah said.

They watched her a moment, her body lolling forward, her little cheek squashed against the tray. They knew not to pick her up – Miss Fairchild could be so weird about that – but Jessica and Alicia edged forward to take a closer look.

They were inches away when Amy sat up, grinned, and said, ‘Boo!’

Jessica and Alicia screamed.

‘You little trickster!’ Jessica cried.

Amy squealed in delight, then immediately closed her eyes and lay down again. Even Norah could agree, albeit begrudgingly, that was pretty cute.

‘All right,’ Jessica said, with a wink at the others, ‘she’s asleep. Better pick her up and take her to bed.’

‘Boo!’ Amy cried, sitting up again. She lifted her arms up, then opened them wide like a starburst.

This time, when they all squealed, Amy giggled.Giggled. It was so unexpected after months of sadness that they stood still for a moment, appreciating it.

Amy rested her head on the tray again, still giggling.