Guilty Pleasures by Tasmina Perry

of the resources our parents offer us, but it does make the girls rather giddy.’
    ‘Well, I have a handful of CVs to show for it,’ said Cassandra, tapping her bag. ‘It’s the sort of initiative I like to see,’ she lied.
    Miss Broughton smiled. ‘I’ll walk you to your car.’
    They stood in the doorway. Outside it was cold; frost was sitting on the ground and creeping fog was settling in the darkness in front of them.
    ‘We didn’t see you at parents’ evening last month,’ said Miss Broughton, a little too casually.
    ‘I was in Paris, I’m afraid,’ said Cassandra, refusing to rise to the bait. ‘I believe my mother attended.’
    ‘When we work so hard we have to work twice as hard not to be a stranger to our children.’
    Cassandra bristled.
The cheek of the woman!
    ‘Until last month,
Miss
Broughton, I have never missed a parents’ evening since my daughter started her education. But her last school didn’t have parents’ days during couture.’
    There was the crunch of car tyres as Andrew her driver drove the Mercedes in front of them.
    ‘I must go,’ said Cassandra quickly tightening the belt of her cashmere overcoat.
    Miss Broughton nodded, but continued to talk. ‘You are aware that Ruby is one of the most able pupils in her year? Independent, although you would expect that from someone who has boardedfor so long. Very bright too. But there is a definite rebellious streak there we must keep our eye on.’
    Cassandra gave a small laugh. ‘If we are referring to the orange stripe in her hair I’m going to get that sorted out immediately.’
    The headmistress shook her head. ‘I’ve always felt thirteen is a watershed age. The cusp of womanhood. She needs her mother to guide her along the right path.’
    Cassandra felt herself stiffen. Was there the suggestion in the woman’s words that she was not a good mother, or was she being overly sensitive?
    ‘I thought that’s what I paid you a great deal of money to do,’ said Cassandra, pursing her lips.
    ‘We like to think we have excellent pastoral care at Briarton but we can’t be all things to all children.’
    You hypocrite
thought Cassandra narrowing her eyes.
You charge the highest fees to make parents feel better about themselves but at the slightest hint of trouble, you throw the blame straight back at them.
    ‘Ruby has an enormous amount of love and attention from her family, Miss Broughton, I can assure you of that. I can also assure you that there are other schools who would be only too glad to take responsibility for a bright, capable pupil like Ruby.’
    She opened the car door and climbed inside.
    ‘As I said, a wonderful talk, Miss Grand,’ Miss Broughton said as Cassandra slammed the door.
    Through the tinted windows, she looked up at the Gothic beauty of Briarton Court and shivered. For a moment she thought about taking her daughter away.
That would show the old bitch,
thought Cassandra. She wouldn’t want to lose the high grade exam results Ruby was likely to chalk up, would she? But then the reputation of the school was unparalleled and more importantly, the calibre of the pupils, of the friends that her daughter would forge, was also excellent. Besides, she didn’t want the inconvenience of moving Ruby again. She looked away from the school and told Andrew to drive to London as fast as he could. She then turned her attention to dissecting the new issue of
Vogue
as it started to rain.

6
    Emma told the taxi to go slowly. Past Prada, Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Past Hermès, Celine and Louis Vuitton. Past the window displays of grand twinkling diamonds: De Beers, Tiffany and Cartier. Past some of the greatest, most desirable luxury brands in the world. London seemed to have grown so much richer since the last time she had been shopping in Mayfair. Bentleys and high-end Audis lined the road, beautiful women with expensive haircuts and winter tans floated out of jewellers with big smiles and sparklers.
    ‘So where