Page 42 of On Circus Lane

“She doesn’t sound like she means it,” I mutter to Ivy as we move out of the way of the queue.

Ivy puts her hands on her hips once we’re outside the kiosk. “I can’tbelieveyou didn’t buy your ticket.”

I double take. “Wait. You mean you’ve got one?”

“Of course. I bought one at the same time that I told you that you can’t get in otherwise.”

“Did you tell me that?When?”

She rolls her eyes. “I think from now on, whenever we have a conversation while you’re working, I’ll insist that you put your pen down so I can stick a pin in you to guarantee your total attention.”

“That’s a bit harsh.” I look around. Edinburgh Castle is a towering grey bulk with flags fluttering from the turrets. “I can’tbelieveI can’t get in.”

She pulls out her phone. “Let’s see if you can get a ticket for another day.”

I brighten but then slump after she flicks and clicks and shakes her head. “What? There aren’t any tickets for any day?”

“Nope. Sorry, babe.”

“Why does everyone want to see the castle at this time?”

“It’s Christmas.”

“I suppose that’s an explanation.”

The others wander over. “Ready?” Georgina asks.

“Bee hasn’t got a ticket,” Ivy says.

“Didn’t you book one?” She sounds amazed.

“No.” I scuff my feet. I seem to be setting myself aside on this holiday, whether through inappropriate footwear and clothing, or disorganisation. I had a project at uni that needed my constant attention running up to Christmas, so I suppose I’ve let more slip than I thought.

“But I thought getting tickets was one of the subjects of the group chat,” Steven says in a clipped voice, looking at me disapprovingly.

I gape at him. “There was agroupchat?”

Ivy groans.

“I forgot,” I mutter.

“Yeah, me too,” comes a familiar voice.

I turn to see Tom walking towards us with Freddy. He’d vanished into the whisky shop while we queued.

“You forgot too?” I say, brightening.

“Yeah, totally.” Everyone looks at him, and he shrugs. “I’ve been busy, you know that.”

Freddy smiles at me. “Do you want my ticket?”

I immediately shake my head. “Oh no. That’s very kind of you, but I couldn’t.”

He hesitates. “You sure?”

I nod emphatically. “We’ll just wait for you, shall we?” I look at Tom.

He nods. “Yeah, we’ll wait here.” He tugs me to stand next to him so the group can get through, and then we follow the others as they walk up the incline towards the huge castle to join the queue. We stand next to them until they finally reach the front, and with sympathetic smiles, they vanish into the castle.

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