‘It talks to a satellite,’ she says. ‘It tells them where they are and it gets TV.’
Donatella heaves a huge sigh. ‘Oao. What must it be like to be rich, eh? Imagine!’
‘She says the duke has one too. In the battlements.’
‘No!’
‘Yes.’
Mercedes is loving her new-found knowledge. ‘It’s another world,’ she says. ‘Out on the deck everything is white, and not a speck of dirt. And at the very back, there’s this great big tub of water that bubbles!’
‘Jacuzzi!’ cries Donatella. ‘They have a jacuzzi!’
She’s a bit annoyed. ‘How do you know that word?’
‘A magazine. At school. You should try reading them. Oh, I’d love to try a jacuzzi. They massage you, apparently. You must go in. Mercedes, promise me you’ll go in!’
She’s not sure she wants to. Matthew Meade has been in there, after all.
‘So when are you seeing her again?’
‘You make it sound like a date!’
‘Whatever. Did she say? Did she ask?’
‘Soon.’
‘Tomorrow?’
‘God, no. Papa will kill me if I miss another shift.’
‘No, but,’ says Donatella, ‘this is different. He’ll love it! Imagine! Our family! Hanging out with people like that!’