Tarquin is Suze’s cousin and is one of the richest people in Britain. (He is also one of the worst-dressed.) he’s very sweet, but I never used to pay much attention to him.
I open the front door and say brightly, “Tarquin!”
“Becky,” he says, staring at me as though I’m the lost treasure of Tutankhamen.
And he’s looking as thin and strange as ever, with a strange green hand-knitted jumper stuffed under a tweed waistcoat and a huge old fob watch dangling from his pocket. I’m sorry, but surely the fifteenth-richest man in England, or whatever he is, should be able to buy a nice new Timex?
“Well- come on in,” I say.
“Great,” says Tarquin, and follows me into the sitting room. “I heard you were moving to New York,” Tarquin says suddenly, staring at the floor. “Is that true?”
“Yes,” I say, unable stop smiling. “That’s the plan.”
“I went to New York once myself,” Tarquin says. “I don’t really get on with it.”
“I can believe that. It’s a bit different from Scotland, isn’t it? Much more … frantic.”
“Absolutely!” he says. “That was just it. Too frantic. And the people are absolutely extraordinary. Quite mad, in my opinion.”
“Tarquin,” I say. “There is something I … I really want to say to you. I’ve wanted to say it for a while, actually.”
“Yes?” he says. “What .. What is it?” he meets my eyes with worry, and I feel a bit nervous. But now I’ve started; I’ve got to go on. I’ve got to tell him the truth. I push my hair back and take a deep breath.
“That jumper,” I say. “It really doesn’t go with that waistcoat.”
“Oh,” says Tarquin, looking surprised. “Really?”
“Yes!” I say. “In fact .. it’s Horrible.”
“Should I take it off?”
“Yes, in fact, take the waistcoat off, too.”
Obediently he takes off the jumper and the waistcoat – and it’s amazing how much better he looks when he’s just in a blue shirt. Almost … normal! The I had a sudden inspiration.
“Wait here!”
I hurry to my room and get one of the bags sitting on my chair. There’s a jumper inside which I bought a few days ago for Luke’s birthday, but I’ve discovered he’s already got exactly the same one, so I was planning to take it back.
“Here!” I say, arriving back in the sitting room. “Put this on.”
Tarquin puts the back jumper on – and what a difference! He’s actually starting to look quite good.
“Your hair,” I say, staring critically at him. “We need to do something with that.”
Ten minutes later I’ve wetted it, blow-dried it, and smoothed it back with a bit of mousse. And I can’t tell you. It’s a transformation.
“Tarquin, you look wonderful!” I say – and I really mean it. He’s still got that thin, bony look, but suddenly he doesn’t look geeky anymore, he looks kind of … interesting.
“Really?” says Tarquin, staring down at himself. He looks a little shocked, but the point is, he’ll thank me later.
A car horn sounds from outside, and we both jump.
“Well – have a good time,” I say, suddenly feeling like his mother. “Tomorrow morning, just wet your hair again and push your fingers through it, and it should look OK.”
“Right,” says Tarquin as if I’ve given him a long mathematical formula to memorise. ”I’ll try to remember. And the jumper? Shall I return it by post”
“Don’t return it!” I say in horror. “It’s yours to keep and wear. A gift.”
“Thank you very much, Becky ,” says Tarquin.
2 Becky thinks that rich people should dress accordingly
1) True 2) False 3) Not stated
3 Tarquin didn’t like his stay in New York.
1) True 2) False 3) Not stated
4 Becky and Tarquin live in Scotland.
1) True 2) False 3) Not stated
5 Becky doesn’t think much before talking to Tarquin about how he looks.
1) True 2) False 3) Not stated
6 Tarquin doesn’t care much about what he wears.
1) True 2) False 3) Not stated
7 The black jumper, which Becky offers Tarquin to put on, is from a famous designer.
1) True 2) False 3) Not stated
