too.’
‘Still don’t think it’s a good idea to come back,’ Harriet said.
‘Tatty, the world has moved on. Besides, nobody cares about old scandals.’
‘I do. I was the one who had to live through it. And any of our friends – like Owen and Gus – who still live in town, they’ll remember.’
Sabine sighed. ‘But it’s so different these days. People have affairs all the time. Steal other people’s husbands. It’s not right, but it happens. People simply shrug and look the other way.’ She was quiet for a moment before saying. ‘I was tempted to do it myself once.’
CHAPTER NINE
HARRIET
At Sabine’s insistence, Harriet walked out to Amy’s house the next morning.
‘I’d come with you,’ Sabine had said, ‘but I think it’s better if you go on your own for the first time. Bound to be emotional and you can indulge in private. Take tissues!’
Now, as she pushed open the driveway gate, Harriet felt the memories beginning to stir. Shrubs that hadn’t been pruned for months snatched at her clothes as she walked towards the front door. Sad to see the garden so neglected when Amy had been such a keen gardener. The heavy wooden front door needed a big push to persuade it to open after Harriet had inserted and turned the key.
As she walked into the hallway, she half expected to be accosted by the smell of baking scones, a hint of beeswax on the highly polished hall-stand and Bonnie, Amy’s springer spaniel, barking a mad welcome. Instead, silence and dusty furniture greeted her while a musty smell assailed her nostrils, a few letters and junk mail lay on the doormat.
The door to the room on the right Harriet remembered being used as a spare bedroom was ajar and Harriet pushed it open further to take a quick look inside. Bedroom furniture had been banished. Instead, a flat screen Apple computer dominated a desk placed under the far window overlooking the side garden, a high-backed office chair pushed to one side in front of it. A stack of manila folders was on the right-hand side of the desk. The bookcase running down the length of the left wall was crammed with books, both classics and modern and several of Harriet’ s own favourite authors like Veronica Henry, Katie Fforde and lots of Cassandra James, one of Harriet’s favourite authors.
Idly, Harriet took one she hadn’t read off the shelf and thumbed slowly through it. More books were piled on the floor. Against the other wall the old fashioned roll-top desk that Harriet remembered Amy inheriting from her father was closed. Strange, Amy had never had an office in the old days.
Harriet turned and walked the few steps to the entrance of the small winter sitting room. This was much as she remembered it. Two winged armchairs, a two-seater leather Chesterfield, all facing the small open fireplace, a sheepskin rug in front. More full bookshelves, a side table or two – one with a silver tray, a decanter half full with sherry, another with whisky and three glasses. Family photos lined the mantelpiece.
Ellie in Amy’s arms at her christening, dressed in the long lace dress handed down through the family. A picture of herself with a baby Ellie in her arms sitting out in the garden. Another had Ellie sleeping peacefully in her pram. A black and white faded one of Amy’s parents. Ellie’s grandparents, whom she’d never had the chance to truly bond with.
Thoughtfully, Harriet picked up one of the silver framed photos. A smiling Ellie in her bridesmaid dress for Sabine’s wedding. A mere eighteen months old, she’d been so good on that day. The mantelpiece was a time warp of her and Ellie’s long-ago life. Guiltily, she replaced the photo.
Amy had truly adored Ellie and the rift was in no way her fault. She hadn’t been her brother’s keeper. By cutting contact with her, Harriet knew she was guilty of punishing the wrong person. And now it was too late to make amends.
Smothering a sigh, Harriet moved towards the main summer sitting
‘Still don’t think it’s a good idea to come back,’ Harriet said.
‘Tatty, the world has moved on. Besides, nobody cares about old scandals.’
‘I do. I was the one who had to live through it. And any of our friends – like Owen and Gus – who still live in town, they’ll remember.’
Sabine sighed. ‘But it’s so different these days. People have affairs all the time. Steal other people’s husbands. It’s not right, but it happens. People simply shrug and look the other way.’ She was quiet for a moment before saying. ‘I was tempted to do it myself once.’
CHAPTER NINE
HARRIET
At Sabine’s insistence, Harriet walked out to Amy’s house the next morning.
‘I’d come with you,’ Sabine had said, ‘but I think it’s better if you go on your own for the first time. Bound to be emotional and you can indulge in private. Take tissues!’
Now, as she pushed open the driveway gate, Harriet felt the memories beginning to stir. Shrubs that hadn’t been pruned for months snatched at her clothes as she walked towards the front door. Sad to see the garden so neglected when Amy had been such a keen gardener. The heavy wooden front door needed a big push to persuade it to open after Harriet had inserted and turned the key.
As she walked into the hallway, she half expected to be accosted by the smell of baking scones, a hint of beeswax on the highly polished hall-stand and Bonnie, Amy’s springer spaniel, barking a mad welcome. Instead, silence and dusty furniture greeted her while a musty smell assailed her nostrils, a few letters and junk mail lay on the doormat.
The door to the room on the right Harriet remembered being used as a spare bedroom was ajar and Harriet pushed it open further to take a quick look inside. Bedroom furniture had been banished. Instead, a flat screen Apple computer dominated a desk placed under the far window overlooking the side garden, a high-backed office chair pushed to one side in front of it. A stack of manila folders was on the right-hand side of the desk. The bookcase running down the length of the left wall was crammed with books, both classics and modern and several of Harriet’ s own favourite authors like Veronica Henry, Katie Fforde and lots of Cassandra James, one of Harriet’s favourite authors.
Idly, Harriet took one she hadn’t read off the shelf and thumbed slowly through it. More books were piled on the floor. Against the other wall the old fashioned roll-top desk that Harriet remembered Amy inheriting from her father was closed. Strange, Amy had never had an office in the old days.
Harriet turned and walked the few steps to the entrance of the small winter sitting room. This was much as she remembered it. Two winged armchairs, a two-seater leather Chesterfield, all facing the small open fireplace, a sheepskin rug in front. More full bookshelves, a side table or two – one with a silver tray, a decanter half full with sherry, another with whisky and three glasses. Family photos lined the mantelpiece.
Ellie in Amy’s arms at her christening, dressed in the long lace dress handed down through the family. A picture of herself with a baby Ellie in her arms sitting out in the garden. Another had Ellie sleeping peacefully in her pram. A black and white faded one of Amy’s parents. Ellie’s grandparents, whom she’d never had the chance to truly bond with.
Thoughtfully, Harriet picked up one of the silver framed photos. A smiling Ellie in her bridesmaid dress for Sabine’s wedding. A mere eighteen months old, she’d been so good on that day. The mantelpiece was a time warp of her and Ellie’s long-ago life. Guiltily, she replaced the photo.
Amy had truly adored Ellie and the rift was in no way her fault. She hadn’t been her brother’s keeper. By cutting contact with her, Harriet knew she was guilty of punishing the wrong person. And now it was too late to make amends.
Smothering a sigh, Harriet moved towards the main summer sitting
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