Desperately Seeking - By Evelyn Cosgrave Page 0,56

appalled.

‘As a matter of fact, madam,’ he said, ‘I can make you a very fine cup of coffee with my very excellent coffee machine, which is plugged in upstairs. Follow me.’

He led the way up a flight of stairs that definitely wasn’t fastened to anything.

‘Hold on tight,’ he said, ‘but not too tight, or you’ll make the whole thing sway.’

He held out a hand and guided me up.

Things were a little better up here. It had originally been a three-bedroom house with a bathroom downstairs but he had already converted one of the bedrooms into a sizeable bathroom and in one of the others, as he’d said, he had set up camp. There was a mattress on the floor, surrounded by a desk lamp, a pile of books, a small stereo, and assorted bags that seemed to contain his clothes. How could he emerge from this chaos so well put together? The coffee machine was on the floor by the window, along with a toaster, a kettle and a miniature microwave. A portable TV stood on a shaky-looking chair.

‘You see?’ he said. ‘All a man could want in one small room.’

I suspected he was enjoying living like this. It was probably a nice change from a house that had more rooms than its occupants could use.

‘Wow!’ I said. ‘Very cosy. I don’t know why you’re bothering to do up downstairs – you need never leave this room. Everybody should live this way.’

‘You practically do!’ He was grinning broadly. ‘Don’t think it hasn’t been noticed, the way you gather your bits round you on the couch and hibernate for the winter.’

‘That’s not true,’ I retorted. ‘I only do that when it gets very cold, or at Christmas. My flat can get very cold.’

‘Oh, I know, and you can get very comfortable in your pyjamas and sleeping-bag with your videos. The Princess Bride? Willy Wonka?’

He was really laughing now.

‘Hey!’ I said. ‘I came here to laugh at your house, not the other way round. How did you know about Willy Wonka anyway?’

‘Oh, you know me, I notice everything.’

‘You’re a bollocks,’ I said.

‘Why, thank you. Does that mean you don’t want to see the rest?’

‘What? There’s a rest? How big is this house?’

‘Oh, not very,’ he said, getting up off the floor where he had been putting on the coffee. ‘That’s why I decided to convert the attic.’

‘Mmm,’ I said. ‘An attic conversion. Ruth would be well impressed. She’s doing her kitchen. Expect a garbled phone call from her one of these days. Or from my mother. Oh, by the way, Anna’s coming home in August.’

‘Anna? It’s been a while.’

‘Yeah. Mum’s throwing a party for her. Well, for me as well. I don’t know if you keep abreast of these things,’ I added, rather sheepishly, ‘but I have a slightly significant birthday coming up soon.’

‘Yes, indeed I keep abreast. I know exactly what age you are. It’s the end of everything, you know. It’s as well someone’s marrying you.’

‘Bollocks!’ Isaid. ‘But, seriously, will you come to the party? Or would it be, as Ruth might suggest, embarrassing for you?’

‘No, indeed,’ he said. ‘For two sisters I can forgo the embarrassment of seeing one sister.’ He was still smiling, but not as broadly.

‘So, what about this attic?’ I said, getting up. ‘How does a body get up there?’

‘This way, madam.’

He led the way past the other bedroom, which looked like it contained every other thing he owned, and pointed out a hole – that was all you could call it – in the ceiling. He positioned a ladder and told me to climb up.

‘I have two options,’ he was saying, as he followed my timid steps. ‘I can leave it as it is or I was considering putting in a spiral staircase. What do you think?’

‘Oh, my God,’ I said, nearly falling off the ladder. ‘You have to put in the spiral staircase. It’s always been my fantasy to have a spiral staircase. And it would be much safer than this ladder.’ I turned to say this, and he had to put his two hands on my hips to steady us both.

‘Whoa there,’ he said. ‘The spiral staircase it is, then.’

The attic was amazing. Clearly he had started at the top of the house and was working his way down. I had expected a poky, dark little room, but the first thing that struck me was the light. He had replaced both the front and the back gable ends with glass that afforded incredible