in a hardback journal. The windows were open yet the balmy evening breeze had failed to cool the air. His heat intolerance affected his mood. She switched on two fans and handed him a glass of iced water. He had taken off his dark glasses and the glint in his sighted eye warned her to be gentle with him. She was still learning to read the different signs he made. Gradually, his shoulders relaxed as cool air flowed through the room.
‘Do you feel like a visit?’ she asked. ‘Victor is downstairs.’
‘Not tonight,’ he said. ‘This heat wearies me.’
‘He’s invited us to lunch on Sunday,’ she said.
‘Has he indeed?’ He half-stood, then sat down again. ‘And who has he included in this invitation?’
‘All of us. He thinks it’s time you went out, even if it’s only for a few hours. I agree with him. It will give you an opportunity to meet the girls.’
‘No.’ His hands trembled so violently she was afraid he was about to have a seizure.
‘Jack, what’s wrong?’
‘I’ve no intention of ever leaving my house.’
‘But his house is only up the road—’
‘I said no. You go with your daughters and enjoy his many amenities. Charlie will keep me company while you’re gone.’
‘I can’t do that—’
‘Yes, you can.’ He closed the journal and rose stiffly from his chair. ‘You need time off from looking after a cantankerous old man. Help me into my bedroom.’
‘Won’t you have something to eat first?’
‘I’m not hungry. Don’t fuss, Sophy. I’ve no intention of starving to death. I simply don’t feel like eating tonight.’
Afterwards, when Sophy had reported the conversation and Victor had driven away, she walked Caesar as far as the avenue. The bats were flitting in the gloom and the trees rustled as the rooks gathered to roost on the branches. The woods spanned out on either side of her. The weight of her desolation slowed her footsteps as she called the dog to heel and returned to Hyland Hall.
Chapter Seven
Sophy
The sensation of moving between two different worlds was breathtaking as Sophy stepped from the oppressive mustiness of Hyland Hall into the opulence of Victor’s white-walled house. It stood at the end of a flag-stoned driveway and was fronted by an ornate portico and four Palladian columns. The name Mount Eagle was carved into the boundary wall and two bronze eagle sculptures were perched on the gate posts. Their outspread wings suggested they were resting briefly before taking to the skies again.
Victor greeted them at the front door and guided the girls across the marble-tiled hall towards the downstairs bathroom where they changed into their swimsuits. Outside, water lapped gently against aquamarine walls, lilos floated just out of reach and a pink rubber flamingo bobbed in a sedate circuit around the oval-shaped swimming pool.
Diving straight in, the girls disappeared under the water and surfaced in a cascade of bubbles. Their excited cries reached Sophy as she sat under a parasol and sipped a glass of chilled white wine. The contrast to Hyland Hall could not have been starker. She had forgotten what it was like to just relax and allow herself to switch off. The patio doors were open and she was able to watch Victor as he moved around his bright, modern kitchen. She was free to stare at him for a change as he set the finishing touches to their lunch.
They ate outside. The sun could not go to waste, he said. He had ordered it for the day and it would not stop shining until they left.
After lunch, when the girls rushed back to the pool, Sophy walked through the garden with him. On the lower level, steps led down to a tennis court. A hot tub murmured suggestively when he lifted the top to show it to her. This was something Luke had considered installing in their garden at Park View Villas. At night, when the children were in bed, they could relax together and watch the stars. One of his many promises that never came to anything. Her lips tightened then relaxed. She wasn’t going to let bitterness seep into her day and spoil it.
A wide terrace with sun loungers gave way to a copse of trees.
‘How much further does the garden go?’ she asked.
‘It’s a wilderness beyond the trees,’ he admitted. ‘As I mentioned before, this land was once part of Hyland Estate. It’s where my grandmother grew an orchard and market garden. She was quite an entrepreneur for her time. After she and my grandfather