of evening light from the walls for a moment, and Leo could imagine the parties that Ellie and Max would host.
Her sister must have been reading her mind.
‘We’ve invited a few people over for dinner tomorrow to celebrate the fact that the house is now finally finished, and I’m looking forward to christening this room.’
Leo’s heart sank. Ellie loved to entertain, but she preferred to deal with people one at a time, and the idea of a big dinner party the following day filled her with dismay.
‘Oh, Ellie - I’m sorry. I should have called before just turning up. I can always either go back home tomorrow or stay in my room while your guests are here. I’m good at keeping quiet, as you might remember!’
Ellie smiled and looked is if she were about to try for another hug. Leo took a step backwards, and saw a flicker of disappointment in her sister’s eyes.
‘Don’t be silly, Leo. There’s no way that you are going to rush straight off now that we’ve got you here. Stay as long as you like. There’s plenty of food, and we already have an odd man coming. I don’t mean that he’s odd-odd, just that he’s an odd number. He’s actually rather nice, but he’s on his own and only recently moved into the cottage next door. He’s a policeman, so you’d better watch your step,’ Ellie said with a smile. ‘Come on. The kitchen’s through here now, in the old barn. And beyond my dream kitchen is Max’s dream media suite. But I’ll let him show you that tomorrow.’
Leo could just make out the vague smell of onions, and persuaded herself that they really were the cause of Ellie’s tears. She couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed that she wasn’t going to have Max, Ellie and the twins to herself all weekend, but perhaps this was a better reintroduction to her old home. She certainly couldn’t remember a single party of any description in the years that she had lived here.
* * *
What bloody awful timing, Ellie thought. She had waited so long for Leo to break through the barriers that had prevented her from visiting during the renovation. Now she was here - and Ellie couldn’t help wishing she wasn’t.
She loved her sister, and Leo’s dreadful memories of her life in this house had almost been enough to stop Ellie from moving here. Almost. Max hadn’t been madly enthusiastic either, although he had gone along with it. Perhaps he simply didn’t care where they lived anymore. In the end, neither of them had fought her. They knew why it was so important to her, even though they thought she was chasing rainbows.
She opened a drawer and pulled out a couple of napkins and grabbed some cutlery to put on a tray. They could take supper through to the sitting room - away from the kitchen and the memory of the earlier phone call - and she would open a decent bottle of wine. For the first time in her adult life, Ellie felt that she didn’t need to worry about money, and yet life didn’t seem better. It felt infinitely worse.
Their newfound riches were all thanks to her mother. If that hadn’t been so sad, it would have been enough to make Ellie laugh. Her mother had pleaded poverty since their father had disappeared all those years ago, but when she died she had left Ellie not only the house but a vast sum of money that she had clearly been squirreling away for God knows how long. But not a penny for Leo.
Ellie mentally shook herself. Leo would be down any moment, and she needed to get her head together. The twins had been overjoyed to see their aunt, and Ellie could only imagine how many stories they had demanded. Leo was totally unlike her cynical and unyielding self with the children, but Ellie couldn’t watch tonight. It would have made her emotional, and that would have been hard to explain.
She moved to the fridge and opened the door, hunting out some bits and pieces for supper. They could eat the paté, even though it was still a bit warm, and she’d made some houmous for the twins at lunch time. There was still some of that left.
Her mind drifted.
She stood gazing into the fridge, feeling a cool draught of air on her cheeks and staring blindly at the shelves of food. Nobody could see into the kitchen now, but she could