The House in the Clouds - Victoria Connelly Page 0,2

endless blue of the heavens. It was a landscape of air and space, of sky and solitude, and she knew – because she could feel it in the very fibre of her being – that this was the place she wanted to live forever.

Chapter Two

The auction room was horribly crowded. Abi glanced around, wondering how many competitors she had hiding there. A number of properties were to be sold that day, but how many people were there for Winfield Hall, she wondered?

She’d walked up to the house earlier that morning, leaving her car in a leafy lane by the church and taking the footpath up the chalky track that climbed the hill out of the village and skirted the grounds of the hall, giving her a good view of the property. She’d sat on the grassy slope of the down in the September sunshine for a few minutes, gazing at the house and grounds below her and admiring the soft ambers of autumn in a nearby wood. The morning was diamond-bright with great white clouds scudding across the sky and a cool breeze had reminded her that summer was well and truly over, but that hadn’t mattered because Winfield was beautiful – whatever the season.

It was, she’d acknowledged, one of those painfully delicious moments in life when things could go either way. She’d looked at her watch, thinking that, in a few hours’ time, she would either be the happiest person on earth or the most miserable. But which way would it go? She almost couldn’t bear the suspense of it all.

Now, in the stuffy atmosphere of the auction room, she tried to channel the peace she’d felt while gazing at Winfield. Whose home could it possibly be if not hers? Surely there wasn’t anybody in that room who felt as passionately as she did about the place.

She shook her head. She mustn’t assume she had the monopoly on passion when it came to Winfield. She’d be very surprised if there weren’t at least half a dozen people, maybe even a dozen, who loved the old place. It was the sort of house to inspire such feelings after all. But, all the same, she couldn’t bear to think of anybody else owning it. Sitting on the slope looking at the property that morning, the wind blowing through her long fair hair, she’d had such a strong feeling that she was gazing down at her future home. She could really see herself there. More than that, she could feel herself there. Now, that might be fanciful. Abi would be the first to admit that she had sudden and often wonderful flights of fancy, but this was something more. It was almost as if she’d been granted a glimpse into the future.

She gave a delicious little shiver as she thought of it again and took a deep breath. It was perhaps a little odd that the very first property she was trying to buy was so grand. But she hadn’t wanted to buy just any old property and so had continued to rent as her business had grown. To be honest, she hadn’t really had time to think about purchasing a house – she’d put everything she’d had into her work and she felt so lucky to be standing here now able to consider such a purchase.

She’d dressed smartly for the occasion, swapping her usual denim blouse and floral-patterned skirt for a crisp honey-coloured suit which she hoped she hadn’t wrinkled when sitting in the grass. She’d chosen a sweet blossom-pink blouse and, as ever, was wearing her silver locket with the lucky sunflower doodle, hoping it would work its magic for her. She touched it lightly as the auctioneer stepped up to the podium. It was time to begin.

Things warmed up with a couple of townhouses, a plot of land with a decrepit bungalow in the middle of it and a thatched cottage that would definitely be a labour of love for somebody. And then came Winfield Hall.

‘A special lot this,’ the auctioneer began. ‘First time on the market in ninety years and a real landmark in the area. A twelve-bedroomed Georgian property with many fine original features, it comes with seven acres of land in splendid downland countryside. Now, who’ll start the bidding?’

He opened the bidding at an eye-watering sum and a hand immediately shot into the air. Abi waited, biding her time, watching the room as the price rose slowly but steadily. She could feel her heart racing and,