The House in the Clouds - Victoria Connelly Page 0,24

slip of a thing back then and maybe Ellen had always been a little sharp around the edges, but they’d lost their mother and it would be inhuman not to have carried a little part of that with them into their new home.

Abi sighed and looked down at Bethanne and Rosie, vowing in that moment with all her heart that they would never be ignored, and that they would always know how very precious they were to her.

‘Hey,’ she said, as a naughty thought crossed her mind. ‘It’s getting a bit chilly, isn’t it?’

The girls nodded.

‘How about we leave the coast and head inland?’

‘What will we do?’ Rosie asked.

‘We could go and see a house up on the downs – if you like.’

‘Your new house?’ Bethanne said.

‘Yes. Only it’s a couple of hundred years old, but it’ll be my new home. Do you want to see it?’

‘Yes!’ the girls cried in unison.

‘Okay then. It won’t take us too long to get there, but we’d better check it’s okay with your mum.’

‘Will she come with us?’ Bethanne asked.

‘She might.’

They got up from the beach and Abi reached for her phone.

‘Well, I wasn’t expecting this today,’ Ellen said when Abi suggested a trip to Winfield.

‘Ellen, what else have you got planned?’ Abi asked, finally losing patience with her sister’s attitude.

‘Well, I can come if it means so much to you.’

‘I did think you might want to see the place!’ Abi said, ‘But don’t worry if you don’t. I’ll drop the girls back–’

‘No, no! I’ll come with you,’ Ellen interjected.

Abi grinned. ‘Good.’

One hour later and the four of them were on their way to Winfield. Abi was a bit anxious about being seen by Edward. It was the weekend and he was likely to be there. But she couldn’t resist seeing the place again when she was so close and she did want to show it to Ellen and her nieces. In fact, she couldn’t wait to see their reaction.

They parked in the village by the church. Edward couldn’t object to them being in the village and taking a walk, could he? Actually, she was pretty sure he wouldn’t object to them calling at the house, but she didn’t want to impose. It would be as bad as that moment in Pride and Prejudice when Elizabeth is caught poking around Pemberley by Mr Darcy, she thought with a smile.

‘Is it in the village?’ Ellen asked as they got out of the car.

‘Just up the hill,’ Abi said. ‘We can go up this footpath and get a good view of it from there.’

‘Oh, will my boots be all right? I don’t want to scuff them.’ Ellen looked down at her fashionable footwear in concern.

‘I’ve got some spare wellies in the boot,’ Abi said.

Ellen quickly shook her head. ‘I’ll be all right.’

Abi grinned. Even in the middle of the countryside, Ellen wanted to make sure she looked perfect. The girls, at least, had wellies on and Abi changed into her old walking boots now, glad that she kept them in the car for such pastoral emergencies.

‘What do you think of the village?’ Abi prompted her sister, keen to hear her thoughts.

‘It’s pretty enough. But it’s a bit remote, isn’t it?’

‘I’ve got a car.’

‘But won’t it be a bit of a shock after London?’

‘Shock? You make it sound as if leaving London is some kind of punishment. I’m choosing to live here.’

‘I just worry about you,’ Ellen told her.

‘Well, you don’t need to. I can’t wait to come here. It’s going to be a brand new start for me.’

‘What about work?’

‘I’ll be working.’

‘Where?’

Abi sighed. Ellen still believed that, in order to work, one should actually leave one’s home.

‘I’ll work from home.’

Ellen frowned, not looking convinced.

‘There’s plenty of room. I’m going to set up a studio. Actually, I’ve seen a press I want.’

‘A press?’

‘To make my prints.’

Ellen shook her head. ‘Honestly, Abi, you do baffle me.’

Abi laughed. ‘Why?’

‘Because you do all these things that other people just don’t do.’

‘And that’s bad?’

Ellen seemed to think about this for a moment. ‘I suppose not. Not if it makes you happy.’

‘It does.’

‘And if it makes you money.’

Abi smiled. That was the crux of the matter with Ellen and probably the real reason she was worrying about her now.

‘Everything is going to be fine. More than fine,’ Abi assured her. ‘It’s going to be wonderful!’

The chalk path looked dull today under the grey sky. Abi remembered back to the autumn when it had gleamed so brightly under the sun. How she