The House in the Clouds

by Connelly, Victoria

  ‘Listen, I was thinking of coming down tomorrow as it’s Saturday and the girls will be home.’

  ‘Were you? It’s a bit late notice,’ Ellen said.

  ‘Oh, are you out?’

  ‘No.’

  Abi paused. The fact was that no time was ever convenient for Ellen. There was always some drama happening in her life and everything and everyone was an inconvenience. So Abi played her best card.

  ‘I could take the girls out – give you a break. I mean, if Douglas isn’t home and wanting to spend time with them.’

  ‘No, he’s still away.’

  ‘And I’ve something to tell you.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I want to tell you in person, don’t I?’ Abi said with a laugh.

  ‘Well, I suppose you could come down. Heaven knows I could use a break from the girls.’

  ‘Great! How about mid-morning? I could take the girls out for lunch by the sea.’

  ‘As long as you don’t pump them full of chips and ice cream,’ Ellen warned.

  ‘Ice cream – in March! You’ve got to be kidding,’ Abi said with a grin, but she could almost smell the hot vinegar of the chips she was planning to buy for them all.

  Chapter Six

  Abi always got excited about seeing her nieces and it was even more exciting now that she knew she’d soon be living closer to them. The drive from London was never a problem for her, but she’d welcome being nearer to her family in the future.

  She passed the turn off for Winfield and it was hard not to make a detour, but it would be weird if Edward caught her there, wouldn’t it? The place wasn’t hers yet and she didn’t want to intrude and so she continued on her way towards Brighton and to the comfortable Victorian home where Ellen lived.

  She parked on the street outside when she arrived. Ellen didn’t like her taking up the driveway even though there was always plenty of room.

  ‘You never know when someone might call,’ Ellen told her.

  Abi wondered why her sister never considered that Abi was actually someone.

  Ringing the doorbell a moment later, she heard the excited thunder of footsteps in the hall beyond the front door which was a smart navy with a small pane of stained glass.

  ‘Aunt Abi!’ Rosie, who was six, skipped and jumped her way towards Abi before leaping into her arms.

  ‘Sweetheart! How are you?’ Abi laughed.

  ‘Your hair’s longer!’ Rosie told her.

  ‘Is it? I suppose it is.’ It was true that, since leaving her company, Abi had gently allowed her appearance to return to nature – not worrying about having to be quite so neat and pristine and letting her hair grow in just the way it wanted to which, it had to be said, could get a little wild in its curliness.

  ‘I like it!’ Rosie declared.

  ‘Well, good – I like it too.’

  ‘You look like Rapunzel,’ Bethanne said as she approached for a hug. She didn’t skip like her sister. She was ten now, and a very mature ten at that, but now that Abi came to think of it, she couldn’t ever remember Bethanne skipping at all.

  ‘Hmmmm, maybe I should get it cut,’ Abi mused.

  ‘Nooooo!’ the two girls cried in unison.

  ‘Mum’s got short hair and it’s so boring!’ Rosie declared.

  Abi tried not to laugh. ‘Well, maybe just a little trim then. Where’s your mum?’

  ‘In the kitchen,’ Bethanne said.

  ‘Ellen?’ Abi called through and, a moment later, Ellen appeared in the hallway.

  ‘Come here,’ Ellen said. Abi did as she was told and stared out of the kitchen window in the direction Ellen pointed. ‘Didn’t I tell you they’d leave a mess?’

  Abi frowned. Was it the small circle of sawdust Ellen was objecting too?

  ‘How about a cup of tea?’ Abi prompted. She was desperate for one after her drive.

  ‘Of course,’ Ellen said and Abi sat down at the kitchen table, noticing the oilcloth on the table that wasn’t an Abigail Carey design. Abi had never forgotten her grave disappointment when she’d shown Ellen the first printed tea towels with her sunflower motif.

  ‘I’m not really keen on yellow,’ she’d said with a grimace. ‘But I guess they’re pretty enough.’

  And that, as far as Ellen was concerned, was a compliment. Abi had never seen any evidence of her prints in her sister’s home despite giving her a lot of freebies over the years.

  ‘So, what’s this news of yours that couldn’t be told over the phone?’ Ellen asked as she made the tea.

  ‘I’m buying a house,’ Abi told her. ‘Or rather, half a house.’

  ‘Half a house!’ Rosie cried as she pulled out a chair and sat next to her at the table.

  ‘Well, it’s a very big house,’ Abi explained. ‘In seven acres.’

  ‘In the country?’ Ellen asked.

  ‘Here in Sussex.’

  ‘You’re moving here?’ Bethanne asked.

  ‘I am.’

  ‘When?’ Ellen said.

  ‘Soon as the paperwork’s done.’

  ‘I didn’t know you were planning on leaving London.’

  ‘Well, I’ll still keep my flat, but I want to be in the country now.’

  ‘Will we see you more often?’ Bethanne asked.

  ‘I hope so! And you’ll be able to visit my new place. You’re going to love it. The gardens are wonderful and there are walks right from the door up onto the downs. You should see the views.’

  ‘What’s all this costing?’ Ellen asked. It was a typical Ellen question. She wasn’t interested in what the property looked like or how Abi felt about it. She wanted hard facts. So Abi told her.

  Ellen whistled. ‘You’re doing well, aren’t you?’

  Abi smiled. Something else Ellen had never quite been able to grasp was just how well Abi had done with her business. Indeed, Abi had the feeling that Ellen still thought her sister was just a step up from a shopkeeper.

  ‘Well enough to want to invest in a decent property.’

  It was then that Bethanne handed her a piece of paper.

  ‘What’s this?’ Abi asked.

  ‘Oh, that!’ Ellen said, crossing the room and taking the drawing from her daughter before Abi could see it. ‘She’s been doodling. I can’t stop her. Doodle, doodle, doodle! Doodling your life away, aren’t you? When you should be doing homework.’

  ‘Let me see,’ Abi said. Ellen sighed and handed the paper back. ‘It’s a sunflower!’

  ‘She’s been copying your designs,’ Ellen pointed out.

  ‘Not copying,’ Bethanne protested.

  ‘No, I can see that,’ Abi said. ‘You’ve got your own style going on here. It’s very good, Bethanne.’

  ‘Don’t go encouraging her,’ Ellen said as she handed Abi her tea. ‘One artist in the family is enough.’

  ‘Is that what you want to be?’ Abi asked her niece. ‘An artist?’

  Bethanne nodded, but her mother was shaking her head.

  ‘I want her to start thinking about a future in science. She’s good at science.’

  ‘She’s good at art,’ Abi pointed out.

  ‘But there’s no money in art,’ Ellen declared. Abi blinked. ‘You know what I mean.’ She waved a frustrated hand at her sister. ‘You got lucky. But it’s a struggle for most.’

  Abi took a deep breath, trying her best not to explain that the success of her company wasn’t just a case of being lucky, and that long hard hours of work had built it up.

  Ellen could obviously see Abi’s annoyance.

  ‘Come on – you must admit that you’re the exception to the rule.’

  ‘You don’t know that,’ Abi said. ‘How can you know what Bethanne is capable of? I think her art should be encouraged.’

  ‘You would say that as an artist, but I’m her mother and I think she should concentrate on something solid. Something she can build on.’

  Bethanne reached out to take her drawing from Abi.

  ‘It’s really good,’ Abi told
her. ‘You keep on drawing, okay?’

  Bethanne nodded, but all the light had gone out of her face.

  ‘Right!’ Abi said after she’d quickly downed her tea. ‘Grab your coats, girls. We’re going out for lunch.’

  Bethanne raised a smile at that and Rosie squealed.

  ‘Don’t forget your hats, girls!’

  ‘I’ll get them, Mum,’ Bethanne said.

  ‘And remember what I said about chips and ice cream, Abi!’ Ellen cried as they piled into the hall together.

  ‘Chips and ice cream – yum!’ Rosie said with glee.

  ‘No chips and ice cream!’ Ellen said.

  ‘We didn’t hear you!’ Abi said, opening the front door and taking her nieces by the hands.

  They took the bus into town, which was easier than trying to find a parking space and got out at the sea front, the March wind instantly pummelling them.

  ‘Come on!’ Abi said, taking their hands again. ‘There’s a cafe over there.’

  It was bliss to get inside once more and even more blissful to order three lots of fish and chips.

  ‘Don’t tell your mum!’ Abi warned.

  The girls giggled and the three of them devoured their lunch, enjoying it all the more because it had been forbidden.

  After lunch, they left the cafe and headed towards the beach.

  ‘You okay?’ Abi asked as she gave Bethanne a little nudge with her elbow. She’d been quiet throughout lunch, leaving the talking to her younger sister, Rosie, who always had something to say.

  Bethanne shrugged. ‘I’m okay.’

  ‘Yeah? You sure? Because you look like something is bothering you.’

  They walked on a little, Rosie skipping ahead, the wind blowing her hair out behind her from under her hat.

  Bethanne looked up at Abi, a frown on her young face. ‘Why doesn’t Mum want me to be an artist?’

  Abi puffed out her cheeks as she formulated her answer. ‘Well, she’s anxious about you doing well in life.’

  ‘And I wouldn’t do well as an artist? Aren’t I good enough?’

  ‘It’s not that you’re not good enough – it’s just that the world isn’t always kind to artists. It can be a hard life.’

  ‘Was it hard for you?’

  For a moment, Abi wondered what to tell her. On the one hand, she didn’t want to crush her niece’s dreams before they’d even developed, but she wanted to respect her sister too. So she decided to be absolutely honest, which she knew one always should be with children, especially inquisitive ones.

  ‘It was hard for a while, yes. I couldn’t always pay my rent, you know. I had to sleep on friends’ sofas and borrow money from them.’

  ‘But you made it in the end,’ Bethanne reminded her.

  ‘Yes, in the end.’

  ‘And it was worth it?’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ Abi said with a smile.

  ‘Did your mum not want you to be an artist?’

  ‘We lived with our aunt, remember?’

  ‘Oh, yes. Aunt Claire?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘And did she not want you to be an artist?’

  ‘Aunt Claire just wanted me and your mum to be working and earning and out of the house,’ Abi confided.

  ‘Why don’t we see her?’

  Abi glanced across at Rosie as she danced across the pebbles of the beach and couldn’t help wishing that Bethanne would join her.

  ‘You’re coming out with the questions today, aren’t you?’

  ‘Does that mean you’re not going to answer them?’

  ‘No. I’ll answer them,’ Abi said. ‘Aunt Claire is what you’d call a tricky woman. She’s not really a people person and I don’t think she was very happy when she had to take care of me and your mother. It’s not her fault, not really, but you wouldn’t want to spend time with somebody who didn’t want to spend time with you, would you?’

  Bethanne looked confused that there were such people in the world. ‘I guess not.’

  ‘Because that wouldn’t make anyone happy.’

  Abi bent down and picked a round, smooth pebble up, holding it in her hand, gauging its weight and suitability as a pocket companion.

  ‘It’s sad, isn’t it?’ Bethanne said.

  ‘What is?’

  ‘That Aunt Claire doesn’t want to be friends with us. I mean, she’ll never know how cute Rosie is.’

  Abi laughed. ‘Or you!’

  ‘I’m not cute.’

  ‘Of course you are!’ Abi said. ‘Just look at those dimples when you smile.’

  ‘I’m not smiling,’ Bethanne said earnestly.

  ‘Yes you are,’ Abi said as she tickled her.

  Immediately, Bethanne began to laugh.

  ‘There they are! There’s those cute dimples!’ Abi cried in victory. Bethanne laughed again and then the two of them caught up with Rosie and walked down towards the sea.

  ‘Are there sharks out there?’ Rosie suddenly asked.

  ‘Here in Brighton?’ Abi asked.

  Rosie nodded.

  ‘She saw a programme about them on TV,’ Bethanne explained.

  ‘Well, you don’t need to worry. Not that we’re going paddling or swimming today. It’s much too cold. But it’s too cold for the sharks as well. They don’t like our water here.’

  ‘So it’s safe?’

  ‘Yes, as much as the sea can be safe. You’ve always got to be careful with strong tides.’

  ‘And jellyfish,’ Bethanne added. ‘They can kill you too.’

  Rosie frowned.

  ‘Yes, they can, Bethanne, but not around here,’ Abi told them. ‘There’s nothing lethal in our water except the water itself. That’s why it’s important to always be careful and wear your armbands and to have a grown-up with you.’

  They all stared out to sea for a moment. It was rough, grey and moody today with a sky to match. And, as she stood there, Abi couldn’t help thinking how incredibly lucky she was to be an aunt to these two wonderful girls who were so full of life and passion and curiosity for everything. It was almost overwhelming, sometimes, when Abi thought about how much she loved them. And then her memory would assault her with visions of her childhood and how her relationship with her own aunt had been so very different. There’d been no trips to the seaside, no confidences shared or idle questions asked. Had Abi and Ellen been particularly objectionable children? Abi didn’t think so. Perhaps Abi had been a shy 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 wo
rry 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.’