LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

and felt something thud inside her chest. ‘Six months. Right.’

      ‘You’ll need to find it,’ he said. ‘It’s pretty important.’

      ‘Right. I’m just not sure if I can—’

      ‘What? You’re too busy?’ Cam shook his head as he handed her the file. ‘This isn’t the usual way people react when they find out someone has given them a house.’

      ‘Oh?’ Gwen couldn’t stop looking at Iris’s handwriting. She felt as if the walls had shrunk, and when she looked up at Cam, the room swooped to the left.

      ‘They usually say “hooray”.’

      ‘Cameron!’ Mr Laing was shocked. ‘Ms Harper has lost her aunt.’

      ‘It’s okay. I didn’t know her,’ Gwen said.

      Just as Cam said, ‘It takes more than that to shake Gwen.’

      ‘Hey!’ Gwen said. So, a little hostility still.

      ‘Spare keys.’ Cam plucked a brown envelope from the desk and tipped it upside down.

      ‘Thank you.’

      ‘Well, if that concludes our business?’

      Cam’s face was older, harder. Gwen didn’t think it was possible, but she actually found him even more attractive than the Cam of her memory. Which was inconvenient.

      ‘I don’t want to keep you,’ Gwen managed.

      Cam bowed his head slightly and left the room.

      ‘Well…’ Laing senior looked baffled. ‘What was that about?’

      Gwen shook her head. She felt sick. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that Cam’s grandfather didn’t know about them; not many people talked in-depth to their grandparents about their relationships but, still, it hurt.

      She shook Mr Laing’s hand and thanked him for his time. It wasn’t his fault that she couldn’t convert the house into money and go rent a flat in Leeds or London or on Mars. Six months. How bad could it be?

      Back at End House, Gwen closed the door, then leaned her head lightly against it. Perhaps the country air was getting to her, but it felt as if the house was breathing with her. She closed her eyes and saw Cam. Frowning at her.

      She went to the kitchen and flicked through the file that Cam had given her. There was a white envelope with her name on it, written in Iris’s handwriting. Inside, there was a small key and a single folded sheet of paper:

      My dearest Gwen. I’m sorry I never got to know you. I hope you are all that I believe you to be. With power comes responsibility. I want you to accept all that I bequeath you but, by doing so, you accept all that it brings. Yours in haste, Iris.

      Nicely cryptic, Iris. Thanks for that.

      The back door swung open. ‘Knock, knock.’ Lily appeared, her spike heels gouging chunks out of the worn lino. ‘Only me.’

      ‘What can I do for you?’ Gwen asked, pushing the letter back into the file and flipping over the brown cardboard cover.

      ‘It’s what I can do for you. I have such happy memories of helping your auntie, I’m willing to offer you a discount.’

      ‘Sorry?’

      ‘To help you out.’ Lily looked pointedly at the mess of papers, used coffee mugs and plates on the table. ‘Looks like you could do with a hand.’

      Gwen felt pressure around her temples. ‘I don’t need any help, thank you.’ She stood up and tipped crumbs from the cake plates into the bin. ‘And I couldn’t afford it if I did.’

      ‘If I clean, it will free up your time for—’ Lily paused ‘…well, whatever it is you do.’

      ‘I’m fine, really.’ Lily didn’t appear to be listening and was unpacking her bag on the table. A flask appeared. And a brown paper bag that smelled of yeasty goodness.

      ‘I brought you some soup and bread.’

      ‘You don’t have to—’

      ‘Just while you settle in. Bless you, I’m sure you haven’t been shopping yet.’ She gave Gwen a disconcertingly direct look. ‘Don’t worry. I’m not staying. I’m not one of those nosy neighbours. Always popping in. Some people like to be social and some people don’t. We respect that round here.’

      ‘Right—’

      Lily gave a little tinkling laugh that lifted the hairs on the back of Gwen’s neck. ‘Watch out for Janet, though. She runs the Honey Pot and is the town gossip.’

      There was a pause as Gwen wondered how to get rid of Lily. ‘I was thinking about sorting through things today.’

      ‘Don’t forget to check the list.’

      ‘The list?’

      ‘The list of contents. Everything is in its place. I don’t want you thinking I have light fingers. You have to sign to say everything is as it should be.’

      Understanding dawned and Gwen blushed. ‘I didn’t mean I was checking. I didn’t—’

      ‘That’s all right. You don’t know me, after all. You aren’t local. You don’t know what a good friend I’ve been.’

      ‘I’m sure you’ve been wonderful.’ Gwen wanted Lily to leave. She hadn’t sat down, which was a good sign, but good manners overtook her mouth. ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ Idiot.

      ‘I won’t take up any more of your time. You’ve got your work cut out for you here.’

      Gwen smiled. Relief made her giddy. ‘I’m quite looking forward to it. I’ve never had my own house before.’

      Lily looked at her curiously. ‘You’ve never bought a house?’

      ‘No. Just rented. Usually just a room in a shared house, actually.’

      ‘Oh?’ Lily pursed her lips. ‘Isn’t that a bit cramped?’

      ‘A bit. I’ve always moved around so much – for my work – my domestic arrangements haven’t mattered much.’ Gwen had always felt safest moving around. Pendleford had been the last place she’d called home and that hadn’t ended well.

      ‘You’re not working now, though.’

      ‘Not right at this second. No.’ Gwen didn’t feel the need to explain Curious Notions to Lily. She seemed like the type who would turn her nose up at second-hand, let alone ‘craft’.

      ‘You’re going to stay, then?’

      ‘Yes.’ For now.

      Lily made a face. ‘Make sure you find that list. I don’t want any trouble.’ She picked up her bag and headed out of the door at a clip. ‘And make sure you have that soup tonight. It’s chicken.’

      Okay, Gwen thought. So Lily was a bit odd. A bit intense. She opened the file again and plucked out the sheaf of stapled A4 paper with ‘End House, Contents’ typed on the top sheet. It was handily split into rooms, but after a minute of reading: one candlestick, pewter, broken base; one wool rug, red; three fountain pens; one wastepaper basket, her will to live fled. She was sure Lily hadn’t taken anything, anyway. She flipped to the last page and signed the declaration at the bottom. She made another mug of tea and drank it at the kitchen table. Why would she be so anxious for Gwen to check the list if she had? Unless she was looking for something. Gwen shook her head to release the ridiculous thought, but instead found herself staring at the small grey key.

      A key for a locked door. Gwen didn’t have to pause; the knowledge jumped to the front of her mind; an extrovert piece of information that couldn’t wait for its turn in the spotlight. She ventured outside to the small outbuilding beyond the vegetable patch

Скачать книгу