Chapter Twenty-Nine #2
‘Wow! It looks different seeing it up close. More . . .’
‘Dilapidated?’
‘No! More beautiful. It’s magnificent.’
Ava looked across to the stretch of woodland, where she regularly walked Myrtle. The lake was beyond but partly obscured by the line of trees. She could see the village and could just about make out the main street where the charity shop was. ‘You’re the master of all you survey.’
Henry laughed. ‘Believe me, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.’
‘Not just the house, but the grounds. Look, I’ve never seen them from this vantage point.’
‘Natural landscape by design,’ Henry joked.
‘What do you mean?’ Ava kept her eyes fixed on the rolling green space in front of her, thinking how wonderful it would be to sit in this spot and paint the scene.
‘Swooping lawns, scattered trees, the woodland and . . . well, you’ve seen the ornamental lake’ — Henry visibly swallowed — ‘all pleasure grounds, inspired by Capability Brown in the eighteenth century.’
Ava’s mind boggled at the lineage of it all; even the grounds were steeped in history.
Walking along to a large, predominantly glass door in the centre of the building, Henry opened it and gestured for Ava to enter before him. As she went to go inside, she hesitated.
‘Do you need to announce I’m here or something? I don’t want your m — I mean, Lady Bramlington to—’
‘Trust me, she’ll be polite.’ Henry spoke the words matter-of-factly leaving Ava in no doubt that he intended to see to it.
Reassured, she smiled and stepped inside.
Granger followed. The dog’s claws tapped against the black and white chequered floor as he walked.
The walls were painted rich damask, a contrast to the alabaster skin of the men and demurely posed, flat bosomed women in the portraits that hung in large gilt frames around the walls. Ava felt their eyes upon her.
‘Relatives?’ Her voice sounded too small.
‘Mostly. Do you want to wait in my father’s, I mean, my office, or come to my room?’ Henry’s cheeks coloured. ‘I’m only asking because Mrs Jenkins lurks in and around my office.’
Ava grimaced, remembering meeting the woman at the charity shop. ‘I’ll wait in your room. If that’s OK.’
‘Well there’s plenty of other rooms to choose from, but I’d rather keep you safe with me. If I’d known you were coming I’d—’
‘Sorry, it was a spur of the moment thing.’
‘I don’t mind. It’s just not how I envisaged your first visit here,’ Henry explained.
Ava couldn’t help but smile at the thought that Henry had considered her visiting Dapplebury House.
Leading the way to the grand staircase, Henry turned to Granger and told him to go to his bed. Granger trotted off, and Ava wondered if he actually had any intention of obeying.
As they ascended the stairs, Ava looked at the well-trodden carpet that ran down the centre of the highly-polished staircase.
She couldn’t help but wonder at all those who had trodden upon it before her.
The building, like many of the items in it, had seen significant changes over the years.
The generations of Bramlingtons and their visitors — perhaps even royalty, had made their mark.
Ava was sure every fibre of the house must have a story to tell.
With her mind wandering, she thought of her mother visiting the house.
She and Lady Bramlington had been friends; it was highly plausible to think she would have.
Seeing portraits of the late Lord Bramlington and Lady Jayne, Ava looked at Henry.
‘Are there portraits of you?’
Henry laughed. ‘God awful ones of me as a boy.’
Ava giggled. ‘Can I see them?’
‘No!’
‘I bet they’re amazing.’
As they reached the top of the stairs, Henry turned to her. ‘Amazingly awful and not at all a reflection of my childhood. If I mention a suit and bow tie, a sailor suit and, oh, let’s not forget the five-year-old holding a brace of pheasants, you’ll get the idea.’
‘Oh, dear! I knew you as a boy. They all sound perfectly apt to me,’ Ava teased.
‘I don’t know what my parents were thinking.’ Henry shook his head as he led Ava along the east corridor. Here they passed several closed doors before Henry stopped.
‘And this is my room.’
He opened the door and gestured for Ava to go in.
She took a breath. ‘Wow! I’m running out of adjectives. It’s stunning.’
‘Hmm, it’s feeling more like home than it did when I first came back. I’ve made a few alterations.’
Ava looked at the space; she was pretty sure the entire contents of her mum’s cottage would fit in this room alone.
‘I’ve had it painted and removed anything of historical value so I could take down the awful curtains.’
Ava looked at Henry quizzically.
‘I live in a museum. Light is the enemy as far as the family heirlooms and my mother are concerned. Don’t get me wrong, I know I have to respect the history of the place, but I have to be able to breathe too. Do you get what I mean?’
‘Yes, yes, I do.’ Ava looked at the open view, afforded by the large windows that flooded the room with light. She walked across the polished wooden floorboards to get a closer look.
Henry joined her, and the two of them stood, content to look across the grounds until Henry broke the silence.
‘I should get sorted. Make yourself comfortable.’ As he said the words, realisation seemed to dawn.
‘Ava, I’m sorry, I completely forgot to ask about your ankle.
Is it OK? Did you walk here? I just made you walk up the stairs.
’ Henry looked at her, his brow furrowed.
‘It’s fine, really it is. I can still feel it, and I’ll need to rest this afternoon, but it’s OK. Thank you, though. It’s much better than it was.’
‘OK. But here, be sure to sit down.’ Henry pulled over a large leather chair and encouraged Ava to sit by the window. Once he was sure she was comfortable, he gathered some clothes from the wardrobe and headed to what Ava assumed must be the en suite.
She heard the shower start and breathed.
The fact she was in Dapplebury House, in Henry’s bedroom, was a lot to take in.
She couldn’t let her mind spiral into thinking about what she wanted to say to him, or her conversation with Lady Bramlington.
She knew she had to focus on what he had to say about the charity first. One step at a time.
Hearing a noise at the door she looked towards it, frozen to the spot.
Her heart beat rapidly at the thought that it might be Lady Bramlington.
Ava knew being discovered in her son’s bedroom was not going to aid her cause when it came to gaining information.
Lady Bramlington’s reaction at discovering them together at the lake had been extreme; Ava could only imagine how she might react to finding her sitting in his bedroom while he took a shower.
The strange noise stopped, and Ava released a breath.
Her eyes scanned Henry’s room, for what?
A place to hide. She mocked herself for the thought.
What would she do? Get under the large double bed?
Hide under the duvet? Slip into the wardrobe, or duck down behind the gym equipment?
But as the door began to open, she leapt awkwardly to her feet, ready to make her move.