The Knapthorne Conspiracy Malcolm Ballard (most popular novels of all time .txt) 📖

her how lucky she was that there wasn’t anybody in her life that she had to take into consideration where her writing was concerned. Being able to work whenever she wanted for as long as she needed was a real blessing. Perhaps fate had decided she should be celibate. By the time she sat down to watch the early evening news on television Bella had opted to have a quick bath, after the news, and go to bed as she was having difficulty in keeping her eyes open. It pleased her immensely to know that Maria would be with her the next day but then that started her worrying. There was obviously something wrong with her mother, from the tone of her recent phone call, which was why she was coming over. Maria wasn’t getting any younger it was true but didn’t all daughters think that their mother would live for ever? Briefly she tried to imagine life without Maria. She had been such an influence in her early life that, even though they saw little of each other now, it was a comfort knowing she was there if Bella needed her. Maybe it was time, too, to try and get some answers about her father. She made the mistake of closing her eyes and trying to remember him. The sound of his voice, the shape of his face. When she awoke, the room was in darkness save for the bright glaring rectangle of the television screen. Ubix was curled up in a ball next to her, purring contentedly.

“Oh, no! What time is it?” Her words, muffled by a yawn, woke the cat and the pair of them stretched together. Bella looked at the luminous digits on her watch. “Oh, it’s gone ten-o-clock!” she cried in dismay. Her neck ached from where she had fallen asleep. “I don’t know about you, puss, but I’m off to bed.” She rubbed at her eyes, trying to wake herself up, flicked on the light switch and went over to the windows to pull the curtains. The thought went through her mind that Maria might have rung while she was asleep but Bella felt certain the phone would have woken her if she had.

The front that had brought the bad weather had moved away and Monday morning brought clearing skies and a brighter day altogether. Whereas in London the wind and rain had generally depressed Bella, here she revelled in nature’s tantrums and, on the odd occasion, had gone out walking purely because of the adverse weather. She felt more at one with the elements here and, in the same way that she had come to appreciate the sky in all its variations, she had developed an affinity with the weather. The Holland Park apartment had not let her explore this side of herself but now, as she quickly made her bed, she was given to thinking whether she could ever be as happy living back there as she had once been. The Bella Foxton she was getting to know at Willow Cottage seemed altogether a nicer person than the one she had spent most of her life with. The ringtone of her mobile made her jump and she reached across the bed to grab it. As expected, it was her mother and speaking in her best no-nonsense voice. It was not difficult for Bella to imagine Laura standing close by.

“I am leaving here in about one hour. Let me see, that would make it around nine-thirty. How long do you think it will take me to drive down. I’ve rented a car.” Bella groaned, inwardly. The thought of Maria loose on England’s roads didn’t bear thinking about. Plus the fact she wasn’t well.

“Mama! I would have come and picked you up…”

“It is arranged, child, so let’s hear no more about it! How long, hm?” With her mother’s driving it was impossible to say. Bella wondered, in fact, if she would ever get there.

“Say about three hours, Maria. How does that sound?” She swore her mother snorted in response and could picture the look of haughty disdain on her face.

“We shall see, eh? Is there anything I can bring? Anything you want?”

“No, mama. Just bring yourself… and drive carefully, there’s a lot of idiots on the road.”

“Have you driven in Torino or Roma, lately, Arabella? There are idiots everywhere!” Maria rung off and Bella ended the call, knowing that she would worry about her mother constantly until she saw her arrive safely on the doorstep.

From the moment her mother had announced she would be coming over Bella had experienced a strange combination of emotions. Her first reaction had been concern because there was the underlying feeling that Maria was unwell but then a mixture of trepidation and excitement began to stir within her. Although her mother had given no indication this was anything other than a normal visit Bella couldn’t help but feel there was a purpose to the trip. There was no definition to the feeling, no sense of a reason written out in black and white that was obvious to understand. It was as though the umbilical cord, that vital, life-giving link, still connected them and she had picked up on Maria’s vibes. Now she couldn’t wait for her mother to arrive, knowing she was on the final part of her journey, and Bella’s mood was such that she found it difficult to settle to anything. She imagined a bride waiting for the car to pick her up and take her to the church and thought that she would have felt much the same. Yet, feeling as she did, it didn’t alter her view that somehow Willow Cottage was casting its shadow over events in her life as it had done ever since the meeting at the solicitors. The memory of that meeting brought Ben to mind. He was supposed to have called last week, she remembered, and he hadn’t. Maybe after Maria’s gone I’ll give him a call, she