The Knapthorne Conspiracy by Malcolm Ballard (best english novels for beginners txt) 📕

under way and she was happy with its progress to date so that had to be good. After all it was the main reason for being at Willow Cottage. For the first time in several days her thoughts turned to Ben with some degree of sympathy. Only a week ago she had nearly given in to an overwhelming urge to make love to him and now here she was inviting Kyle to come and stay. As tired as she was even the thought of making love prompted an instinctive reaction which unsettled her and it was, as much as anything, the need for sexual fulfilment that had driven her into his arms. But a week ago she hadn’t known what would happen with Kyle. One thing past experience had taught her was to keep her love life simple and, for another thing, Ben had strings attached and that was always a situation with the potential for turning grubby. Much as she liked Ben she conceded that it would be kinder all round to phone him and let him down gently but that call could wait until after Kyle’s next visit just in case the weekend didn’t work out. What was the point in burning a bridge before you knew if the only other one was reliable or not? It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep her eyes open and Bella turned on her side, pulling the pillows snugly around her, and let memories of Kyle accompany her on the short journey into the arms of Morpheus. The son of Hypnos lived up to his name that night as images and characters from events of the past few weeks flitted across the stage of her suspended consciousness. In one episode, a flashback from Laura’s visit led to a recollection of her mother’s postcard then a glimpse of Mickey and his amazing eyes but she remembered none of this on waking, bright and early the next day. Not until much later did she even recall that she hadn’t dreamed of crashing through undergrowth with the voices of her relentless pursuers becoming clearer and clearer as they closed in behind her.

The night’s sleep plus her usual medication had done wonders and Bella rose at 6am full of enthusiasm for not only the day ahead but also the next couple of weeks. The hours flew by with the morning devoted to writing until she was too hungry to continue any longer then the afternoon spent weeding and tidying up in the garden. After a leisurely bath and a light evening meal Bella returned to the computer, only giving up when her eyes began to get scratchy. In retrospect, as she got ready for bed, she considered it a most constructive and rewarding day once again sleeping soundly without interruption. The next day, Monday, she made an appointment with Phillipe, her hairdresser, for 7pm on Friday and rang Jane to let her know she’d be in town. She also made a couple of calls to friends she was particularly anxious to see, if they were going to be around over the weekend. Lastly, she put in a call to her agent as she hadn’t heard from him for a while and wanted to find out if there were any appointments or bookings coming up. It turned out that he was at his holiday home in Italy, his exact return date unknown, so she left a message to say she’d called. Free of any distractions she was now able to concentrate fully on her writing, putting in three days of sustained effort that she was really satisfied with. By Thursday, aware that Cora would be arriving with Joshua, Bella had come to the conclusion that speaking to Samuel about Alfie was definitely the right decision and greeted Cora with no more than a polite enquiry after Alfie’s well-being. On the spur of the moment she decided to see Samuel that lunchtime and was surprised to find herself looking forward to visiting The Lamb. So it transpired that after a very pleasing day, when she had found out the answer to Kyle’s question and texted him with the news, Bella had gone to bed tired but happy. Happy with the progress she was making with her writing and happy that she hadn’t appeared to have aroused Samuel’s suspicions in any way. But it was Cora that Bella was thinking of as she put down her book and switched the lamp off. What really went on in that woman’s mind? Sleep overtook her almost instantly but a little after 3.30am she awoke in a highly-agitated state. Like a bad deed that troubles the conscience, the dream had returned.

Chapter Twenty-One

The weekend in London had acted like a shot of adrenalin into Bella’s system. From the moment she had left Willow Cottage on the Friday afternoon, full of anticipation for her visit to Phillipe, she had seemed to be constantly on the move with the hours jetting by and, of course, before she knew it she was on her way back. While in London slipping into the old lifestyle had come easily, as she had known it would, but what had surprised her was how much she had missed her rural retreat. After a self-indulgent lie-in, on Saturday morning, she had got up and showered, furiously washing her hair. The visit to the salon was not a cheap experience, designed as it was to pamper the female ego, and Bella savoured every moment except for the fact she hated having her hair cut. Her reaction was the same after every visit. Even though the cut was superb she couldn’t wait to wash her hair in an effort to make it look a little more full, a little longer. A little more like it was before Phillipe had taken the scissors to it. Last night she had been too tired by the time she got to the apartment but one look in the mirror, once she was up,