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

“What sort of things, mother?” Bella asked warily, not liking the turn the conversation had taken.

“It can wait til I see you. You’ll understand then.” She knew it was pointless to argue but found her mother very frustrating.

“When do you plan to come over then?”

“I wanted to ring both you and Laura to fix up a time, maybe in the next two or three weeks, you think?”

“Maria! I wish you’d tell me what this is all about. I shall only worry about you now.”

“Hush! Just tell me if you’re busy at all, then I’ll ring your sister, hm?” Bella took the hint and gave up.

“No, mother, I’m not busy. Only this coming weekend.” A thought occurred to her. “I hope you don’t want Laura to come down here, do you? After her last visit she’s not exactly welcome here.”

“Carissima, don’t worry! I’ll see your sister first before I come and see you, ok? I will ring her now to fix the time. When the flight is arranged I will call you to tell you. There, it is done!” Bella felt it was all most unsatisfactory but what could she do about it?

“Are you sure there’s nothing you want to tell me now, while you’re on the phone, Maria?”

“Positive, my darling. I’ll look forward to seeing you soon. Ciao!”

Completely thrown by her mother’s call, Bella found it impossible to concentrate and, in the end, gave up trying. If she hadn’t have been for a walk already it would have seemed like a great option right then. Instead, she just yelled an expletive and threw the stapler at the far wall which was well out of range but made her feel better.

“Why can’t I have a nice, straightforward mother, like other people? A mother who would come out and tell me if there was something wrong with her?” She began to pace up and down, thinking about the situation. “Now all I’m going to do is worry until I see her. Then I’ll probably worry a helluva lot more! Aagghh!” Bella threw her hands in the air, in a gesture of frustration, as something else struck her. “And then, no doubt, I’ll have Laura to contend with on another front! I don’t believe  it!”  Exasperation got the better of her as she realised there was no alternative but to switch off the computer and call it a day for now. Seeing that it was after one-o-clock, lunch seemed like a good idea and why not a glass of wine too? Not only was the idea good but, once she had recovered from the call, it had the effect of making her feel much more relaxed about the whole thing. Whatever it was on her mother’s mind she would find out eventually and worrying about it, she told herself, wouldn’t help her discover what it was any sooner. Work, she knew, was the best solution and so after a suitable period of self-reproof and calming down she returned once again to the room at the top of the house. Not surprisingly, it took a little time to pick up the pieces from where she had left off earlier but slowly, as she forced herself to concentrate, she caught the mood and immersed herself into the story. So engrossed was she that Ubix crept in, unnoticed, and curled up at her feet. When she finally sat back raising her arms out either side and yawning noisily it had begun to grow dark outside. Not to say that it hadn’t been fairly dark all day but evening was drawing a curtain down on the day and she had suddenly realised. Bella also noticed the cat.

“How long have you been there!” She leaned down and stroked it. “I’m surprised you haven’t been pestering me for your dinner. Must be the weather.” On rainy days Ubix would develop sloth-like tendencies and not show much of an interest in anything. Except sleeping. Looking back on her day Bella congratulated herself for sticking at it especially after her mother’s phone call. The weather had helped, of course, as there was no temptation to be doing something else when it was pouring down. Feeling the effects of her stop-start day, she eased herself up from the chair and realised that she was ravenous.

“Come on you, let’s go get some food.” Ubix yawned, mouth open wide, fangs exposed and lazily stretched out one paw before deciding to move. “Yes, it’s a bit like that, isn’t it?” Bella commented.

More than satisfied with the progress she had made, Bella finally put her feet up late in the evening. Physically tired, she was glad of the opportunity to relax and wind down before going to bed but her mind, stimulated by the day’s activities, hadn’t got the message. As she went through a deep-breathing routine her thoughts flitted from one subject to another like a restless bird seeking somewhere to settle. First she tried to make sense of her mother’s phone call, running over their conversation in her mind trying to pick up any pointers from what she could recall. She definitely had sounded tired, breathless even, but she had always enjoyed such good health. What on earth could it be? Anything, of course, was the answer. Maria wasn’t getting any younger. The other thing was that she had wanted to see Laura too which was quite unusual in itself. The two of them tolerated each other, Maria having far more patience, Bella admitted, than she had herself. And after all Laura was her daughter. Laura. Her focus ricocheted off her mother to alight on her sister. What was she up to now? It had been just over a week since her unpleasant call and the thought of her scheming away somewhere was just too horrible to contemplate. Bella remembered that her umbrella was still in the lobby. Was it likely that Ben would have heard from her? Doubtful, but one never knew with Laura. Perhaps