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

she started to think about it yet again she felt her eyes closing and was unable to fight off the urge to sleep. It was early evening when she awoke feeling a little disorientated and anxious at first but awareness of her surroundings slowly sunk in and calmness returned. She felt hungry, which Bella took as a good sign and even ventured to think that a glass of wine with a light meal might even do her good. The fact that her brain had cleared somewhat and the headache was easing led her to thinking about what Kyle had told her. So Cora had a sister? She had dismissed it at the time then forgotten about it completely with the disastrous events that had followed. But what if she asked her housekeeper about it, she wondered. It would be interesting to see Cora’s reaction, though it wasn’t difficult to picture the woman’s face. Ubix’s plaintive miaow distracted her, as she went to the fridge.

“Hello puss!” The cat could tell from it’s mistress’s voice that the worst was over and rubbed itself against Bella’s ankles. “Not one of my better days, Ubix, as I think you've realised.” She bent down to stroke it. “If I bring any man home, in future, you give him the once-over first, ok? If you don’t give him the nod, he’s out. I don’t care who it is!” To show Ubix what a good cat it was, she opened a tin of salmon, an action which drove the cat crazy in its impatience for Bella to get the food into its bowl.

“There you are,” she said, stroking her pet lovingly as she placed the bowl on the floor. “Now if I was to tell you that I was going to ask Cora about her sister, what would you have to say about that, hm?”

By Monday she felt distinctly better, the whole episode serving to make her feel definitely less concerned about having a man in her life and, consequently, more committed to her writing. Funnily enough though, after the experience with Kyle she’d had a sudden urge to ring Ben the previous evening on his mobile but then thought better of it asking herself if she was ever going to learn. Bella found it difficult to keep the events of Friday night from intruding into her thoughts at the most inconvenient moments as she was trying to write but, as the day wore on, she’d got her feelings pretty much under control. If there was one thing that she was thankful for, at least it had served to identify her priorities right now. Even as she had realised the fact, an image of her mother came to mind and she made a mental note to ring her. Of course, fate played its hand and late that afternoon just as Bella was considering turning it in for the day the phone rang and it was Maria.

“Mama! You’re never going to believe this but I’ve been thinking about you all afternoon, telling myself I had to ring you tonight. How are you?” Bella couldn’t keep the concern from her voice and what had meant to sound like a normal question came out as anything but.

“What do you mean, how am I? I’m fine, child. Don’t worry so!” Bella gave a fretful sigh.

“Maria!” she responded, in exasperation. “If you'd just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s you’d say you were fine!” She regretted the words, instantly. “You’re not getting Alzheimer’s, are you?”

“Arabella! Be quiet and listen. I’m flying over this Friday. First I will stay with your sister for the weekend…” Bella couldn’t have wished for better news to cheer her up.

“Maria, that’s wonderful!”

“…let me finish, will you? I will come to you on Monday, if that’s alright and we will have two or three days together before I have to be back.”

“Two or three days? Is that all. Mama it’s no time whatsoever,” Bella protested. “Stay longer, please!” For all Bella’s pleading, her mother refused saying it was impossible and that was an end to it. Maria made a polite enquiry about her daughter’s latest book and listened with interest to Bella’s reply before stating that she was being picked up shortly and had to go. After saying goodbye to her favourite daughter, Maria replaced the receiver with a heavy heart knowing how much Arabella would be looking forward to her visit. And she would normally have anticipated their being together with much pleasure. But this was to be no ordinary visit as she had news for both her children, as she still persisted in calling them. The time had come to talk about the past. A time for explanations. She owed it to them both before it was too late.

Bella found it hard to settle after her mother’s phone call, her instincts telling her that something was going on. But what? In no time at all she was outside in the fresh air, wrapped in her anorak, a gusty breeze snatching at her hair as she strode down the drive. It was almost second nature now to go for a walk when she needed to think, or clear her mind, and it seemed only natural to head through the woods to the stream, on the other side of Spinney Lane. Entering the trees Bella breathed in deeply inhaling the fresh, mossy dampness of the air around her. There had been a shower of rain earlier, obviously, and the evening sun that filtered through the branches overhead reflected off the myriad droplets of water that hung from the leaves like pearls. Maria’s phone call felt like it was part of the pattern that had been forming ever since she’d inherited the cottage. To Bella it seemed like a third party was controlling everything that had taken place and she was merely a player taking part. To her way of thinking there was an invisible thread that, in some mysterious way, linked everything together. She’d certainly had no cause