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

was always going to look after his Arabella.” Maria looked around her as she dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “Do you wonder about this place, why he left it to you?” Bella nodded. “It was my idea. We knew that one day you would find out what had happened but hoped you would understand. The cottage is about the future,  not what had gone on in the past. If it is not so then you must blame my instinct. Rupert would never argue with it. If he had have done, cara mia, you and I would not be talking.”

At Bella’s insistence, Maria had gone upstairs to lie down although it wasn’t yet mid-day. Her mother had looked strained and tired. The thought of her having to drive back to London the following day and then make the trip home concerned Bella and she’d suggested that her mother rest. Alone now, she sat in an armchair in the lounge, her feet up on the coffee table. Reflecting on the past twenty-four hours she began to attempt to put her life in perspective, given everything that she had been told. The fact Maria had lived with this knowledge for so many years amazed her, knowing how bad she, herself, was at keeping secrets. At least she and her mother differed in that respect! And why had her mother’s instinct told her about the cottage? Had she realised that it was likely to be the key to Bella learning about the past? Had the secrets become too much for her mother to hold on to and she had discovered a means of bridging a gap between past and present knowing that the truth would come out? It was impossible to know, she conceded. Then a random thought struck her and she experienced a sense of growing excitement. With all the drama of her mother’s revelations, she hadn’t said anything to Maria about her own life at Willow Cottage and what had happened since she moved in. Lifting her feet from the table, Bella stood up and began to pace about. If Patrick had been killed around here then Cora, Samuel or even Joshua, would have to know something. Of course!  Whatever they might be able to recall about past events might help her piece together a clearer picture of Patrick’s demise. Jane’s voice, in the back of her mind, played devil’s advocate. But the killer had never been found. Was it, indeed, Rupert and had he been clever enough to outwit the police? Or could he have paid someone else to get rid of his brother? Bella considered this, then she thought of Kyle, and the reaction Cora had had to the information he’d turned up. Would it be better to leave things as they were now, knowing what she had been told by her mother, and let sleeping dogs lie? Her instincts told her no. The thought of someone in the village having information about her family’s past intrigued her and the prospect of finding out was just too exciting. Even if it did mean confronting the redoubtable Cora Flint.

Chapter Thirty

Maria slept for a couple of hours and when she came down Bella prepared them a salad for lunch which they ate seated at the table outside. That afternoon the two of them pottered in the garden and Bella took the opportunity to bring her mother up-to-date with her recent life. She kept the details simple, missing out facts that she felt were inappropriate. Neither did she allude to anything which had happened that was in any way related to her past. Maria had had enough anxiety for one trip and Bella could imagine that the operation would be preying on her mind. The conversation was light-hearted. A mother and daughter enjoying the pleasure of each other’s company. But they talked in a more intimate way than they had ever done before, Bella getting to know the real Maria Roffino as opposed to chatting to her mother. It was a time for humorous home truths and whispered confessions. An opportunity for each of them to tear down the barriers of convenience and security that protected their inner selves. For Maria, there was an urgency to this that had been one of the reasons behind her trip. Unsure of what her future might be, she had wanted to give Bella an insight into her mother in the hope that it would help explain the past. Bella, on the other hand, was just experiencing the most sublime feeling of happiness, thinking how lucky she was. Wasn’t this exactly how every mother and daughter should be?

Standing outside the cottage, waving to her mother as the car disappeared from view, Bella was quite surprised at herself. She had been dreading this moment. Over the past two days Maria had seemed more like a sister to her, like the sister she had always wanted. Knowing now that she and Laura had different fathers helped explain things, especially now she knew more about Patrick’s personality. But instead of feeling a great sadness at her mother’s departure, Bella felt in some strange way reassured and comforted by Maria’s visit. A calmness had descended on her that refused to allow any thoughts of unhappiness at her mother’s leaving to intrude upon it. Something told her that the operation would be a success and there would me many other times like their afternoon in the garden. Far from being unhappy, she was looking forward to travelling to Lucca in the near future. With Maria gone, the prospect of visiting Cora Flint filled her thoughts. Since she had walked out last week Bella had heard nothing from her. A woman like Cora would have her pride she realised and, whatever she was feeling, it would be difficult for her to make the first move even if she wished to. There was nothing for it, the mountain would have to go to Muhammad. Or should that be