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

doing some sums,” he replied, giving up on it. There was a note of resignation in his voice.

“You ok?” Bella asked.

“Fine,” he answered, putting a smile in place and looking at his watch. “We’ll make a move when we’ve drunk these, eh? Feeling better after the sandwich?”

“Absolutely! You wouldn’t believe how I needed that! How far are we from the cottage?”

“About fifteen miles or so, I would guess. Getting excited?”

“What do you think?” she asked him. “Wouldn’t you be?” Ben was excited, alright, but for entirely different reasons.

They headed south-west on the A354 content, at first, to sit and watch the countryside pass by as they got under way. The cottage occupied Bella’s thoughts now but she was frightened to try and form a picture in her mind of what it looked like in case she was disappointed. Now that they were getting close she was beginning to get a little nervous because she might have built her hopes up too much.

“Got any ideas of how it might look? ” Ben asked, as if he could read her mind.

“I’m trying not to think about it in case it isn’t how I’d pictured it,” she admitted.

“Just take a look at some of the houses in the villages round here. It might give you a clue,” he suggested. “We’re only about ten minutes away, by my reckoning.” Bella referred to the map, knowing that they had to make a right turn to get to Knapthorne before too long and realising she’d need to remember the route they had taken. After they’d turned off the main road, an unexpected delay caused by a flock of sheep on the road meant that it was closer to fifteen minutes before they reached the outskirts of the village. Ben had said that they needed to turn off before Knapthorne, at Spinney Lane, which would be on their right and, suddenly, Bella cried out, pointing excitedly.

“There it is, Spinney Lane!” They drove down the narrow road cautiously, with Bella taking in the landscape on either side, conscious of how her heart was beating more rapidly now as expectation of seeing the cottage at any moment increased. In some places the brown earth of the fields reached right to the roadside itself while, in others, remaining hedgerows shrouded the horizon from view with their spring growth. After driving along the winding lane for just over a mile, Ben slowed the car as they approached a  turning on their left marked by a tall, majestic oak tree on its far side.

“Here we are,” he said quietly. Bella sucked in her breath, biting on her bottom lip, as they turned off the lane and she lowered her head, looking for the cottage between the trees and hedges that lined the drive. And then as they rounded a bend about twenty yards down there it was in front of them nestling behind the big willow on the lawn. Ben pulled up a little way from the cottage so Bella could take it all in. Automatically he turned towards his passenger eager to see the look on her face.

“Oh, Ben! It’s lovely,” Bella whispered.

Neither of them moved, both of the same mind to sit and soak up the atmosphere of the place as they looked around.

“I can’t believe this is all mine,” Bella said softly. “It’s like a dream come true.” Unable to wait, she took out her phone and took a picture through the windscreen. From where they were parked, the cottage was slightly to their right so they had a three dimensional view which took in part of the back garden as well. If this were in the middle of a forest, Bella was thinking, it would complete the fairy-tale tableau, for that was her first impression together with the fact that the word cottage didn’t really do it justice. It was far larger than she had imagined. For one thing it was a two-storey building with a slate roof but, in addition, there were dormer windows built into the roof, giving the cottage an extra dimension. The slates, from a nearby quarry, had weathered to an earthy brown colour which contrasted pleasantly with the honey-coloured rough stone blocks from which the walls were constructed. Each set of dormer windows had its own slate roof, giving the impression of two hooded eyes looking out. A stone-block chimney rose about 2 metres above the cottage, on the right-hand side and all of the deeply set windows featured lead lighting. A small porch, complete with slate roof, indicated the entrance to Willow Cottage and added to its overall charm. Bella was almost moved to tears.

“Well, I don’t suppose we’re going to find out what it’s like inside by sitting here, are we? These are yours,” Ben announced, having produced a set of keys from his pocket. “Welcome to Willow Cottage, Bella,” he said, handing them to her. “Let’s go and have a look, shall we?” Bella felt like pinching herself, unable to truly believe this was happening. At any moment she sensed that someone might suddenly appear to snatch the keys and explain that it had all been a ghastly mistake and that really the cottage was Laura’s. Ben was out of the car and waiting for her, wondering what the delay was.

“Are you always so enthusiastic when someone leaves you a cottage?” he yelled, then turned and made for the porch. Bella couldn’t help but grin as she got out.

“Behave yourself, Hollingsworth, or I just might not let you in,” Bella retorted.

“It’s up to you,” he replied, matter-of-factly, “but I don’t think those shoes of yours are up to walking to the village!” She joined him at the door and let them both into the cottage. Predictably, a musty smell, though not unpleasant, greeted them as they walked in. They stood in the lobby and surveyed the room in front of them, in silence. It was a large living area that served both as a lounge and dining room and