A Trick of the Light by Ali Carter (surface ebook reader txt) 📕

‘There’s a logic I like to follow.’ He took in a pre-emptive breath. ‘The similarities between the two sides of the house are their colonnaded porticos over the raised basement.’

‘So, the ground floor’s the basement?’ said Shane.

‘I suppose you could call it either but we’ve always referred to it as the basement.’ Fergus continued, ‘A portico is this large central section you see here at the front of the house.’

‘So the other side’s the back?’ said Lianne.

Jane huffed. ‘Are we ever going to get through this afternoon?’

‘We will,’ said Fergus calmly. ‘It won’t take long.’

‘It ain’t make sense to me why you’d arrive at the back of the house.’

‘It’s a posh house, that’s why,’ said Shane.

‘As a matter of fact,’ corrected Fergus, ‘it’s a feature of the architectural style. Auchen Laggan Tosh was built by the 1st Earl of Muchton in 1761 to the designs of Robert Adam, a highly regarded architect then and now. This, a classical mansion of three storeys over a raised basement, is an excellent example of his style.’

‘How fascinating,’ said Felicity.

‘Isn’t it,’ said Fergus excited by her compliment. ‘Similar to the paintings in the house, influenced by the Grand Tour, Adam’s architecture reflects elements from ancient Greece and Rome.’

‘The harmonious proportions,’ said Minty.

‘Yes, as well as the detailing of the cornice and Corinthian capitals.’

‘I’ve noticed lots of classical architectural details inside too,’ said Rupert as if the rest of us might not have.

‘Adam was adamant the elegant proportions of the exterior should be complemented with interior splendour.’

Louis whispered in my ear, ‘Dilapidated interior matches dilapidated exterior.’

‘Shabby chic,’ I whispered back.

‘Here,’ said Fergus, ‘we’re looking at the uniformed windows of the first floor: dining room, music room and drawing room; and the top floors: best bedrooms and dressing rooms.’

‘So we are,’ smiled Minty. ‘Home has a similar layout.’

‘You live in a massive pile too?’ said Shane.

‘We live in a beautiful house,’ said Minty, holding her own.

Fergus, with a spring in his step, set off towards a four-tiered fountain in the centre of a large sweep of mossy lawn and as he waited for us to catch up he ran his hand round the rim of the acanthus urn.

‘This is B listed,’ he said. ‘The water drops down the tiers through the lions’ mouths but I’m afraid we can’t have it on in winter.’

‘Because the water turns to ice and cracks the stone?’ said Minty.

‘Exactly.’

‘Suppose you have one of these an all?’ said Shane.

‘Yes,’ she snooted, although I think she was playing him for a fool.

Fergus marched on down the garden and Minty stuck right by his side.

Lianne turned to Shane. ‘It’s lucky my parents live in London, they’d probably have to turn their Jacuzzi off up here.’

‘Nah,’ he said, ‘a Jacuzzi’s hot.’

She giggled. ‘I just wanted to let you know they have one.’

We stepped across a paved area and onto a great big long lawn. There were neglected flower beds either side and as we made it to the end Fergus brought us to a halt. ‘This,’ he said as Haggis hovered over the edge of a vertical retaining brick wall, ‘is a ha-ha.’

‘Ha-ha?’ said Shane, peering into the ditch.

‘Yes,’ snapped Jane.

‘It was a common landscape feature in the eighteenth century,’ explained Fergus. ‘The point of it is to give the illusion from the house of an unbroken, continuous rolling view into the parkland with its lovely old oaks.’

‘But why do you need the ditch?’ said Felicity in an uncharacteristically perceptive state of mind.

‘If there were sheep or cows in the park, it would stop them from entering the garden.’

‘What an awfully clever design. I must have a better look from the terrace.’

‘It’s a shame you can’t see the river,’ said Rupert, looking towards the trees in the distance, ‘not that this isn’t a lovely view.’

‘When the house was first built you would have seen the river.’

‘But that wood’s ancient,’ said Giles.

‘Yes, Malcolm’s Wood, planted in 1762 to commemorate the birth of the 1st Earl’s first grandson, Malcolm Angus.’

‘But why there?’

‘To give a bit of privacy, shield the house from the drive.’

‘Trees shield every view,’ said Jane, looking to her left and right. We were enclosed by sinuous-edged woodlands. ‘But,’ she remembered herself, ‘I suppose to have the house encased in trees protects it from the weather?’

‘Exactly right. Although if you stand on the steps of the house you get a view of the Beinn Eighe hills in the distance.’

‘You’ve got a topping variety of trees here,’ said Giles.

‘That’s thanks to my ancestors’ good taste.’

‘What do you mean?’ said Shane.

‘The woods here have been carefully planned. They’re a range of specimen trees, both broadleaf and coniferous. Such a pleasure to look at, particularly in the autumn. Unlike our neighbouring estates,’ Fergus huffed. ‘Their blanketing Sitka spruce ruin the landscape.’

‘I quite agree,’ said Giles.

Fergus led us back across the lawns, admitting the flower beds needed some ‘TLC’.

‘Are you going to have a kitchen garden?’ said Minty.

‘Well, that bit of broken wall over there,’ he was pointing to his far left, ‘is all that remains of the early nineteenth-century one here. But Zoe and I have every intention of reinstating it.’

‘You’ve got a lot to do,’ said Lianne.

Fergus was amused. ‘We’re aiming high. Not to mention the tennis court we’d like to build in that large space off to the right-hand side of the house.’

Louis raised his eyebrows at me and I nodded – these Muchtons are going to have to rake in the cash.

‘I hope you all feel familiar with the setting now. I’ll be very interested to see your pictures later.’

‘You have such inspiring locations for us,’ said Felicity, all giddy.

‘I’m going to paint a picture of the house, for you,’ said Shane, ‘from the front garden, no, the back garden, no, the front…’

‘We just call it the garden,’ Fergus smiled. ‘I’ll see you all later. Haggis and I are going to stretch our legs, make sure the fishing huts are in order; the season’s about to pick up.’

‘Bye.’

‘Hey Louis,’ I called out. He was making