Page 26 of The Diary at the Last House Before the Sea

Those were happy days, she mused. Before people left and people died, and the future of the manor house and their cottage was put in jeopardy.

Placing the childhood photo carefully in the box, she piled her grandmother’s cards on top, closed the wardrobe door and stood up. It was a shame that Violet’s writing proved inconclusive, she thought, flexing her aching knees. If only there were numbers that her grandmother had written down to compare with the ones on Audrey’s scrap of paper.

‘Of course!’ said Clara, swinging her bag onto her shoulder. ‘I know just the place.’

Julie was still in the manor kitchen, where she seemed to spend most of her time, and Clara was pleased to see that she was looking brighter.

‘Are you OK, Mum?’ she asked, surreptitiously shaking out the last of the sand from her shoes before she got any closer.

Julie looked up from the table where she was poring over a large ledger. ‘I can’t just sit back while Geoffrey has to sell his home, so I’m going through the household expenses to see where I can make cuts.’

‘That’s great.’ Clara sat at the table and put her hand on top of her mother’s. ‘But I think it’s going to take more than cutting back on cleaning products and switching off a few lights to save this place.’

‘Perhaps, but I have to try. Geoffrey has been here for generations. Our family, too, keeping this house and its occupants going. I was hoping that you would take over as housekeeper when it’s time for me to retire.’

Was she? Clara blinked, not sure that she or Geoffrey would ever want that. But she said soothingly, ‘I know, Mum. I’m so sorry.’

‘There must be a way to save this beautiful house. I can’t bear the thought of its rooms being ripped apart and turned into apartments.’ Her eyes lit up. ‘Though, if that does happen, perhaps you and I could buy one of them, so the Netherways are still here in a sense. Or Michael could.’

‘That’s a lovely idea, Mum, but none of us could afford to buy a flat here. The manor is in a beautiful location and has such history that apartments will sell for top prices. Finding a flat we can afford to rent in Heaven’s Cove, when we lose the cottage, is going to be challenge enough.

‘But,’ she added quickly, seeing her mother’s face fall, ‘I’m sure we’ll find something and, who knows, maybe the Brellasham Manor apartments won’t cost as much as I’m anticipating.’

They would. Probably more. But there was no point in making her mother even more despondent.

Julie gave a wobbly smile. ‘Let’s hope not. Oh, you’ll never guess what happened when I took Geoffrey his poached salmon. He asked how I was and apologised for not speaking to me before the meeting this morning. He was very sorry that he hadn’t had a chance to make me aware of the situation in private. That was nice of him, wasn’t it?’

‘Mmm.’

‘It was very unexpected. I don’t think Geoffrey has ever apologised to me for anything before in his life.’

‘Gosh,’ said Clara, taking a sudden interest in the open ledger on the table. ‘That is nice.’

‘Gosh?’ Julie leaned forward. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say “gosh” before.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘Did you get to him?’

‘Did I get to him?’ Clara spluttered. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

Julie leaned closer and stared at her daughter for a moment before slumping back in her chair. ‘You did, didn’t you? You said something to Geoffrey. Not content with mentioning his poor, dead stepmother to him the other day, you told him I was upset that he hadn’t spoken to me first.’

‘Not really,’ said Clara, cursing her guilty face and deciding not to tell her mother that she’d also mentioned the theft accusation levelled at Violet. ‘All I did was tell him I was upset that he hadn’t spoken to you.’

‘You shouldn’t have done that.’

‘Why? I know he acts all high and mighty sometimes but he’s just an ordinary man who needs to think more about other people’s feelings.’

‘I certainly hope you didn’t tell him that.’

Clara wrinkled her nose. ‘Not in so many words, no. I was very polite.’

Julie raised an eyebrow. ‘Well, I’m still not at all happy about it. You can’t go around speaking on behalf of other people. It’s not right.’ She glanced at the floor and frowned. ‘Are you scattering sand everywhere?’

‘Nope,’ said Clara, pushing her feet under the table. ‘Can I ask you something?’ she said quickly, trying to avoid another telling off. ‘Do the numbers on this piece of paper look familiar to you?’

She pulled the paper from her bag and passed it to Julie, who scanned it quickly and then placed it on the table.

‘Where did you get this?’

‘I found it and I’m not sure what it is.’

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