The House at Hope Corner by Emma Davies

Author:Emma Davies [Davies, Emma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786818423
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2019-05-09T18:30:00+00:00

‘What have you done with my table?’

They had already been eating dinner for ten minutes or so and the question came out of nowhere. Flora almost choked, looking across at Ned, but he hadn’t seemed to notice anything untoward.

Flora had heard the front door close just as she was checking on the pie for tea some half an hour earlier and she’d braced herself for the inevitable questions. But it wasn’t until she was spearing a carrot to check if it was cooked that she’d heard a creak on the stairs and realised that Hannah had gone straight up to her room. Had she not even seen the alterations in the dining room? Or, thought Flora ominously, has she seen them and chosen not to comment?

The time in between had been agony for Flora as she waited on tenterhooks, but when Hannah finally appeared she had greeted Flora normally and bustled about the kitchen helping with the last-minute dinner preparations.

But now this.

Flora looked up and smiled, determined not to let her own misgivings about the room show. ‘Oh, I popped it in the other room,’ she said lightly. ‘I can show you what I’ve done after tea if you like.’

Hannah’s knife clattered onto her plate, making Ned jump. ‘I rather thought I might put it back again,’ she replied sharply. ‘It’s the dining room, Flora.’ She placed her fork down rather more quietly. ‘And that table was my mother’s.’

‘Yes, Caroline took great delight in pointing that out, don’t worry.’ She had told herself over and over not be defensive about what she’d done to the room and that if Hannah didn’t like it, it wouldn’t matter, but now faced with her scorn she could feel her indignation rising. ‘So the table is quite safe. It’s in the small sitting room, tucked out of the way so that it doesn’t come to any harm… not that it’s going to, seeing as no one ever goes in there anyway.’

Ned had sat up, his own knife and fork now resting on his plate. ‘Caroline…? And what table?’ He frowned, looking at his mother’s angry face. ‘What’s going on?’

Hannah picked up her cutlery and started to eat again.

‘Flora has taken it upon herself to move all the furniture out of the dining room which, although we had discussed very briefly, I certainly hadn’t agreed to.’

‘Oh… is that all? For goodness’ sake, I thought she’d painted the room black with orange stripes the way you’re going on, Mum. I take it this is to make some space so that Dad can move in there when he comes home?’

Flora nodded. She couldn’t trust herself to do any more.

‘Excellent idea.’ He slid his hand down Flora’s knee and grinned at her. ‘You can show me what you’ve done when we’ve finished eating. I bet it looks great.’ His eyes stayed on hers the whole time he was speaking.

‘It isn’t finished,’ murmured Flora. ‘Because obviously I can’t move the beds by myself, and I haven’t moved any of Fraser’s personal things either.

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