The Strawberry House by Rachel Burton

Author:Rachel Burton
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781835338162
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Published: 2026-03-04T08:00:00+00:00

PART III

SUMMER 1938

17

When she looked back on the summer, Camilla realised that things started to go wrong around the time of the Revue. Up until that day, when all of her father’s family had arrived, it had been the most wonderful summer, she had been so happy. She’d been happy afterwards too, until the fire, but when she really examined it she knew that was the day everything changed, when the Kensington Circle really became separated from the rest of the house.

Those weeks before the Revue had been a whirlwind of last-minute rehearsals, chaperoning Mabel’s portrait painting and late nights on the patio putting the world to rights, convincing themselves that the war, if it did come, would leave them alone. They were the days when everyone was falling in love with each other, heady days of new friendships, blossoming romances and outrageous plans for a future that never came.

It had started on the day after the artists arrived. Henry had asked, the night before, if she had wanted to go for a walk with him, but when she dressed the next morning she couldn’t be sure if he’d meant it. She hoped he had but she’d set herself up for disappointment before she had even gone down to breakfast. Camilla had never been much bothered by the male of the species before, concentrating her energy on learning everything she could whenever she could so that she was ready to go to Oxford when she was free from her father and able to make up her own mind. She hadn’t paid attention to admirers – she’d had a few, although nowhere near as many as Mabel – and wasn’t interested, as Mabel seemed to be, in marrying. She didn’t see how moving into another man’s house was the way to freedom.

But Henry was different, or he seemed so to Camilla. She didn’t have a lot of experience for comparison, but there was something about him, something more than the way he made her stomach drop whenever he looked at her. It felt as though he was interested in her, in what she had to say and that was new. In the cold light of day, however, she thought she sounded foolish. Henry had probably forgotten all about the walk. They had all had quite a bit to drink the night before.

She was pleasantly surprised then when he stood next to her as she was helping herself to bacon in the breakfast room and said they should probably go soon.

‘Cassie is already talking about rehearsing at nine o’clock,’ he said. ‘Lionel isn’t up yet, apparently, and she thinks we can get a full run-through before Mabel’s first sitting.’

‘I can meet you by the gate that goes down to the river in about five minutes,’ Camilla replied. ‘Do you know where that is?’

‘Behind the rose garden?’

She smiled and nodded then sat down to eat her bacon and drink her coffee as quickly as she could.

When she got to the gate he was already waiting for her.

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