‘Gwen? Gwen?’ Ruby was frowning at her. Then understanding dawned across her face and her scowl deepened. ‘Oh God. You’re not—’
‘No! It’s nothing. I just found this—’
‘I don’t want to hear it.’ Ruby put her fingers in her ears, just like when they were kids.
Gwen felt sick. She didn’t want to think about it, either. She pushed aside memories of Gloria parading her like a performing monkey. People’s gratitude for their lost car keys overlaid with a shrinking back, a look of fear and horror and, above all, disbelief. ‘How did you do that?’ Like she was conducting an elaborate and pointless scam.
Ruby’s lip was curled. ‘I hoped you’d grown out of that.’
She marched down the stairs and Gwen stayed back for a moment, trying to calm herself. She didn’t want to fight with Ruby. It wasn’t Ruby’s fault that Gwen had inherited the Harper family curse while she’d got to be normal. She headed downstairs, trying to think of a neutral subject. ‘How’s Katie?’ People loved to talk about their kids.
Ruby shrugged. ‘Fourteen. My days of being God-like are over.’
‘That must be a relief.’
Ruby gave her an odd look. ‘You wouldn’t understand.’
‘That’s right,’ Gwen said, in familiar territory. ‘I don’t understand true exhaustion, responsibility or In the Night Garden. Thank God.’
Ruby gave a grudging smile. She reached into her handbag and pulled out a BlackBerry. ‘I’ll give you the number of a good estate agent. David’s used him before.’
‘I’m not selling,’ Gwen said. Yet.
Ruby frowned. ‘What do you mean? You can’t stay here.’
Gwen had been about to explain that, barring some kind of financial miracle, she might be stuck in Pendleford for the foreseeable future. Ruby’s response pissed her off, though, so she said, ‘I like it. It’s homely.’
‘You can’t,’ Ruby said, her face suddenly pale.
At once, her joke didn’t seem so funny. Ruby looked genuinely horrified. Nice.
‘What? You think I’ll embarrass you? You live in Bath. You don’t have to have anything to do with me,’ Gwen said. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t bother you.’
‘I can’t believe you’re thinking about staying here. You hated this town, don’t you remember?’
Of course I remember, I’m not an idiot. ‘I didn’t hate it,’ Gwen lied. ‘And maybe I feel like settling down.’ She wasn’t going to give Ruby the satisfaction of knowing her business was in trouble.
‘I really don’t think it’s a good idea,’ Ruby said, still looking thoroughly spooked. ‘I mean, we’re only just speaking again. It might be too much, too soon, you know?’
And there it was. Her typically selfish sister. ‘This isn’t about you, Ruby. I can’t make every decision in my life based on you, or the horrible things you think and say about me.’
‘I was just being honest,’ Ruby said.
Gwen felt her eyes prickling with tears and she willed herself not to think about their argument. A year and a half of avoiding Ruby hadn’t soothed the raw emotion one tiny bit. She still felt like a gigantic bruise. This was why she kept her distance, Gwen remembered with painful clarity.
‘You only ever think of yourself. What about Katie? What about me? David’s business?’ Ruby said.
A part of Gwen wanted to placate Ruby, to make nice. A larger part was almost blind with fury at Ruby’s unfairness. This. Shit. Again. Gwen stared at Ruby and realised something: nothing had changed. Yoga or not, Ruby still thought she was the anti-Christ in tracksuit bottoms. She didn’t trust her and didn’t want her near her precious life. It hurt. She blinked. This was why you didn’t get close to people. They turned their backs on you. Better not to give a damn in the first place. She straightened her shoulders. ‘Go away, Ruby.’
‘We’re in the middle of a discussion,’ Ruby said. ‘We need to sort this out.’
‘I didn’t ask you to come round today, you volunteered. Now I’m asking you to leave.’
Ruby took a step back. Her eyebrows drew inwards as she processed the words.
‘You don’t want to be around me, you don’t trust me or whatever the bloody hell this lovely conversation is about, but I’m not going anywhere. This is my house and I’m telling you to get out.’
Ruby plucked her coat from the rack and slung it around her shoulders. ‘Gladly.’
Well, that went well. Gwen leaned her head against the glass panel in the front door and willed her heart to stop hammering.
To calm herself, Gwen looked at the Liberty purse again. An item like that would sell quickly, she knew, and if Iris had a few more gems like that scattered around the place, she might be able to scrape together enough cash for a deposit on a flat. Not back in Leeds, but somewhere different, somewhere new. Her heart lifted as it always did when she contemplated a flit. There was always the wild hope that this next place would be the one, her forever home.
She clicked the catch on the purse and caught her breath. Nestled against the silk lining was a tiny cylinder of rolled paper and a key. She swallowed. They must’ve been there before. She’d been distracted by Ruby. Nothing weird to see here. Move along.
Gwen smiled grimly. She’d spent thirteen years quashing magic nonsense like this, and she wasn’t about to lose control now. The paper would be an old receipt. The key was a dull silver and had simply been hidden against the grey of the lining.
Still, she couldn’t help herself. She unrolled the paper, which was soft with age, and felt vomit rise in the back of her throat. It said:
For Gwen. When you are ready, seek, and you shall find. It is your gift.
‘Sod that,’ Gwen said and went to brush her teeth.
Chapter 2
Gwen had taken a long bath and eaten the bread that Lily had left with the casserole and, by the time she headed into town, she felt almost human again. All she had to do was remain focused. The next time she felt the Finding, she’d just ignore it. Simple as that. Just because she’d inherited one of the Harper family powers, didn’t mean she had to use it. She’d managed to stand up to Gloria all those years ago and refuse any more training, and she’d kept magic out of her life for the last thirteen years. Being back in Pendleford for one night wasn’t going to undo that. No matter how many creepy little notes Great-Aunt Iris had left for her.
The solicitor’s office occupied an imposing Georgian townhouse on the main street. Of course, all of the buildings were impressive, so that diluted its effect somewhat. Gwen hesitated outside the building. It was ridiculous. She had no connection to the Laings, not any more, and she’d never met Mr Laing Senior. There was nothing to worry about. Gwen found the reception and was directed straight into Mr Laing’s office.
‘He’s waiting for you,’ the secretary said, her rose-pink lips pursed.
Gwen opened her mouth to explain that the parking in this undeniably quaint and picturesque town was satanic and the unexpected twenty-minute fast walk had made her late, and then closed it when she caught sight of Mr Laing. The man didn’t look like he had much time left on this earth and probably didn’t want to waste it listening to excuses or parking zone rants.
‘Ms Harper. You’ll forgive me if I don’t get up.’ Mr Laing gestured to his wheelchair. ‘Please sit.’
Gwen sat and tried not to stare at the ancient being opposite. He must have been at least ninety. Well preserved, for sure, his nails freshly manicured and eyes bright, but surely someone who had earned retirement. What kind of firm was this? The kind you could only leave in a box?
Mr Laing picked up a sheet of heavy-weight cream paper and held it out. ‘This is the original of the document that we sent to you. Your great-aunt’s will. I understand there is some confusion on your part.’
Gwen kept her hands in her lap, refusing to touch the paper. ‘Not confusion exactly.’
‘How can I help?’ Mr Laing steepled his fingers.
‘I wanted to know if I could sell the house
straight away.’
‘The terms of the will state that the property cannot be placed on the market for six months. After that, you can sell as quickly as you like.’
‘Right. I read that.’
Mr Laing waited.
‘I was wondering, though.’ Gwen swallowed. ‘Is there a way around it?’
‘I’m not sure I understand.’
‘Can I put it up for auction, or something?’ Gwen wasn’t going to embarrass herself by explaining that she needed cash right now. Or that she couldn’t stay in the house because Iris appeared to be talking to her from beyond the grave.
‘Ms Harper was very clear in her instructions. She updated her will six weeks prior to her passing and instructed us to send it to you.’
‘But how? How could she do that?’
Mr Laing’s white eyebrows crept upwards again. ‘She was an exceptionally organised woman.’
‘I mean…we weren’t in contact. How did she know my address?’
‘She was your great-aunt. Isn’t it possible that she spoke to another family member?’
Gwen shook her head. That was most definitely not possible.
‘Is there no way to release equity from the house or something? Immediately?’ Gwen realised that her voice was getting louder and she snapped her mouth shut again. Shouting at a defenceless old man was not cool. It wasn’t his fault he worked in a soulless leather-and-oak hell and looked like an extra from The Godfather.
Mr Laing looked back at her calmly. ‘I see.’
Gwen sank back.
‘If you will excuse me, I will get my grandson in here.’
‘Sorry?’ Gwen sat forward.
‘He prepared this file but…’ Laing paused ‘…became overscheduled and passed the baton to me, as it were.’
‘Okay. Fine.’ Gwen remained perched on the edge of the padded leather chair and waited. She thought of her beloved minivan. It was stuffed full of her possessions and business stock and she barely fitted amongst the boxes. She didn’t want to stay at End House, but she didn’t want to sleep in the van again. Then she processed the word ‘grandson’. It couldn’t be—
The door opened behind her and Gwen turned.
The man in the charcoal-grey suit was both older and taller than she remembered. His face was tense, though, and that sadly fitted her last memory of him to a tee. She gaped, then, realising that she probably looked like a village idiot, closed her mouth.
‘Hello, Gwen.’
‘Cam.’ The word felt odd in her mouth. Wrong.
‘Don’t get up.’
Gwen realised she was suspended, half out of the chair like she was poised to run a race.
‘Is there a problem?’ Cameron Laing had been twenty-three when she’d last seen him and thirteen years was a long time. Which would explain the blank and professional expression he was levelling in her direction.
‘You’re a lawyer,’ she said stupidly.
‘So it would appear,’ Cam said.
‘Ms Harper wishes to contest the Harper will,’ Mr Laing senior said.
‘No. I’m not saying that,’ Gwen said, suddenly desperate to appear reasonable. She had a good idea that ‘reasonable’ was probably not the first word that Cam would use to describe her. She wanted to show him she’d changed. Not that she needed to. There wasn’t going to be any antagonism after thirteen years. Probably no emotion at all. ‘I was just wondering if there was a way to convert the house into cash. Quickly.’
It hardly seemed possible, but Cam’s expression became more rigid. ‘Let me see.’ Cam ran over the same details, then plucked the paper from Laing’s desk and put it into Gwen’s hands. She took it to stop it sliding off her lap onto the floor and, despite her intentions, glanced down. Iris’s signature was there at the bottom of the sheet. The same looping writing that was on the note in the purse. There was no mistake: Iris wanted her to have the house. She really wanted her to stay in Pendleford and had even put an instruction not to sell into a legal document. A part of Gwen felt flattered. It was nice to be wanted, even if it was by a woman she’d been taught to avoid like the plague.
Cam was frowning as he flipped through the file. ‘Where are the title deeds? They should be here.’
Mr Laing senior shrugged.
‘Great. Iris must’ve left them at the house.’ He looked at Gwen. ‘You’ll need that when you come to sell. In May.’
Gwen looked into Cam’s brown eyes and felt something thud inside her chest. ‘Six months. Right.’
‘You’ll need to find it,’ he said. ‘It’s pretty important.’
‘Right. I’m just not sure if I can—’
‘What? You’re too busy?’ Cam shook his head as he handed her the file. ‘This isn’t the usual way people react when they find out someone has given them a house.’
‘Oh?’ Gwen couldn’t stop looking at Iris’s handwriting. She felt as if the walls had shrunk, and when she looked up at Cam, the room swooped to the left.
‘They usually say “hooray”.’
‘Cameron!’ Mr Laing was shocked. ‘Ms Harper has lost her aunt.’
‘It’s okay. I didn’t know her,’ Gwen said.
Just as Cam said, ‘It takes more than that to shake Gwen.’
‘Hey!’ Gwen said. So, a little hostility still.
‘Spare keys.’ Cam plucked a brown envelope from the desk and tipped it upside down.
‘Thank you.’
‘Well, if that concludes our business?’
Cam’s face was older, harder. Gwen didn’t think it was possible, but she actually found him even more attractive than the Cam of her memory. Which was inconvenient.
‘I don’t want to keep you,’ Gwen managed.
Cam bowed his head slightly and left the room.
‘Well…’ Laing senior looked baffled. ‘What was that about?’
Gwen shook her head. She felt sick. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that Cam’s grandfather didn’t know about them; not many people talked in-depth to their grandparents about their relationships but, still, it hurt.
She shook Mr Laing’s hand and thanked him for his time. It wasn’t his fault that she couldn’t convert the house into money and go rent a flat in Leeds or London or on Mars. Six months. How bad could it be?
Back at End House, Gwen closed the door, then leaned her head lightly against it. Perhaps the country air was getting to her, but it felt as if the house was breathing with her. She closed her eyes and saw Cam. Frowning at her.
She went to the kitchen and flicked through the file that Cam had given her. There was a white envelope with her name on it, written in Iris’s handwriting. Inside, there was a small key and a single folded sheet of paper:
My dearest Gwen. I’m sorry I never got to know you. I hope you are all that I believe you to be. With power comes responsibility. I want you to accept all that I bequeath you but, by doing so, you accept all that it brings. Yours in haste, Iris.
Nicely cryptic, Iris. Thanks for that.
The back door swung open. ‘Knock, knock.’ Lily appeared, her spike heels gouging chunks out of the worn lino. ‘Only me.’
‘What can I do for you?’ Gwen asked, pushing the letter back into the file and flipping over the brown cardboard cover.
‘It’s what I can do for you. I have such happy memories of helping your auntie, I’m willing to offer you a discount.’
‘Sorry?’
‘To help you out.’ Lily looked pointedly at the mess of papers, used coffee mugs and plates on the table. ‘Looks like you could do with a hand.’
Gwen felt pressure around her temples. ‘I don’t need any help, thank you.’ She stood up and tipped crumbs from the cake plates into the bin. ‘And I couldn’t afford it if I did.’
‘If I clean, it will free up your time for—’ Lily paused ‘…well, whatever it is you do.’
‘I’m fine, really.’ Lily didn’t appear to be listening and was unpacking her bag on the table. A flask appeared. And a brown paper
bag that smelled of yeasty goodness.
‘I brought you some soup and bread.’
‘You don’t have to—’
‘Just while you settle in. Bless you, I’m sure you haven’t been shopping yet.’ She gave Gwen a disconcertingly direct look. ‘Don’t worry. I’m not staying. I’m not one of those nosy neighbours. Always popping in. Some people like to be social and some people don’t. We respect that round here.’
‘Right—’
Lily gave a little tinkling laugh that lifted the hairs on the back of Gwen’s neck. ‘Watch out for Janet, though. She runs the Honey Pot and is the town gossip.’
There was a pause as Gwen wondered how to get rid of Lily. ‘I was thinking about sorting through things today.’
‘Don’t forget to check the list.’
‘The list?’
‘The list of contents. Everything is in its place. I don’t want you thinking I have light fingers. You have to sign to say everything is as it should be.’
Understanding dawned and Gwen blushed. ‘I didn’t mean I was checking. I didn’t—’
‘That’s all right. You don’t know me, after all. You aren’t local. You don’t know what a good friend I’ve been.’
‘I’m sure you’ve been wonderful.’ Gwen wanted Lily to leave. She hadn’t sat down, which was a good sign, but good manners overtook her mouth. ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ Idiot.
‘I won’t take up any more of your time. You’ve got your work cut out for you here.’
Gwen smiled. Relief made her giddy. ‘I’m quite looking forward to it. I’ve never had my own house before.’
Lily looked at her curiously. ‘You’ve never bought a house?’
‘No. Just rented. Usually just a room in a shared house, actually.’
‘Oh?’ Lily pursed her lips. ‘Isn’t that a bit cramped?’
The Language of Spells Page 3