Magpie's Children

By R. K. McVeigh

The Ficle Hand of Fate;
Dwelling on its mysteries can fill our hearts with fear. When it bestows blessings upon us in an unexpected manner. There is always the feeling that they can slip through our fingers.

Fate has blessed Karen beyond her deepest dreams and she struggles to feel secure within her new found fortunes. Life direction is no longer forced upon her by the dictates of daily necessity and now she has to choose which of lifes pathways to follow for the sake of her unusually gifted children.
Her well founded choices bring her twin childrens extra sensory gifts to ensure that those that seek to misuse them and inexorably lead her from her life of luxury into a web of intrigue and danger that threatens her and her precious twins. She is thrust into a state of affairs that forces her find new strengths and she draws upon the resilience moulded in her abusive and poverty stricken past.
Karen discovers that her twins have inherited their gifts from her and alongside them, she cultivates their abilities so that they have the power to confront those who walk in the corridors of the higgest authority.

What lies at the end of this pathway? Will Karens family and her fortunes survive?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Jan 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491890752

R. K. McVeigh

R.K.McVeigh was brought up in a religious household as the child of a prominent clergyman who had the strange concept that God would arrange for the nurture of his child as he was too busy spreading the message of God’s love. As this clergyman’s wife was also too preoccupied for parenting, R.K.M. struggled to find a pathway in life and chose a career in Design instead of Literature as it was feared that this could lead to starvation or worse still, teaching. Unfortunately the design world had disintegrated while R.K.M was at Hornsey College, so as R.K.M. had worked in a pottery factory, a wholesale food warehouse and a refuse collection centre whilst a student, there was no fear in trying something else. However, jobs with the Inland Revenue, the DHSS centre for vagrants and a few poorly paid design jobs eventually led to the inevitability of teaching. ‘Not to worry’ thought R.K.M.,’ this will give me the opportunity to write, something that I should have done years ago’. However, the mental exhaustion of teaching meant that until now R.K.M. has only just completed this, the first of a dozen novels that are in various stages of completion. The ‘upside’ of this varied pathway of life has been the wealth of characters that R.K.M has encountered, including two women who were ‘morphed’ into ‘Karen’ of ‘The 7th Magpie’ which is soon to be followed by its sequel ‘Magpie’s Children’.

Book preview

Chapter One

The alarm rang with its dream shattering clamour and Karen stifled it instantly, she was already awake and did not want David to wake up yet. It was a big day and her nervousness had woken her long before the alarm had declared its robotic demand. She showered and put on a discrete amount of make up before going down to perform her coffee and toast ritual whilst watching the September sun chase the shadows away from the stone flagged terrace. Now fully awake and refreshed, she went back upstairs to rouse the Twins.

Come on you lazy bones! Remember what day it is? Your first day at school! So let’s have you washed and dressed quickly so I have enough time to give you a good breakfast.

Eleanor sprang out of bed with eagerness, she had been looking forward to making new friends and had spent much of the previous evening discussing (mostly with herself) what she was going to do at school while she sharpened her pencils and crayons, packing then re-packing both pencil case and bag and wondering whether she should tie her hair back or not.

Eoin had been less impressed with the whole idea and while Eleanor was busy with her packing, he had asked, ‘What can they teach me that you and daddy can’t?’ His blunt and perceptive statement was true; David and Karen had polished their little diamonds with care, nurturing their talents so that they were already able to read and write to a standard that surprised both family and friends alike.

Well Eoin, you will be able to learn how to socialise with the other children.

"Socialise? What’s socialise daddy?"

Make friends, get along with them, anyway Eleanor will want you there to look after her; you are the older one after all.

Only by ten minutes.

Although he had seemed to show a lack of concern the previous evening, Eoin took his protective role seriously when Karen delivered them to their school so after the introductions in the hall; he gripped Eleanor’s hand very tightly when they marched off to their classroom. Karen watched them go until the classroom door shut with a gentle click that signalled the start of a new episode in all their lives. Misty eyed, she drove away oblivious to the inquisitive glances directed towards the Bentley and arrived home just in time to say goodbye to David as he set off for his three days in London. Catching the mood of her wistful sadness he chided,

Our fledglings have got to leave the nest and learn to fly one day.

I know, I know. I’m missing them already and I haven’t a clue what to do with myself all day.

You’ll get used to it.

David was right; eventually. For the first fortnight Karen fought the daily boredom until three o clock when she could collect the Twins; she thought about inventing a hobby, maybe painting or writing or even joining a local volunteer group but when she met some of the worthy ladies, she realised that she wouldn’t fit in. They were happy in their little worlds with their little struggles, discussing the daily round of chores, watching the sun rise and then watching it set; a life of blissful mediocrity that led them to their final resting place in the local churchyard. Karen had always been a driven person once her self-belief had been kick started by her Gran but now there was nowhere left to drive. She had everything that most of the world dreamed of and now she wondered how those who had always been rich coped with the lack of the necessity to do anything.

She rang Margaret, who didn’t really understand the problem but said that she spent much of her time reading or listening to music and occasionally directing some gardening, although she welcomed the extra stimulus of the occasional fund raising events for Karen’s charity. Then she rang Plum, who loved to chat but was always busy with the work for ‘PGDK’; the marketing and finance company that David had set up for her and Gregory.

Plum and Gregory were married five years ago with a ceremony that Margaret knew was most likely to be her last opportunity for a big show and they had already produced one child, Christopher, who was now two. Karen had questioned the wisdom of naming her ‘new’ boy after her boy that had been adopted when she was fifteen but Plum had assured her that it would help to reconcile the issue in her mind and now Christopher number two was soon to have a baby sister. Gregory and Plum had solved their work/life routine problems by converting and extending the unused stable block into both a suite of offices for ‘PGDK’ and also their living quarters. ‘We now live above the shop,’ they had joked.

David had been Gregory’s best man, the two of them growing closer since the death of Tony and David now regarded Gregory as his closest companion after Karen. Although Gregory would one day be able to call the family’s wealth his own, David felt sorry that he had not been able to show his true abilities at the venture capital company that used to employ him. Gregory was there for them to exploit his family name, his connections and his accent but even the old school connections had not proved fruitful in his advancement, so both his excellent brain and his expensive education were wasting away.

Karen had hoped for more involvement in ‘PGDK’ but from the start it had been designed as Gregory and Plum’s enterprise, with David and Karen acting only as consultants even though they earned an equal share of the profits from their equal investment. In fact everything that David metaphorically touched turned to gold and as a result he had been invited to become a full partner in his firm two years ago. Karen had long since stopped bothering to find out how much money they had so that she couldn’t become

interested in the seemingly continual offers of yachts and villas for sale for ‘only a few million’.

Why don’t you develop the charity? Had been Plum’s suggestion, and if you had a Nanny, like us, then you could have an evening out occasionally or travel for the charity work.

Karen liked the first suggestion but hated the second. Gregory and Plum had grown up with Nannies and found it only natural to have one for Christopher but it was a convenience with which Karen could not be at ease. Nevertheless, Plum’s wisdom about the charity proved sound and Karen threw her efforts into letter writing and phone calls with Geoffrey and Margaret acting as her emissaries when necessary. During the course of the next year, the result of her endeavours was an expansion of the charity to the point where she was able to support twenty girls from south London schools and had to employ two more office workers to help with the bureaucracy. This had the unfortunate side effect of making Karen feel more isolated at the farm as they had based the workers in the spare office in Beauworth Hall’s stables and there were several occasions when Karen had to dash to Beauworth from dropping the Twins off at school and then rush back to collect them again.

In the back of her mind she knew that this situation could not continue but the importance of the weekends in their haven of peace and their family walks kept her from addressing the issue. Karen and David wanted the Twins to grow strong and healthy, so walking together as a family was a habit that they had started as soon as they were resilient enough and they resisted the pressure from their new found rich friends to spend more weekends aboard their yachts in the Mediterranean.

On one of their precious weekends, they had taken advantage of a fine early summer’s day to walk along the Woodcombe section of the South West Coastal Path and Karen paused to turn and enjoy the view back to Minehead. From their high vantage point, the town looked as though it was laid out like a child’s toy and Karen imagined all its inhabitants rushing around like ants, each one

preoccupied with business important to no-one else. ‘Is this how God sees us all?’ she thought to herself.

Mummy, mummy, I’m tired, pick me up pleeeease.

Karen looked down at her precocious six year old, knowing full well that she was capable of walking further. As Karen looked into Eleanor’s pleading eyes, the soft grin on Eleanor’s face told her that she was really after the chance to hug her mummy and this Karen could not resist, so she swung her up on to her back where she clung on tightly.

The view’s better up here. Eleanor giggled.

As Karen turned back towards the pathway, she caught sight of a tidings of Magpies circling by the trees, young birds learning how to feast on the unfortunate. She remembered the time when, seven years ago she had counted a tidings at the roadside on the day that she met David. Out of habit she ran through the rhyme. One for sorrow, two for joy… . eight’s a wish. Well what could she wish for now? She had a wonderful husband, plenty of money and two children that God must be regretting that He let out of heaven. She would wish that Eoin and Eleanor would be exceptional in every way and have the opportunities to fulfil all of their abilities. With a laugh, she remembered one of her much-loved Gran’s sayings, ‘be careful what you wish for as it might come true! Then she jogged Eleanor higher up onto her back and trotted along the path to catch up with David and Eoin but as she looked around, she realised that Eoin was nowhere to be seen.

David, where’s Eoin got to?

He was here a second ago, . . . . Eoin, Eoin, where are you?

There was no reply to David’s call, so they scanned the edges of the grassy clearing but could see no sign of him. Not knowing which way to search, they called again and David thought he heard a distant reply but could not tell where it came from.

Mummy, Eoin’s hurt himself; he’s in those bushes over there.

Karen jogged in the direction shown by Eleanor’s hand and with David in hot pursuit; they found the place that Eleanor had indicated and found a semi-conscious Eoin lying at the foot of a small tree. David arrived first and gently raised Eoin up.

Eoin are you okay?

I think so Dad, I banged my head and my ankle hurts. I was looking for a bird’s nest in that tree; Sorry.

Eoin, you must take more care, even you aren’t Superman.

A closer inspection revealed a lump on the head, a few scratches and a twisted ankle which meant that they would have to abandon their walk and carry the Twins back to the car. On their way, a puzzled Karen asked Eleanor,

Baby, how did you know where Eoin was?

He called to me mummy.

But we couldn’t hear him… . and he was half knocked out?

I heard him in my head mummy; we can always hear each other when we want to.

Eleanor’s simple statement sent a chill of foreboding through Karen’s heart, she had held a suspicion for some time that the Twins had an unusual ability and this confirmed it. She remembered that there had been an incident at school when some of the girls had encircled Eleanor and shouted names at her. On the other side of the school building, Eoin had suddenly stopped playing football and ran to his sister’s aid; the other children had noticed Eoin’s strange response and she was certain that this ability had ‘spooked’ both the children and teachers alike. Karen’s sudden fear was that her precious children were more special than

she had dared to realise and that they would become ‘freaks’ to all the other children.

The innocence in Eleanor’s description of their ability showed that the Twins thought that their empathetic communication was completely normal, what could she say to them? How could she tell them to keep it hidden without making them even more aware that they were different from the others? She was glad that it was now the school holidays and that they were due to spend a week at Beauworth followed by a fortnight with a group of friends in Majorca, it would give the Twins time to mix with children other than those that they knew from school.

Karen’s opportunity to counsel them about their ability, came when they were enjoying the heat of the sun and the restful sounds of the beach; not the fragmented warmth and rambling noises of the beach at Steart Point but the relentlessly lazy heat and the soothing swishing of the sea at Puerta Pollenca. She had moored their yacht in the bay so that they could enjoy the view while they eat their lunch but the Twins had become restless and wanted to go ashore to play in the sand. David was busy in Palma finalising the purchase of the villa that they had inspected earlier that week and Karen had decided to let him endure that tedious task alone while she sailed around the island with the Twins.

As she lazed and relaxed, Karen could see that Eoin was trying to build a castle and she smiled at his frustration as he found that the sand was too soft. Then she automatically scanned around to check where Eleanor had wandered to and for an instant her heart froze. A large hairy dog was bounding towards her; it was being playful and did not look vicious but for some reason Eleanor had always been scared of dogs and its sudden appearance would shock her. Eleanor hadn’t noticed the dog running towards her as she was wading through the shoreline ripples, watching the swirls that she was kicking up in the sand and in that instant Karen urged her to look up and move out of the way. Before Karen had time to shout out, both Eleanor and Eoin looked up; Eoin ran towards the dog, clapping his hands to draw it away and Eleanor ran to the safety of her mother.

Once Eleanor had finished her obligatory safety cuddle, Karen hesitantly asked her,

Did you hear me?

We both heard you mummy.

You know this thing you do, you know, being able to hear each other in your head, can you hear me too?

Not often mummy, because you don’t try, we only hear you when you’re upset or angry at us.

I don’t get angry at you.

"Oh yes you do, where are those two little nuisances of mine?"

Eoin mimicked her thoughts, that’s when we know we have to behave because you’re having a bad day.

Karen paused to take in this disturbing yet strangely comforting information.

You know that this isn’t normal, I mean, most people can’t do this?

Yes mummy, we know; Abi told us, she said that we had to be careful.

Eoin’s information stunned Karen. She had never spoken to them about Abi and they had only once been to the Lodge, just two weeks ago.

How do you know about Abi?

We met her in the garden, when we went to inspect her lodge before the holidays.

She said that we were special children, interrupted Eleanor, and we had abilities that other children don’t have, so we must be careful not to make them jealous or we won’t have any friends.

Why didn’t she see me? I would have loved to see her again.

She said that you didn’t need her anymore mummy, she said you’d understand.

Karen did not understand, at least not then; so when they returned to England, she took the Twins to the Lodge and walked slowly around the garden, hoping that she would find Abi tending the flowers. She was disappointed and tearfully she stepped out of the garden gate to look over the fields where the Twins had been miraculously conceived; she wanted to ask Abi if she had been doing the right things for the Twins and she wanted to know whether she was happy with what she’d done with the Lodge.

Turning back to the garden, she saw two of the teenage children that were on a respite visit playing with the Twins and giving them ‘twizzes’, they were all laughing happily without a care in the world and Karen knew that she’d done the right thing. She hoped that this moment would stay in the memories of the respite children for the rest of their lives, just as her visits to Stonehenge with her Gran had been a source of peace for her. Now feeling contented and relaxed, she was startled to feel the gentle touch of a hand upon her shoulder.

Don’t turn around my dear; you won’t be able to see me. Why are you so anxious? Isn’t everything going well?

Abi? . . . . Abi, I’m so worried about the Twins, because of their abilities and because, well, because I’m not sure what to do.

What to do dear? Why, what is it that you are not doing well? Just trust to things, do as your heart guides you; you will have to make choices in the near future but if I tell you what to do, then you are not learning either, this is not just about the Twins.

Abi, could you hug me please? I really need a hug from you, if I turn around and keep my eyes closed?

The brief but soothing hug lifted Karen’s spirits and when she drove the Twins home, she felt that once again she had left so many of her troubles at Abi’s Lodge. The Twins just smiled at her peacefulness; they knew.

Chapter Two

The next year passed with a speed that both surprised and perplexed Karen and David, it seemed as if they had done so little despite having re-fitted their new villa and spending four million to upgrade their yacht to a forty-two metre boat. It had meant more weekends in Majorca than in Bridgewater and now Karen had become bored with the flying so for Karen it was a relief to be sitting on the very unglamorous beach at Steart Point watching the Twins chasing each other up and down the sand.

The Twins were now seven and struggling at school; they were not struggling through lack of intelligence, far from it; they were bored. Karen had lavished upon them the only things that any child needs to reach its full potential, love and attention; as a result their natural abilities had grown at such a pace that they had outstripped the school’s ability to present them with any challenges. They were stunningly clever and the other children, as well as some of the teachers, had become suspicious and jealous of their abilities; then the bullying and name calling had started along with the snide comments about their ‘rich mother’.

She had confronted the head-teacher about the situation but had received little sympathy from her; behind those bespectacled eyes Karen could see that she too resented both her and her children. As a result, Karen had exploded with maternal wrath, shouting ‘I was bullied at school because I was too poor to have decent clothes and now my children are being bullied because I am successful and because they are too intelligent for your limited expectations!’

It was an argument that the smug head-teacher would regret, she did not know the power of Karen’s connections and she was ‘obliged’ to write a letter of apology that was as dreary as her cheaply printed dress. Still, it had not resolved the situation,

the Twins needed to be somewhere else. What was she to do? Where was she going to find a place that could cope with her little prodigies?

Margaret desperately wanted her to move into Beauworth, there was plenty of room, now that Gregory and Plum were settled in the stable block and Margaret had suggested that the old guest wing could be converted into Karen and David’s home. Margaret had also pointed out that there were excellent schools in the Winchester area, where using a Bentley Arnage for the school run would not cause any undue comment. Karen suspected that Margaret’s real motivation was to have all the children filling the Hall with noise and making it feel like a family home again but Karen was frightened that the end result would see the inevitability of all the children going off to boarding school.

Since Jenny’s tragic death, Margaret’s had expressed her regret about the difficulties experienced by Jenny at boarding school and wished that she had acted upon Jenny’s complaints instead of ignoring them and creating the rift between them that Karen had helped to heal. Despite this change of heart, Karen expected that the creeping entanglements of tradition would smother this new honesty and as Gregory and Plum had enjoyed their time at boarding school, they had no qualms about sending Christopher to Harrow; this would make it difficult for her to resist the same fate being pressed upon the Twins.

David was fully in favour of moving to Beauworth as he was struggling to limit his time in London to three days a week now that he had become a principle partner in his company and as a result he did not see the Twins as much as he wanted to. His idea was that they should use the farm for the weekends so that they could continue with their walks in the Quantock and Brendon hills as well as visiting the beach; Karen could see all the logic in the move and she knew that it would also help her with her contribution to ‘PGDK’ and the ‘Caddington Trust’.

With the extra staff needed for the trust and ‘PGDK’, Beauworth had become a busy place and the Twins loved it; they loved the

grounds, they loved making pastry animals and jam tarts with Cook and they loved the company of Christopher, though they treated his baby sister Charlotte more like a pet. It did not help that Collins, Mrs. Collins, Cook and Miss Thurwell (Gregory and Plum’s nanny), all adored the Twins and this ready and appreciative audience was always there to accommodate the Twins unceasing inquisitiveness.

As Karen thought it through, she realised that the best place for the Twins would be Beauworth Hall and that they should convert the guest wing into their home. The problem lay within her-self; she had to admit that some part of her needed the farm as a place of refuge, a place to hide away now that her tough outer shell had dissolved by the happiness of her new life and she knew that some part of her had still not healed from the distress of her childhood. Would it ever heal? Would the damage be an ever present wound?

Now it was decision time, a difficult decision that Karen had never anticipated in her fulfilled dreams of happiness. She decided that she must not let the damage of her own childhood limit the aspirations of her children and so she decided that the Twins should choose where they wanted to live. Content with this choice, Karen threw a thought out to the Twins, something that she had now learnt to do without being emotional and they came running up the beach to sit on either side of her so that she could cuddle them both.

Karen waited while the Twins silently debated the issue.

The Twins were looking out to sea and not at each other but when Karen looked down at them, she thought that she could pick up some of the images that they were throwing at each other and she realised that this was as difficult an issue for them as it was for her. To Karen’s surprise it was Eleanor who spoke.

Mummy we can visit this beach again can’t we?

Yes of course darling.

And we can do the walks in the hills sometimes?

Yes, Daddy and I would miss that too.

Then we want to live at Beauworth and go to a new school.

We could come back here at weekends Mummy, when you need somewhere quiet, added Eoin perceptively, and go to Majorca in the school holidays.

If you’re both happy with that my babies, then that is what we will do, I know that Daddy thinks we should be at Beauworth so he can see you more often. I’d better tell Margaret, she’ll be happy about it too.

"Lady Maaargaret!" giggled Eleanor.

The news of the move was welcomed by all and the enthusiasm that the family showed for the prospect of having them at Beauworth rubbed off on Karen so that all her worries were swept aside as she set about turning the guest wing into a separate home. As predicted by Margaret, there was no problem in finding the Twins a school that welcomed them as eagerly as they welcomed their fees and so they were kitted out in smart new uniforms in which they paraded around the Hall for a whole day.

By the time the new school year started they were enjoying the best of all situations, the ‘Caddington Wing’ as it was now called worked well as a private home but as it was connected to the main Hall, they had just to walk down a corridor to make use of the breakfast and dining rooms. The Twins enjoyed being waited on by Cook and Collins so much that they instigated a habit of the whole family having breakfasts together which thrilled both Cook and Collins as they now felt that they were doing ‘a proper job’. In fact the only problem with this newly instigated family tradition was in having to restrain Eleanor from over-feeding baby Charlotte.

Karen created a private terrace and garden at the back of their wing so that she did not miss the privacy of the farm. To replace the vista down to the River Parrett she had two trees cut back to

give a view over Beauworth’s grounds towards the hills where she would often see the magpies that had fledged that summer swooping through the fields to prey on the weaker creatures.

The inevitable result was that the farm was little used; they had discovered many walks in the South Downs close to Beauworth and taken delight in finding new places to explore in the New Forest and along the coast. The Twins didn’t seem to miss the farm much either, for them Beauworth’s grounds became a new adventure; it was safe enough for them to wander off on ‘expeditions’ with Christopher to hunt for ‘wild animals’ and to build little dams in the stream where they could splash themselves into a muddy hysteria. As for the school holiday, they had spent it in Majorca as Eoin had predicted and they had been joined by Gregory, Plum and the children, who enjoyed it so much that they suggested that they, Geoffrey and Margaret should buy one of the neighbouring villas.

Christmas came as rapidly as the British weather had deteriorated and the farm had been visited only the once. They had gone to check that everything there was okay and the obligatory visit to the beach had failed to inspire any of them; with a wistful sadness, Karen realised that they had outgrown the place. Maybe in years to come they would return to resurrect the fond memories that were the foundation of their family life but for now it was jaded. There had been no real reason to be there other than the location being convenient for the jobs that had ceased to exist years ago. Neither Karen nor David now had any connection to this part of the country other than Abi’s Lodge and that was thirty five miles further south.

That first Christmas at Beauworth was to be the final nail in the farm’s coffin. For both David and Karen, Christmas was a precious time that helped them to heal the disappointments of their own childhood as well as a special time with the Twins and they had feared that this would be lost at Beauworth. They were wrong. They enjoyed both a private time of opening their stockings with the Twins as well as a bigger family event where they all opened their presents by the large tree in the ballroom followed by a huge

Christmas dinner. Added to his was a ‘Grand Christmas Ball’ arranged by Margaret.

Although Margaret still held a slight hope that her nieces would allow her to host their weddings, she had decided to sustain the expertise developed through the three family weddings by holding regular events at the Hall for family and friends. So for the first time in fifteen years, Beauworth became the venue for a seasonal special event and of course the Twins took a starring role ably assisted by Christopher. Karen had regretted not taking more of an opportunity to play Gran’s old upright piano and insisted that the Twins learn to play an instrument properly as soon as they were able. Eoin had taken to the piano but Eleanor had preferred the violin and had just progressed from a half size to a three-quarters sized instrument. Their arrival at Beauworth had aroused Christopher’s interest and to Plum’s delight had quickly shown good enough ability on the ‘cello to form a trio with the Twins. While the chamber orchestra had their mid-session break they performed a couple of short pieces, followed by Eleanor’s singing of ‘All I want for Christmas’ which melted everybody’s hearts.

When the enthusiastic applause had died away, Eleanor declared that she wasn’t going to bed unless mummy sang with her. Karen’s mild embarrassment turned into tearful surprise at Eleanor’s choice as she threw the thought to her that she wanted to sing ‘Jesus bids me shine’ but she’d managed to compose herself by the time she sat on the edge of the stage between the Twins and she sang with them despite her thoughts being drawn towards the coldness of the churchyard that held Jenny and Tony’s remains. Another hearty round of applause prompted Eleanor to give a little curtsy before Plum and Karen, both glowing with pride, led their children away to their bedtime. As they mounted the stairs, Eoin chose to speak his thought out aloud.

We wanted to sing it for Jenny.

I know my darling, I know.

She should have been with us added Eleanor.

Yes my little love she should, I wish she was; I miss her a lot.

The next morning was a beautiful crisp and bright day with a wispy veil of alto-stratus clouds flying ahead of a heavy bank of cumulo-nimbus that would bring the snow that the Twins had longed for and they watched its approach with noses pressed hard against the panes of the French windows. Despite the cold and despite wearing only her dressing gown and slippers, Karen wandered out onto the terrace with her coffee to admire the glistening dew that coated everything with a diamond-like radiance that sparkled in the bright morning sun.

As she watched the steam of her coffee rise to meet the clouds, she fully realised that she did not feel like a visitor nor like a guest, however welcome, and that Beauworth really was their home. Even though she did not own the stone, timber and slate that formed the ‘Caddington Wing’, she knew that this place belonged to them and that they were as much a secure part of it as the generations of De’ath-Fitzwilliams who had arrived here by accident of birth. There was no resentment from Gregory and Plum that she had gained the better part of the Hall to live in; they loved their accommodation in the stable block and they were so happy that the Twins had caused the shy Christopher to come out of his shell and blossom as a young boy, that every time that Plum smiled at Karen, Karen could see a ‘thank you’ in her eyes.

She went back into the kitchen when David came down for his caffeine fix and they sat together for their personal tradition of croissants and chocolate spread.

The Twins still asleep?

Still snoring away, they take after their mother of course.

"I don’t snore; we’ve had this discussion before, unless of course you want a chocolate croissant up your nose."

You wouldn’t do that Karen; you couldn’t bear to waste the chocolate.

Maybe we should go back to bed and take the chocolate spread with us?

"Then we would wake the Twins up and you would have some explaining to do!"

"Are you happy here David? I mean really happy? I know that the Twins are."

Yes I am, I wish we’d moved here sooner.

I’ve been thinking that we may as well sell the farm.

You’re sure that you wouldn’t miss the beach?

As long as I pay it a visit whenever I go to inspect Abi’s Lodge, that will be enough to keep the memories alive.

Then sell it if you’re sure.

Three months later when the azaleas where struggling to drive away the colourless gloom of winter, the farm had still not attracted any buyers and Karen’s agent wrote to suggest that they lower the asking price. The problem was that it was too grand for its rural location and it was too far from Bristol to attract that city’s wealthy worthies. She was going to discuss the farm’s price with David before they went to the parent’s evening at the twin’s school that night but with less than an hour before David was due to be back at Beauworth, he called with his apologies.

I’m really sorry my love but I can’t get back in time for the parent’s evening, we’ve had an emergency meeting of the partners today and I’d hoped it would be over by now, it’s something that we didn’t expect… .

Is it trouble?

"It’s difficult, I’ll explain later