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Back The Cliff House Save as PDF
Chapters (64)
  1. Cover
  2. Booklist
  3. Title Page
  4. Praise
  5. Dedication
  6. Prologue
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  24. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  25. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  61. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  62. Epilogue
  63. Acknowledgements
  64. About the Publisher

Her hands rested in her lap and he leant over and laid his on top of them. They held eyes for a moment then she eased away from him and opened the car door.

‘If you change your mind about tonight let me know.’

As she watched him drive away, his exhaust spluttering small coughs of black fumes into the fresh sea air, she wished he’d asked to stay for a quick cup of tea.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Tamsyn

July 1986

We walked along the path in single file and, even though it was supposed to be me showing her the way, Edie walked ahead. I noticed she had a small cross on her left shoulder, black and uneven, as if it had been drawn in felt tip pen with a shaky hand.

‘Is that a tattoo?’

‘Yup. I got it when I was fourteen.’ She glanced back at me briefly. ‘I did it myself.’

‘Yourself?’

She nodded.

‘What did your mum say?’

‘One of the plus points of boarding school is no parents watching and plenty of opportunity to break the rules.’

‘God, mine would go mental.’

Edie stopped walking and turned. There was a mischievous glint in her eye. ‘You know, you should totally get one. Shall I do it for you?’

‘Really?’

Edie nodded vigorously. ‘Yes. Really. I’d love to.’

It was a nice idea, the thought of Edie etching my skin with ink, but there was no way I could get a tattoo. I wasn’t joking about Mum going mad. She thought tattoos were disgusting and couldn’t understand why anybody would want to deface their body in such a permanent way. ‘I can’t. She really would kill me.’

‘You’re such a good girl, aren’t you?’ Her eyes narrowed a fraction and her voice had a sudden unkind edge, as if being a good girl was the very worst thing I could be.

She started walking again and I fixed my eyes on the mark, picturing it on my own skin, matching, like hers.

We walked down the steps, a sturdy construction of thick wire, wooden slats, ropes and heavy stakes driven into the sand. The ground was sheltered from the harsh onshore winds here, and orange lilies and delicate pinks grew amongst lush fronds of fern which tumbled down the sandy slope in a glorious carpet of colour. When I stepped onto the beach, I pulled off my shoes, and dug my toes into the sand, pushing them through the layer of hot and dry to the cool damp beneath. We walked down towards the sea and stopped at the reach of the break, where we stood side by side, the waves running up to kiss our feet with spume.