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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

The day dragged. I couldn’t stop thinking of Jago working up at The Cliff House. I wanted to be there. I wanted to be lying on the terrace with the water lapping gently at the black walls of the pool as Eleanor drank champagne and Max barbecued. I imagined my brother painting the railings. Shirt off. Sun on his back. Edie taking him a glass of blackcurrant. Ice clinking. I gently kicked the base of the display cabinet to ease the resentment I was feeling. Why should he be up there while I was stuck here stacking shelves with nothing to do but tease tourists for entertainment?

I leant back against the counter and held my hands out in front of me to admire my nails. The colour was gorgeous, exactly the same shade as the inside of a conch shell. I hoped they would last until the party or, if not, that Eleanor might do them again. I was determined to grow mine like hers, long talons, which I’d paint a brilliant red, the colour of postboxes. I’d loved Eleanor doing my nails, her hand holding mine, the look of concentration on her face as she lavished me with attention. I wondered what other things I was missing out on which Eleanor and I could do together. So much, I was certain. Mum worked pretty much all the time and when she wasn’t at work, she was doing the housework or the ironing or weeding the backyard. And when she wasn’t doing that she was sleeping, more often than not, in her clothes on the settee, her camp bed still folded next to the wall, the ten o’clock news on, an untouched cup of tea held loosely in her hand. Though it was awful to admit it, if I had to choose one of them to spend time with, I think I’d have chosen Eleanor over Mum. Though, of course, I’d never tell Mum that. Or, indeed, Edie.

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY

Edie

July 1986

Edie had gone outside as soon as they started fighting, but the doors from the study to the terrace were wide open and she could still hear every single word. She sat at one of the chairs on the terrace and glanced down towards Jago, wondering if he could hear them as well. Thankfully, it appeared not, as he was focusing intently on sanding the last few uprights.

‘Why the hell are you lying?’ cried her mother, drawing Edie’s attention away from Jago and back to the shouting.

‘I’m not.’ He sounded more weary than angry. ‘I told you it was a publishing event.’

‘Yes. You did. A publishing event. To which you decided to turn up with an unnamed brunette instead of your wife?’