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Chapters (82)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise for The House of Whispers
  3. Title Page
  4. Note to Readers
  5. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  13. Seven
  14. Eight
  15. Nine
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  19. Twelve
  20. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  21. Thirteen
  22. Fourteen
  23. Fifteen
  24. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  25. Sixteen
  26. Seventeen
  27. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  28. Eighteen
  29. Nineteen
  30. Twenty
  31. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  32. Twenty-One
  33. Twenty-Two
  34. Twenty-Three
  35. Twenty-Four
  36. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  37. Twenty-Five
  38. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  39. Twenty-Six
  40. Twenty-Seven
  41. Twenty-Eight
  42. Twenty-Nine
  43. Thirty
  44. Thirty-One
  45. Thirty-Two
  46. Thirty-Three
  47. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  48. Thirty-Four
  49. Thirty-Five
  50. Thirty-Six
  51. Thirty-Seven
  52. Thirty-Eight
  53. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  54. Thirty-Nine
  55. Forty
  56. Forty-One
  57. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  58. Forty-Two
  59. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  60. Forty-Three
  61. Forty-Four
  62. Forty-Five
  63. Forty-Six
  64. Forty-Seven
  65. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  66. Forty-Eight
  67. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  68. Forty-Nine
  69. Fifty
  70. Fifty-One
  71. Fifty-Two
  72. Fifty-Three
  73. Fifty-Four
  74. Fifty-Five
  75. Fifty-Six
  76. Fifty-Seven
  77. Fifty-Eight
  78. Fifty-Nine
  79. Sixty
  80. Priory Hospital North London: 20 December 2019
  81. Acknowledgements
  82. About the Publisher

‘… left her with you,’ Mili interrupted, rolling her eyes. ‘Yeah, yeah, I know, but it’s just not practical. I work four days a week. You wouldn’t be able to do anything if you had her with you. Think about your charity work! Anyway – let’s not go over that again. I’m starving. What are you all having?’

‘We haven’t looked,’ said Rohan, although I knew exactly what both he and his mum would order.

‘Hmm, maybe the pepperoni?’ Rohan licked his lips. ‘And what about you, my love? My gorgeous artiste?’ He pronounced the word with a long ‘ee’ as he looked at me over steepled fingers.

‘Ooh,’ said Mili, who never missed a trick. ‘Are you painting again?’

‘I caught her mixing colours this evening,’ Rohan said, nodding as if he were my manager. ‘I think she might be onto something.’

‘Another dog?’ Meena said with a little laugh. Her fingers fiddled with the paper napkin.

‘No,’ said Rohan slowly. He looked at me with narrowed eyes, a tilted head and the hint of a smile. ‘I could see something was bubbling inside her. The colours – they looked like skin tones. What do you think it’s going to be? I’m thinking a portrait? Am I right?’

I shook my head vaguely. I hated talking about my work, especially when it was still in this opaque state.

‘Oh, come on! You must have some idea,’ said Meena. ‘What was in your head? You can tell us.’ She leaned further towards me, eyes wide and I pictured her on the phone to her coffee-morning friends telling them I was painting again. These are women who inhale Chinese whispers like oxygen: by mid-morning I’d have painted a whole collection; by the afternoon, I’d be ‘exhibiting’; by this time tomorrow, my entire collection would be ‘pre-sold’.

Patience. I closed my eyes, inhaled deeply, exhaled, then said, ‘Rohan’s right.’ I smiled at him. ‘I think it might be a portrait.’

Mili nodded. ‘A departure. Good. It’s good not to get typecast, so to speak.’ I smiled; she knew nothing about art, but then she said, ‘Do you have a muse?’ and I stared at her with my mouth half open as things slid into place in my head and I thought: you know what, Mils, that’s actually a really good question.