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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

Grace, I realized right then and there, was my muse. Not only was it because of her that I’d started to paint back at university, but it was as a result of her encouragement that I’d managed to secure that first gallery exhibition, the one that had launched my career. She’d pushed me out there to meet people in the industry; she’d forced me to approach gallery managers. But there was also something far less tangible about her influence. Something to do with the way she challenged me. She fired me to places I would never otherwise have gone. She did something to my head; allowed me access to things I otherwise couldn’t see.

There was also the fact that, once upon a time, she’d saved my life.

Rohan, Mili and Meena were all looking at me across the table. Meena’s head was tilted sideways, her face hungry to receive the information that would be transmitted like a news bulletin to the aunties on her WhatsApp groups. Mili’s face was open with curiosity and a genuine interest, and Rohan was smiling indulgently with his eyes half closed. It was the perfect chance to say, ‘Actually, yes, she’s called Grace and, hold onto your hats, because she’s coming to stay!’ but I couldn’t do it – not here, not like this.

‘Nah,’ I said, scrunching up my forehead. ‘I don’t have a muse. Well, not that I know of.’ I laughed, and they laughed with me.

‘Yes, let her hit the big-time, then she’ll get a muse,’ Meena said. ‘But, first, she needs to have a baby!’ She rubbed her hands together and Mili looked at her watch.

‘Ten minutes,’ she whispered to me. ‘Not bad.’

‘Anyway, beta,’ Meena said to Rohan, innocently, I think. ‘Did you decide whether to take the job in New York?’ and it was as if the world stopped turning. Every sound fell away: the scrape of knife on plate, the clatter of crockery, the shouts from the open kitchen, the sound of the cars passing, the buzz of conversation in the restaurant – even the din from the pub across the road – everything faded away as I held my breath and waited to hear what Rohan would say.

Nine