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Back Where The Story Starts Save as PDF
Chapters (65)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. CONTENTS
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. 49
  54. 50
  55. 51
  56. 52
  57. 53
  58. 54
  59. 55
  60. 56
  61. 57
  62. 58
  63. BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS
  64. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  65. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Clio fondled the ears of the aged Labrador who sat in a heap at her feet, enjoying running her fingers over their velvety softness. How annoying it would be to have someone fiddling with your ears like that, she thought, but he seemed to enjoy it. Years of practice, no doubt. The dog, Mozart, had been her father’s, bought shortly after he had been made leader of the orchestra and had stopped being away from the Hall as much. The pair of them had become inseparable and Mozart was still pining for his master, not really understanding, Clio assumed, why he had disappeared so suddenly. Clio knew that the dog was unlikely to live much longer himself and she swallowed down a gulp as she tried to banish the thought of yet more death at the Hall.

Leah had been great. She was everything that Clio would want in a friend. Vivacious, kind-hearted, determined and open to new ideas in a way that was less common than you’d imagine. Before they had met, a little part of Clio had hoped that Leah would be sullen and unlikeable; that would have made the situation easier to deal with, but in her heart she was delighted to have been proved wrong. And Leah’s children were charming too. They were all lovely.

Clio slumped deeper into the feathery sofa and hugged her knees into her chest. In fact, Leah’s whole set-up made her feel even more inadequate than she had before. Yes, her father had recently died but that aside, Clio’s life was entirely charmed. So why did she feel so empty so much of the time? The only solution must be some fault in her personality. Clio knew this to be true. She had had every advantage in life and yet here she was, doing nothing and going nowhere. Looked at from that angle, meeting Leah just enhanced her overall feelings of pointlessness.

In different circumstances, maybe she and Leah could have been friends. Clio would have liked that. But as things stood it would be unfair to chase a relationship there. The best thing for Leah was for Clio to just drop out of her life. Clio had sated her curiosity and that would have to be enough. There was nothing to be gained by pulling their different worlds any closer together. It was a shame, but that was the grown-up thing to do.

Clio unfolded herself from the sofa and went to make herself a drink. Mozart struggled to his feet and padded after her, his tail wagging feebly as he went.

5

5

GRACE – THEN