Larkrigg Fell Read Free Page B

more spiritual. I feel as if I belong here. Don’t you?’
    Sarah made a rude sound in her throat.
    They came to a pair of standing stones some short distance from the main drive which wound onward up to the house. Beth was instantly intrigued. ‘I wonder what those are meant to be? They’re huge, yet appear to have been placed here deliberately. Who could have had the strength? Remains of a stone circle, do you think?
    Sarah wasn’t listening. She had pushed open the huge wooden gate that hung on a pair of limestone posts. It gave off a loud creak and she couldn’t help but giggle. ‘It’s like something out of a Hammer Horror movie. Hardly your rural idyll. Decaying old mausoleum, more like.’
    ‘Oh, no. It’s lovely.’ One fat drop of rain fell on to Beth’s nose but she didn’t notice. She was too enchanted with the bewitching scenery, and with the anticipation of seeing at last the house of her dreams. It formed a dark, intriguing shadow at the end of the long drive. Large, rectangular and grey-stoned, its tall narrow windows blank, just inviting her to peer within. Again she shivered and crossed her fingers behind her back. Let it be lovely, she begged, nudging aside small misgivings, or her precious dreams would be over before they’d hardly begun.
    Sarah simply scowled, wishing herself anywhere but here in damp Lakeland.
    The sound of a car tearing up the track behind them caught their attention just as they were about to start the trek up the drive. It lurched to a halt beside them, a window was wound down and a tousled blonde head popped out. ‘You won’t be able to get in. All doors and windows are locked and shuttered. You couldn’t see a thing.’
    Both twins turned to stare at this person who had so unexpectedly appeared out of nowhere and seemed to know exactly where they were going. She was now climbing out of a filthy yellow mini, the bonnet of which was decorated with the painting of a huge golden eagle with outspread wings. Beth stared at it, highly impressed. ‘Did you do that?’
    Tessa nodded, grinning as if they were old friends. ‘Hobby of mine. Sorry I missed you at the station. Your taxi was just leaving as I drove in.’
    ‘Par for the course,’ Sarah said, rather sourly. ‘It’s been that sort of day.’
    The new arrival pretended not to have heard this cutting remark. Dressed in blue tank top and flared trousers she introduced herself and James.
    The two girls smiled uncertainly at the baby, now barely discernible beneath a coating of chocolate, then Sarah asked, ‘You wouldn’t have a key, I suppose?’
    Tessa shook her head. ‘Meg probably has.’
    ‘But she isn’t in,’ Sarah tartly replied. ‘That’s why we came up here. We were bored stiff with waiting. And cold. Hardly the best welcome, I can tell you.’
    Tessa flushed and looked embarrassed. ‘Don’t blame Meg for that. I offered to fetch you because she had a meeting she couldn’t cancel, only I got held up. Sorry.’
    ‘That’s OK,’ Beth said, before Sarah had chance to make any more rude remarks. ‘We’ll see inside Larkrigg Hall some other time. We were simply amusing ourselves. It’s all so wonderful, isn’t it?’ The wind tossed a spray of raindrops in her face but she wiped them away with the flat of her hand and returned the slide to her wayward hair. ‘We’ve quite fallen in love with the place already.’
    Tessa raised arched brows right up into her straggly fringe. ‘You’ve hardly clapped eyes on it yet. It’s a mess inside, or so I’m told.’
    ‘She’s a romantic and falls in love very easily,’ Sarah explained, casting her sister a scathing glance. ‘I, on the other hand, am far more level-headed.’
    Tessa gave her an assessing look. ‘I can imagine.’ Then a roguish smile. ‘You both look like something the cat’s dragged in, if you don’t mind my saying so? Probably because it’s raining and you’re both getting soaked. Come on. Pile in.’
    ‘Agreed. Curiosity