Page 16 of A Sky Painted Gold

“Oh, no,” he says, taking a step back. “Please, after you.” He gestures with a sweep of his arm. His manners are so polished, as absolutely smooth as the glass marbles that Tom carries in his pockets. His unflappability only makes me feel more awkward.

“Fine,” I say, scrambling across the sand and plunging up the steps at such a speed that I am left waiting for him when I reach the top. I take a moment to admire the view. The mainland looks so pretty in the heavy gathering light that fills the sky before a sunset. The house positively glows, the honey-coloured stones lit as though from the inside. I hear the ripple of the breeze through the trees, and it’s like they’re speaking to me, welcoming me back. I feel a shiver of anticipation. It’s already the sort of evening where it feels like anything could happen.

Robert appears at my shoulder. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I ask softly.

“I suppose so,” he says, running his eyes dismissively over the scene. I suspect that the trees don’t speak to him very often. He’s probably comparing the scene in front of him to London and Paris and goodness knows where else. He has that air of someone who has seen it all. The thought jabs at me. I’m envious, I realize, that he’s seen so much, and annoyed too that he seems to care so little about it all. It’s no wonder he gets bored easily. Well, it’s his loss if he can’t appreciate a gorgeous evening like this one.

“Why did you decide to come back for the summer?” I ask. If he’s so underwhelmed by this scene it seems a strange decision.

There’s a brief pause. “My sister fancied the change of scenery.” His voice is bland. “The sea air makes a pleasant change from London.”

“Oh,” I say. Hardly a glowing description. The poor house deserves better than “a pleasant change”. I feel angry on its behalf.

He looks down. “Thinking about my shins again?” he asks, and I realize we are standing quite close to one another.

I jump to the side like a startled cat and pull myself up very straight. “As a matter of fact I wasn’t thinking about you at all,” I say, very much on my dignity.

We are walking up the drive towards the house when the front door swings open and a girl appears, running towards me to clasp my hands in hers. She looks like a fairy princess, floating in a cloud of white silk and chiffon. White feathers crown her shingled head, although her pale hair looks almost silver in this light. Several strings of pearls are wrapped around her slender neck, and on her feet are the most gorgeous white silk slippers, a bit like you’d expect a prima ballerina to wear. I recognize her at once as the girl who was hanging out of the back of the car that drove through Alice’s wedding.

“Darling!” she exclaims, pressing a warm kiss on each of my cheeks. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Louise, this is my sister, Caitlin,” Robert says.

“Please, call me Lou,” I manage.

“Lou!” Caitlin sings, and my poor little name has never sounded so poetic. “I cannot tell you how pleased I am that you decided to accept the invitation.”

“I—” I begin, my eyes sliding over to Robert, searching for clues as to how the invitation came about in the first place. I should have asked him when we were on the boat, I realize. “I’m glad to be here,” I say finally. “I wasn’t sure that I’d exactly be welcome back, after last time…”

Caitlin slips her arm through mine, so I don’t see Robert’s reaction to this. His sister, however, is an open book. “Goodness, don’t worry about that,” she says, her eyes sparkling as though she’s enjoying a great game. “You’re not the first gatecrasher we’ve had, but most of them are terrible, dull things. You, on the other hand … you’re different, I can tell. A breath of fresh air.” She tips her head slightly to one side, assessing me. Whatever she’s looking for, she obviously finds it, because she nods approvingly. “Oh, yes, Robert, you were so right,” she calls over her shoulder before returning her attention to me. “We are going to be fast friends, I can see it already.”

Robert mutters something under his breath, and I think it sounds like, “God, help me.” I wonder what on earth he has said to Caitlin.

“Well, I’m glad,” I say, and it’s true. It’s difficult not to fall for Caitlin’s charm. She shares that essential quality with Alice, no matter how different the two of them seem on the surface. Strange, I think, that she seems to have more in common with Alice than she does with Robert. Her easy friendliness is a million miles away from his closed-off arrogance.

“You look beautiful,” I say to Caitlin now, trying hard to keep the envy out of my voice. I feel shabby and awkward in my makeshift outfit, out of place next to all her splendour.

Caitlin lets go of my arm and skips around in a little circle, a pleased smile on her lips. “It did turn out rather well, didn’t it? But you look absolutely delicious. Where did you get that darling dress?”

“Um, from my sister,” I say cautiously.

“Everyone’s going to go mad for you,” Caitlin continues with absolute certainty. “You look so fresh, like a little snowdrop. You’ll be all the rage!”

I choke down a giggle at this, imagining a rush on net curtains. I feel a pang of queasy nervousness at the thought of meeting all these people. Will they really like me? Or will they take one look at me and see a fraud in a nightdress?

“Robert, take Lou’s bag up to the blue room, will you?” Caitlin calls over her shoulder, her voice cutting through my anxious thoughts. “And hurry up and change. It’s almost time for dinner.”

“Yes, sir,” Robert says, but Caitlin is already dragging me into the house. This is it. It’s time for everything to really begin.

CHAPTER

EIGHT

If the house was beautiful in its abandoned state, now it is positively dazzling. I feel a strange thrill at the sight of this once-familiar space transformed into something so spectacular. We stand for a moment in the entrance hall with its gleaming marble floor and enormous glass chandelier while I look about me. Caitlin is walking ahead, very much at ease in these spectacular surroundings. It is then that I realize Robert has disappeared with the bag that contains my pink shoes. My feet are still bare and – I see with mounting horror – slightly sandy from the walk. I stand frozen for a second. What can I do? I’m going to have to confess to the dazzling fairy princess next to me.

“Um, Caitlin,” I say quietly, though it still feels as if my words are bouncing off the polished walls. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but I haven’t got any shoes.”

Caitlin comes to a stop and turns, looking down at my feet. “So you haven’t,” she says.