Everything is Beautiful by Eleanor Ray (classic literature list .TXT) 📗

her eyes fixed on Amy. ‘Oh, hello again,’ she said. ‘You’re all dressed up.’ Her eyes went back to Richard.

‘I found some old clothes . . . ’ began Amy.

‘Indeed,’ said Nina. ‘Richard, you didn’t tell me we had company?’

‘I’m actually here to see Charles,’ said Amy.

‘Of course,’ said Nina. ‘Charles, you have a perfectly good room to play in without coming in here.’ She turned to Richard. ‘Tell him, darling.’

‘He didn’t mean any harm,’ said Richard, shoving the underwear back in the drawer. Nina went over and took them out again.

‘Silk needs to be folded,’ she said.

Amy saw the look in Nina’s eye. ‘We’re all sorry, Nina,’ she said.

‘Would you like some help folding?’

‘Goodbye, Amy,’ said Nina.

‘But Amy hasn’t had any pineapple juice yet,’ objected Charles.

‘I’m sure Amy is very busy,’ said Nina. ‘Aren’t you?’

Amy slipped through the door and hurried down the stairs.

The next evening Amy saw a woman at her door as she walked home from the station. She felt a moment’s annoyance and stood back to wait for the person to put whatever flyer she had through her door and leave. It was a large, matriarchal woman wearing loose floral trousers. Amy felt herself coveting them, even though they’d be several sizes too big for her. After she’d come home the previous evening, she’d created a pathway to her old wardrobe and was enjoying wearing the odd bit of colour again. It made every day feel a little more hopeful. To Amy’s surprise, the woman bent forwards and peered through Amy’s letterbox.

‘Can I help you?’ said Amy, in a tone that told the woman she wanted her to leave.

‘Are you Amy Ashton?’ the woman asked, with a jovial smile that revealed teeth of a shade suggesting she enjoyed tea and coffee. Or red wine.

Amy frowned at her. ‘Who wants to know?’ she asked.

‘I’m Leah Silverton,’ said the woman. ‘From the council.’

Amy looked at her blankly. Leah waved an identity badge from a lanyard round her neck at Amy. Amy peered at it. A much younger Leah smiled back at her.

‘I’m glad I’ve finally caught you,’ Leah continued. ‘Can I come in?’ ‘No,’ said Amy.

‘That’s quite a collection of stuff you have in your front garden,’ continued Leah, unperturbed. Amy looked at her, suspicious of the compliment. ‘What’s it like inside?’

‘What do you want?’ asked Amy.

‘I think it would be better for us to discuss it indoors,’ said Leah. ‘In private.’

Amy looked around. ‘Outside is fine,’ she said. ‘Why are you here?’

Leah gestured upwards and for a moment Amy thought she was going to ask her if she’d found Jesus. ‘That chimney of yours,’ she explained.

‘Who called you?’ asked Amy, rolling her eyes. ‘Was it Rachel? She needs to mind her own business.’

Leah ignored her question. ‘If we can’t talk inside, let’s have a seat on your wall,’ she said, sounding resigned. ‘I’ve been standing up for a long time and my back aches.’ The two women walked back up Amy’s path and perched uncomfortably on her wall. Amy felt a flash of guilt as she heard Leah exhale loudly as she did so.

‘I’m sorry not to be more hospitable,’ said Amy, relenting. ‘But I wasn’t expecting you.’

Leah raised an eyebrow. ‘I understand you refused a visit from my colleague Bob Hendricks, back on the ninth of July. That will need to be rearranged.’

‘I don’t want anyone in my house,’ said Amy.

‘There’s another matter,’ continued Leah. ‘We’ve been sending you letters for months, but you haven’t responded.’ She opened her bag and got out a brown envelope full of papers which she shuffled through like a deck of cards. ‘Starting in October last year. Seven in total. I can give you the dates?’

‘I haven’t had any letters,’ said Amy.

‘Could they have got lost?’ asked Leah. ‘That does happen. Especially in these types of cases.’

Amy thought about her hallway and didn’t reply. ‘What do they say?’ she asked.

‘We’ve had a complaint,’ said Leah. Amy turned to look at Rachel’s house, and saw the curtains flicker. ‘An anonymous complaint,’ added Leah. ‘Someone was concerned for your safety, and we wanted to check your living conditions.’

‘I’m fine,’ said Amy. ‘My house is fine.’

‘About that,’ continued Leah. ‘You do own the leasehold, but the council holds the freehold. We have a duty of care . . . ’

‘Thank you,’ said Amy, trying to quell the anxiety that rose in her throat like heartburn. ‘But it’s my house and there is no issue.’

‘I’m not here to judge,’ said Leah, in the most judgemental tone Amy had ever heard.

‘Everything is fine,’ replied Amy.

‘And I understand there was an incident involving your back garden and the children next door? On the . . . ’ She referred to her notes. ‘Fourth of July, two weeks ago?’

Amy bit her lip. Maybe Nina had reported her. The letters dated back months, so Rachel must have started it off. She suddenly felt the brunt of her neighbours on both sides being against her. Fighting on two fronts. For a moment, she felt she wanted to move house, to get out of here. But she couldn’t leave. Not now. What if he came back?

‘It was nothing,’ said Amy, trying to sound breezy, a hard feat when she felt as if she couldn’t breathe. ‘A cat. The kids shouldn’t have been in the garden, but no one was hurt. We’ve fixed the fence now. The children can’t get in.’ She realised she was talking too fast.

‘Can I see the back garden?’

‘No.’

Leah made a little sighing sound and shifted her weight on the wall. ‘We’re not getting very far, are we?’ she said. She made a note, but angled her paper so Amy couldn’t read it. ‘I’m going to have to come back, I’m afraid,’ she said, finally. ‘With some support. We need to get inside your house, for your own safety. You’ll get a letter in the post with a date and time. Look out for it.’ Leah put her notebook away. ‘In the meantime, I’d suggest you have