Shilpa peered over the cliff. It was a twenty-metre drop into the waves crashing beneath her. She put her hand on the wooden railing to steady herself as she looked past the glimmering sea towards the golden sands of East Portlemouth. She squinted in the sunlight and reached for her sunglasses perched on top of her head, pulling them down over her eyes. To the right of the treacherous rocks was a small, secluded cove that was only accessible via a stainless-steel ladder secured to the cliff face. Shilpa imagined the residents of the luxurious 1920s mansion known as Arden Copse had many a tale to tell about that little stretch of sand, their own private beach.
‘Careful.’ A hand on her shoulder yanked her back. ‘That railing isn’t secure.’
Caroline Arden-Harris pushed a stray strand of her blonde hair behind her ear and showed Shilpa where the wood had rotted close to the rusted bolts which just about held it together.
‘Someone once fell to their death down there,’ Caroline said.
Shilpa instinctively took a step back.
‘It was years ago, now. It’s why we have a railing, but it needs repairing.’
‘A job that the estate manager should have seen to by now, with the party and all.’ A tall woman, much younger than Caroline, with a button nose and sumptuous chestnut curls had joined them on the viewing platform at the top of the cliff, bringing a strained atmosphere with her.
‘He’s been busy,’ Caroline snapped. A man pulling a trolley with two huge planters containing viburnum bushes struggled past them. ‘Over there, behind the bench,’ she directed. Then she took her phone out from her gilet pocket and touched the cracked screen. ‘This blasted phone,’ she said. ‘It’s so temperamental.’
‘I’m sure Roy can get you a new one,’ Annabel said.
Caroline pocketed her phone. ‘I’ll speak to Jack later,’ she said, ignoring Annabel’s comment.
Shilpa didn’t know Caroline well, but she had had several dealings with her. It was Caroline who had sought her out to make a birthday cake for her father’s eightieth tomorrow. They were having a party on the lawns to celebrate. Mrs Arden-Harris had been calm and composed in all their dealings. Even when the purple-and-yellow pineapple guava flowers she had very much wanted to adorn her father’s cake were unavailable, she simply asked for an appropriate alternative and moved on. Shilpa had been surprised and impressed. Rich clients were used to having every whim met and Shilpa had braced herself when she had picked up the phone to Caroline.
‘And anyway,’ Caroline continued. ‘Daddy wants the railing removed. It somewhat obstructs the view. It’s not like there’ll be any children at the party.’ She looked Annabel up and down, but her young stepmother didn’t seem to take offence.
‘It’s just an ugly reminder of what happened,’ Caroline continued. ‘Jack will fit a shorter railing here and it will be in place for tomorrow,’ she said, resuming her usual composure. She adjusted her hair and smiled brightly at Shilpa.
‘If you say so,’ Annabel said. ‘I just came to see how things were going.’
‘Everything is under control,’ Caroline said. One of the electricians who was stringing up the lights caught her attention and she left Shilpa alone with Annabel. There was an awkward silence before Caroline returned.
Annabel cleared her throat. She took her phone out of her jacket pocket and looked at the screen. ‘My manicurist is here. I’ll leave you to it,’ she said.
‘Surplus to requirements,’ Caroline said under her breath, staring at Annabel’s back as she crossed the narrow road and climbed the steps up onto the front lawn of Arden Copse.
‘So what happened?’ Shilpa asked, attempting to break the spell Annabel had cast on Caroline.
Caroline turned to her. ‘She married my father.’ Caroline touched her fingers to her lips. ‘Oh,’ she said. ‘You didn’t mean that, did you? What happened down there on Mermaid Rock?’
Shilpa nodded.
‘It was a long time ago. Fifty-five years. Someone my father knew. A party girl, I suppose you could call her. She had one too many and tripped. Fell over the edge. This was all before I was born. Shall we head back towards the house? Come,’ Caroline said, leading the way. ‘Do you know,’ she added, changing the topic, ‘that to the rear of the house, beyond the pool there is a lawn that leads down to the copse, behind which there is a stream and a pond. Daddy’s estate is just enormous.’ Caroline stopped and looked at the house. ‘One day Jacob and Monty will inherit the lot,’ she said to Shilpa, adding to clarify, ‘My sons. Daddy has no other children or grandchildren so…’ She trailed off.
‘I wasn’t aware of the copse,’ Shilpa said, following her guide to the front of the house.
‘That’s what gives the house its name,’ Caroline said, stopping again to catch her breath.
The 1920s mansion stood on higher ground and towered over its lawns and the viewing deck with the unstable railings that looked over Mermaid Rock. The house was of a time with high arched windows which contrasted with the clean, horizontal, whitewashed walls. Palm trees dotted the beautifully manicured gardens, with a stunning magnolia tree taking centre stage. Blue agapanthus and red camellias were in bloom, primed and ready for the party.
Shilpa too, had inherited a beautiful house on the water, not quite as grand but nevertheless the inheritance had changed her life. She momentarily wondered how Jacob’s and Monty’s lives would change when they took control of Arden Copse. They had been born into wealth, so she doubted that it would have any effect whatsoever.
Shilpa smiled to herself and followed her host. Before she entered the house through the French doors that stretched the length of the left side of the house, she turned back and took one last look towards the sea. She heard the waves crash once more against Mermaid Rock.