Page 24 of A Colourful Country Escape
Yes, this was the part of her job that made her feel alive. Worthy. And now that feeling was starting to seep back into her, she didn’t want to lose it.
She read the post again, still excited by the angle she’d taken. She’d written the blog from her own point of view, as the newcomer. The inexperienced Alice in this Wonderland of paints. That way, readers could come on this journey with her. She’d be their multicoloured fly on the beige-painted walls.
Consider me your woman on the inside.
It added a kind of intrigue that she hoped would build a loyal following.
The first blog was about her colourful arrival at Nutgrass Hall. The peacocks, the explosions, the rebellious orange van. Her bright and simple existence in this luxurious but muted realm. Her dreams of injecting some colour of her own. And then the fortune cookie.
‘Together you are strong.’ Could it be a sign, wonderful readers? Should I throw my inspired thoughts into the mix? Because next week I hope to share exclusive photos of clients’ home makeovers (think palatial!). And then how about we go behind the scenes at the London Paint Conference? Wish me luck …
Her brave promises were hooking in new subscribers. Now all she had to do was convince Ben.
She ran her fingers along Penny’s flaking paintwork and her eyes flicked to the Carrington Paints brochure on the table next to her laptop. She’d nabbed the brochure from the factory and now that her creative brain was awake, she was awash with wild thoughts. Could she tempt Ben into adding some new shades? Or even completely new ranges. A bit of Cheeky Cherrybomb, or La La Lemon? And chalk-style paints for furniture …
But no, that was definitely the sugar talking. She swiped a stray blob of jam from her plate. New colour schemes were way out of her domain and Ben would never accept it. Not to mention … Urgh. She shuddered. The brothers’ notorious mother. Now the website was public, it was only a matter of time before Lexie would have another stubborn face to prove herself to. At best.
The sharpHollyoaksringtone from her mobile made her jolt.
‘Sky!’ she shouted, to no one in particular. Her errant little sister hadn’t been answering her calls for the entire week and a half that Lexie had been freezing her bum off at Nutgrass Hall. Her chewed giraffe-print nails bore testament to her nerves about the whole Billy-Bob commune situation.
Lexie swiped to answer. ‘Thank God. Where have you been? Talk about stressing me out!’
Sky treated Lexie to the usual sarcastic groan.
‘Jeez, Lex. Give me a break. There’s, like, hardly any signal here in Phoenix Fields. I live in a yurt, not some fancy-pants mansion.’
‘I camp on the drive.’ Lexie stood up in protest, swiftly banging her head on the old metal roof. At least the socks were hanging outside today. ‘And why did you move in? I told you to stay put until we’d talked about it.’
Lexie felt her cheeks flaming pure Cherrybomb. And much like a bomb, her head was nearing explosion. Since she’d heard from her parents that Sky had moved out, it had taken all her energy not to go back up there and rescue her.
Her sister sighed. ‘Just because you’re shit at love, doesn’t mean I have to be. It’s my life; stop trying to strangle it. If you stifle our sisterly bond, it will never thrive. Let me breathe, Lexie, so our relationship can flourish like a rose bush.’
Lexie’s face froze into a gawp. Sky had almost started to sound convincing until the thing about the rose bush. Those were not her sister’s words. That hadscary cult brainwashingwritten all over it.
‘Anyway, I didn’t have a tantrum when you and Inkie-pants flew off to Shanghai with your smelly backpacks. I never rang to have a go at you for leaving me with our loopy parents.’
‘They’re not loopy! Mum’s just …different. And it was Chiang Mai, not Shang-bloody-hai.’ She let out a sigh, her colour draining back to Eggshell. ‘But I see your point. When I was your age I was kipping on a beach with only two T-shirts and a pair of flipflops.’ And ending up with a tattoo she feared would never really suit her skin. She tugged the strands of her pixie cut. ‘I suppose you should make your own mistakes.’
Lexie thought of the cock-ups that plagued the end of her own first adventure and winced up at the skies. ‘Just don’t come back in a police car.’
‘I promise. And hey, nothing ventured comes to those who wait, as they say.’
Lexie was pretty sure nobody said that, but she had long since stopped trying to unravel her sister’s jumbled sentiments. So her little Sky bird was flying the nest. Living with zero money in even less luxury than a rusty old camper could only end badly; but who was she to lecture right now?
‘Look – any problems, call me. OK? Or send smoke signals, or whatever you do. And don’t catch crabs.’
They said their goodbyes, and Lexie set her sister free to do whatever communal folk did of a Saturday morning in spring. Gathering leaves for toilet paper, and the like. She shuddered. Or who knew. Maybe Sky would actually be happy. At least she wouldn’t find her bloke ring-shopping with Tabby what’s-her-bottom, and there surely couldn’t be any snobbery about money.
Just as Lexie was folding herself back into her faded orange seat, another dreadful noise made her bounce back up. What the hell? It sounded like tyres screeching across stones, and then … squawking? Then the angry beep of a car horn, constant, as though a fist had punched it and wasn’t giving up.
Lexie twitched back the net curtains, almost too scared to look. Nutgrass Hall had been relatively peaceful since her arrival, and she kind of liked it that way. But deep down she’d known trouble would turn up at some point. Trouble always did.
An expensive, pearly white four-by-four skidded to a halt on the driveway. Lexie winced as its tyres sprayed up gravel like bullets. It was one of those pretentious off-road vehicles that had probably never seen the likes of mud.
‘Those DRATTED biiiiiiiiiirds.’
The voice erupted through the opening car door like a war cry, followed promptly by its owner. It could only be the notorious chief, Mrs Carrington-Noble. Mother to Ben and Cory, and owner of the manor. Lexie gulped.
