Free Staverton by Caidan Trubel Page A

as I padded around the room. The wardrobe and dresser were made from a light wood, and a huge queen sized bed was set against the left wall. I sat on the bed. “Wow, it’s so comfortable.”
    Caroline sat beside me. “Yes it’s nice and soft. I hate hard beds, don’t you?” Without waiting for an answer, she got up and moved to the window. “And you’ve got a lovely view.”
    I went over to stand next to Caroline at the window and sighed. The heavy, cream and gold, brocade drapes were pulled fully back to let in as much light as possible, and Caroline was right, the view was fantastic.
    “I’ll be wanting to stay all summer,” I said and laughed.
    “That’s my cunning plan.” Caroline grinned and put an arm around my waist. “Seriously, though. I am so glad you’re here.”
    I turned to my friend and felt a lump in my throat, I didn’t know what to say. I squeezed Caroline’s hand. She’d helped so much in the past year, just by being herself. I couldn’t imagine how awful my last year at St. Catherine’s would have been without Caroline at my side. She had confronted other girls who’d made snide comments about the scholarship, and made me laugh at the craziest things.
    “Now, let me show you your bathroom,” Caroline said, pulling me away from the window.
    “My own bathroom. I could get used to this,” I said.
    The cream and gold theme continued in the bathroom.
    Caroline pulled open a cream cabinet with a mirrored front, revealing expensive bath oils and creams lined up in a row. “Help yourself to any toiletries you need, and I think Jake has brought your case up, already...”
    We walked back into the bedroom, and Caroline opened the wardrobe doors. “Yes he’s put it in here.” She pulled out the case, and I opened it, to begin unpacking.
    “I can’t believe you have servants,” I said, pulling out a black dress and shaking it to get the creases out.
    “Well, it’s a big place, and we only have one maid and Mrs. Rivers, the housekeeper.”
    I said nothing, just smiled. When I had unpacked and hung up my clothes, Caroline suggested a swim.
    After I had taken off my jeans and changed into my swimming costume and summer dress, I padded down the hall to find Caroline’s room. Caroline’s bedroom was easily twice the size of the room I was staying in, and the walls were papered in cream with a delicate rose pattern.
    “How far is it to the beach?” I asked and helped Caroline with the zip on the back of her sundress.
    “Not far. We can get to it from the cliff path. It’s a bit steep but fine in the daylight, at night it’s a different story,” Caroline said. “I’ll get us a couple of towels.”
    As we made our way through the house, Caroline listed the extensive modifications her parents had made. I suspected traditionalists may not have approved of all the changes, but there was no denying the luxury of the décor.
    “It’s a listed building, you see, which limits the changes you can make. Mother had all sorts of trouble getting approval for some of the work, but she managed it and she’s happy with it now.
    “She hardly ever goes to London anymore. She prefers to stay at Staverton. She used to spend the week in London, with Daddy, then they’d only come back at weekends.”
    I could understand why Angela would want to stay. If Staverton were mine, I would never want to leave.

Chapter 12
    Caroline and I left the house through the same French doors and headed towards the cliffs, walking over the soft green lawn. The cliff path was well-worn but steep and narrow. We walked in single file, following the path’s zig-zag trail down to the beach. Wild grasses and small blue flowers lined the edge of the path, and white, fluttering butterflies floated about, seemingly attracted by the flowers.
    Halfway down the cliff path, Caroline stopped and raised a hand to shade her eyes from the sun. I had been looking down, concentrating on keeping my feet safely on the path, and almost