Page 15 of Van Cort
BEFORE
LARA – AGE TEN
The house was empty when Lara got home from school. The low ceilings and beams cast shadows in the hall as she opened the front door, the hinge still squeaking from the damp as she did.
She had to trudge down the private drive and then off down a separate track into the woods on the estate to reach the cottage that she now got to call home.
It was certainly nicer than their last home, which was small and cramped, even with the gloomy entrance.
But despite the extra room and the nice furniture that had already been in place when they arrived, she still felt lonely as she stepped inside.
There was a warmth seeping from the small front room, and a fire was dying in the hearth, the orange glow from the wood now deep and rich, speckled in between the soot and embers. She dropped her bag and weighed up how to best attack the fire.
Her father had shown her how to use the bronzed poker propped up against the wall. She put on the thick, black gloves to protect her from the heat, poked the embers, added a log or two from the stack, and waited for the flames to catch again. Simple.
It was part of her routine. They’d only been here a few weeks, but she was already accustomed to the new tasks.
She’d arrive home before her mother finished work in town.
And as her father was the new estate caretaker and groundsman, he was likely out somewhere in acres of grounds he now cared for.
She just wished that this part of her everyday didn’t include feeling so empty.
Next, she ran upstairs to her room to change, opting for her favourite, but dirty and worn, jeans and thick jumper her father insisted she wear when he took her into the forest with him.
Her last step was to lace up her boots and then use the few hours before either of them would arrive home to go explore the woods, venturing a little further every day.
For many, she could understand that running free in the woods might not be fun, but Lara found it comforting.
After all, her father had taught her not to be afraid since she was little.
He’d shown her how to read the tracks left by animals, and how to catch them and hunt.
At first, she’d felt sorry for the rabbit she’d snared, but her father had put it out of any pain it suffered quickly.
Lara took the path to the south as she closed the door behind her, hoping it was the right choice.
She hadn’t had any luck in the other directions.
She watched her footsteps, avoiding any large twigs or branches as she stalked along her chosen route.
It would take all of her skill and a lot of luck to be able to sneak up on her father and catch him unawares.
That’s if she could even find him in the giant expanse of outside.
As she moved further into the forest, she fought the eerie feeling snaking around her in the dimming light.
There were more than rabbits out here, and her father had warned her not to come out alone.
But following rules wasn’t something she liked to do, and Lara often found herself drawn to act in the exact opposite way.
The snap of a branch had her ducking behind a tree, and she watched, her eyes bright and alert with anticipation, at finally finding her father.
But it wasn’t him.
Two boys with identical dark hair and shining green eyes stood, emerging from the path.
She didn’t recognise them from school. Although she’d not been there long enough to know everyone, despite how small the school was. And she hadn’t known there were any other children here on the estate.
Her little heart thumped against her chest, but it was the loneliness aching in her bones that gave her the courage to step out from her hiding spot and back onto the path.
Both the boy’s eyes whipped straight at her, staring, and she was reminded of the rabbit in the trap that first time she caught one.
“Hi,” Lara spoke first. Although her voice seemed to leave all of its strength behind.
The boys looked at each other for a moment before one of them stepped forward. “Who are you?”
“My name’s Lara. Who are you? I didn’t think there were any other kids here.”
The boys did the looking thing again before the other one answered. They were obviously twins.
“I’m West. This is my brother Everett.”
“This is our property, we live here. What are you doing on our land?” Everett’s voice sounded cross, and the urge to run skipped through her mind.
“You’re Mr Van Cort’s sons?” Her father had told her of the big house that belonged to Mr Van Cort, her father’s employer, on the estate, but she hadn’t seen it yet.
The track to their cottage came off the drive early, and she hadn’t dared venture closer.
He definitely hadn’t mentioned kids her age also lived there.
“My dad works for your dad. I live in the cottage.”
“What are you doing in the woods? Aren’t you scared?” The West boy asked, smiling as he did.
“I like the forest. My dad brings me out with him when he comes hunting. I’m looking for him now, actually.” She wanted to make sure they knew she wasn’t alone, and it wasn’t a complete lie.
“We’ve never had someone else to play with before,” West murmured.
“West. We need to go back. Mrs Avery will be waiting.”
The boy called West smiled toward her. “Do you want to come and see the house?”
Lara looked around, caught between wanting to make a friend and get rid of that lonely feeling that clung to her, if only for a short time, and staying with the solitary routine she’d had for the last few weeks.
Friends weren’t something she made easily, and the girls in her class didn’t seem to be very friendly, even after several weeks.
“Is it far?” She asked.
“No. We need to head back. Are you coming?” Everett’s question came out more as a command.
She finally found her feet, stepping towards them as they both turned to follow their own path back to their house by cutting through the thicker trees.
They seemed to talk to each other in hushed tones, bumping each other’s shoulders as Lara followed behind. She paid close attention so she’d be able to find her way back. That now, was the one thing in her mind.
Her father knew of the house. Did he know there were other kids? Would he think to look if he arrived home and she wasn’t there? None of her questions held enough sway to divert her from her current path, though.
After about ten minutes, the boys cut onto a worn and well-used path that eventually opened out to the edge of a huge grassy lawn. And their house.
“You live there?” She marvelled at the size of the mansion, how grand and impressive it looked, and now understood why her father was so busy all the time.
She glanced at the boys, but neither of them looked pleased or proud. Instead, a sadness clouded their eyes as they stared up at the house, and she wondered if they, too, might be lonely.
“We have music lessons with Mrs Avery two or three times a week. We don’t get too much time to ourselves. You can join in?” West offered.
Lara picked at a muddy mark on her dirty jeans and then looked at the house, worried that she’d traipse mud through the rooms.
“The music room can be fun. We promise,” West encouraged, offering her a half smile.
“I can’t play anything.”
“You’ll learn.” Everett grinned at his brother, as if sharing an inside joke. “Mrs Avery can teach you anything.”
“I’m not sure. What if your dad doesn’t like that I’m here? Or Mrs Avery?”
“He won’t know. He never comes to the music room. He’s away anyway.”
So, with more courage than before, she nodded and followed the boys across the grassy expanse. They led her up to a set of double glass doors and across a huge hallway, heading right for a wooden door. One of the boys barged right in, throwing the door open.
A thrill ran up Lara’s spine as she wavered on the threshold, nervous about taking a step inside the music room.
“Oh, and who’s this?” A sharp voice from inside sounded, but she couldn’t make out who it came from.
West pointed with both hands to the sofa at the end of the room, hidden from view, set before a small fire. “We have a friend who’d like to join. We said you’d be happy to teach her.”
“What can you do, girl?”
“Um, I don’t play an instrument.” Lara could spend hours out in the woods by herself but felt utterly inadequate answering the woman’s question. Not because of the answer, but because the twins’ eyes were on her. Assessing her.
“Huh. Very well. Don’t stand there all day and close the door.” Embarrassment heated her cheeks as she stepped inside, and Everett, she thought, closed the door behind her, trapping her inside.
“West, the piano. Scales,” Mrs Avery snapped from her seat.
Lara’s eyes skirted around, surveying the room, before she finally saw Mrs Avery. She was a tall, thin woman. Wizened features and a tight bun in her greying hair.
“Follow the scale, West,” she snapped.
Lara watched as the twin who smiled slightly more than his brother took a seat at the enormous black piano. Everett hung back, and there was something in her that wanted to keep her eyes on him.
“Listen and hum along, girl.”
She did as she was told, listening to the notes that West played, and humming along.
And before she realised it, she was singing the notes as he ran them up and down, like they were tugged from her chest.
She didn’t know she could sing.