Dark Mirrors Read Online Free PDF Page A

first couch, sinking comfortably into the soft cushions to study and enjoy her new surroundings. It was without doubt a truly wonderful feeling and she let the indecision and stress of the past few weeks lift effortlessly, like bubbles of hot air, from her shoulders. It felt right and she couldn’t have stopped the contented smile of self-satisfaction from embracing her whole face even if she had wanted to. Taking the remote control, she switched on the telly.
    What a picture, she marvelled as the wide screen immediately filled with a picture-perfect, crystal-clear, high-definition image. Bloody wonderful!
    Curiosity finally got the better of her – there was so much to see in this, her tiny haven – and pushing herself out of the comfort of the chair she went to explore the rest of the house with a juvenile sense of anticipation. Like an inquisitive child she opened the new cupboards, fridge, oven, microwave and dishwasher with a combined feeling of bewilderment and delight. And upstairs was no different: the entire house from the ground floor up to the main bedroom had undergone a complete transformation from being an ordinary, tired interior into a warm, bijoux home.
    Esmée did her best to contain the excitement that was simmering inside her. She couldn’t wait to get unpacked and settled. Hurriedly she unloaded the stuffed car and carted in the multitude of boxes and bags one by one.
    Anxious to get the rest of her belongings, she wasted no time in securing the door behind her to take the opposite route of that morning’s journey.
    She wanted to share this moment with someone. But the mantle of concealment she had created around her left no one but Fin and she was at the movies with the kids. She could have done with the company of either of her sisters, Lizzie or Penny, right now. Loneliness overwhelmed her. She’d just have to wait.
    By the time Fin and the kids returned from their escapade, Esmée had packed and stacked the rest of her things and had created a short line of boxes, waist-high, shrouded with the anticipation of new beginnings. Surprisingly there wasn’t that much stuff really, much less than she had first thought. But, she found as she treaded the floors, wandering from room to room, there was very little she actually wanted, only what was rightfully hers: clothes, cosmetics, her CDs, a few ornaments and a couple of framed pictures. Philip could have the rest; she knew he would fight her for it anyway. His argument would undoubtedly be that he had paid for it so she could sing for it. And she wasn’t that bothered, neither caring for nor wanting any of it and anyway there was no room at the cottage.
    Fin was amazed at Esmée’s apparent transformation from an uncertain minion to a determined chief. Esmée had been so uncertain, a bag of nerves, but had consistently insisted that this was something she had to do for herself.
    “It’s time I stood on my own two feet,” she had said, turning down the offer of help.
    And seeing her now and experiencing the tremendous sense of achievement alongside her, Fin was glad of the refusal, at the same time a little guilty for giving her friend less credit than she was obviously due. Well done, Esmée.
    And the effect of her small win was incredible. Esmée’s smile radiated joy and corrected, to a degree, her imbalance of self-esteem. She felt fantastic, the best she’d felt in a very long time, with the day’s excitement pushing her horrors to one side for a while. She was sorely tempted to keep packing, impatience being one of her failings, wanting to get everything in place instantly. But reason and common sense, for once, prevailed. She couldn’t be sure exactly how in the end she managed to control her impulsiveness and she probably never would. Perhaps it was her absolute determination to get this right, not only for herself but for Matthew and Amy too – the last thing she wanted to do was freak them out. A mature decision, she concluded,