Page 86 of House of Bass

Eleanor exuded a prim and proper air, her ankles crossed, dressed in a grey midi knit dress with a small black belt wrapped around her waist and black kitten heels. William was dressed more casually in a knitted polo of a similar grey to Eleanor’s, cream-coloured wide-legged trousers, and grey suede slip-ons. His thick blonde hair, peppered with grey, was combed back, and the same went for his clean-cut beard. He and Annabel really did look alike.

“You’ve arrived,” William spoke first, folding his newspaper. His eyes trailing from Annabel then to Harley, a twitch at the top of his right eyebrow appeared when they landed on her. Harley was good at spotting these things, though she wasn’t sure what this meant.

“Father,” Annabel said curtly beside her. “Mother.”

Harley could feel her heart beating rapidly, a ringing in her ears. She stood there with her arms crossed, no clue what to say. Her eyes were glued to him; she felt tense all over. This was the closest she had ever been to him. But it wasn’t just her, it seemed he too was at a loss for words.

“Harley, is it?” Eleanor’s soft voice called out which put an end to their staring contest.

“Yes.”

The older woman rose from the maroon-coloured sofa and approached in gentle steps, the picture of grace and calm, her lips thinning. When she stood directly in front of her, she offered a forced smile. “It is lovely to have you in our home. You must be tired after the journey. Phillip here,” she gestured to an older man who spawned out of nowhere, butler-like, something Harley hadn’t realised still existed “will show you to your room.”

Then she looked to her daughter, “Annabel, a word.”

Stassie linked their arms. “Come, I’ll show you around. Phil can carry the bags in.” She started to pull her out the door, and Harley mouthed to Annabel, are you good? The other girl simply nodded and waved her off. The door shut, creating a barrier between them.

She was given a tour of the entire house; she was shown the mini-theatre, an indoor swimming pool as well as an outdoor one, the multitude of rooms that she had walked past earlier and Anastasia had even shown her her music room and Annabel’s dance studio. She wondered what would be the point of ever leaving the house if they had everything here.

They reached the room she was going to be staying in, “Mum said this is where you’d be staying whenever you come to visit. I helped decorate, do you like it?”

It was even larger than her room in the house she shared with Annabel; the walls were painted a pepper green, a bed she was sure was somehow bigger than king-sized, and there was a portion on the wall filled with polaroids of herself she didn’t realise Annabel had been taking and some of Annabel and Anastasia themselves making silly faces. It was homelier than she imagined it would be. She felt a little choked up at the sight of it.

Stassie stood there with her arms folded with her doe eyes expectant. Harley smiled in appreciation, “Thank you, I like it.”

The girl returned a grin, “Fabulous! We’re all having a sleepover tonight. I have the theatre ready for all the films we’re going to watch, and food and I’m ready for some gossip that has nothing to do with me.”

“Do I get a choice?”

She rapidly shook her head, “You weren’t there for my birthday, so no. This is how you make it up to me.”

“I know all this can’t be easy, me coming into your life this way. Thank you for being kind,” Harley said to her.

Anastasia sat on the edge of the bed, looking up at Harley, and said, “Honestly, I was a little scared at first.” She took a pillow in her hands and clutched it as she spoke, smiling a little. “When dad first told us about you, I thought that was it. The end of my purpose in the family. My parents have never given me a reason to believe they didn’t want me but Annie would have a sister that is biologically related to her and my dad would have another daughter that was actually his. I thought you would replace me.”

Harley would never have been able to tell she had felt that way, it was not how she came across and as she scanned her face, it was beginning to dawn on Harley that there was more to Anastasia than the girl who always smiled to make everyone feel better.

“The last thing I could ever do is replace the importance you hold to your sister. She loves you more than you know,” Harley firmly relayed to her. Trying to make sure she didn’t still feel that way.

“I know that. It was just a silly fear,” Anastasia said.

Annabel entered the room at this time, in fluffy slippers instead of the heels she had been wearing they both arrived, so their conversation halted. She looked a little downtrodden but not serious enough to alarm her. “I already want to leave.”

“Was it that bad?”

“Mother was talking about our annual end of year Gold event and I have been informed attendance is not optional unlike other things I have chosen to forgo. They subtly reminded me how impertinent it was to bite the hand that feeds you. Meaning: the price for the Spain trip has been declared and I’m going back to the office from next week.”

“I’m sorry, Annie.” Anastasia frowned, clearly blaming herself. Annabel held her hands, “It was worth it to see you have some fucking fun for once.”

Then she laid flat on the bed, “I forget whenever I have time away from them, just how frustrating they can be to deal with. God, I could throw something.”

Anastasia interrupted her rage rant, “No throwing anything, please. I spent hours on making this room perfect but we can take our minds off it tonight when we christen the room for Harley.”

“Sleepover?

“Well of course. A proper Bass sleepover fixes everything.” She nodded her head with a delighted smile.

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