CHAPTER 2: TIME TO FLY
Aveling was finding life difficult at the old farmhouse. Her grandmother had been informed that it could take a year or more until she needed to leave her home, but the staff started to leave one by one. They all knew that the government orders to evacuate could come at any time, so they decided it was better to leave now than wait.
Aveling had a friend called Maylu, who lived down the hill just over a mile away and whose family were not affected by the plans for the new road. Knowing that Aveling would be moving to England at some point, Maylu asked her to come and visit if she ever returned to China. And although Aveling promised she would, she genuinely believed that once she left China she would never see her friend again.
It was almost six months before Aveling finally received a message from her father to confirm that he had made arrangements for her to come to England. Unfortunately, though, her Chinese grandmother was not ready to travel with her at that time. She was still taking care of all the paperwork before she could join the rest of the family in the United Kingdom. In China, paperwork moved very slowly, but Aveling's father explained that there were issues to be resolved with English paperwork, too. It had been decided that on her arrival in England, Aveling's Chinese grandmother would stay for a while with her father's mother, Madam Aveling, at her home, Castle Keys. This would assure the authorities that she would have a good home to live in and someone to support her on arrival.
As she began to pack, Aveling's grandmother asked if she would like to keep the silk and jade, as she had no other grandchildren to give them to. Naturally, Aveling was keen to accept. But when her grandmother handed her the items, she explained in a solemn manner that if Aveling was ever raped, she should keep the family's honour and use the silk for its intended use - death.
Having just turned seventeen a few days before, Aveling was shocked and surprised at her grandmother's comments, but she realised that to the older lady a woman's honour was the most important thing in the world.
As she accepted the gifts, however, she felt her whole body go cold. The hairs raised up on the back of her neck as she held the silk and jade in her hands.
*
On her flight back to England a few days later, Aveling noticed that men were staring at her, which she found very unsettling. When she had lived in the Embassy, the men never paid her any attention because she was the Ambassador's daughter, and the school she attended was an all-girls' school, so this was a new and unnerving experience.
Aveling had been seated in the window seat, next to a young man who never took his eyes off her. Trying to ignore his interest, she looked out of the window and gave all her attention to the landscape below. Once the view of China's landscape disappeared, all she could see was sea. It was going to be a long flight.
A few hours into the flight, they experienced some bad weather. As the plane jolted suddenly, Aveling grabbed the first thing she could and grasped tightly to the arms of her seat. The young man sat beside her sensed her fear and leaned towards her. Gently taking her hand, he explained that it was just a little turbulence which was quite normal, and that she was welcome to squeeze his hand as hard as she liked.
When the air stewardess came round to offer a drink or something to eat, Aveling asked for a glass of lemonade. While she waited, she asked the young man next to her if he could retrieve her shoulder bag from the locker above, and he was only too happy to oblige.
As he chatted away in English, Aveling began to realise that her command of English was not as good as she'd thought, so she politely asked if he could speak a little slower to her.
"Sorry, I didn't realize you were not English," he said, giving her a quizzical look. "My name is Luke. Luke Green."
Aveling had inherited her father's green eyes and jet black hair, and although she was still only five feet two inches tall, her natural beauty shone like a star in the sky. The young man then spoke slowly, asking more questions than she was ready to answer. Giving her name was no problem, but she had no idea of her new address or even a phone number. She did, however, tell him that her father had been an ambassador in the Chinese Embassy but had been recalled to England to await his next posting.
Apparently keen not to lose touch, after they landed the young man gave her his business card with all his details. Slipping the card into her backpack, she headed for the airport exit, pausing briefly to look back over her shoulder. He was heading in the opposite direction but smiled briefly before she lost sight of him.
Although she was convinced she would never see him again, she couldn't help but experience a strange sense of loss.
Outside the airport, she was approached by a stranger holding up her name on a board, who informed her that he had been sent by her father to take her to her new home. Although she wasn't particularly happy about getting into a car with a stranger, she had no idea where her new home was or what it looked like, so felt she had no choice than to climb in.
Everything seemed so strange as she gazed out of the car window, but after more than an hour the driver pulled into a long driveway, then stopped sharply on the gravel stones. As Aveling climbed out of the car, she was greeted by an incredibly attractive young woman, who looked only a few years older than herself, holding a newborn baby.
"Hello, you must be Aveling," the woman smiled. "My name is Carol, and this is your new baby brother Gary."
Aveling's mind went into complete overdrive. How could she have a new baby brother, when it was only about six months since she had last seen her father? He'd never told her he had been seeing anyone.
The shock was clearly evident on Aveling's face. And as they walked into the house, Carol was quick to explain that she had met Aveling's father in Hong Kong, when she worked at the Embassy, then had returned to England with him six months earlier. Suddenly it all made sense why her father hadn't wanted Aveling to travel back with him initially.
But there were more shocks to come.
When her father finally arrived at the house later that evening, the baby was already in bed. Aveling had expected her dad to meet her with a big hug, but the atmosphere around the kitchen table was cold and uncomfortable.
When Carol asked if she could get Aveling anything else to pack for her trip the following day, the young girl turned to her father in surprise. She had only just arrived, and it seemed she was to be shipped off to who knew where!
Seeing her surprise, Carol added, "Oh sorry. I thought your dad had told you. We managed to get you into a private school. You will like it; it's even got a swimming pool."
Looking to her father for confirmation, Aveling was disappointed when his only comment was, "Yes, I am sure you will like it. And I have arranged a new bank account, so I can send you an allowance in each month."
At that he excused himself and disappeared into his office, which had always been his behaviour if anybody asked him questions he didn't want to answer.
All Aveling could hope for was that she might get him alone the next morning so that they could speak without Carol hovering over him, and before she was to be shipped off to her new school.
However, the next morning when she went downstairs, her father had already left for work. And her packed bags were still in the same place the driver had left them the night before. Aveling had expected to at least be able to sort out her belongings, leaving some of the more bulky items in her new bedroom.
But when she explained that she didn't need to take all the luggage with her, Aveling was informed that she should not leave anything here. Carol explained that she and Aveling's father wouldn't be staying there very long, as he had already been given a new posting to Sweden.
Carol also explained that she had laid out a new school uniform for her to put on, along with a list of instructions.
As Aveling dressed, her mind was spinning. Everything had happened so quickly, and she hadn't even been allowed to visit her English grandmother, who she had been looking forward to seeing. It had been years since they had last met, and Aveling wasn't even sure if her grandmother would recognise her.
When the driver turned up, Aveling expected that Carol would at least be at the door to say goodbye. But she was nowhere to be seen, and instead the driver helped her to load all her luggage into the car.
A few miles up the road, he pulled up at a railway station. When Aveling asked why, the man explained that the school was far too far to drive to, so it had been arranged for her to travel by train. Tickets had been reserved for her to collect at the ticket office.
Left alone on the platform waiting for the train with all her luggage around her, Aveling felt tears welling up. She felt so lost and lonely. She did not know how long the journey would take, or if she could get something to eat.
But as the train pulled in, she shook her head and wiped away the tears, determined not to feel sorry for herself.
Once settled on the train, she took out the list of instructions Carol had given her and studied it more carefully. The first item on the list was how to address the head teacher. and the second was how to send letters via email. Aveling couldn't believe that Carol would think she did not know how to use the internet!
The list was endless, so...
