Redlands turned out to be a country house estate, built of red stone with thatched roofs.

There was a single car parked at the front and the front door of the house was open. The garage door was also open, as though awaiting their arrival.

"Let's go get a cup of tea before we start bringing anything in," suggested Keith, getting out of the driver's seat.

Like in Evercreek, dogs came bounding to meet them, but this time it was a pair of French bulldogs and a golden Labrador.

"Etta and Sugar," Theodora said, indicating each bulldog in turn.

"And this is Pumpkin," added Patti, who was affectionately stroking the Labrador.

Alyssa glanced up, seeing a woman standing in the doorway of the house.

Attired in a loose, long-sleeved dress, her feet were bare and her arms were adorned in bracelets.
Her dark blonde hair reached her shoulders, fringe falling into her eyes.

"Please tell me the kettle's on," Keith said as he hugged her.

"Of course it is. Is this the girl you mentioned?"
The woman had noticed Alyssa.

"It is. Anita, meet Alyssa Richards. Alyssa, this is Anita, a very good friend of mine, and the housekeeper of Redlands when I'm not here."

A heavy scent of sweet, flowery perfume and smoke drifted over Alyssa as she shook Anita's hand.

Anita smiled at her before greeting Theodora, Alexandra and Patti, then ushering them all inside.

Redlands had a more traditional feel than Evercreek, though the family had put their mark on it in the form of pictures and paintings and various other things on the walls of almost every room.

Framed photographs and drawings or paintings of Keith decorated quite a few rooms, the artwork all bearing Ronnie's signature.

Along with them were various framed photos of Patti modelling, as well as family photos documenting the years, from the girls as babies to currently, along with their parents and extended family.

After a quick tour, Alyssa sat between Patti and Alex, sipping a cup of tea while Keith sat by the open fire, smoking and talking with Anita, cigarette smoke spiralling lazily around his head.

Theodora was playing with Etta and Sugar, her mug of tea balanced precariously on the arm of the green leather sofa against the wall behind her.

The kitchen in Redlands had a lovely, traditional, almost farmhouse feel to it.

Alyssa felt almost instantly at home, as she sat drinking her tea and looking around the kitchen.

"Happy?" Patti asked her gently, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Yes," Alyssa replied with a nod, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Good." Patti's heels clicked as she stood up. "I'm going to start bringing things in from the car."

"I'm finished my tea, I'll help," said Alexandra, getting up as well.

Mother and daughter left the kitchen, while Keith, having finished his cigarette, stole his wife's vacated chair.

Anita had also relocated to the table, her gaze on the window.

Alyssa noticed Keith watching her fondly as he got up to pour himself tea.

"Have you been recording?" Anita asked.

He shook his head, taking a sip of tea.
"I've been writing, haven't shown any of it to Mick yet, but I think I could be onto something with bits of it."

Anita smiled slightly. "Do you want to show it to me?"

Keith laughed. "No, not yet anyway."

"He hasn't even shown me yet," Patti said, coming into the kitchen again with the first lot of luggage from the car.

She grinned at her husband, who stood and kissed her cheek. "All in good time, love."

He took the cases from her and disappeared upstairs, just as Alexandra came in with another set of bags.

"Do you want me to help?" Alyssa asked, standing up.

"No, it's alright."

Alyssa spent the next few hours unpacking and settling into Redlands.

She had her own room, though Theodora made it clear that she was always welcome to share with her.

Patti promised her another shopping trip to furnish and decorate the room to her liking, which she reluctantly agreed to, not liking the thought of money being spent on her.

After dinner, they walked the dogs, then Alyssa let Patti draw her a bath.

She lay, submerged in warm water and bubbles, for a very long time.

The bathroom door in her father's house hadn't locked, and she'd never felt safe enough to shower for longer than a few minutes. They hadn't had a bath.

Eventually, she got out and dried off, going downstairs to find Theodora making hot chocolate while the sound of a piano echoed from somewhere in the house.

"How was your bath?" Theodora asked, adding chocolate powder to a second mug while she spoke.

"Very nice," she said, stroking Pumpkin's ears as the dog sat beside her.

"Where is everyone?" she wondered, as the kitchen was empty apart from the two of them, Pumpkin, and a ginger tabby cat sleeping on the sofa.

"Mum's changing, Alex is in the library I think and Dad's playing the piano, obviously."

"I didn't know he could play piano."

"He can, he does a lot of his songwriting on the piano, though has absolutely no desire to be a pianist."
Theodora passed her a mug of hot chocolate, marshmallows floating on the top of it.

She took her ponytail down, running a hand through her hair, while Alyssa decided to ask a question she'd been wondering since her arrival in Redlands.

"Anita and Keith, what's the story there? Is she just his housekeeper?"

"They dated for several years, and are still friends," replied Theodora.
"He started dating her in the seventies, after he took her away from Brian Jones who was assaulting her. They split for good in the same year Dad met Mum but have remained friends. She's kind of like a slightly eccentric aunt to us."

"She seemed nice enough," Alyssa said, sipping her hot chocolate.

"She is. She used to babysit us a lot when we were little while we were here in England."

At that moment, Keith came into the kitchen, humming under his breath while he filled the kettle.

Noticing them, he grinned slightly.
"Creativity requires tea and cigarettes."

Theodora laughed, while Keith put the kettle on and joined them at the table.

"Settling in alright?" he asked, fixing the sleeve of his shirt.

"It's such a beautiful house," Alyssa said. "Really feels like a home."

Keith nodded. "I fell in love with it the minute I saw it. Took a wrong turning when looking for another house that was for sale, ended up here. By that evening, I was in front of the fire in the living room. The house was mine."

"You got busted here too. Didn't the police find Anita wrapped in a fur rug and nothing else?" Theodora asked.

"We did, and it was Marianne, not Anita."

The kettle finished and he stood up to make his tea.

"Busted?" Alyssa said, curious.

"Mm. February, in '67. Coming down from a hard day on acid, police land at the door. Marianne, who was dating Mick at the time, took a bath upstairs, wrapped herself in a rug I had-I think it was rabbit pelts-and when the police came in to read a warrant to me, that was how they found her. That made as many headlines as the bust itself. 'Naked Girl at Stones Party', the usual tabloid rubbish. "

Keith shook his head as he flicked the teabag from his mug into the sink.

"You know Mum hates you doing that," Theodora said, sipping her hot chocolate.

"That's half the reason I do it."

He grinned slightly, mischief in his eyes while he finished making the tea.

Lighting a cigarette, he left the kitchen again.

After eleven, Patti let herself into the drawing room, guessing she'd find her husband there. The drawing room in Redlands, like in Evercreek, was often where he composed or played.

She was right, of course. He was seated at the grand piano, idly playing the keys. Several sheets of paper littered the top of the instrument, some blank, some covered in his handwriting, most of it crossed out. The smoking end of a cigarette rested in an ashtray, alongside an empty mug.

"Are you going to call it a night and come to bed?" she asked gently, pressing a soft kiss to the top of his dark head.

His hands stilled, making the music stop.
"Hey, babe. I didn't even notice you coming in."
Turning on the piano stool, he kissed her lips.

"Are the girls in bed already?" he asked, standing up and extinguishing the smoking cigarette.

Patti nodded.
"How's the songwriting coming along?"

"Slowly. Have a tune, now I need lyrics." He ran a hand through his hair.  "But yes, I think I'll call it a night and join you in bed."

Together, they left the room, Keith's hand resting casually on his wife's lower back.

Closing the bedroom door, they both changed and slipped into bed.

"Remember when you told me that you couldn't have kids?" Keith murmured, lying facing her.

"Mm. And you said you didn't care and were going to marry me anyway," she responded, gently tracing her fingers over his jaw.

"And now we have three daughters."
He smiled slightly, bringing her fingers to his lips and kissing them.
"You would have said something if you didn't agree with adopting Alyssa, right?"

"Of course." Patti rolled her eyes, then pecked his lips affectionately.

"I love you. Have I said that yet today?"

"I think so, but I'm always glad to hear it."
Patti smiled, snuggling contendly beside him.

He pulled the covers up around her, wrapping an arm over her hips as she lay close alongside him, their legs tangled loosely together, silk pyjama bottoms against flannel.

She fell asleep first, her steady breathing soon lulling him to sleep as well.