The Family Upstairs

At the Chelsea house, Lucy looks at the man who has appeared at the bedroom door. Marco stands bravely next to Lucy while Stella hides behind Lucy’s leg. The man pets the dog. Lucy asks who he is, but the man replies, “You have to guess” (268). At first, Lucy thinks the man is Phin, but finally, she says, “You’re Henry” (269).

In 1992, after Henry finds out his sister is pregnant with David’s child, Henry confronts his mother, Martina. Martina says only, “It was nothing to do with me. All I know is that a baby is coming and that we should all be very happy” (270). Henry remembers how, shortly after his mother lost her baby, a man would knock on the door every day for a week. The children were kept in their rooms while the man knocked on their door. When Henry asked his mother who it was, she said it was Henry’s Uncle Karl, but they couldn’t let him in, “Because he wouldn’t understand the way we choose to live” (270).

Shortly after Henry hears about his sister’s pregnancy, he finds Clemency in the kitchen. Clemency agrees that the pregnancy is disgusting. Henry brings Clemency to his bedroom and tells Clemency about the items he found in David’s room. Clemency responds, “He’s been lying to us all along!” (273), because she believed David gave all their old belongings to charity. Henry then shows Clemency his father’s will, which has been altered to say that David inherits the house in the event of Henry Lamb and Martina Lamb’s deaths. Henry believes David got his sister pregnant in order to have an even stronger hold on the inheritance. Henry tells Clemency he has a plan to get them away from David, but Clemency has to promise not to tell anyone what Henry knows. Clemency agrees. Clemency then reveals that David once did something similar to his mother, Clemency’s grandmother. When she was senile, David tried to get her to sign her house over to him, but Clemency’s uncle found out and kicked them out. Finally, Clemency agrees to do whatever it takes to stop David. Henry reflects, “Looking back on it there were so many other ways to have got through the trauma of it all, but with all the people I loved most in the world facing away from me I chose the worst possible option” (274). 

Libby and Miller Roe leave Sally’s office. Overwhelmed, Libby begins to cry. Libby pulls pocket-sized tissues out of her bag and Miller Roe teases Libby for owning pocket-sized tissues. Libby explains that she always had to be the responsible one growing up: “My mum. My adoptive mum. She was a bit—well, is a bit chaotic. Lovely, lovely, lovely” (245). Libby’s adoptive father died when Libby was eight and Libby’s adoptive mother was often forgetting items Libby needed for school. When Libby was 18, her adoptive mother emigrated to Spain, and Libby had to look after herself. Libby mentions that the meeting with Sally was a waste of time. Miller Roe disagrees, explaining that photographs around the office revealed that Sally’s assistant, Lola, was her granddaughter, which must mean Sally’s daughter, Clemency, lives in the area. Miller Roe saw a letter in Sally’s office and pretended to tie his shoe while he photographed the address on the letter. Miller Roe believes the address belongs to Clemency.

Miller Roe and Libby drive to Clemency’s house. Clemency is a friendly woman living in a nice bungalow with a dog. Miller Roe introduces Libby as Serenity, and Clemency, recognizing the name, invites them inside. Clemency explains that the last time she saw Libby, she was a baby. Libby tells Clemency she was adopted by nice people. Libby explains how she inherited the house, met Miller Roe, and how the two of them ran into Phin one night at the house. Clemency is confused, because she and Sally searched for Phin for years and believed he was dead. Libby describes Phin’s strange luxury apartment and his cats. Hearing these descriptions, Clemency says she thinks the man they met is Henry, not Phin. Clemency describes how Henry was in love with Phin, tried to drown Phin in the river, and killed Birdie’s cat. Clemency admits, “It’s a terrible thing to say about a child, it really is, but in my opinion Henry had a streak of pure evil” (280). 

In Chelsea, in 1993, Henry states that he did not kill Birdie’s cat. Henry explains that he was experimenting with a new herbal remedy that would “bring about a slightly less temporary stupefaction” (281). Henry tested the remedy on the cat, which killed it. Henry explains that he took the cat’s tail because “It was beautiful, so soft and full of remarkable colors. I had nothing then, remember, nothing soft, it had all been taken” (281). After taking the cat’s tail, Henry buried the cat in the herb garden. Henry also explains that he didn’t try to drown Phin in the Thames river. Instead, Henry tried to kiss Phin while they were both on LSD. Phin pushed Henry away, and the two began shoving each other, which caused Henry to fall into the river. Henry feels guilty for causing Phin to be locked away in his room for a week, because Henry knows he was knocked into the river by accident, but neither Henry nor Phin ever admit to what really happened.