Read Online Almost a Crime by Penny Vincenzi - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Penny Vincenzi
Ads: Link
critically.
‘You all right? Not pregnant again, are you? Octavia,
please, please don’t say that.’
‘No, I’m not pregnant,’ said Octavia slightly defensively.
‘Good. Just usual domestic trauma, is it? Wearing you
out?’
‘You could say that.’
‘Surely the divinely handsome Mr Fleming isn’t giving
trouble?’
‘Not as far as I know,’ said Octavia lightly. ‘Honestly,
Mells, I’m fine. Just tired.’
‘Well, that’s all right then. Now let me tell you quickly,
before she gets here, that Mrs B is dead set on a ball this
Christmas. We have to talk her out of it. Those things are
no good at all without a really high-profile patron, and we
ain’t got one.’
‘Any good trying Kensington Palace? She was very keen
we did that, said she was sure Diana would respond.’
‘They all think Diana will respond. No, I did put a call in
to the Palace, but never got past the outside office. Anyway,
it’s no good just saying no ball, we have to come up with an
alternative, something she can latch on to. Any ideas?’
‘I did meet Neil Balcon the other night,’ said Octavia,
‘you know, the thinking woman’s Michael Ball?’
‘Oh, him. Yes. And?’
‘And he’s just done one of those Sunday night benefit
things. They made forty grand for Deafaid. He said it was
always worth asking him, he liked doing things like that. As
long as he was sympathetic to the cause.’
‘Did he? What was he like? You do manage to meet the
most glamorous people, Octavia.’
‘Oh, it was at one of those fundraising bashes for the
Labour Party,’ said Octavia. ‘You know Tom gets invited
to diem sometimes.’
‘What, at Ken and Barbie’s little place?’
‘No, not Follett Towers this time. Brian Tweedie, same
difference. Anyway, he was very nice, and extremely
handsome. So we could try that.’
‘Sounds good. Ah, here’s Kate now. Come and sit down,
Kate. Coffee?’
There was a message for Octavia when she got into the
office, from Lauren Bartlett. Octavia asked Sarah Jane for a
glass of mineral water, took two Nurofen for a thickly
growing headache, and dialled the number.
‘Lauren Bartlett.’ Just hearing her voice put Octavia’s
teeth on edge: slightly braying, aggressively well bred.
‘Oh, Lauren, hi. This is Octavia Fleming.’
‘Oh, Octavia, yes.’
‘You called me. Incidentally, if it was about the party,
Poppy would love to come, thank you. Sounds wonderful.’
‘Fine. I’ll tick her off the list. She has got her own
passport, has she? Last year we had a nightmare because
some child didn’t. I forgot to put that in the invitation.’
‘Yes, of course.’
‘Right. No need to worry about safety, by the way.
George’s pilot has ten thousand miles’ experience. Never so
much as a bumpy landing.’
‘I wasn’t,’ said Octavia, wondering if she should have
done.
‘Good. Some people were. Now, Octavia, I’m on the
fundraising committee of Next Generation. As you know.’
Octavia did know; it would have been hard not to. Next
Generation was very high profile indeed — at one point it
had been strongly rumoured that Princess Diana was to
become its patron. Capital C had done a presentation to
them two years earlier and failed to get the business; as a
flagship it would be superb. It ran a privately funded
hospice for children with AIDS, and two refuge houses for
abused children. ‘Very fashionable, very Diana,’ Melanie
had observed tartly after the first meeting with them.
Diana’s patronage had not yet materialised, but the charity continued to win a great deal of attention and publicity.
‘We’re planning a fundraising day in September, at
Brands Hatch. We thought of getting professional help and
your name came up. Now, we do know you’re awfully
expensive, so it could be we’d be better managing without
you. I just wondered if you’d consider meeting us halfway
on the cost, as we’re friends and so
‘You all right? Not pregnant again, are you? Octavia,
please, please don’t say that.’
‘No, I’m not pregnant,’ said Octavia slightly defensively.
‘Good. Just usual domestic trauma, is it? Wearing you
out?’
‘You could say that.’
‘Surely the divinely handsome Mr Fleming isn’t giving
trouble?’
‘Not as far as I know,’ said Octavia lightly. ‘Honestly,
Mells, I’m fine. Just tired.’
‘Well, that’s all right then. Now let me tell you quickly,
before she gets here, that Mrs B is dead set on a ball this
Christmas. We have to talk her out of it. Those things are
no good at all without a really high-profile patron, and we
ain’t got one.’
‘Any good trying Kensington Palace? She was very keen
we did that, said she was sure Diana would respond.’
‘They all think Diana will respond. No, I did put a call in
to the Palace, but never got past the outside office. Anyway,
it’s no good just saying no ball, we have to come up with an
alternative, something she can latch on to. Any ideas?’
‘I did meet Neil Balcon the other night,’ said Octavia,
‘you know, the thinking woman’s Michael Ball?’
‘Oh, him. Yes. And?’
‘And he’s just done one of those Sunday night benefit
things. They made forty grand for Deafaid. He said it was
always worth asking him, he liked doing things like that. As
long as he was sympathetic to the cause.’
‘Did he? What was he like? You do manage to meet the
most glamorous people, Octavia.’
‘Oh, it was at one of those fundraising bashes for the
Labour Party,’ said Octavia. ‘You know Tom gets invited
to diem sometimes.’
‘What, at Ken and Barbie’s little place?’
‘No, not Follett Towers this time. Brian Tweedie, same
difference. Anyway, he was very nice, and extremely
handsome. So we could try that.’
‘Sounds good. Ah, here’s Kate now. Come and sit down,
Kate. Coffee?’
There was a message for Octavia when she got into the
office, from Lauren Bartlett. Octavia asked Sarah Jane for a
glass of mineral water, took two Nurofen for a thickly
growing headache, and dialled the number.
‘Lauren Bartlett.’ Just hearing her voice put Octavia’s
teeth on edge: slightly braying, aggressively well bred.
‘Oh, Lauren, hi. This is Octavia Fleming.’
‘Oh, Octavia, yes.’
‘You called me. Incidentally, if it was about the party,
Poppy would love to come, thank you. Sounds wonderful.’
‘Fine. I’ll tick her off the list. She has got her own
passport, has she? Last year we had a nightmare because
some child didn’t. I forgot to put that in the invitation.’
‘Yes, of course.’
‘Right. No need to worry about safety, by the way.
George’s pilot has ten thousand miles’ experience. Never so
much as a bumpy landing.’
‘I wasn’t,’ said Octavia, wondering if she should have
done.
‘Good. Some people were. Now, Octavia, I’m on the
fundraising committee of Next Generation. As you know.’
Octavia did know; it would have been hard not to. Next
Generation was very high profile indeed — at one point it
had been strongly rumoured that Princess Diana was to
become its patron. Capital C had done a presentation to
them two years earlier and failed to get the business; as a
flagship it would be superb. It ran a privately funded
hospice for children with AIDS, and two refuge houses for
abused children. ‘Very fashionable, very Diana,’ Melanie
had observed tartly after the first meeting with them.
Diana’s patronage had not yet materialised, but the charity continued to win a great deal of attention and publicity.
‘We’re planning a fundraising day in September, at
Brands Hatch. We thought of getting professional help and
your name came up. Now, we do know you’re awfully
expensive, so it could be we’d be better managing without
you. I just wondered if you’d consider meeting us halfway
on the cost, as we’re friends and so
Similar Books
