Read Online Folly by Stella Cameron - Free Book Online Page A

away.’
    Alex swallowed several times.
Do something …
    â€˜Take your time.’ Harriet’s voice floated down the stairs this time. ‘We took in a few Enid Blytons yesterday. You might like to look at them.’
    â€˜I’ll do that,’ Alex said.
    â€˜And there’s a sweet old copy of
Heidi
.’
    â€˜Ooh, lovely.’
    She collected children’s books. On her library shelves were some beautiful, classical books, but she also gathered in childhood favorites recommended by older or even current generations, even if the condition was far less than fine. She loved the charming illustrations, especially the line drawings in so many of them.
    As expected, a pile of books was stacked against the wall at one end of a dark wooden counter. Alex skirted the tea room tables, no two alike, sniffing appreciatively at the warm smells of fresh cakes and pastries in large white boxes from George’s Bakery. Leaves of Comfort used the village bakery shop rather than have their goodies made on the premises. Not needing a large kitchen made space for at least two or three more tables in the tiny establishment.
    She saw how torn the top book’s cover was. Torn and taped together. But she also saw it was an original cover on a copy of
The Circus of Adventure
and swept it up. This was the only one missing from the books she already had in that series.
    Johanna Spyri’s
Heidi
had a slightly faded blue leather binding and Alex shivered a little with anticipation.
    She would examine the stack more closely later.
    Books crowded every available space in the shop, including a shelf that ran around both of the downstairs rooms just above eye level. Here and there hand-made tea cozies and teapots were on display and for sale like the jars of homemade jams and chutneys, tins of biscuits, packages of loose tea and bottles of sweets; all of these worked well as bookends. A pelmet of heavy, homemade lace hung in points from a rod along the edges of the shelves and lavender vied sweetly with the scents of delectable food.
    Each table was covered with a white lace or embroidered cloth and among the china settings of various patterns were one or two strategically placed books. Village women, in both Folly and Underhill, made the cloths and similar ones were for sale.
    Harriet and Mary couldn’t have chosen a better outlet for their so-called retired energies.
    â€˜Doc James says Mary’s under the weather,’ Alex said loudly as she started up the stairs. ‘Thought I’d better get over here to offer comfort and solace.’ And snatch the first chance of the morning to get away from Major Stroud’s prodding for ghoulish information on the murder victim.
    Being exhausted and scared had nothing to do with anything, she told herself, trying to lift her spirits with sarcasm aimed at herself.
    â€˜There you are,’ Harriet said when she saw Alex. ‘Where’s that Bogie? We heard you’ve taken him in.’
    There were no secrets about inconsequential details in Folly-on-Weir and the local mouth-to-mouth was fast and efficient.
    â€˜I left him with Cathy. She already loves him.’
    â€˜How is Cathy?’ Harriet said. ‘Someone said she was very upset yesterday.’
    â€˜Still not good.’ Alex suppressed a smile.
    The kettle whistled in the kitchen and Harriet got up from a hugely overstuffed chintz chair. With the window behind her, open to frigid air, light turned her almost white hair into a silvery aura. ‘We already have our delivery of pastries. I brought up some pieces of Battenberg cake, just in case you came by.’ She rolled her eyes as she passed Mary, indicating, Alex assumed, that she was irritated with her sister. They spent a considerable amount of time being tetchy with one another.
    â€˜Sounds heavenly,’ Alex said. ‘I didn’t finish going through the books because I wanted to come up, but I’ll take the Blyton