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clothes as she’d left all of hers at the Hyatt. It was a pity about them as she had brought some lovely clothes with her, but there was no use crying over them now,
    As Joanna went to the door, her mobile started ringing. She picked it up and looked at who the caller was. Her heart missed a beat when she saw it was Charles. Why couldn’t he just forget about her? It would make life so much easier. If he wasn’t interested anymore, she wouldn’t feel so bad. No, it wouldn’t be as terrible if he gave up on her rather than the other way around.
     

Chapter 6
     
    Eve and David wandered around a few kitchen showrooms and to David’s surprise, Eve narrowed the choice down to two very quickly. After going through the pros and cons of each one, Eve made her final decision and then an assistant from the shop went to the house with them to measure up. Eve was very impressed that he could come straight away and that once he got there, he was thorough in his job.
    Almost as soon as he had left, Eve and David heard someone knocking at the door. As Eve went to answer it, she had a feeling that when she opened the door, Vera would be standing there. She wasn’t wrong, but she was a little surprised to see that Marion was with her. On her last visit, she had got the impression that Vera wasn’t too keen on Marion, but here they were together, seemingly as friends. Eve had no great wish to speak to either woman, but she hid her feelings well.
    “How lovely to see you again, Vera, and to meet you, Marion.”
    “We wondered if you would like to come over for a cup of tea. Marion and I have been baking and thought you might to try my lamingtons. They’re traditionally Australian.”
    “Why, thank you,” Eve replied, thinking that with friends like Vera, who needed enemies.
    Eve remembered Vera calling Marion a mouse and saying that all she did was spy on people from behind her curtains, yet now they were baking together. What would Marion think if she knew that Vera was speaking unkindly behind her back?
    Despite Eve’s misgivings about going to Vera’s for a cup of tea, both she and David were hungry and were dying for a hot drink, but they had forgotten to bring any food or drink over to the house. They had found only herbal teas in a cupboard in the kitchen and neither of them liked them much.
    “We haven’t got anything in,” Eve continued. “So you’re a lifesaver. Oh, this is David, by the way, my fiancé.”
    “My, you’re a good looking one, aren’t you?” Vera commented, not being one to hold back her feelings.
    David blushed and smiled, but said nothing.
    “So, how are you getting on with sorting the house out?” Vera asked as Eve and David followed her and Marion next door.
    “Well, we’re having a new kitchen put in,” Eve replied. “We’ve just had a man come and measure up.”
    “Ah, I thought I saw someone just leave.”
    I bet you did, you nosey old bag, thought Eve.
    She was gradually getting to dislike Vera, and Marion definitely seemed to be under her thumb, a bit like Phyllis used to be with Betty.
    Phyllis, however, turned out to be a vicious murderer and Eve wondered if Marion had a dark side as well.
    “I suppose you’ve ignored my advice and gone for a modern kitchen,” Vera continued.
    "Afraid so,” Eve said, ready to defend her decision.
    “Lovely house you’ve got,” David interrupted, changing the subject in the nick of time.
    ‘Thank you,” Vera replied, beaming.
    The dreaded argument didn’t happen as Vera started to tell David a little about her home.
    Soon they were in the house and Vera directed them into the lounge.
    “Try a lamington,” she said a few moments later, giving them a plate each with a sponge cake covered in chocolate and grated coconut. “I’ll put the kettle on.”
    Both Eve and David bit into the lamingtons and gave each other a satisfied smile.
    “This is wonderful,” Eve said when Vera came back into the lounge. “You are a good cook.”
    “I