Read Online Murder in Midwinter by Lesley Cookman - Free Book Online

taking off her coat. ‘You’re not shocked, are you?’
    ‘No.’ Bella looked doubtful. ‘But he’s so handsome.’ She put her hand to her mouth. ‘Oh, you did mean what I thought you meant, didn’t you? He isn’t his business partner?’
    Fran laughed. ‘No, you were right first time,’ she said. ‘But in fact, I believe Peter did buy the restaurant for Harry, so he probably is his business partner as well. Now I must go and see what I’m supposed to be doing tonight.’
    Libby was now marshalling her troops into vaguely cohesive lumps at each side of the stage. ‘Where’s that bloody choreographer?’ she muttered under her breath.
    ‘Behind you!’ shouted the chorus.
    ‘Oh,’ said Libby.
    The choreographer, a sneering young man with all the experience of a West End musical flop behind him, lifted his chin as high as it would go and swept on to the stage. Libby shrugged and went back to her seat in the auditorium.
    ‘Right,’ she said. ‘Everybody ready? Ben? Fran? Are you there?’
    ‘Here,’ came the muffled voices.
    ‘Off we go, then,’ said Libby, and the rehearsal started.
    Apart from the cow falling over itself and the Fairy Queen falling over her helpers, it went reasonably well. Bella was enthusiastic when Libby called for a tea break.
    ‘We’ve never done pantomime at my society in London. I always assumed it would be too hard to do.’
    ‘It is,’ said Libby, ‘and when I was in the professional theatre, the thought of amateur pantomime made me cringe. Some of it still does, but when they’re done well they can be better than pro panto. But hard work, and you can’t tell people off because they’re doing it for nothing.’
    ‘Oh, you should hear our resident director in London,’ said Bella. ‘He tells people off all the time.’
    ‘Don’t they walk out on him?’
    ‘Yes,’ said Bella and pulled a wry face. ‘All the time.’
    ‘But I suppose you’ve a big catchment area so you can get replacements?’
    ‘Well, I suppose so,’ said Bella, looking doubtful again. Libby eyed her thoughtfully. They were going to have to toughen Mrs Morleigh up.
    Later, in the pub, Bella sat with her mouth slightly open and a dazed expression on her face as she listened to the conversations being conducted across, around and over her. Libby squeezed in beside her.
    ‘Difficult being in with a load of people you’ve never met before, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘Fran was like that only a couple of months ago.’
    ‘Was she?’ Bella looked surprised. ‘She looks as though she’s been here for years.’
    ‘It’s knowing the right people,’ said Libby, looking smug. ‘Like me. Oh, I don’t mean knowing me,’ she amended, seeing Bella’s raised eyebrows, ‘I mean, Peter and Harry found me my cottage, so I knew people straight away.’
    ‘And did you know Ben, too?’ asked Bella, who’d noticed the signs of togetherness between Libby and Ben.
    ‘Yes, I knew him, too, but I’ve got to know him much better since I moved here.’ She felt herself blushing and looked up to meet Ben’s amused gaze. ‘He always makes me do that,’ she muttered.
    Bella sighed. ‘You have been lucky,’ she said.
    Libby looked at her, frowning. Unhappy marriage, definitely, she thought.
    ‘Well, so have you, haven’t you?’ she said. ‘Being left a cottage, and a theatre! How exciting.’
    ‘And a body,’ said Bella, ‘but yes, it is exciting. Except that I shall probably have to sell the theatre as it’s virtually derelict, but it’s a good site, so the land will be worth quite a bit.’
    ‘Don’t you want to keep the theatre?’ asked Libby. ‘I would.’
    ‘Yes, I do – did, rather. The body was a bit off-putting, but Mr Grimshaw said it was too far gone to rescue anyway, and there would be no market for that sort of entertainment.’
    ‘Hmm.’ Libby took a sip of her drink. ‘Well, we can look into that after Fran’s found out about your family, can’t we?’
    ‘Can we?’