Read Online Paradise Found by Dorothy Vernon - Free Book Online

it’s what to leave out. So I’m going to keep my fingers crossed for you and hope that Matt does decide to pay one of his impromptu visits. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll alert Yvette that we need more hot water.’
    â€˜If you point me in the right direction, I’ll go,’ Zoe volunteered.
    â€˜Will you, dear? That’s very kind of you. In case Monique isn’t about, you’d better take the hot water jug. Yvette is a charming girl, but she does sometimes get carried away, and her “leetle English” may not be up to it. I should explain that Monique is my treasure of a cook and housekeeper.’
    â€˜Treasure!’ Tony snorted contemptuously. ‘She and Pierre ought to have been pensioned off long ago.’
    â€˜Lower your voice, Tony,’ Hannah reproved sharply. ‘You’ll get old yourself one day, if you live long enough.’ Her tone softened as she turned to speak to Zoe. ‘Pierre is Monique’s husband. He keeps the garden tidy and does odd jobs about the place. It’s true that they’re both past the age of retiring. And yes, perhaps they’re not as quick as they used to be, but they are fiercely loyal to me. They’ve been with me for a long time. This is their home. I ask myself, where else would they go?’
    Zoe felt that his grandmother had been right in rebuking Tony. As she went for the hot water, she wondered if Matt would decide to turn up. She would have offered to run the errand in any case to save Hannah’s legs, but in truth she was glad of the excuse to escape for a few moments to cool her thoughts. Part of her hoped that Matt would come; the saner side of her viewed the possibility with dread.
    After second cups of tea, or a third cup, in Hannah’s case, Hannah showed them their rooms. Tony’s was at the end of the ground floor, next to where Hannah herself slept.
    As they left Tony there Hannah quipped, ‘You’re on my team now, Tony.’ Then she explained for Zoe’s benefit. ‘I’m fantastic for my age, so I’m not complaining. I reckon that I’ll see a few of the young ones off yet, but the old gray mare ain’t what she used to be. I’m all right on the flat, but my knees creak on stairs.’
    Despite her humor, it was no joke, and Zoe felt guilty at dragging her up the stairs to be shown her quarters. She told Hannah that it wasn’t necessary and that she would be happy to let Yvette take her up. But Hannah was insistent that she not shirk her job as a hostess. Despite her easy friendship and casual manner in things like forms of address, she took her hostessing duties seriously. But Zoe didn’t realize just how seriously until she saw the thought that had gone into the preparation of her
en suite
accommodation. The towels in the bathroom were soft apricot and pink, the soap and toiletries delicately perfumed for feminine use. In the bedroom there was a wide selection of reading matter that included both books and magazines in English. The most thoughtful touch of all was the tea and coffee making facilities, a tin of assorted biscuits, and a tiny refrigerator containing iced drinks and also the requirements for making a light snack.
    â€˜You’re welcome to make free use of the kitchen at any time of day or night, but I’ve found out from experience that guests don’t always like to. While I’m about it, I don’t want you to feel like a guest. You’re almost family, and would have been if that idiot of a grandson of mine hadn’t come a cropper. Did you blow your top?’
    â€˜There wasn’t much point.’
    â€˜Really? With your color hair I wouldn’t have thought you’d be able to help it, unless . . .’
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜Oh, nothing. Sometimes these old eyes of mine are a bit too shrewd for my own liking. Anyway, I’m glad that you’re here. This is one misfortune, Miss Fortune, that