Read Online Rogue in Porcelain by Anthea Fraser - Free Book Online

mingling with indignation, the house looked surprisingly the same.
    As though to negate the impression, Avril said eagerly, ‘Shall I show you the alterations before we sit down?’and at their assent led the way upstairs and into her bedroom. On the right-hand wall, where Tom’s wardrobe had always stood, a doorway now led into an en suite, converted from the old box roomnext door.
    â€˜It’s lovely, Mum,’ Lindsey exclaimed, taking in the ivory fitments and pale blue tiling.
    â€˜You wouldn’t believe the problems I had!’ Avril told them. ‘First there was a delay in delivery, then when the units did arrive, they were the wrong size and I couldn’t close the door, so we had to start all over again. The guest room was just as bad; the decorator had barely stripped the walls when he went down with flu, and was off for two weeks.’
    â€˜Let’s see the finished result, then,’ Rona prompted, and they crossed the landing to the other front room, where their grandmother, now dead, had stayed on her infrequent visits. Redecorated and with new curtains and bed cover, the ambience was altogether fresher than Rona remembered, and though the familiar furniture remained, including the button-back chair that had been Grandma’s, a drop-leaf table now stood in the window, and a small television in one corner.
    â€˜You’ve done wonders with it,’ Lindsey said warmly.
    â€˜The curtains only arrived yesterday. I was on tenterhooks in case they wouldn’t be up in time for you to see them.’
    â€˜It all looks lovely, Mum,’ Rona told her. ‘Now all you need is an occupant.’
    â€˜I may have some news on that front, too,’ Avril said happily. ‘Come downstairs and I’ll tell you about it over a drink.’
    â€˜You’ve surely not had a reply already?’ Lindsey asked, when they’d all seated themselves.
    â€˜Not to the ads, no. But it turned out that Mary Price, who works at the library, has a friend at the school, and when she happened to mention I was looking for a lodger, this woman said she knew of someone who might be interested. A new teacher is due to start after Easter, and so far she’s not found anywhere to live. Mary passed on my name, and I’m waiting to hear from her. It would certainly be a bonus if it could be settled so quickly.’
    â€˜Oh – I almost forgot.’ Rona leaned over to retrieve her bag from the floor. ‘I’ve a present for you.’
    â€˜But you brought some wine; that’s more than—’
    â€˜This is a little extra,’ Rona told her, handing over a small package and watching with a smile as she unwrapped it. Inside was a china marmalade pot and spoon, and as Avril exclaimed with pleasure, Rona added, ‘It’s to mark your venture into B&B.’
    â€˜Oh darling, it’s lovely!’ Avril jumped up and went to kiss Rona’s cheek. ‘It’s Curzon, isn’t it?’
    â€˜Yes; I was at the pottery on Wednesday – I’m going to feature them in the series. I had a wander round the shop, and when I saw that, I couldn’t resist it. I’m assured it’s in this year’s design – scenes from the Chilterns. I think that one’s the Bridgewater Monument.’
    Seeing her mother’s delight in the gift, Rona marvelled again at the change in her. For several years she’d let herself go, not bothering with make-up, wearing the same dreary clothes and, even worse, continually criticizing her husband and daughters. Ironically, it had taken the end of her marriage to shake her into a realization of what she had become. Now, with an attractive new haircut, her recovered sense of style, and an interesting job to stimulate her, she seemed a different woman. Too bad it had come too late to save her marriage.
    Half an hour later, it was apparent that Avril’s cooking too had transformed itself. She’d