Read Online The Price of Desire by N. K. Fox - Free Book Online

night but I had something I just couldn’t get out of. But I was hoping you’d stop by as it’s been ages since I’ve seen you. How’s life in Cambridge?’
    â€˜Good,’ said Georgie. ‘It’s hard work though. I’ve got my exams at the end of the year.’
    â€˜Well I hope they aren’t working you too hard. You should make sure you take some time for yourself too. I don’t know if Bunnie’s told you but my life coach has been teaching me tai chi...’
    â€˜Oh mum, she doesn’t want to hear about your latest fad.’ Bunnie appeared in the hallway and walked over to give her friend a lingering hug. ‘Any news on Lily?’
    Georgie shook her head.
    â€˜Oh I’m so sorry, Georgie darling, I totally forgot to ask,’ Anneka said. ‘Your mother called me this morning and told me Lily hadn’t come home. You must be so worried.’
    â€˜I’ve been asking around Coxham Marsh but nobody’s see her.’ She shot Bunnie a glance, hoping she would interpret the meaning correctly. She needed to talk to her in private.
    â€˜Let’s go through to the sitting room,’ Bunnie said, and guided her down the hall.
    â€˜I’ll have cook send in some snacks,’ Anneka called after them.
    â€˜What’s happened?’ Bunnie asked once they were safely in her private living room.
    â€˜I’ll tell you in a moment. Can I call home first? I want to see if they’ve found her.’ Georgie picked up the phone and dialled, and while in conversation with her mother a veritable feast was brought in, and Bunnie was sitting on the sofa, cross-legged, munching a sandwich while absentmindedly shuffling a deck of tarot cards.
    â€˜Still no news?’ she asked as Georgie hung up the phone.
    â€˜No, nothing,’ Georgie sighed, lighting a cigarette and tapping her fingers on the arm of her chair. ‘Dad called; he hasn’t found her yet either but he’s still out looking. Mum’s not handling it very well. She’s convinced she’s been kidnapped or is lying in a ditch somewhere.’
    Georgie looked down at the plate of food. Her stomach was churning with anxiety and she didn’t think she could keep anything down. Bunnie noted her friend’s expression and poured her a large brandy instead.
    â€˜Drink this, it’ll help,’ she said, handing her the amber liquid. ‘So what do you think happened to her?’
    Georgie took a sip of the brandy. It burned its way down her throat and hit her stomach. She then proceeded to tell Bunnie in detail everything that had happened in the church, including what the vicar had told her. Bunnie sat listening, slight shock registering on her face when Georgie got to the part about the price of the information, and what it cost her. But she looked more shocked to hear what the vicar had said about Lily.
    â€˜You don’t believe him?’ Bunnie asked, once Georgie had finished her story.
    â€˜I don’t know,’ she said, sounding deflated. ‘Ordinarily there’d be no way I’d believe it, but it’s so out of character for her to go missing like this. And she missed my birthday. I just don’t know what to think.’
    â€˜Well I don’t believe it. I know Lily and there’s no way she would get involved in anything like that.’
    â€˜But then, why would the vicar say it?’
    â€˜To get a fuck out of you?’ said Bunnie, matter of factly.
    Georgie had considered that, and of course it was a possibility. The thought of it made her sick to her stomach; that she might have gone through all that and he was just playing her the whole time. But could she risk ignoring the information if there was the slightest possibility that he was telling the truth? ‘It can’t hurt to check out the pub. Will you come with me? I won’t say anything to my parents until we find out whether it’s true or