Read Online The Seven Stars by Anthea Fraser - Free Book Online Page B

is. My daughter keeps plying me with Cooking-for-One type recipes, but frankly I’m not interested enough to bother.’
    ‘ Have you just the one daughter?’ Helen asked.
    ‘ Yes, and one son. And in case you’re wondering, my wife and I split up last year.’
    ‘ I’m sorry,’ she said awkwardly.
    ‘ Don’t be; we should have done it years ago.’
    She was silent , wondering uncomfortably if this was a glimpse of how Andrew might be, if and when they separated: lost, adrift, living out of tins. Probably so, she thought; the last time she was away, he’d existed on toast and cornflakes.
    She realised Michael Saxton had said something, and looked up hastily. ‘I’m sorry?’
    ‘ I said, what about you? What family have you?’
    ‘ Also a son and daughter. Penelope’s at Broadshire University.’
    ‘ Hence your appearance last week?’
    She nodded , but before she could elaborate the call came to go through for dinner.
    This time , the long table was laid with crystal and silver, and tall green candles burned in the holders. Helen found herself placed between Gordon Cain, at the foot of the table, and Michael Saxton. Conversation was animated and general, the food excellent and the wine plentiful. More than once, she caught Dominic Hardy’s eyes on her across the table and felt a flicker of gratified amusement.
    Suddenly he leant towards her. ‘How long are you here for? Sorry, I don’t know your name?’
    ‘ Mrs Campbell,’ Stella said automatically.
    ‘ My dear girl, I’m not going to call her “Mrs Campbell” all evening!’
    ‘ It’s Helen,’ she supplied quickly. ‘Do please use it, all of you.’ She’d been conscious, last time, of being the outsider, with the others on first-name terms.
    ‘ Fine — Helen, then. How long are you staying?’
    ‘ Till a week on Saturday — it’s a two-week course.’
    ‘ By which time you’ll know all there is to know about antiques?’
    She said steadily , ‘Obviously it’ll be superficial, but at least it should get me back into the swim.’ She met his eye squarely. ‘What do you do, Dominic?’
    He sipped his wine , surveying her over the rim of the glass. ‘As the phrase has it, I’m something in the City.’
    ‘ You don’t live round here, then?’
    ‘ God, no! I’d die of boredom!’
    ‘ Dominic likes to be in the thick of things,’ Kate said drily. ‘He lives in one of those luxury apartments near St Katharine’s Dock. The reason we’re graced with his presence is because he drives Caro up to see her father, who’s not well.’
    ‘ And while I’m here, I take the chance of dropping in to keep these dear folk au fait with what’s going on in the wide world.’
    ‘ We were at school together,’ Nicholas said, by way of explanation, ‘though Dom was a contemporary of my younger brother.’
    ‘ How is Ben?’ Caroline asked. ‘We haven’t seen him for ages.’
    Helen sat back , letting the conversation wash over her. She felt tired and pleasantly relaxed, anticipating with pleasure both the antiques course which lay ahead and evenings such as this, spent over good food in interesting company. How lucky she’d stumbled on this place.
    Thinking back to her last visit , she said into a sudden lull, ‘Did you ever hear any more about the girl who was knocked down?’
    The silence that greeted her question made her look up , in time to catch hastily averted eyes.
    ‘ God, yes,’ Gordon said under his breath. ‘That was the night you were here, wasn’t it?’
    ‘ Well?’ Helen pressed, idle curiosity submerged in a sudden need to know. ‘Did you hear anything?’
    ‘ We did indeed,’ Nicholas Warren said soberly. ‘She turned out to be a girl who worked here, on her way home.’
    Helen stared at him aghast. ‘Not Molly?’ she exclaimed involuntarily.
    Everyone looked at her in surprise. ‘How did you know her name?’ Gordon demanded.
    In her mind ’s eye, Helen saw again the running girl and the large, pursuing