Read Online The Villain’s Daughter by Roberta Kray - Free Book Online

tuna sandwich from the fridge, peeled off the plastic wrapper and stared at it. Anxiety had blunted her hunger. She hadn’t eaten since the half slice of toast she had forced down at breakfast and butterflies were flapping in her stomach. She hadn’t told anyone about her meeting with Jenks, not even Luke. Not that she’d had the opportunity. He hadn’t rolled in until after midnight and by then she’d already been in bed. A year ago she’d have given him hell - he hadn’t even bothered to call her - but instead she had closed her eyes tight and pretended to be asleep.
    Alice Avery came into the kitchen with a tentative smile. She seemed, if it was possible, more jittery than usual. ‘No Toby today?’ she said, her eyes darting left and right as if he might suddenly jump out and start tormenting her again.
    Iris, glad of the distraction, raised her brows and grinned. ‘Don’t worry. He’s probably sleeping it off.’
    ‘Sorry?’
    ‘He went clubbing last night, out on the town with the delightful Danny Street. He wouldn’t be my choice for a dancing partner but hey, there’s no accounting for taste.’
    ‘No,’ Alice said.
    There was a short silence.
    As that conversation clearly wasn’t going anywhere, Iris tried a different tack. ‘Keeping busy?’
    Alice sat down. ‘So-so.’ As she placed her hands on the tabletop, Iris noticed that they were trembling.
    ‘Are you okay?’
    ‘I’m fine.’
    Iris frowned. She neither looked nor sounded fine. Usually they got on pretty well; they weren’t exactly bosom buddies but had developed what she liked to think of as a decent working relationship. At the very least, Alice was usually fairly relaxed with her. ‘What’s wrong?’
    ‘Nothing,’ she replied with unusual brusqueness. But then, having second thoughts, she shook her head. ‘I don’t know. Could I ask you something?’ It was a purely rhetorical question so Iris didn’t bother to reply. ‘Have you ever . . . I mean . . . have you ever done . . . have you ever . . . I don’t mean anything illegal but . . .’
    Iris waited patiently, willing her to spit it out. She didn’t believe her capable of anything even faintly immoral; Alice was one of the most upright people she had ever met. After a few seconds had passed, she gently urged her on. ‘But?’
    ‘Well, have you ever done something that you knew was—’
    Unfortunately, William Grand chose that very moment to walk into the kitchen. Iris silently cursed him for his bad timing. He nodded at them both, switched on the kettle and hovered while it boiled again. Unlike Gerald, he didn’t consider tea-making to be part of Iris’s duties and always made his own. He looked over his shoulder at Alice. ‘Everything all right with Mr Bayle?’
    She lowered her head, avoiding his gaze. ‘Yes, all done. He’s ready for viewing.’
    ‘Good, that’s good. I’ll have him moved.’ He paused as if about to say more, gave her an odd look and then turned abruptly back to the kettle.
    Iris glanced from one to the other, sensing an atmosphere. Alice was blushing bright red and she wondered, not for the first time, what made her tick. The woman must be in her early forties, but still had all the awkwardness of a teenager. However, Toby was right - there was a certain frisson between her and William Grand. Well, so what if there was? Alice could do worse. If she liked the quiet sort, then William wasn’t a bad bet. Iris made a brief study of him, ticking off the usual boxes: he was the right age, early forties, a bit on the grey side but nice-looking enough, solvent and interested.
    Maybe, in the interests of love, she should make herself scarce.
    But before she had the chance, Alice grabbed her mug, muttered some garbled words about having things to do and rushed back downstairs.
    William, who was looking rather pink himself, departed shortly after.
    Iris stared down at her uneaten sandwich and sighed. The course of true love, as she was more than