They made it to the hidden door without being spotted. And, saints be praised, there was a loud kerfuffle on the dance floor precisely at the right moment. It distracted everyone, including Lord Tristram, just long enough for Anya and Charlotte to open it and slip into the dimly lit corridor behind. Anya paused to …
Coming up with a plan to communicate Charlotte’s displeasure to her distant fiancé required tea and cake.Once the maid had finished setting out the cups and left the room, Charlotte fixed worried eyes on Anya and asked. “What do we do?”Anya retreated into a sip of tea to delay her reply. What did she know …
“They don’t like to… restrict… his enthusiasm and creativity.” Lesley’s friend, Janet, raised a brow. “So he’s an undisciplined, spoiled brat.” Lesley focused on her coffee. “Yes. And they won’t do anything, even when people say things.” “What about his school?” “Natalie’s homeschooling him. She says the education system is a relic of the industrial …
“But he never leaves his room, other than for meals and to go to school, it’s just not healthy. He’s a growing boy, he needs to get outside, run about, get muddy with other boys.” “Does he look unhealthy to you?” “Well, no, but…” “Have you ever actually been into his room?” “Certainly not, I …
Theo wound up his enthusiastic description of his employer with the emphatic, “He is a veritable prince among men.” Silence. And not of the awed variety. Eventually, one of the older men at the table in the corner said. “You’re not from round here are ya.” Theo’s face – never good at hiding his thoughts …
Myrah hadn’t meant to eavesdrop on her brother’s marriage proposal, she’d been snipping flowers for the vase in Mother’s sitting room and found some lovely late-blooming roses behind the bower. She was bent over, coaxing a particularly reclusive flower from behind its thorny guards when voices had hit her from the raised floor of the …
“Dad, Dad, Dad! What’s brown and sticky?” Damian wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer. “I don’t know, what?” “A stick!” Emily flopped into the armchair, giggling at her own joke. That actually a pretty good one, definitely better than yesterday’s. He chuckled. “Nice, I’ll have to remember that, tell the guys at work.” …
It was all well and good to have a home up the hill. The views were lovely and there was none of the worry about flooding the valley people had, but did the damn hill have to be so steep? Justine re-gripped the shopping bags and kept going. “Alright then?” Ergh, not young Marcus McShea. …
It had taken a week of solid work – every evening after dinner – but it was finally done. It was beautiful. A proper display cupboard for the Collectors’ Edition dolls she’d been buying for years. She’d already had the cupboard, a lovely glass-fronted antique. It had just needed some decoration, to put each of …
The leaves on the palm trees outside his hotel window waved mockingly on the afternoon breeze. ‘Here you are in paradise’ they seemed to say, ‘but all you can do is pace about your too-large-for-one hotel room, talk on your phone, and tap on your computer.’ And the room was too large for one person, …
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