Honeychurch Hall 06-Tidings of Death at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison

Author:Hannah Dennison [Dennison, Hannah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472128515
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Published: 2019-11-14T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

David got to his feet as Guy entered the lair. For the first time in all the years I had known him, he seemed unsure of himself. At eight years his junior, Guy brimmed with energy and confidence.

The two wore identical olive Barbour jackets. But while David’s identified him as a DFL – down-from-London – a city person wearing country attire as a fashion statement, Guy’s looked pretty beaten up and he fitted right in.

He handed me a glass and kissed my cheek before turning to David, whose expression I could only describe as rigid.

Sensing the tension, Guy thrust out a hand. ‘Guy Evans, hello. And you are?’

‘David Wynne,’ said David. ‘Drinking so early in the day?’

‘Here, take mine,’ Guy said gallantly.

David sneered. ‘I was being sarcastic.’

‘Really? Whatever for?’ Guy raised his glass to mine in a toast. ‘Cheers! Merry Christmas!’

I took a larger gulp than I’d planned on. My nerves were going through the roof as David just stood there watching.

‘Guy’s a helicopter pilot at the Royal Naval Air Station in Yeovilton,’ I said.

‘Rescuing people off clifftops?’ David said.

‘Small dogs usually,’ said Guy. ‘We prefer to leave the people behind.’

I laughed. David didn’t.

‘David is an art investigator,’ I said.

At this, Guy frowned. ‘I thought the name sounded familiar. You’re the male version of Rene Russo in The Thomas Crown Affair.’

‘I loved that movie,’ I gushed.

‘I preferred the original version with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway,’ said David with a sniff.

‘I believe that version is playing at the Totnes Cinema,’ Guy said. ‘They show old movies. Wait …’ He snapped his fingers. ‘I know where I’ve heard your name before. You impersonated an art dealer and recovered a painting in Venezuela that had been stolen by the Nazis. It was all over the newspapers.’

‘Guy is a bit of a painting connoisseur,’ I put in.

Instead of preening his feathers at being recognised, David seemed miffed. ‘Kat didn’t tell you about us?’

I didn’t think things could get any more awkward. The truth was, I hadn’t told Guy too much about my past. We’d not spent enough time together to go there. And when I’d asked him about the circumstances surrounding his divorce, he had just said, ‘I never look back. No one lives there any more.’

‘Tell me what?’ Guy asked.

David looked at me and smiled. ‘She and I were … an item for a long, long time.’

‘And you let her go?’ Guy laughed. ‘Bad luck, mate.’ He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me close. ‘Thank you for that. I’m a lucky man.’

I braced myself for another of David’s cutting remarks, but all he said was, ‘You’re right. I made a mistake. But as the saying goes, nothing is over until the fat lady sings. I’ll see you at the auction on Wednesday. Enjoy the mulled wine.’

And with that, he was gone.

I felt a little shaken and was grateful when the couple who had come by earlier returned to buy the doll – just as David had predicted. Even though David and

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