Monkshood by Anne Mather

Author:Anne Mather [Mather, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4603-4800-0
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-02-16T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

IT was amazing how quickly Melanie settled down to life in London again. She had plenty to occupy her mind with the usual seasonal celebrations in full swing and her publisher had a whole new series of illustrations lined up for her. He was pleased with the work she had done and showed more interest in Monkshood than Michael had done. Maybe his business mind saw possibilities there for Melanie; in any event when he discussed it with her he was not so adamant that she would be a fool not to sell it.

‘Let it ride,’ he advised her kindly. ‘After all, the house is yours, and so long as you keep up to date with the rates and so on, there’s absolutely no reason why you should be forced to sell until you’ve explored every possibility.’

Melanie listened to him carefully. Desmond Graham was not the sort of man to give advice lightly and she was inclined to agree with him when he said that there was no particular hurry to do anything.

So she put all thoughts of disposing of Monkshood out of her mind and concentrated instead on the immediate future. If Michael wondered whether she had contacted the Scottish solicitors he made no mention of it, and as he had returned to work too, to an apparent deluge of a backlog, he had little time to worry about her affairs.

Melanie joined Michael and his parents for Christmas. As well as the four of them there were also Michael’s elder sister Lucy and her husband and three children, and consequently it was quite a family party. Melanie enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and as she had only known the pleasure such family groups can bring since she became Michael’s girl-friend, she felt gratitude towards him for making her a part of his life.

It snowed on Boxing Day and in the afternoon the young people joined the children in the garden for a snowball fight. It was quite a boisterous affair, but Melanie noticed that Michael found it rather difficult to shed his air of dignity. However, he seemed to enjoy himself and afterwards they all sat round the fire drinking mulled wine and eating mince pies. Altogether it was a delightful few days and Melanie was sorry when it was over and they had to return to town.

London, after snow, was cold and slushy underfoot. Melanie wore her knee-length boots continually, combining them with a slim-fitting emerald green coat edged with dark fur which just brushed the tops of her boots. Going to and from the office she thought of the difference between this urban environment and the pure unblemished wastes of snow around Cairnside, and felt again the longing to try and persuade Michael that they might conceivably make something of Monkshood. After all, surely once Michael had been there and experienced that sense of unconfinement which can only be experienced away from the city, he would understand a little of her reluctance to sell the place.

But in spite of her vague hopes, she did not mention the matter to Michael.

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