Mystery by the Sea: An utterly addictive English cozy mystery (A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery Book 5) by Verity Bright

Author:Verity Bright
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
ISBN: 9781800193932
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2021-03-10T22:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Five

‘Oh, but I say, this is glorious,’ Eleanor whispered as she stepped into the elegant dome of the Winter Gardens. The size of an intimate concert hall and rising three floors, the entire building was bathed in sunlight. Made of glass, its vaulted supports appeared almost too fragile to bear the weight. Tall potted palms mingled with the multitude of hanging baskets cascading greenery down every column. Over sixty tables and chairs, arranged around the central carved fountain, told how bustling this would be at the height of the tourist season.

Eleanor pointed to the enticing staircase halfway along one side, which swirled up to a galleried area offering a commanding view of the entire ground floor. ‘Let’s get a table up there.’

Once installed and their order placed, Eleanor took a deep breath and pulled out the two halves of the wedding photograph.

Clifford scanned her face. ‘Are you sure this won’t spoil your birthday, my lady?’

‘No, but I appreciate your solicitude. It seems Hilary has given me the opportunity to find out the truth and then… move on. Undoubtedly the best thirtieth birthday present he could have given me, although I’m unconvinced that was his intention.’

‘Then, may I offer my compliments for your idea of asking Detective Chief Inspector Seldon to assist in retrieving the other half of the photograph? He is an excellent ally to have.’

She grimaced. ‘Yes but it will be a fleeting alliance once he learns all the ugly facts I kept from him, like the attempted kidnap.’ She groaned. ‘Then there’ll be no more “Call me Hugh” after that.’

She caught the twinkle in Clifford’s eye and shook her head wearily. ‘No, Clifford, that ship has definitely sailed. He made it clear he didn’t want to spend any time with me today, despite the fact he will be driving back down to return the photograph late this afternoon.’

Clifford adjusted his perfectly aligned tie but said nothing.

She tapped her head. ‘However, I just remembered he did confirm that Franklin, Longley, Blunt, Summers and de Meyer all came across on the same ship as Hilary, so at least I got some useful information out of him while he’s still talking to me.’

Clifford nodded. ‘As we suspected.’

‘Yes. But now we have a simply enormous pot of tea and a full stand of divine looking finger cakes—’

‘Petits fours, my lady.’

‘Yes, those too. I simply haven’t room after that sumptuous lunch, but as it’s my birthday I feel honour bound to at least try and eat one or two.’ She looked around. ‘And besides, they obviously need the business, the place is deserted. Except, that is, for that unhelpfully love-struck young couple over there.’ She pulled the two halves of the photograph from her pocket and placed them together. For a moment she just stared at the image. Finally, she let out a long breath. ‘It was a fairy-tale day. Much like today has been. At least I can hang on to that memory.’ She caught Clifford’s eye. ‘But we aren’t here to stare at a picture of happy newlyweds, I know.

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