Peril on the Page by Margaret Loudon

Author:Margaret Loudon [Loudon, Margaret]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2022-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

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Pen paid the taxi driver and got out in front of the Open Book. She really had to look into buying another car, she decided.

She still hadn’t had any lunch and now it was practically teatime. She loved the British ritual of afternoon tea. It was so . . . civilized.

Mrs. Danvers marched toward Penelope as she opened the door. The cat’s eyes were narrowed to slits. Before she reached Penelope, she turned around and marched off, her tail defiantly waving in the air.

“I guess she’s still mad at me for putting her in the carrier this morning,” Pen said to Mabel, who was behind the counter. “I don’t suppose she’s going to like it any better on the way home.”

“How did it go?” Mabel said, leaning her arms on the counter.

“So-so,” Penelope said, gesturing with her hand. “Helen admitted to having the Austen book.” Pen hung up her jacket and turned back to Mabel. “Actually I saw the book myself and she was forced to come clean about it.”

“What are you going to do?”

Penelope took a deep breath. “I don’t know. Helen has promised to put the newly restored volume back in the display case. Does Maribel really have to know that Helen took it?”

Mabel frowned. “That is a tricky question.”

Penelope sighed. “I’m going to sleep on it.”

“Good idea.”

“Meanwhile, I’m going to work on the next Open Book newsletter.”

As Penelope was walking to her writing room, her stomach rumbled again. She made a slight detour and headed toward Figgy’s tea shop.

“Do you have anything to feed a starving person?” she said to Figgy, who was wiping down a table.

“Of course I do. I just made a fridge cake—a chocolate biscuit cake—or would you like a slice of Madeira cake?”

“I’ve never had a chocolate biscuit cake,” Pen said, her mouth already starting to water.

“It’s Prince William’s favorite. He had it as his groom’s cake at his wedding. The queen is a fan, too. She apparently likes a slice in the afternoon with her tea.”

“I’ll try it,” Pen said.

Moments later Figgy returned with a slice of cake on a plate. It was covered in dark chocolate and looked so yummy Pen thought she would swoon. She took it to her writing room and immediately tucked into it.

She wiped her hands with a tissue and powered up her laptop. She went to work and when she looked at the time, she was surprised to see it was almost six o’clock.

She got her things together, turned out the light, and went out into the salesroom. She retrieved Mrs. Danvers’s carrier from behind the counter, where she’d left it, and looked around for the cat.

“This should be fun,” Mabel said, her arms folded across her chest.

As soon as Mrs. Danvers got wind of what was going on, she scampered off and sidled under one of the armchairs. Pen grabbed the cat treats she’d brought from her tote bag and tried to lure Mrs. Danvers out. Mrs. Danvers was having none of it.

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