The Catherine Howard Conspiracy: A gripping conspiracy thriller with a dramatic twist (The Marquess House Saga Book 1) by Alexandra Walsh

Author:Alexandra Walsh [Walsh, Alexandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Publisher: Sapere Books
Published: 2019-03-28T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOUR

“Don’t you ever sleep?”

Perdita looked up. Kit was standing in the doorway, smiling.

“I thought I’d have an early start.”

“Things didn’t go well with Warren last night, then,” he said dumping his bag on a chair before perching on the desk and looking sympathetically at Perdita. It was a statement rather than a question.

“Nope, it turns out he and Jacqui are still married. They’re not even separated.”

“What?” Kit sounded furious. “For God’s sake, Perds, you’re engaged. How could he have got that wrong? It’s quite a major oversight.”

“You’d think, wouldn’t you? Anyway, past tense now, ‘were’ engaged,” she held up her ring-free left hand. In an attempt to hide her despair, she forced her voice to take a lighter note. “He doesn’t like you much,” she continued, knowing this would amuse Kit, who grinned, delighted.

“Really?”

“He said the reason he staged his dramatic entrance was because he wanted to put you in your place.”

“What had I done?”

“He’d seen you take my hand and, even though he hasn’t admitted it, he was jealous. He called you: ‘that smug Mackensie kid’.”

Kit burst out laughing. “Kid! Doesn’t he know I’m older than you?”

Perdita shook her head. “I didn’t bother to enlighten him. I thought I’d leave him to wallow in his seething envy. I also decided not to tell him that you have a girlfriend.”

Kit’s dancing eyes shadowed slightly. He retrieved his bag before settling in the chair opposite Perdita. “Actually, I don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Have a girlfriend. Lydia and I decided to gracefully call it a day when we went to Di and Stephen’s wedding.”

“Oh. Why?”

“We realised we’d grown apart and, while we still cared about each other, it wasn’t the same. I think it’s been a long time coming but it was the best decision for us both.”

“You didn’t tell me,” said Perdita, confused as to why this was upsetting her so much. “You could have confided in me, I’d have been able to support you like you’ve helped me.”

“Perds, there was nothing to tell,” he said, “it didn’t seem important.” She turned away from him, strangely delighted by his unexpected announcement. “Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied, quashing the rising tide of joy and forcing her emotions back to her wrecked relationship with Warren. “I’m not too bad. Sad and a bit shell-shocked but deep down, I’ve always suspected he wasn’t being honest. Our relationship often felt slightly unreal, as though he were playing the part of the perfect boyfriend. I knew there were problems but I’d had so much unhappiness, I couldn’t bear the thought of examining it and maybe destroying it. Fool’s gold was better than no gold for a while. Maybe it’s like you and Lydia, I was hanging on to something because it was there rather than because it was doing me any good.”

Kit seemed about to say something, then changed his mind and instead said: “Is he still here?”

“No idea. He slept in the guest room and the door was shut when I crept out. I haven’t been around the front to check whether his car has gone.

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