The Pavilion in the Clouds by Smith Alexander McCall

Author:Smith, Alexander McCall [Smith, Alexander McCall]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical, Mystery, Adult, Contemporary
ISBN: 9781788854627
Amazon: B096TBDWTG
Goodreads: 58488463
Publisher: Polygon
Published: 2021-08-05T07:00:00+00:00

10

At the Club, on the Lawn

S he had to see Heather, although her friend’s departure for Colombo was now less than a week away. She sent a note with Michael, who rode up to the Macmillan bungalow and came back with the reply that although Heather would be unable to have lunch at the club, she was to be playing tennis there the following afternoon and they could have tea together afterwards. “I shall be ravenous,” she wrote. “I always am after playing tennis, and we can get them to make us some sandwiches. Leave some room for sandwiches. 4 p.m. Voilà!”

When she arrived at the club, Heather was still playing a doubles match with three women whom Virginia knew, but not very well. They invited her to join them for tea, but Heather declined the invitation on her behalf. “We have to talk,” she said, igniting their interest in gossip. One of the other players, wiping her brow with a small white towel, looked with interest at Virginia: a tête-à-tête in the club meant only one thing – matrimonial difficulties. There were so few opportunities for affairs in such a sparse population that when one arose how could others not take an interest?

They sat on the lawn, on wicker chairs under a large rain tree. A club servant, clad in a steward’s jacket of starched white duck, brought the tray of tea and a jug of sweetened lime juice. The sandwiches to which Heather had referred arrived on a large plate, covered with thin muslin cloth to deter the flies. They were triangles of white bread, their fillings a mixture of cucumber and egg and cress. The bread was not yet stale but was on the cusp, curling slightly at the very edge, cut thin. “That, at least, is something,” said Heather. “So many sandwiches are great lumps of bread.”

“Is everything all right?” asked Heather, after her first sip of tea.

Virginia hesitated. Then, “No, not really. Well, perhaps.” And finished with, “I’m not sure.”

“Which means that it isn’t,” said Heather, putting down her teacup.

“No, probably not,” agreed Virginia.

Heather shook her head ruefully. “I feared it would get messy.”

“Did you?”

“Yes. Every time – every single time – these things start, they end up as a complete train crash. The only way out is radical surgery. Get rid of the troublemaker – see her off.” She paused, and fixed Virginia with an almost accusing stare. “Did you do as I suggested?”

Virginia assured her that she had done so. “I spoke to Henry. I told him that I felt uncomfortable about having her in the house, so to speak.”

“And how did he react?”

“He seemed to take it in his stride.”

Heather frowned. “Guilt,” she said. “He feels guilty. He can’t show his displeasure because guilt is stopping him from doing that, and also, if he does, he’ll be as good as confessing.”

“I agree,” said Virginia.

“And then?”

“We both took the view that she should get her salary for the full period of our original understanding.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.