The Sleeper by J. Robert Janes

Author:J. Robert Janes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
Published: 2015-09-04T14:36:13+00:00

6

At just after supper on that Saturday, Hilary borrowed the little Austin-10 that Dotty and Albert used. Even with the side screens rolled down, it was warm and she was glad she had worn a light cotton frock, plain and simple, nothing fancy.

The hops, having been sprayed with Bordeaux mixture to stop the blight, were copper-green under the slanting sun, the light soft and gentle on field and wood. Kent really was incredibly beautiful, and it had been good coming home. Right away Albert and Dotty had taken charge. Already Karen was beginning to feel she might belong.

There hadn’t been anything untoward since the man on the train. Perhaps he hadn’t been following them, perhaps simply there to watch over them, though you’d think he would have said something of it.

Set among rolling hills and dales, the inn was spacious and sprawling, part hunt, golf and tennis club. Always it had brought rising expectations of good times, though now, as she parked the car, she dreaded what she had to do.

Enclosed porches fronted the main dining room, which overlooked the golf course, while the one that opened off the lounge faced the river and duck pond. There was a grand piano in the bar. Maroon walls and drapes set off lithographs of hunting scenes, while little round tables with Windsor chairs were clustered about the fireplace. Hilary knew they would all crowd in here after the annual dinner. She would have to take a table and wait out the speeches, would then have to speak to each of them, they no doubt saying, Hilary, luv, where have you been? she answering, Cornwall, as if they hadn’t already known.

Kay Wynne-Thomas came first, looking radiant in a smashing red dress and heels and saying, ‘Hil, darling, why haven’t you rung? I’ve got the most fab news. Gerald and I are engaged.’

Brushing cheeks, they hugged each other. The ring was shown and exclaimed over, Gerald given a hug and a kiss on the cheek, he grinning from ear to ear and asking, ‘Care to join us?’

‘I can’t. Sorry. Maybe later. I’m … I’m waiting for someone.’

Eyebrows were raised, of course, and so it went, for suddenly there was talk all round her, and when the singing started, she tried to remain apart, yet not look too out of it, for they were good people and meant well, but they really didn’t know a thing about her present circumstances.

Lionel Dandridge took up his post on one of the bar stools, coffee and brandy to hand. Giving her a toss of his head, he indicated the far doorway, and she settled down, for Lionel had answered the telephone when she had called the number she had been given for MI6 to let them know Karen and she had safely arrived.

The tuxedo was just a bit too tight, the shirt and bow tie a little too worn, Dandridge’s long legs stretched out as, with affectation, his slim hands set coffee down and drew out cigarettes, offering none to anyone but himself, and that, too, was typical.

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