A Christmas Gift by Ruby Jackson

Author:Ruby Jackson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780007506330
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2014-09-15T16:00:00+00:00

TEN

Dmitri, Russian prince or accountant or night watchman – whatever he was – discovered that the large bed in the flat’s main bedroom was, in fact, two single beds put together, and he and Sebastian spent a happy afternoon taking them apart.

‘Voilà,’ announced Sebastian to his new flatmate, ‘all modern conveniences.’

Millie had been thrilled by the invitation to share expenses at Sebastian’s flat but had felt the need to put up some token resistance. ‘It’s not fair disturbing you both like this. I’ll manage something.’

‘Thanks to the multitalented Dmitri, you’re not dis-turbing anyone. We have a bed each; Sebastian won’t ruin his back curling up on the sofa, and his wardrobe is far bigger than the one in the guest room so there’s plenty of room for our clothes. I hope I don’t snore.’

‘No problem; I’ll put a pillow over your head. But I have to admit that Patrick said I sounded just like one of my grandfather’s pigs.’

Sally managed a slight laugh as it was obvious that Millie was trying hard to sound light-hearted in a vain attempt to show them how well she was handling the loss of her own place. ‘I’ll leave you to unpack. I’ll be in the kitchen. We usually listen to The Kitchen Front while we’re preparing supper; so far we haven’t tried anything that’s been suggested but we do like Freddie Grisewood.’

Millie assured her that she would join them as soon as she had put away her clothes and toiletries. ‘I’m a hopeless cook, Sally, but quite good at washing dishes and general tidying.’

‘Afraid I’m not much good either, but don’t worry. We’ll manage. Sebastian isn’t creative but for basics he’s really quite good.’

Sebastian was in the kitchen fiddling with the radio knobs. He continued until the announcer’s voice sounded clearly. ‘Good. Millie settling in? You’re sure you don’t mind sharing, Sal?’

‘Of course not. I used to envy my friends, the twins I’ve told you about. Must be nice to have someone to talk to.’

‘I thoroughly enjoyed being a spoiled only child. The entire world revolved around little me. Probably that’s why I became an actor; couldn’t bear the adulation to dry up.’

‘You do talk nonsense.’

‘I know, my darling, but it beats trying not to talk about the things we have on our minds.’

She sat down heavily, the words ‘he can read me like a book’ chasing through her head. ‘It’s the not knowing for sure if he’s dead. If only he had been rescued I wouldn’t care how badly he was injured. I keep in mind what you said once about looking straight at the wounded men. We’ve had lots of practice, haven’t we?’

‘Ssh.’ Sebastian had heard Millie coming along the corridor.

‘No need to treat me like porcelain. I think I’ve proved I won’t break.’ Millie joined them at the table. ‘I wanted to ask you if you’ll be here at Christmas, Seb, both of you or either?’

Sebastian looked up at the calendar on the kitchen wall. It showed a picture of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and under the picture was the French word, Mars.

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.