Another One Bites the Crust (Oxford Tearoom Mysteries ~ Book 7) by H.Y. Hanna

Author:H.Y. Hanna
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Wisheart Press
Published: 2017-10-18T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I was woken up the next morning by the insistent ringing of my mobile phone and I sat up blearily in bed to answer it.

“Hello…?” I mumbled,

“Darling, do you think Mrs O’Connor would like Madeira cake?”

“Huh? Sorry…?” The cogs in my brain struggled to turn. I rubbed my eyes and glanced at my bedside clock. It was barely seven o’clock.

“Well, I thought I’d bake some scones and perhaps a lemon drizzle cake. And muffins are always welcome, of course. But Dorothy gave me a new recipe for a Madeira cake the other day and I thought this would be a marvellous chance to try—”

“Mother, what are you talking about?”

“Oh, didn’t I say? Well, since Devlin’s mother is visiting Oxford, I thought it would be a lovely opportunity to meet her! So I’m inviting her round for Sunday morning tea—”

“What? No, Mother, no,” I said, suddenly wide awake.

“Why ever not, darling? I’m sure Helen and the others would love to meet her.”

Oh God. I shuddered. I couldn’t think of anything worse than turning Keeley O’Connor loose amongst my mother’s friends from the cashmere twinset and pearls brigade. Especially Helen Green, who was an even bigger snob than my mother and already viewed Devlin with contempt and resentment, since I had chosen him over her son.

“Um, Mother… I really don’t think it’s a good idea. Mrs O’Connor is… well, she’s very different from your friends.”

“Oh, nonsense, darling—that should make it all the more interesting. I shall ring Devlin now and tell him. Make sure you’re here at eleven o’clock. And do try to wear a nice dress, darling, instead of those horrid jeans you always wear.”

“Mother, wait—”

It was too late. She’d hung up. I lowered the phone and stared at it for a moment in frustration, whilst Muesli stirred in the blankets at the foot of my bed. The little tabby cat stood up and arched her back in a perfect cat stretch, then sat down and yawned widely, showing her pink tongue and tiny white teeth.

“Meorrw?” she said, eyeing me curiously.

“Muesli, this is going to be a total disaster,” I groaned, flopping backwards on the pillows. Then I thought of something and sat up quickly again. I dialled Devlin’s number. It was engaged. I tried again, my attempts getting more and more frantic until he finally answered five minutes later.

“Devlin! Listen—my mother’s going to call you… you have to say no! Say you’re busy… say you’re taking your mother for a drive in the country and will be out of Oxford all day… just don’t say yes!”

“Er… it’s a bit late, Gemma,” he said dryly. “I just got off the phone with her. We’ll be at your parent’s house at eleven tomorrow morning.”

“Why did you agree? You know what your mum’s like—” I gulped. “I mean, she’s lovely and I really like her but… well, my mother’s friends are quite different from her and—”

“I tried to say no,” said Devlin. “But… I don’t know what happened—your mother was talking… and

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