Page 67 of A Convenient Fiction

A flare of panic set in.

Perhaps she wasn’t as strong as she’d thought she was.

Alex stepped back to view Teddy’s painting from a different angle. It was the seashore—that much he recognized. As for the rest…

“There’s something compelling about it,” he said. “A feeling of movement. Of emotion, rather than accuracy. But I’m no expert.”

“It’s an experimentation with light. The way it hits the water.” Teddy cocked his head, squinting as he laid down another swipe of color with his brush. “If it comes out well, I’ll give it to Laura for her birthday next week.”

Alex went still. “I’d no idea it was her birthday.”

“She doesn’t like anyone making a fuss over it. Especially not this year.”

“What’s so special about this year?”

“She’ll be five and twenty.” Teddy raised his head, looking out past Alex’s shoulder. “There’s Henrietta. I wonder where Laura is?”

Sure enough, Henrietta Talbot walked toward them from across the sand. Her dress was a little wrinkled, and her golden hair somewhat flattened—from a bathing cap, Alex suspected.

“Good morning,” she said brightly. “Have you seen Laura?”

A frisson of tension tightened Alex’s muscles. “What do you mean?”

“She’s not been by, has she?”

“Wasn’t she with you?”

“Yes, but…she wanted to swim away from the others. She said she’d meet me on the beach. It didn’t occur to either of us to specify the place. Do you suppose she’s gone back to the hotel?”

“We’d have seen her walk by,” Teddy said.

“Perhaps you didn’t notice?”

Teddy gave Henrietta a vaguely contemptuous look. “Don’t be ridiculous. Even if we didn’t see her, she would have seen us. It makes no sense for her to have passed by without saying anything.”

Alex stared out at the sea, past the women’s bathing machines. It was too far away to make anything out. He flashed a look at Henrietta. “Stay with Teddy.”

“But where are you going?” Henrietta demanded.

“Just wait a moment!” Teddy objected at the same time.

Alex scarcely heard them. He was already striding down the sand to the women’s bathing machines. It was early in the morning. The beach wasn’t yet as crowded as it had been the previous day. There were a few fashionable couples having their morning promenade on the jetty. And the cadre of elderly ladies with their telescopes were seated near the bathing machines.

“I beg your pardon, ma’am,” he said to one of them as he plucked her telescope from her fingers. “If I may?”

“I say, young man!” she cried out. “Look here! That isn’t a plaything!”

“Heavens,” a second elderly lady gasped. “Is he looking at the bathers?”

Alex ignored them. The telescope wasn’t very powerful, but it was strong enough to permit him to see out past the machines. Unfortunately, the sun was shining too brightly for him to get a clear view. There was a glare on the water.

“May I borrow this?” He didn’t wait for permission. As he set off, he heard the ladies’ voices behind him rise to a crescendo.

“Get back here, sir! Get back here, I say!”

“He’s stolen it, Mildred! Summon a policeman!”

He didn’t stop until he reached the shore. The water was calm, lapping up onto the sand in a gentle froth of sea foam. It wet his shoes and the hem of his trousers as he took another step forward and raised the telescope to his eye.