Page 39 of Old Girls Behaving Badly

‘Juliet,’ Dorothy chided.

‘Stuff, then, hidden in among stuff,’ she said, rolling her eyes. ‘Either way, it’s horrible.’

‘Yes,’ I said thoughtfully. ‘That’s exactly what this is and I feel there’s some significance.’

‘Something you can share now or do you need to dwell?’ Dorothy asked me.

‘Oh, dwell for now,’ I said.

‘I’m going for that lie-down, then. Thanks for driving me around today, Gina,’ she said. ‘I haven’t enjoyed myself so much in ages.’

‘You’re welcome,’ I said as Juliet linked her arm through her grandmother’s and they began to walk away.

I glanced back just as the sunlight hit the painting again and the light bounced off an image of a mirror. I took a step closer and saw reflected in it a painting of a little coral-coloured, fan-shaped vase. Taking out my phone I snapped a quick picture and then hurried after the other two.

By the time I was on the main stairs up to my room with the fan vase back in my hand, I’d lost some of my previous excitement. Expecting a key or similar and finding nothing at all, I continued with Dorothy to her room and watched Juliet disappear to her own.

Now I really wanted to go hunting, but I had no idea how well or mobile Leonard was, or how long he’d be lying down for, so in a snap decision when Dorothy had closed her door, I decided to go and find out what everyone else was up to.

Harry was my first port of call in the kitchen where he was preparing the meal for that evening. Keep your enemies close and all that. Lavinia told me there was to be a rehearsal at the church this evening and then they had invited the vicar back for dinner.

Harry seemed to have a lot on the go and was chopping, stirring, sifting and shoving things into the ovens all at the same time. I thought the poor man could do with some help, but I wasn’t about to offer. Instead I asked him if he’d mind me making myself a coffee.

‘Not at all,’ he said, genially. ‘But won’t you let me do it for you?’

‘No, thank you anyway,’ I said. ‘I don’t like to be a bother and you have a lot going on. I’m very happy to do it myself.’

He placed a white porcelain mug down on the counter next to the coffee machine, told me what to press, then went back to marinating some chicken.

‘That smells lovely,’ I said, really feeling that having Harry on my side was the best idea, or at the very least to give him no cause to suspect me of what I was actually doing: going through his master’s personal possessions.

‘Moroccan chicken, which I’m going to put in a pie. How are you feeling now? I was a little worried about you the other night. I was told to top everyone up, but I may have been a bit too heavy-handed,’ he said, looking a little contrite. ‘I did make sure you got back to your room, though. You probably don’t remember…’ He trailed off.

‘I do, actually,’ I said. ‘Thank you.’

Was that all it had been? A heavy-handed waiter who didn’t intentionally slip me extra alcohol and saw me back to my room to make sure I got there safely? Maybe I was becoming paranoid, and maybe I should change my reading material to something a little more uplifting.

‘How is Leonard, by the way? He did take quite a tumble.’

‘I think he’s okay. Certainly nothing that will stop him in his current endeavours.’

There was a sour note to Harry’s tone that sounded remarkably close to disapproval.

‘Current endeavours?’ I pushed.

‘The wedding, just the wedding.’

‘Of course,’ I said, but there was a moment where we shared a knowing look. Before I could summon the courage to say something more, Sandra came bustling into the kitchen.

‘Oh, you have the same thought as me,’ she said, eyeing my coffee. ‘And I’ll take one up for poor Leonard.’

‘I’ll leave you to it then,’ I said and made my escape back upstairs, wondering why Sandra was taking a coffee to poor Leonard when she clearly didn’t like him.

Miles and Lavinia were discussing the seating arrangement for the wedding breakfast with Caroline when I poked my head around the door of the music room. Toby was back in front of the piano where the gentle strains of Mozart could be heard.

‘But Uncle Leonard wants to be on the top table,’ Caroline was telling them. ‘He insisted that he won’t be demoted to a guest in his own home.’

‘Hardly a place for the uncle of the bride,’ Miles said.