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I would. Very much. But Lois’s contrary nature means she’s obviously going to keep me in suspense a little longer.
Rory comes back in, and Lois reaches for his hand. ‘Be a love and get me a glass of water, will you? I’m so dehydrated. I shouldn’t have drunk so much champagne last night.’
‘Your wish is my command.’ Rory smiles, kisses the top of her head and brings one of the best glasses from the cupboard. Filling it at the tap, he cuts a slice of lemon, pops it in the glass, winds a tea towel round his waist and delivers it to Lois with the exaggerated courtesy of a waiter. ‘Nothing but the best for you, my lady.’
He’s poking gentle fun at her for being so demanding, but he does it in such an adorable way, Lois surely can’t fail to melt.
Her stiff little smile, though, would suggest the opposite, although you can never really tell with Lois. Is it my imagination or is there tension in the air this morning? Perhaps it’s my presence that’s the problem. I’m being a gooseberry, as usual. Hanging around like a spare part.
Flapjack demolished, Bertie and Luke go out into the garden. So then I have a chance to tell Lois and Rory about last night’s break-in.
Lois stops chewing on her cheese-string and they both look stunned, especially when I bring out the horrible Russian dolls and place them in a line on the table, exactly where I found them the night before.
‘Did they take anything?’ asks Rory, looking around.
I shake my head. ‘I don’t think so.’
Lois shudders. ‘Why didn’t you call the police?’
‘I told you. Irene didn’t want Bertie disturbed.’
She gives me a look of disbelief and I shrug. In the cold light of day, it does sound a bit lame.
‘You should still report the intruder,’ says Rory. ‘Even if nothing was taken.’
I’m about to agree, when Bertie runs in from the garden with news that Luke has tripped over and hurt his knee. So I grab some plasters and hurry out.
After I’ve patched Luke up and they’re happily playing football again, I sink down on the garden bench, watching them. The break-in should be my main concern. But my mind is stuck on wondering what happened with Lois and Rory last night.
They had champagne so they were obviously celebrating last night.
Perhaps they’re keeping their engagement a secret for now...
I give my head a little shake, mentally exhausted by the whole thing, and physically shattered as well after last night’s sinister happenings. But I need to pull myself together for my lunch date with Shaun. Getting up, I head back to the house, hoping a long shower will wake me up.
But as I step inside, a scream rings out.
A commotion is going on upstairs. Lois is shouting and wailing, and now Irene has emerged from her room and is joining in the chaos.
‘Clara?’ shrieks Lois, running down the stairs. ‘Where are you? You said there was nothing taken last night. But I can’t find my rings. They’ve vanished!’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
‘You should have called the police last night.’ Lois is pacing around in the kitchen, staring at me accusingly. ‘That burglar ransacked my room and took my precious jewellery. I can’tbelieveyou didn’t think to dial 999!’
‘But...’ I stare at her, bemused. ‘As far as we were aware, the intruder never went upstairs.’
She snorts. ‘Well,hello? He obviously did.’
‘So has your engagement ring from Ronnie been stolen?’
‘What?’ She looks puzzled for a moment. Then she says, ‘Yes, Ronnie’s ring’s gone. But it’s my great-grandma’s rings I’m really annoyed about.’
‘Oh.’ I look at her in surprise. ‘I didn’t realise...’
She shrugs impatiently. ‘I never met her. She died before I was born. But Mum gave me her wedding and engagement rings on my twenty-first birthday. And now they’ve gone! Mind you, I’m also bloodylividabout Ronnie’s ring. It cost upwards of five grand and I was going to sell it to pay off my credit card debt. But I guess I can forget aboutthatnow!’
I shake my head. ‘I can’t understand it. They never went upstairs. I heard the glass shatter and it was only a matter of minutes before I was at the top of the stairs and they were coming out of the kitchen.’ I stare at Lois’s angry face, wondering if I’m remembering it wrongly. But I’m sure I’m not. The black-clothed intruder slipped in and then out again. He or she didn’t have time to go upstairs. They left their calling card– those horrible Russian dolls– and vanished into the darkness...
