‘That’s tomorrow, isn’t it?’

‘It is so. Can you come? You can easily walk from your house, but I’ll pick you up so you don’t feel lonely when you arrive. I’ll be with you just before eight.’

‘Did I agree to that?’ Laura asked her half-built kitchen a few seconds later. ‘No, I didn’t think I had.’

But she was glad enough to be going out by the time she had to get ready. Although she loved the book she was now working on, getting it into some sort of order was like herding cats. The main character was wonderful but she kept going off to other places in her head and it was hard to decide if these flights of fancy should just be severely cut or if they valuable insight into the protagonist’s mind.

Shona was on her doorstep at a quarter to eight. ‘Do you mind if I come in and have a look around? I’ve been dying of curiosity about what your man is doing to these houses.’

Glad she’d thrown all her dirty washing into the bin when she’d got ready, Laura laughed, and obliged.

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-Three

‘These women scare the bejaysus out of me,’ said Shona as they walked up the drive to one of the big houses that Laura looked out at every day. They had views of the sea and lots of them were converted to holiday flats. This one was still a big family house. ‘They all have degrees, or are going back into education or something.’

‘Now you tell me! You made out they were a friendly lot who just drank wine and ate cake.’

‘I know. I lied. I thought if I brought you it would give me a bit of credibility, having a clever friend.’

Laura had to laugh.

‘Honestly,’ Shona went on. ‘They only tolerate me because the book group was my idea.’

‘I’m sure that’s not true.’ Laura sounded convincing but she was wondering if she’d made a horrible mistake coming. Her own academic qualifications were fine but she’d always tried to keep her book group open and accessible to everyone. She hated it when people scored academic points over the people who were there because they loved reading.

A slim, elegant woman in a white linen dress opened the door. She had cork wedges on her perfectly groomed feet and her tan, be it fake or genuine, revealed not a single streak. Her hair was blonde, short and beautifully cut. The highlights could have been put in strand by strand. All this perfection was set off by the hall behind her: pale, hardwood floors, inset lighting and one stunning piece of glass at the end of the hall.