Pamela Overton had hardly reached the door when it was flung open to reveal a woman in her early thirties whom Lindsay recognized instantly. Lorna Smith-Couper was even more stunning in the flesh than in the many photographs Lindsay had seen of her. She had a mane of tawny blonde hair, which descended in a warm wave over her shoulders. Her skin was pale and clear, stretched tightly over her strong bone structure. And her eyes shone out from her face like hard blue chips of lapis lazuli.

As Lindsay watched her sweep into the room, she was aware of Paddy turning to face the door. And she sensed her friend’s body stiffen beside her. Only Lindsay was close enough to hear Paddy breathe, “Jesus Christ Almighty, not her!”

3

After dinner, Lindsay and Paddy skipped coffee in the staffroom and walked back through the trees to Longnor House. All Paddy had said was, “They’ll be too busy with the superstar to notice our absence. And besides, we’ve got the excuse of having to be back in case Cordelia arrives early.” Lindsay was struggling to remain silent against all her instincts both as a friend and as a journalist. But she realized that to press Paddy for information would be counter-productive.

Dinner had not been the most comfortable of meals. Lorna Smith-Couper had greeted Paddy with an obviously false enthusiasm. “Dearest Paddy, whoever would have expected to find you in such a respectable situation,” she had cooed. Paddy had smiled coldly in return. Her attempts to drift away from the group that had immediately formed around the cellist had been thwarted by Pamela Overton, who had suggested in a way that brooked no argument that Paddy and Lindsay should join Lorna and her at high table. Lorna had ignored Paddy from then on and had devoted herself to her conversation with Pamela Overton, after pointedly saying to Lindsay, “Anything you hear is completely off the record, do I make myself clear?” As it happened, she said nothing that anyone could have been interested in except Lorna herself.

The meal itself had come as a pleasant surprise to Lindsay, whose own memories of school and college food had left her disinclined to repeat the experience. A tasty vegetable broth made with a good stock was followed by chicken and mushroom pie, baked potatoes, and peas. To finish there was a choice of fresh fruit. She remarked on the quality of the food to Paddy, but her friend was too abstracted to do more than nod.

Back in Paddy’s room, Lindsay stretched herself out in a chair while Paddy brewed the coffee. From the kitchen she called out, “Sorry I’ve not been much company.”