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Back The Cottage Save as PDF
Chapters (82)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. THREE
  6. FOUR
  7. FIVE
  8. SIX
  9. SEVEN
  10. EIGHT
  11. NINE
  12. TEN
  13. ELEVEN
  14. TWELVE
  15. THIRTEEN
  16. FOURTEEN
  17. FIFTEEN
  18. SIXTEEN
  19. SEVENTEEN
  20. EIGHTEEN
  21. NINETEEN
  22. TWENTY
  23. TWENTY-ONE
  24. TWENTY-TWO
  25. TWENTY-THREE
  26. TWENTY-FOUR
  27. TWENTY-FIVE
  28. TWENTY-SIX
  29. TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. TWENTY-NINE
  32. THIRTY
  33. THIRTY-ONE
  34. THIRTY-TWO
  35. THIRTY-THREE
  36. THIRTY-FOUR
  37. THIRTY-FIVE
  38. THIRTY-SIX
  39. THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. THIRTY-NINE
  42. FORTY
  43. FORTY-ONE
  44. FORTY-TWO
  45. FORTY-THREE
  46. FORTY-FOUR
  47. FORTY-FIVE
  48. FORTY-SIX
  49. FORTY-SEVEN
  50. FORTY-EIGHT
  51. FORTY-NINE
  52. FIFTY
  53. FIFTY-ONE
  54. FIFTY-TWO
  55. FIFTY-THREE
  56. FIFTY-FOUR
  57. FIFTY-FIVE
  58. FIFTY-SIX
  59. FIFTY-SEVEN
  60. FIFTY-EIGHT
  61. FIFTY-NINE
  62. SIXTY
  63. SIXTY-ONE
  64. SIXTY-TWO
  65. SIXTY-THREE
  66. SIXTY-FOUR
  67. SIXTY-FIVE
  68. SIXTY-SIX
  69. SIXTY-SEVEN
  70. SIXTY-EIGHT
  71. SIXTY-NINE
  72. SEVENTY
  73. SEVENTY-ONE
  74. SEVENTY-TWO
  75. SEVENTY-THREE
  76. SEVENTY-FOUR
  77. Suggested topics for reading-group discussion
  78. Keep Reading …
  79. Lisa Stone also writes under the name of Cathy Glass.Don’t miss her latest book …
  80. About the Author
  81. Books by Lisa Stone
  82. About the Publisher

‘So you can give a good description of them?’ Chris asked, sitting in his armchair.

Jan paused and thought about what she’d seen. ‘I can’t. It was too dark. I switched the sensor light off to save electricity. I only saw their eyes at the window. But the outline looked similar to the last time I saw them.’

Chris looked at her. ‘You’ve seen someone in the garden before? You didn’t say.’

‘It was the night you returned Tinder, and I’m not saying it was definitely a person. I didn’t tell you at the time because I couldn’t make sense of what I’d seen. I still can’t – even less so after this evening. But …’

‘But what?’ Chris asked seriously, holding her gaze.

It seemed ridiculous now. ‘Whatever I saw the last time was very agile and went over the side gate. I thought it could have been a child, but now I’m not sure. I’m sorry, this sounds crazy. I don’t know what I saw,’ she finished lamely.

Thankfully Chris wasn’t laughing and appeared to be taking her concerns seriously. ‘You’ve obviously had a shock, seen something, and been very scared by it. But it was dark on both occasions, and our eyes can play tricks on us in the dark.’ He glanced at her open laptop. ‘I know you want peace and quiet to write your book, but do you think you’ve been overdoing it? It’s very isolated here and you’ve been spending a lot of time by yourself – just you and your imagination.’

He had phrased it so delicately Jan found she couldn’t take offence. It wasn’t her imagination, but she didn’t feel like arguing the point now. His face lightened and lost its seriousness as he said, ‘Perhaps I could help ease your isolation by taking you out to dinner one evening?’

‘Oh, I see. I don’t know,’ Jan said, surprised. ‘It’s very kind of you to ask.’

‘Well?’ He was waiting for her to reply.

‘Won’t I be treading on someone’s toes?’ she asked. ‘I sort of assumed that you and Camile …’ But Chris was already shaking his head.

‘It’s true, we had a relationship some years ago, but for various reasons it didn’t work out. We’ve remained good friends. That’s all we are now – friends. So no, you won’t be stepping on Camile’s toes if you come out to dinner with me.’

Jan smiled. ‘Then yes, please, I’d like to.’

‘Good. Tomorrow?’ She nodded. ‘I’ll collect you at seven o’clock – that’ll give me a chance to shower and change after work.’

‘Perfect.’