“Where’s Josh?”
“In the drawing room with Roberta.”
Antoinette hurried past her.
“Looks like you’ve got away with it,” said David to Phaedra.
“I’d like to meet George’s mother,” Phaedra replied.
“Trust me, you really wouldn’t.”
Phaedra tapped him playfully. “You’re just being mean. There’s goodness everywhere if you look for it.”
“I’ve looked and found nothing close to goodness.”
“Then maybe a fresh eye will find it.”
“What happened to Margaret?” Antoinette asked Joshua as she perched anxiously on the club fender.
“She was determined to find you,” he explained. “I took her to David’s to play for time. Then she insisted we look at the church. She saw your car on the verge and went to find you. I went inside, but you weren’t there. When I came out, she was crouching by Dad’s grave. She was clutching her heart.”
“Oh, Lord, how dreadful,” Antoinette gasped.
“I helped her up and she insisted she was okay, but she didn’t talk all the way back in the car. She just stared out of the window. Then she sat in here shivering with cold, so I put a few more logs on the fire.”
“Then she asked to go and lie down,” Rosamunde continued, striding into the room. “She’s lying on the bed under the quilt. She really doesn’t look well.”
“Oh dear. What if she’s had a stroke? Do you think we should call Dr. Heyworth?” Antoinette asked. “Phaedra and I escaped through the gate behind the church into his garden. We were having a drink, that’s all. It was mean of us to run away. I feel terrible.”
“I found them sneaking about the town like a pair of fugitives,” David added, wandering in with Phaedra. “At least she won’t have to meet her now.”
“You’re wrong,” Rosamunde exclaimed. “She specifically asked for Phaedra to be brought to her after lunch. I’m sure she’ll feel better by then.”
“So I won’t call the doctor until we see how she is when she wakes up,” said Antoinette.
“The sacrificial lamb,” said David, raising an eyebrow at Phaedra.
“The virgin offering to appease the beast,” said Tom, standing sleepily in the doorway. He frowned. “What’s going on?”
“Tom, darling,” Antoinette gushed. “You’ve missed all the drama.”
“What a shame, I love drama.” Tom swept a hand through his tousled blond hair. “So, Grandma has taken a turn, has she?”
“She’s asleep in the blue room,” said Rosamunde.
“Is she on her way out?” he hissed.
Antoinette flushed. “You can’t say that sort of thing, Tom.”
“She’s just lost her son,” Roberta cut in. “As a mother I can only imagine how devastating that must be.”
“Really, Roberta, she’s barely shed a tear,” David retorted.
“Not on the outside.” She looked at him steadily.
“She’s as tough as an old rhino,” Tom added with a snigger. “She’s never felt a thing.”
Roberta rolled her eyes. “Oh, shallow, heartless boys, you understand nothing.”
“Let’s eat,” said Antoinette, getting up. “Tom, darling, go and check on your grandmother.”
Tom pulled a face. “Why me?”
“I’ll go,” Roberta volunteered, taking her child out of Joshua’s arms. “I should put her down for her sleep.”
“Not before I’ve met her,” said Phaedra, rushing across the room. “Oh, she’s beautiful,” she admired. “May I?”
Roberta flinched. “She’s rather tired. I don’t think she’ll like being picked up by a stranger.”
“Oh, please. She’s delicious.” Phaedra wound her hands around the baby’s body and lifted her out of her mother’s arms. Roberta grimaced, but Amber smiled contentedly. “She looks just like you, Roberta. She’s got your eyes. She’s going to be a real knockout.” Phaedra nuzzled the child affectionately. Roberta saw the tender look on Antoinette’s face, and her heart hardened with irritation. Amber grabbed Phaedra’s hair and tried to pull it, and Phaedra laughed as Roberta gently unwound her little fingers to set it free.
“Well, you’ve won another friend,” said Roberta drily.
“Oh, I do hope so.”
“I’d better take her upstairs before she lets herself down and cries.”
“Small children are meant to cry, aren’t they?”
“Preferably not in public.”