The Letter 2 page

“It’s for real all right,” declared Kevin, slipping the photograph into his pocket. “Anyway, that’s nothing. People walk on the moon these days.”

“You jest!”

We ambled back to Tower Green and once again settled down on the grass. I shot a glance at Anne. She may have been experiencing a little local difficulty, and life wasn’t exactly a thrill a minute, so it was to her immense credit that she hadn’t lost her composure, as I would have done under such horrendous circumstances.

“Catherine died earlier this year,” said Anne. “I expect you’re wondering why Henry has made me a prisoner. Why I am awaiting my execution tomorrow.”

“ It had crossed my mind,” remarked Kevin, cheekily, nibbling a blade of grass. He glanced up and I shot him a reproachful look.

“The real reason is that Henry wants a son, a male heir to the throne,” said Anne, understandingly. “Both Catherine and I had sons but they all died at birth. Now the King says I have committed treason, “her voice was low,” that I have taken other men to be my lovers. For a queen that is treason. And the penalty for treason is death.”

And I thought I was having problems with my husband!

“I didn’t have any lovers of course,” said Anne quietly. “But the King had one man tortured, Mark Smeaton. People will admit to anything under torture. Yesterday, Mark and four others were executed on Tower Hill, which is over there, just outside the walls of the Tower. One of those executed was my younger brother, George.”

Kevin and I exchanged glances in the awkward silence that followed. It was difficult to know what to say.

Anne cleared her throat. “The King has granted me two requests. One is that I am beheaded here, within the walls of Tower, not on Tower Hill. In here it’s private. But executions on Tower Hill draw people by the thousand.”

“And the other request?” Kevin and I asked cautiously.

“The other request is that I am beheaded with a sword, not an axe. I understand there is less pain. A headsman from the English town of Calais in France is coming to behead me.”

The three of us sat in gloomy silence.

“You know what grieves me most?” said Anne at last. “That the future looks very bleak for Elizabeth.”

“Anne!” I cried. “Don’t grieve.” I took her hand. “Tomorrow,” I said softly, “you are laid to rest over there in the Royal Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula.” I pointed to the pretty little chapel standing close by which Henry had only just modernized.

“What does ad Vincula mean, Mum?”

“It means ‘in chains’”, I explained. “Anne,” I went on, “you have been there for the last 456 years. As you say, the King marries the Lady Jane Seymour in two days’ time. The following year, at Hampton Court Palace, the Prince Edward is born.”

“So,” murmured Anne, “Henry had the son he so longed for.”

I nodded. “But tragedy was to follow. Queen Jane died twelve days later.”

I then told Anne it was three years before Henry married for the fourth time. That was to the Protestant Anne of Cleves, brought over from Germany. But she was so ugly and dull that Henry called her the ‘Flanders Mare’. They were divorced five months later, having no children.

“And the fifth wife,” I said, “was Catherine Howard.”

“Catherine!” exclaimed an astonished Anne. “Why, she’s my cousin! I always thought she was sweet on Henry. Suzy, you’re so clever to know all this.”

“Mum’s a real computer-brain.” Kevin couldn’t keep the pride out of his voice. “She’s a teacher at my school. It got flooded today so it’s closed and we came here instead.”

After Kevin explained what a computer was I informed Anne that her cousin was beheaded for treason after five years of marriage. She was executed on this very scaffold and was buried close to her in the chapel.

“The King’s sixth and last wife,” I said, “was Catherine Parr. They married in 1543. Henry died on the 28th January 1547, that is, in eleven years’ time, at the age of fifty-six and is buried at Windsor Castle. He and Queen Catherine Parr, who survived him, had no children.”

“So,” said Anne, “the throne went to Henry’s son, Edward.”

I nodded. “He was crowned King Edward VI at Westminster Abbey in 1547. He was only nine years old when he came to the throne. You could say he was the first Protestant king. Unfortunately he died when he was about fifteen.”

“Who came to the throne next, Mum?” Kevin enquired.

“Lady Jane Grey, a cousin of King Edward,” I replied. “But she only ruled for nine days and didn’t have a coronation. The people said the rightful heir was Henry VIII’s daughter, Princess Mary. Lady Jane Grey, her husband and

Her husband’s father, the Duke of Northumberland, were imprisoned here in the Tower.”

I explained that Henry had made a will. He’d left the crown of England to his youngest child and only son, Edward, and his heirs. But if Edward didn’t survive or have any children, Henry said the crown should go to Mary, his eldest child, and her heirs. Northumberland put Edward up to naming Jane Grey as the new monarch. He hoped this would keep Catholicism from coming back to England, Mary having been brought up a Catholic.

“It sounds like the Duke of Northumberland wanted to do himself a bit of good,” observed Kevin. “You know, his son being married to a queen.” Anne and I looked at him approvingly.

“So,” said Anne, “Mary came to the throne. The first ever Queen of England.”

I nodded and took up the story again. “She was thirty-seven when she became Queen in July 1553. The following month Northumberland was executed on Tower Hill and is buried near you In November of that year Mary was crowned at Westminster Abbey and the following year Lady Jane Grey was beheaded here on this scaffold and her husband on Tower Hill. They’re also buried in the same chapel as you.”

“It must be pretty crowded in there,” I heard Kevin mutter.

“What’s that you said?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“I was only talking to myself,” he replied quickly. “It’s private.”

“Queen Mary was a hated queen,” I went on. “She was known as Bloody Mary. A fanatical Catholic, she restored the Roman Catholic Church to England and religion ruled her life. The Pope once again became Head of our Church. Mary married Prince Philip of Spain, the son of the Catholic King Charles V of Spain. Some three hundred Protestants in England were burnt. And in January 1558 England lost Calais, our last French possession. Queen Mary died ten months later at the age of forty-two and had ruled for only five years. She now lies in Westminster Abbey. “I stopped and looked at Anne.

She froze and gripped my arm. I could feel her hand tremble. “Suzy,” her eyes searched my face. “How many children did you say Mary had?”

“Oh, Anne, she didn’t have any.”

“So, who came to the throne? Anne whispered.

“Elizabeth! In this will Henry said if Mary had no children, the crown had to go to Elizabeth.”

Anne looked at me intently. “You’re not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?”

“No!” As I gave her a hug Kevin leapt to his feet and raced round Tower Green yelling, “Elizabeth was Queen”. Anne and I quickly joined him and, holding hands, we danced round in a circle of celebration.

Anne stopped abruptly. “You know, I have always believed Henry to be a good man.” She smiled. “Now I know it’s true. Would you like to hear the speech I shall deliver tomorrow from the scaffold?”

Lifting the hem of her long skirts, she slowly mounted the wooden steps to the scaffold and turned and faced us, her head high and shoulders back: “I pray God save the King and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never; and to me he was ever a good, a gentle, and sovereign Lord”.

Kevin and I burst into a round of applause.

“Now,” said Anne, as we sat ourselves down on the grass, “I want to hear all about my daughter.”

And so I told her about Elizabeth I who came to the throne at the age of twenty-five in 1558 and was crowned in January 1559. About the splendid Elizabethan era and our greatest writer, William Shakespeare. And about how Elizabeth restored the religion of England to the Protestant faith.

“I’m afraid,” I added, embarrassed, “that she, too, sent people to their death, including Mary Queen of Scots”.

Anne couldn’t see anything wrong with monarchs dispatching their enemies in this manner and couldn’t believe it when I informed her we did not indulge in this sort of activity any more.

The warm sun that afternoon on the 18th May 1536 was starting to sink slowly in the west. Anne smiled affectionately at Kevin and me. “If you hadn’t come along today I would have gone to my grave tomorrow not knowing what is to become of my child. I hope she had a happy life. Tell me, did she marry and have children?”

“No,” I replied, “she never married and had no children which mean she was the last of the Tudors. She died at the great age of 70 in 1603, I’m sure you will be happy to hear that she was a much loved queen. She is buried near Mary at Westminster Abbey.”

“I’ve just had a thought,” said Kevin excitedly. “Anne, didn’t you say Henry VII died on the 21st of April and on the same day Henry VIII became king?”

“That’s right, Kevin. The 21st of April 1509.”

“Well, we have a Queen Elizabeth on the throne today. Queen Elizabeth II. Isn’t her birthday on the 21st of April, Mum?”

“You’re right, Kev,” I said. “Elizabeth II was born on the 21st of April, in 1926.”

“Anne!” cried Kevin, taking her hand, “I’m going to save you! You see there’s something else I know. Our Queen won′t allow you to be executed! ″ Нe was on his feet. I′m going to Buckingham Palace right now to speak to her.” He swung round and made off across the grass towards Queen′s House.

“Kevin” I shouted after him. “Come back! Queen Elizabeth hasn′t been born yet. There is no Buckingham Palace.“

I leapt to my feet in a panic that he might run into the arms of the men guarding Anne Boleyn or fall into the water–filled moat, and chased after him. Gaining on him I caught him by the shoulder but he shrugged me off and raced down the tunnel and back through the gap in the wall. I was right behind him.

The secret door slammed shut behind us. Once more in the open air we were again standing by the grass of Tower Green. In a daze we looked about. There were the tourists milling about and the sound of the American twang. Anne and the scaffold and the wooden bench were gone. We were back in 1992. I glanced at my watch. It was still 4.30 in the afternoon.

“Oh, Mum, ”cried Kevin, don′t say we′re too late to save her”. He rushed back into the building.” The panel won′t budge,” he said sadly, reappearing a few moments later.

“We might not have saved her, Kev, ”I said, slipping my arm through his, “but we did make her happy, telling her about her daughter.”

We stepped over the little iron bar that surrounds Tower Green and walked past the ′keep off the grass′ signs to pick up our belongings where they still lay, close to where we had been sitting with Anne.

“We didn′t imagine it all, did we?” said Kevin. He stared down at the plaque engraved with the names of those who had been beheaded on the site, including that of Anne Boleyn.

“Surely not both of us,” I said as I bent down and gathered up my bag and camera. ”The photograph!”

Kevin plunged his hand into his pocket. Carefully he pulled the photograph out of his pocket. There, looking solemnly out of the snapshot was Kevin and Queen Anne Boleyn. And behind them was the River Thames and the space that was later to accommodate Tower Bridge.

( Sandra Golding is identified as the author of this Work)

Assignments:

Ex.I. Answer the questions:

1.How did Kevin and his mother manage to find hidden doors?

2. What kind of clothes was Anne Boleyn wearing in her days?

3. Why didn’t Suzy Evans see modern office blocks from the Tower?

4. When was Tower Bridge built?

5. How did Kevin and his mother appear in the Tower according to Anne Boleyn’s view?

6. Why was Anne Boleyn kept in the Lieutenant’s House?

7. What truth story did Suzy Evans want to hear from Anne Boleyn?

8. What is the story about FD engraved on all coins of the realm?

9. What do you know about the splendid Elizabethan era?

10. What a story do you know about the 21^st of April?

Ex.II. Put the following events in the order as they are given in the text.

1.“Tower Bridge wasn’t built until the reign of Queen Victoria. She didn’t come to the throne until 1837.”

2.“Tomorrow,” Anne was saying, “I’m to be executed. See?” she pointed behind us, “there is the scaffold.”

3.When we came to the Tower this morning it was the 18th of May 1992. Now we’ve gone back 456 years in time. We’re in a time warp,”

I added cheerfully.

She pointed to Queen’s House, the building from which Kevin and I had emerged, which Henry VIII had recently had built.( 1536)

4.Anne folded her delicate hands in her lap and Kevin and I listened enthralled as she began to tell us about a Welshman called him Owain ap Meridith ap Tewdr. As the English couldn't pronounce this, they called him Owen Tudor.

5.Guy Fawkes was interrogated there in 1605 after the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot to blow up The Houses of Parliament.

6.And what the Tower itself? You know it was built by William the Conqueror in 1066?”

7.“Tower Bridge has vanished!” He gripped my hand. “Oh Mum. What does it mean?”

“It means,” I said, “that she really is Anne Boleyn.”

8.But the most modern building here is the house we’ve just come out of – Queen’s House – and that was built in Tudor times. The Tudors ruled England from 1485 to 1603.”

9.“Your Majesty,” I began, “what is the date today?”

She gazed at me sadly, her large eyes filled with tears. “Today is the 18th of May 1536.”

10.“I know all about King Henry VIII, your Majesty,” he boasted. “He had six wives: three Catherines, two Annes and a Jane.”

Ex III. Translate the following sentences:

1.Kevin! What on earth are you doing! You know this building is out of bounds to visitors.

2. As if mesmerized, I followed him down the tunnel until we found ourselves stepping into the open air. With sheer relief I saw someone sitting on a wooden bench on Tower Green.

3.“Well,” I went on, “each successive monarch has had something new built in the grounds.

4. The Tudors ruled England from 1485 to 1603.”

5.Anne then told us that on her return to England her father secured a position for her up river at Hampton Court Palace. She became lady-in-waiting to Henry's wife, Queen Catherine of Argon

6.I could see he was now enjoying this adventure and had taken to Anne.

7.“So,” said Anne, “Mary came to the throne. The first ever Queen of England.

8.Queen Mary was a hated queen,” I went on. “She was known as Bloody Mary. A fanatical Catholic, she restored the Roman Catholic Church to England and religion ruled her life”.

9.And about how Elizabeth restored the religion of England to the Protestant faith.

“I’m afraid,” I added, embarrassed, “that she, too, sent people to their death, including Mary Queen of Scots”.

10.Elizabeth was the last of the Tudors. She died at the great age of 70 in 1603, she was a much loved queen. She is buried near Mary at Westminster Abbey.”

Ex.IV. Fill in the dates from the text:

Part I

1.And what about the Tower itself? You know it was built by William the Conqueror in_____ . Each successive monarch has had something new built in the grounds. But the most modern building here is the house– Queen’s House – and that was built in Tudor times. The Tudors ruled England from_____.”

2.She gazed at me sadly, her large eyes filled with tears. “Today is the 18th of May _____ .”

3.Tower Bridge wasn’t built until the reign of Queen Victoria. She didn’t come to the throne until_____.

4.”When we came to the Tower this morning it was the 18th of May_____. Now we’ve gone back _____ years in time. We’re in a time warp,”

5.Guy Fawkes was interrogated there in_____ after the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot to blow up The Houses of Parliament.

6.Edmond and Margaret Tudor had a son – Henry Tudor – who was born in_____ in Pembroke, in Wales. He was to become the father of Henry VIII.

It appeared that in_____ , when Henry Tudor was twenty-eight, he was involved in a battle at Bossworth Field in Leicestershire with the then King, Richard III.

7.Henry VII was the first of the Tudors. He ruled for twenty-four years and died on the 21st of April_____ when he was fifty-two and was buried at Westminister Abbey.

8.Henry VIII was born across the Thames at Greenwich Palace on the 28th of June _____. That he'd had a fine education and could speak several languages.

9. And so, in June_____, when Catherine was twenty-four and Henry two-and-a-half weeks from his eighteen's birthday they married.

10.Henry once wrote a book in defense of the Pope and, in_____, the Pope gave Henry the title Fidei Defensor. And since the time of King George I in_____, FD has been engraved on all coins of the realm.

Part II

11.”In_____ when war broke out between France and England I ( Anne Boleyn) returned home. I brought the fashion back with me. It's called a French Hood.”

12.In January_____, Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said Henry's marriage to Catherine was illegal because Henry had married his brother's widow. “But Henry and I already married secretly a few days before, on the 25th of January.”

13.“In_____,” continued Anne Boleyn, “I was crowned Queen Consort at Westminster Abbey by Thomas Cranmer. And our daughter, the Princess Elizabeth, was born on the 7th of September at Greenwich Palace”

14.”You are laid to rest over there in the Royal Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula.”

“What does ad Vincula mean, Mum?”

“It means ‘in chains’’, I explained. “You have been there for the last_____ years.

15.“The King’s sixth and last wife,” I said, “was Catherine Parr. They married in _____. Henry died on the 28th January_____, that is, in eleven years’ time, at the age of fifty-six and is buried at Windsor Castle.”

16. Henry’s son Edward was crowned King Edward VI at Westminster Abbey in _____. He was only nine years old when he came to the throne.

17. Mary came to the throne. The first ever Queen of England. She was thirty-seven when she became Queen in July_____.” In January_____ England lost Calais, our last French possession. Queen Mary died ten months later at the age of forty-two and had ruled for only five years. She now lies in Westminster Abbey.

18. ”Who came to the throne?

“Elizabeth! Elizabeth I who came to the throne at the age of twenty-five in_____ and was crowned in January _____. About the splendid Elizabethan era and our greatest writer, William Shakespeare. And about how Elizabeth restored the religion of England to the Protestant faith. She was the last of the Tudors. She died at the great age of 70 in_____.

19. “I’ve just had a thought,” said Kevin excitedly. “Anne, didn’t you say Henry VII died on the 21st of April and on the same day Henry VIII became king?”

“That’s right, Kevin. The 21st of April_____.”

20.“We have a Queen Elizabeth on the throne today. Queen Elizabeth II. Isn’t her birthday on the 21st of April, Mum?” “You’re right, Kev,” I said. “Elizabeth II was born on the 21st of April, in _____. We were back in_____.I glanced at my watch. It was still 4.30 in the afternoon.”

Ex.V. Give the information from the text to the following proper names:

Who were/are they (except Suzy Evans and Kevin) in the history of England?

1. Kevin

2. Suzy Evans

3. Anne Boleyn

4. William the Conqueror

5. The Tudors

6. Victoria

7. Guy Fawkes

8. Henry VIII

9. Owen Tudor

10.Catherine of France

11.Henry V

12.Edmond

13.Margaret Beaufort

14.Edward II

15.Henry Tudor

16.Richard III

17.Henry VII

18.Arthur

19.Catherine of Aragon

20.Sir Thomas Boleyn

21.Louis XII of France

22.Claude

23.Francis I

24.George

25.Thomas Cranmer

26.Princess Elizabeth

27.Princess Mary

28.Lady Jane Seymour

29.Mark Smeaton

30.Anne of Cleves

31.Catherine Howard

32.Catherine Parr

33.Edward VI

34.Jane Grey

35.Prince Philip of Spain

36.King Charles V

37.William Shakespeare

38.Elizabeth II

Ex. VI Speak on:

1. The family tree of Elizabeth II, who is on the throne today.

2. Guy Fawkes

Ex. VII. Role-Play:

1. Suzy Evans and Anne Boleyn

2. Kevin and Anne Boleyn

Ex. VIII. Crossword

Across:

1. Where does the action of the story take place? (London)

2.What Castle was Henry the Eighth born? (Greenwich)

3 Who Owen Tudor was married to? (Catherine)

4 Who wanted to blow up the house of Parliament? (Fawkes)

5 the Queen’s House until Queen Victoria’s reign was called ... House? (Lieutenant's)

6 What writer was popular in Elizabethan era? (Shakespeare)

Down:

1 Which dynasty ruled England from 1485 to 1603? (Tudor)

2 What Henry was the husband of Ann Boleyn? (Eighth)

3 «Ad Vincula» means «in ..»?(Chains)

4 Tower of London is built upon the river of ..(Thames)

5 Tower Bridge wasn’t built until the reign of Queen … ?(Victoria)

6 What Abbey was King Henry VII crowned at?(the first of Tudors) (Westminster)

Romance in the Air

“Come here, Posy, and let me put some more sun cream on you, “I called to my four-year -old niece who was playing with her bucket and spade in the sand.

I had brought Posy down to St. Ives for a few days′ holiday while my sister and brother-in-law were abroad on business.

The Cornish beach was packed. It was a hot summer′s day, and, after months of being cooped up in the London office where I worked as a secretary, it felt marvelous sitting in a deckchair letting the sun get to my bikini-clad body.

Posy stood obediently in front of me as I spread the cream liberally over her and straightened the candy –striped sun-hat she wore to keep the brilliant sun at bay. She then resumed her tunnel digging and I sat back and read my thriller.

“Aunty Jessica! Aunty Jessica! make him give it back!” wailed Posy.

I signed. Now what? I looked up to see Posy and a small boy of about five sitting on the sand wrestling over her brightly painted yellow plastic spade. Both were stubbornly holding on with grim determination.

“Posy darling,” I entreated, as I got down on my knees beside them, “let him play with it for a while.”

I turned to the little boy and smiled. “Why don′t you give her back her spade?”

The child ignored this not unreasonable request, and, with one more tug, the spade was his.

While the dispute continued to rage I jumped up and looked round desperately for the boy′s parents. I didn′t have far to look. He was playing in front of the young couple sitting in the deckchairs next to mine. They were reading and, to my intense annoyance, totally ignoring the little drama being played out at their feet.

“Excuse me,” I said icily to them.

The man slowly lowered his paper. “Are you speaking to me?” he asked.

I caught a look of admiration in his large brown eyes as they swept over me.

“Well of course I am!” I retorted. It was hard being frosty confronted by such a good looking man. “Do you think,” I continued, pointing to the two children still squabbling over the spade,“ that you could possibly ask your little boy to give back our spade?”

The man tossed his paper onto the sand and heaved himself out of the deckchair. He was tall and athletic looking and his white shorts set his deep tan off to good effect. He took the scene in at a glance then strode over to the other side of my deckchair. Bending down he picked something up out of the sand.

“Perhaps this is yours,” he said grinning and, to my horror, handed me Posy′s identical yellow spade with its slightly dented handle.

I felt the colour rise in my cheeks with embarrassment. “Yes, it is, thank you,” I muttered. Hurriedly I reunited Posy with her spade and dropped into my deckchair.

“Sorry” to have been so rude,” I mumbled as I snatched my book from the sand and opened it at random.

“Oh, by the way…” said the man.

I peered over the top of my book at him and forced a smile. “Yes?” I replied weakly.

“There′s something you should know” .There was a broad smile on his face. ”The little boy isn′t with us.”

I nearly collapsed. “ I′m so sorry. It′s just that as he was playing at your feet…”

The man threw back his head and laughed. “Don′t worry,” he replied with a wink, as he lowered himself back into his deckchair and stretched out his long legs, “it′s a mistake anyone could make.”

At that moment a girl of about ten came up to the little boy. ”Darren,” she said bossily, talking him by the arm, “you know Mum said you were to stay with us.” And she smartly marched him off.

“I′m Martin Page”, said the man, leaning over and extending his hand.

“How do you do,” I replied, glad he had taken my mistakes with such good grace. “I′m Jessica Blair and this is my niece, Posy.”

“Clare.” Martin turned to his companion. “This is Jessica Blair, and Posy.”

Clair lowered the glossy magazine she was reading and, with a beautifully manicured hand, raised her large designer sunglasses. She threw me a smile that didn′t quite reach her blue eyes and promptly lowered the glasses back onto her nose. Idly she flicked through the magazine.

I noticed, not without a trace of envy, that, although she was fair like me, she had an even tan, whereas mine had gone a bit blotchy.

As Clare sunned herself Martin told me they were down from the London office of Kanes, the well-known group of grocery stores they both worked for. The group was holding a management conference at one of the big hotels.

I liked the way Martin looked at me and felt comfortable in his company.

“Isn′t it about tea –time,” said Martin. “How about an ice-cream?”

“Yes, please,” Posy and I chorused.

Clare shook her head, around which she had done something rather exotic with a cotton scarf. ”I hate eating on the beach,” she observed petulantly as she lubricated a golden limb. “I can′t stand all the grit that gets into everything.”

As Martin headed off the ice–cream, Clare didn′t hesitate to let me know that she and Martin were unofficially engaged. I took this news flash as calmly as I could and wondered why she felt it necessary to inform me that Martin was a no-go area.

Posy and I went for a quick paddle and splash when we had finished our cornets. Then gloomily I started to pack up our things to take Posy back to our modest hotel for her bath and supper.

“How long are you down here for?” Martin asked as he helped me round up Posy′s bucket and spade and other treasures.

“Until Friday.”

“So are we,” replied Martin. “That gives us another four days. Perhaps we′ll see you tomorrow. Will you be here?”

“Oh, Martin,” Clare chimed in, “you know we′ve got to attend tomorrow′s sales meeting . It goes on all day.” A look of satisfaction spread across her dissatisfied face.

The next morning promised another glorious day. Posy and I made for the same spot of beach as the day before. I just couldn′t get Martin out of my mind and hoped he′d be there too.

While Posy shoveled sand over my feet, I sat back in my deckchair and kept a watchful eye out for him.

Suddenly I heard someone shouting my name.

“Jessica! Jessica! ” Martin was running along the promenade calling and waving. Thrilled I waved back.

“I hoped you′d be here,” said Martin breathlessly, as he pulled up a deckchair next to mine.

“Isn′t Clare with you?” I asked as I scanned the promenade in alarm in case she might be walking majestically along to join him.

“No.” Martin gave me a triumphant smile. “I′m playing truant. I left her at the meeting. I thought I′d get a last breath of sea air before driving back to London.”

It was then I realized that he wasn′t dressed for the beach. I stared at him in dismay. “But I thought you said you′d be here until the end of the week,” I stammered.

“I did.” He shrugged. “But Clare thinks we ought to return to London at lunch-time. That means we′ve got another two hours until I have to go back to the hotel to pick her up.”

Date: 2015-02-16; view: 859