CHAPTER ONE
The lawn, green and smooth as a length of baize, sloped
gently down through t all pines to the far end of the
point where it ended in a neat curve, a crumbling stone
urn of geraniums, a low stone wall and the end of the
land. Beyond the wall, jagged rocks and boulders;
shaggy myrtle bushes and a golden broom hung high
above the sea.
She walked slowly and deliberately down the middle
of the lawn only half aware that her heels were
leaving deep holes in the sodden turf and that she had
received the full force of one of the sprinklers across the
front of her thin silk shirt. It would dry out in a second
once she had reached the sunlight at the end of the point ,
and Archie could grumble as much as he liked about the
heel marks. This wasn’t a time to be fussy. They’d
disappear in a day or two. Anyway, she didn’t care. Such
a minor thing. Minor things faded into the shadows of
major things.
Normally she would have walked down the raked
gravel path at the side; that was the rule when wearing
heels. But this was not a normal day. Her first essential
was to get as far away from the house, from the windows, as possible. Just so that she could have a few minutes quiet to herself. A pulling-together time. Air
travel always made her feel displaced and odd, almost
unsteady. That could be the wine, wine on an empty
stomach. Should have had breakfast before leaving.
Simply couldn’t eat anything. But it would all be better
now that she was home. The last four days would start
to fade out in the warmth and peace of the villa.
Wouldn’t they?
She had reached the end of the pine-shaded lawn and
the sun almost blinded her as she continued towards the
point, screwing up her eyes against the glittering light…
