“Came down for your apple crumble?”
“I was hungry.” Janet was angry with herself for feeling defensive. This was her house and she could do what she pleased.
Edward stood up and switched off the television. He crossed over to the doorway and stood facing Janet. “We seem to have started off on the wrong foot,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry if I did or said anything to upset you. I know I can be rather demanding and difficult, but I’m grateful to you and Joan for letting me stay.”
Janet focussed her eyes on the far wall of the room to avoid meeting Edward’s eyes. “It’s fine,” she said after a moment. “I hope you enjoy your visit to Derbyshire.”
“I’m sure I will,” Edward replied. “Perhaps you’d like to do some sightseeing with me?”
“Oh, I’m afraid I’m rather busy at the moment,” Janet answered quickly. Something about the man made her feel uncomfortable and she wasn’t about to spend any more time with him than absolutely necessary.
“Well, the offer’s good if you change your mind,” Edward told her. “I suppose I’ll say good night, then.”
“Good night,” Janet muttered. She began to turn back towards the stairs, but Edward put his hand on her arm. When she stopped and looked at him, he smiled.
Before Janet had time to think, Edward leaned towards her and kissed her very gently on the lips. By the time she’d registered what had happened, he’d walked past her, heading for the stairs. Janet stood and listened to his soft footsteps as they faded behind her. It wasn’t until later that she realised that he’d climbed the stairs without a single creak.
Janet went back to bed, all thoughts of reading Maggie’s letters gone from her head. She was certain that she’d never manage to sleep with her mind racing and her emotions raging, but she slept as soon as her head touched the pillow, and she woke later than usual the next morning, only when someone knocked on her door.
“Janet, it’s breakfast time, what are you doing still in bed?” Joan demanded when Janet pulled open her bedroom door. “We have a guest, remember? You’re meant to help with breakfast when we have guests.”
“Sorry,” Janet muttered. “I’ll just grab a quick shower and I’ll be down.”
Joan tutted her disapproval, but Janet shut the door in her face and rushed to her adjoining bathroom. It had been a while since she’d woken up late and had to hurry through her morning routine, but many years of practice meant she had it down to an easy system. She was showered, dressed and ready to go in just fifteen minutes. In the bathroom, she studied her reflection for a moment.
She’d always considered her blue eyes her best feature and her grey hair seemed to complement them nicely. She and Joan shared their hair and eye colour and everyone who met them seemed to think that they looked alike, but neither sister ever really agreed. Although they were both around five feet, three inches, Joan was slender with pronounced cheekbones where Janet was more generously padded. Today she frowned at her curves, wondering for the first time what Margaret Appleton had looked like. They’d never seen a photograph of the woman, she realised. Perhaps one of the neighbours had one they could show her.
In the kitchen, Janet squeezed oranges into juice and put it in a pitcher, then she went out into the garden to cut some fresh flowers for the kitchen table. She arranged them in a vase while Joan dashed about anxiously.
“He said he’d be down for breakfast at eight,” she told Janet. “I thought I’d fix him a full English breakfast. But what if he would prefer something else? Maybe you should run to the store and get some more jam. We only have strawberry and raspberry. What if he asks for orange marmalade? Do you remember where I put that cookbook all about omelets? What if he requests an omelet? I can’t remember how to make them.”
Janet tried to ignore her, but after twenty minutes of endless babble from her sister, she was actually relieved to see Edward coming into the room.
“Full English?” Joan greeted him with. “Or would you prefer something else?”
“Full English sounds wonderful,” the man said with a huge grin. “I’ve been out of the country for so long, I think I’ve quite forgotten what a full English breakfast is like.”
Joan smiled and quickly got busy.
“Freshly squeezed orange juice?” Janet asked as the man sat down at the table.
“Oh, yes, please,” Edward smiled at her.
She filled a glass and handed it to him. He took it and then quickly captured her hand.
“I hope you slept well,” he said quietly.
“I did, thanks,” Janet muttered. “Did you?”
“I always sleep well,” he replied with a chuckle. “It’s supposed to be a sign of a clear conscience.”
Janet opened her mouth and then snapped it closed. She wasn’t sure what she’d been about to say, but something told her not to say it.
“Janet, can you fix the toast?” Joan asked without turning around.
Janet pulled her hand away from Edward’s. She busied herself with the toast until Joan was finished with the rest of the man’s breakfast. As Joan delivered a plate full of food to Edward, Janet dropped the toast rack next to it.
“You don’t need us both watching you eat,” she said. “I’m going to go and run a few errands.”
Joan frowned. “Don’t forget that we’re having Michael over for lunch,” she told her sister. “He’ll expect you to be here.”
Janet nodded. “I’ll be back. I just need a few things from town.”
As Janet left the room, she heard her sister talking to Edward.
“Of course, you’re more than welcome to join us for lunch as well,” Joan was saying.
Janet made a face and only just barely managed to not slam the front door as she left the house.
In the centre of Doveby Dale, Janet parked the car and wandered around the shops. She didn’t actually need anything but to get away from Edward Bennett, but now she felt she needed to buy something to justify leaving her sister to deal with their guest. By dawdling in every shop she entered, Janet managed to fill the morning, finally heading back towards home just a short time before lunch would be ready.
She parked her car in the small car park outside the house and headed inside, certain that Joan would be cross that she’d been gone so long. As she opened the door, she made sure she had all of the bags that contained the various bits and pieces she’d purchased. There was no one in the small sitting room, so Janet headed up to her room to freshen up before she hurried down to the kitchen to help her sister with lunch, carrying the new vase that she’d decided they needed with her.
“Ah, there you are,” Joan said testily. “I didn’t know you were planning to be gone all morning. Another pair of hands would have been useful around here.”
“Sorry,” Janet replied quickly. “I only went to town for a few things, but I had trouble finding what I wanted. You know what the shops are like in Doveby Dale.”
“I don’t suppose you considered just leaving it for today?” Joan asked. “Our guest is only here for a few days. There will be plenty of time for shopping once he’s gone.”
“Sorry,” Janet repeated herself. “I’ll plan on staying close to home from now on until Edward leaves.”
The knock on the front door interrupted their discussion.
“You go and let Michael in,” Janet told her sister. “Just tell me what to do while you’re gone.”
“Everything’s done,” Joan replied grumpily. “You can set the table, I suppose.” She swept out of the room.
Janet pulled down three plates and three sets of cutlery. Joan hadn’t told her whether Edward was joining them or not, so she chose to assume he wasn’t. If her assumption made him feel somewhat unwelcome if he did join them, well, that was too bad.
She set the table and then headed out into the garden to cut some flowers to put in the new vase. Back in the kitchen, she arranged them carefully and added water to the container. But what on earth was keeping Joan, she wondered. S
he was halfway to the door, going to find out, when the door swung open. Edward walked in and gave her a big smile.
“I do hope you had a nice shopping trip this morning,” he told Janet.
She forced herself to smile back at him. “It was fine,” she muttered. A moment later the door swung open again. This time it was Joan, and she looked even less happy than she had when she’d walked out. Behind her, Michael entered the room, and behind him was another man of a similar age who smiled faintly as he crossed the threshold.
Michael was only a few inches taller than Janet. She considered him quite handsome, with his bald head and his intelligent brown eyes. The man with him was no taller than Janet herself, and considerably heavier. He had a bulbous nose and a handful of stray hairs that had been carefully arranged around his head to try to fool people into thinking he wasn’t bald. Janet took an instant and irrational dislike to him before she even knew who he was.
“Ah, Janet, this is my old school friend, Leonard Simmons. He’s just up from London for a few days,” Michael said. “I thought maybe the four of us could have dinner together somewhere tonight.”
Chapter Four
Janet stared at Michael, unable to come up with a suitable reply. While Leonard was probably a lovely man, she really didn’t want to have dinner with him, not even if Joan and Michael came along.
“Ah, what a shame.” It was Edward who broke the awkward silence. “Janet just this minute agreed to have dinner with me tonight,” he told them.
Janet turned her stare towards him and he winked at her.
“Oh, that is a shame,” Michael said. “I hope Joan won’t be too bored, listening to us talk about our school days all night.”
“Maybe I should just stay home and let you two go out on your own,” Joan said stiffly.
“If you’re sure you wouldn’t mind, that would be great,” Michael replied, clearly not understanding Joan’s tone.
“I haven’t set nearly enough places for lunch,” Janet said, eager to stop the argument that was brewing. “But the table in here only seats four. Let’s move lunch into the dining room.”
Joan frowned, but Janet didn’t give her a chance to speak. “If everyone gives me a hand, we can have the table set up in there in no time,” she told the men. Janet left her sister standing in the middle of the kitchen with an angry look on her face. With the men’s help, it only took a few minutes to set the table in the dining room.
“Sit down and introduce yourselves all around,” Janet suggested. “I’ll go and help Joan with the food.”
“I’m happy to help as well, if you’d like,” Edward replied.
“No, no, I’m sure you’ll find plenty to talk about,” Janet replied. She was pretty sure Joan was about to explode in the kitchen, and she didn’t want their paying guest to witness the fireworks.
Janet rushed back to the kitchen as the men began to settle in around the table.
“What can I do to help?” she asked Joan, who didn’t appear to have moved in her sister’s absence.
“Tell them all to get out of my house,” Joan suggested.
“It’s my house, too,” Janet replied. She could tell that Joan was feeling hurt by Michael’s behaviour. Clearly he hadn’t bothered to mention that he had a friend coming to visit. If that wasn’t bad enough, he’d made no effort to hide the fact that he’d rather have dinner with his friend than with Joan.
“We can’t throw anyone out,” Janet said, giving her sister a hug. “You promised them all lunch.”
“I invited Michael,” Joan retorted.
“And Edward,” Janet reminded her.
“Yes, but I certainly didn’t invite Leonard,” Joan grumbled.
“You would have invited him if Michael told you about him, though,” Janet said. “Anyway, it’s no good complaining. He’s here now and we have to give him and the others lunch.”
Joan sighed deeply and then opened the oven. A gorgeous lasagne was bubbling away inside it.
“That looks wonderful,” Janet said happily.
“I suppose you can take the salad through,” Joan replied. “I’ll bring the lasagne and the garlic bread in a few minutes.”
“You are going to come and have some salad, though, right?” Janet demanded. “You aren’t going to leave me with the three of them on my own.”
Joan sighed again, even more dramatically. Janet just looked at her.
“If I must,” Joan said after a moment.
“You really must,” Janet said emphatically.
Grabbing the salad bowl, which was full of an assortment of mixed greens, tomatoes and cucumber tossed in a light dressing, Janet headed back into the dining room. She could hear Joan sliding the lasagne out of the oven behind her.
“Here we are,” she said brightly, setting the salad in the middle of the table. “Everyone help yourselves. I’ll get some drinks. What can I get you all?”
She headed back towards the kitchen with the drinks requests, nearly knocking Joan over as she went.
“We need to get everyone drinks,” Joan hissed.
“I’m working on that,” Janet answered her. “You go and sit down and have some salad. I’ll bring the drinks.”
Joan clearly wanted to argue, but as they were standing in the dining room doorway in full view of the others, she refrained. Janet continued on to the kitchen and quickly collected the cold drinks that had been requested. She added a cup of tea for her sister and a cold drink for herself to a small tray and then carried it all back through. Joan was sitting at the head of the table, between Michael and Leonard, but she jumped up to help Janet serve.
“Now you sit down and have some salad,” Joan said. “I’ll finish up in the kitchen.”
Janet sank into a chair next to Edward and used the salad tongs to put some salad on her plate. Michael and Leonard were talking loudly about their university days, so Janet nibbled at her food quietly. Every so often Michael would say something about being sorry for excluding others from their conversation, but neither he nor Leonard seemed willing to actually change the subject.
“Aren’t you glad you’re having dinner with me?” Edward whispered to Janet during one particularly long anecdote about some party that had taken place forty years earlier.
Janet quickly took a drink to avoid having to answer the question. The truth was, she wasn’t sure how she felt about having dinner with the man.
Joan carried in the lasagne and then a plate full of garlic bread. The men all murmured appreciatively, which at least earned a tiny smile from Joan. Leonard reached for the spatula to start serving himself, but Michael interrupted.
“Ladies first,” he said, smiling at Joan.
Janet relaxed slightly when Joan gave him a slightly larger grin before she helped herself to lunch.
Michael appeared, throughout lunch, to try to include everyone in the conversation, but Leonard seemed to have a one-track mind. Janet was quite happy to just sit back and let the boorish man monopolise the conversation, even though nothing he said was even remotely interesting. The food was wonderful and she didn’t really have anything to say to any of their guests, anyway.
Joan served tea and biscuits for pudding. Janet was sure she’d seen a Victoria sponge on the kitchen counter and could only assume that Joan had decided to save that for another day. Perhaps one when Leonard would be absent.
“We ought to stay and help with the washing up,” Michael said, his tone apologetic. “But I promised Leonard a trip into Derby.”
“Have fun,” Joan said flatly.
Michael looked as if he wanted to say more, but Leonard grabbed his arm.
“Let’s get going, shall we?” he asked. “Lots to do.”
Michael shrugged and followed the man from the room. Joan busied herself with clearing the table, so Janet followed the two men to the door.
“Tell her I’m really sorry,” Michael whispered to Janet at the door. “He just showed up out of the blue and I couldn’t think of a polite way to get
rid of him.”
A few ideas sprang to Janet’s mind, but the two men were disappearing down the pavement before she could reply. She watched them cross the road back to Michael’s home before she shut the door.
In the kitchen, Joan was loading all of the dishes into the dishwasher.
“Are you sure that’s wise?” Janet asked. The machine had come with the house, but they hadn’t actually tried it yet.
“I’m not doing all that washing up by hand,” Joan said crossly.
“Let me help,” Edward said from the dining room doorway. He was carrying a stack of dishes and he quickly crossed to Joan. “It’s best to put them in this way,” he explained, loading plates and then glasses and mugs onto the various racks. Within minutes he had everything tucked up inside the machine. Joan handed him the box labelled “dishwasher tablets” that had come with the house. He showed her where to put the tablet and then shut the machine’s door and switched it on.
“It should take about an hour,” he said. “And everything will be quite hot when it’s finished.”
“Thank you,” Joan said. “And thank you for helping to clear everything up as well.”
“I’m always happy to help,” the man replied. “And now, if you ladies will excuse me, I have a few errands to run.” He bowed to them both and then headed towards the kitchen door.
“I’ll make a dinner booking for seven,” he told Janet on his way past her. “If you can be ready for half six?”
“Fine,” Janet muttered, thinking this was the perfect opportunity to cancel their date, but failing to do so.
“Good.”
The sisters were quiet as they heard him moving around the house for a few minutes before they heard the front door open and close. Janet blew out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding.
“You didn’t tell me that you and Edward were dating,” Joan said as she tidied up the kitchen.
“We aren’t,” Janet replied. “I don’t even like the man.”
“And yet you’re having dinner with him tonight,” Joan replied.
“Apparently,” Janet muttered.
A knock on the front door disrupted their chat. Janet rushed to open it, happy with the interruption.
The Bennett Case (A Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Book 2) Page 3