The Summer House Party
Page 50
‘Where are you going?’
Meg paused at the door of the summerhouse. ‘To do what I should have done long ago.’
She walked to the house, where she packed her own and Max’s few belongings in a suitcase. She found Max on his own in the nursery, playing with his model aeroplanes.
‘Max, we have to take a trip up to town.’
‘Why?’
‘We’re going to visit Mr Ranscombe.’
‘Why?’
‘Because he’s offered to let us stay in his house for a while.’ And because very soon he may be the only friend I have in the world.
Max accepted this explanation with equanimity, and scrambled to his feet. ‘Can I bring my planes?’
‘Of course. We’ll put them in the case. Come on.’
She left Max and their luggage in the hallway and went in search of Sonia. She found her in the kitchen garden.
‘You have your hat on, Meg. Are you going somewhere?’
‘Max and I have to go up to London. I’ll let Diana explain.’
‘Oh, I see.’ Sonia gazed down at the beds. ‘The asparagus is looking rather spindly this year. I must ask Lobb to give it a good soaking.’ She sighed. ‘I do like the asparagus season. Such a lovely harbinger of summer.’ She smiled wistfully. ‘When the peace comes, perhaps we shall be able to have summer house parties again, like the ones we used to have before the war. They were such good times – the house full of people, lovely weather, tennis, picnics. Do you remember the one we had the year Henry died?’
‘Yes,’ replied Meg. ‘I remember it very well.’ She gave Sonia a gentle kiss.
‘Hurry back, my dear.’
*
Meg went out to the hall, where she found Max and Laura chasing Star and a tennis ball up and down the hallway.
‘Oh, children, not in here – something’s bound to get knocked over. Laura, take Star outside. But before you do…’ She bent down, enfolded Laura in a hug, then kissed her. ‘Max, come and say goodbye to Laura.’
‘Bye, Laura. We’re going up to London.’
‘Bye.’ Laura picked up the tennis ball, made a little coaxing noise to Star, and the pair of them raced off through the back of the house.
Meg picked up her handbag and the suitcase, and she and Max set off down the driveway. When they were almost at the bottom they caught sight of the bus heading out of the village.
‘Look, Mummy,’ said Max, ‘there’s our bus. Let’s run.’ And they began to run.
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About Caro Fraser
CARO FRASER is the author of the bestselling Caper Court novels, based on her own experiences as a lawyer. She is the daughter of bestselling Flashman author George MacDonald Fraser and lives in London.
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First published in the UK in 2017 by Head of Zeus Ltd.
Copyright © Caro Fraser, 2017
The moral right of Caro Fraser to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (HB) 9781786691484
ISBN (XTPB) 9781786691491
ISBN (E) 9781786691477
Design: Kate Gaughran
Images: front © H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock; back © Shutterstock.com
Author photo: Dale Cherry
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