Claudia Carroll

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?


Скачать книгу

devoted to her horses, which she treats almost like surrogate children. In fact, it’s a kind of joke around here that if there is such a thing as reincarnation, then to come back as one of Beatrice’s horses would be karma of the highest order.

      ‘It’s that hunter she had trouble with last week,’ Dan tells Andrew.

      ‘Oh, the hyperperistalsis case?’

      ‘That’s the one. Now she thinks it’s full blown colic and she’s panicking. Right then, sorry to break up the party, but I’d better get out there.’

      I get a justifiable flash of irritation when I see that neither Andrew nor James as much as offer to go with Dan, but just sit there nursing their mulled wine, nibbling on mince pies and looking at him blankly. So, silently fuming, I dump down my tray of empty glasses and follow Dan down the freezing cold kitchen passage and out the side door.

      ‘Sorry about this,’ he says, pulling on a pair of Wellingtons. ‘But it’s all my own fault. I told Beatrice that if she had the slightest concern about that horse to ring me immediately. And you know what she’s like when it comes to her horses.’

      I force my mouth into a stretched smile and utter the one phrase that pretty much summarises my life at The Moorings to date.

      ‘It’s fine, it can’t be helped.’

      ‘No, course not.’

      ‘I’m only sorry you’re missing the party, that’s all.’

      ‘I’ll be well back in time for Midnight Mass, don’t worry.’

      I manage a genuine smile at this. Although neither Dan nor myself are the slightest bit religious, still Midnight Mass is the one time of year you can count on us heathens to cross the threshold of the local church. Useless pair of hypocrites, I know, but it’s just such a lovely service, with the kids singing carols and the big tree and most of the town there, half pissed.

      ‘I’m not a bit worried about the party,’ I say calmly, even managing to make myself believe it. ‘Sure we’ve still got all day tomorrow and the day after. Don’t we?’

      I reach up to gently brush a tufty bit of his thick, black hair that’s standing upright on his forehead, then go to gently stroke his cheek, but he’s distracted and doesn’t respond.

      And two seconds later he’s gone out into the dark, icy cold evening.

      Half eleven that night and he’s still not back, so after I’ve tidied up the house, Jules and I walk to Midnight Mass on our own. Well, that is to say I walk and she staggers, having spent most of the evening knocking back approximately half a bucket of the mulled wine. I’m still hopeful that Dan might meet us at the church or even join us late during the service, but when we get there, there’s no sign of his mud-soaked jeep anywhere.

      A sudden stab of worry: he shouldn’t have taken this long, should he? Maybe there’d been some kind of accident? So I call him but he doesn’t answer. Which only makes worry work like yeast in my mind.

      By the time the choir get to Silent Night, Jules has fallen asleep and actually snores for the rest of the service.

      Holiday = not off to a good start.

      Christmas morning and the sound of a mug being plonked down on the beside table next to me wakes me up. It’s Dan, still wearing the same clothes he had on yesterday and looking more shattered than I think I’ve ever seen him. And older too; for the first time in the bright morning light I notice grey hair starting to sprout round his temples. All the ridiculous hours he’s been working finally taking their toll.

      ‘Hey, Happy Christmas, sleeping beauty,’ he says softly, sitting down on the edge of the bed beside me and rubbing his eyes exhaustedly with the back of his hands. ‘Made you some tea.’

      ‘Dan! Where were you? I mean, what happened last night? I was so worried…’

      ‘I know and I’m so sorry, love. It was all hours by the time I got back, so I just crashed out on the sofa downstairs so I wouldn’t disturb you. Believe me, I couldn’t get away any sooner.’

      I haul myself up onto the pillows, waiting for the morning fuzziness in my brain to clear and for that two-second time-lag to pass before my thoughts come back into focus. Yeah, now I have it; he went to Beatrice Kelly’s farm last night, something about a colicky hunter.

      ‘Problem with the horse?’

      ‘Well, no, not really,’ he says, the black eyes suddenly miles away, full of concern. ‘I think the main reason Beatrice called me out was that she was feeling a bit lonely. You know how tough this time of year can be for anyone living alone. I think she just wanted the company more than anything else. I tried calling you but of course, no signal on my phone up there.’

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4R9uRXhpZgAASUkqAAgAAAAOAAABAwABAAAA9gMAAAEBAwABAAAAGgYAAAIBAwADAAAAtgAA AAMBAwABAAAABQAAAAYBAwABAAAAAgAAABIBAwABAAAAAQAAABUBAwABAAAAAwAAABoBBQABAAAA vAAAABsBBQABAAAAxAAAABwBAwABAAAAAQAAACgBAwABAAAAAgAAADEBAgAeAAAAzAAAADIBAgAU AAAA6gAAAGmHBAABAAAAAAEAACwBAAAIAAgACADAxi0AECcAAMDGLQAQJwAAQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9z aG9wIENTNSBNYWNpbnRvc2gAMjAxMTowNDoxNSAxMDo0NjoyNAAAAAMAAaADAAEAAAD//wAAAqAE AAEAAAD2AwAAA6AEAAEAAAAaBgAAAAAAAAAABgADAQMAAQAAAAYAAAAaAQUAAQAAAHoBAAAbAQUA AQAAAIIBAAAoAQMAAQAAAAIAAAABAgQAAQAAAIoBAAACAgQAAQAAANwdAAAAAAAASAAAAAEAAABI AAAAAQAAAP/Y/+0ADEFkb2JlX0NNAAH/7gAOQWRvYmUAZIAAAAAB/9sAhAAMCAgICQgMCQkMEQsK CxEVDwwMDxUYExMVExMYEQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMAQ0LCw0O DRAODhAUDg4OFBQODg4OFBEMDAwMDBERDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwM DAz/wAARCACgAGgDASIAAhEBAxEB/90ABAAH/8QBPwAAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAwABAgQFBgcI CQoLAQABBQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAABAAIDBAUGBwgJCgsQAAEEAQMCBAIFBwYIBQMMMwEAAhEDBCES MQVBUWETInGBMgYUkaGxQiMkFVLBYjM0coLRQwclklPw4fFjczUWorKDJkSTVGRFwqN0NhfSVeJl 8rOEw9N14/NGJ5SkhbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2N0dXZ3eHl6e3x9fn9xEAAgIBAgQE AwQFBgcHBgU1AQACEQMhMRIEQVFhcSITBTKBkRShsUIjwVLR8DMkYuFygpJDUxVjczTxJQYWorKD ByY1wtJEk1SjF2RFVTZ0ZeLys4TD03Xj80aUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9ic3R1dn d4eXp7fH/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwDKp+r/AFyl9lOT0GzJtYQX2G2xpYHND2M/U8j7Pt2+7e5EPQup +0j6uXODjA9PIscJj+TZZt/tLcj6+V5VjMnqOLjZIDDZZYxtO4e7a5mR9jZXZsdvr/nU+K/6zW9S vtbmUWX47KxlZ9VddorAFnpVMsFLG2ZOy63/AIP/AEz0F1udRgWS7EZ0u3EyK2tfZutstNLXzttt p9Nz7PovfXjs/WL/AE/0VVi7foj8XEx6sTAv+2MAfa/QNsc8urDy7G9llTWuc/ax7fZ/hN/84s7A 9Wul2LjVseKicq21xJttdaLKn3ZTrHtZk5bvT/nvtFHs/RV4/o/oldxsPKL6ci2oOpDXWesTubDq z6TmbxXf7n2t/R2U1el6f/F2I8NboJt28NrWvuIJ97g4g9iRqrKDU1zHFriXEACTyQPFFSJVS6Sq Oz2jIycVtT33Y1LMgMBb+ka/1WtbTLvp+pjvr/SbP8Gmb1EWYdOZRS+6q+kXsAdW121wY+tv6ayt m9/qfv7EtV/ty7duv7w4gkz8e/Jx/RotNDnPYX2NMO2BwdZsfD9r9n8lU6sGrpVVd4Ehp35tjfU3 Oe5vpvv9Nj37qtznWOpf+jp99/8AOKdfWsezJrxhXYH2ZF2KHHbG+hrrXv8Apfzb2s9ivWDcwy3d HuDQYktO9on+s1KZnwGIPD1H9qpQlChIVev0+Vr5uSQKqaHObZkv2MuraHhu07rN5c2yv+ba/wCm sHqfU+pNuyDfYyrFq9JzHUiXx6jGzuDx6mNb/wBqmb9ldX6P1VoY3TsvIuOdluFd72ACvaXVkltX 6V1TnM9zdvp2Vu/wtPqKz1Lo+P1Ig2vsqdG13pOgOaHCwMtY4OZZt2+zf9BQYZZZzMzeOJ9Iv1fq /wB4R/QyI0DXZZi9OxBl1NqoblfpBtl7nOs/SuZX6n2baxs727vYxJVs3rmNkVU0YTPtLHP9N7CD W5rm+/Ht9N/pVup21WZL22Orq9KtJGs3v1xnbhrhnx+5XHfD8nBwf9586umz/9DRq6V1q3IdjWdT zL8ZhdXkWV32e9wOyzHxXWX2NyLG+717PT9PGs/Q/wA/+iXS0V/VvDpZU7A/Z7WANY6yosdpoP1q vc5zv3nvu3of2zNpBxcDEwaMNpIbWX2OBaPazbj1Y9dVDX/8Z/1tRZm5NJG7CqLPzhhZD6nf2ce+ vExn+797KQpdR7OpRg9LvbY/FsFjLABY5jxZMTH6U77PznfnqV9za8gY1Y3BrN1vYVsgtr3fvutc zb6f/GWf1wY9HSupNOS0C4h+ywWVhl1bx9KuyG05FV