Even her voice trembled slightly.
“Indeed it was. Although Lady Copeland has led a very full and active life, I suspect she’s been weeping inside ever since. Angela was, from all accounts, a lovely little girl. A Botticelli angel. Sparkling with life. She looked pretty much the way you would have as a child.”
Jewel fought hard to master her emotions. “My God!” she breathed. “You’re very cruel.”
He gripped the arm of the chair, his knuckles showing white. “And you’re very—” He broke off immediately at Archie’s approach with their drinks.
“Could I get you anything else?” Archie put down the drinks on the club coasters, then glanced from one to the other, obviously picking up on their tension.
“No, no, thank you.” With a flick of his wrist Keefe Connellan produced a wallet, selecting a note that more than covered the price of the martinis. “Thanks, Archie.”
“A pleasure, Mr. Connellan. Good evening, Ms. Bishop.” Archie accepted the money and all but skipped off.
“I don’t want this drink,” Jewel said, feeling as nerve-ridden as if there were ghosts at the table.
“Just sip it,” he replied. “I’d like to continue this…unique conversation.”
“Why? I’m beginning to wonder if you’re slightly unhinged,” she suggested shortly.
The comment caused him to smile. “I don’t think so. Whoever you are, Eugenie Bishop, you’re not presenting your case—if you have one—in the right way.”
“I have no case,” she said angrily. “It’s all in your mind. In any event, I’m flying home this weekend. I’ll speak to my mother then.”
“So she can come up with an explanation? Or perhaps tell you what you should do next?”
She returned his stare coolly. “My mother isn’t a well woman.”
“I’m sorry. What’s wrong with her?”
Her blue eyes flashed. “She suffers from chronic depression. She’s done so for many years.”
“But surely she can be treated?” he asked, unexpectedly showing concern.
“There doesn’t seem to be anything the doctors can do—and they’ve tried.”
“Who’s looking after her?”
She stiffened, although this time his tone was anything but confrontational. “I wanted her to come and live with me. But she dislikes change. She lives with my aunt Judith, her sister, in the family home.”
“So there are only the three of you? No one else?”
“Unless you’ve come up with someone,” she said with more than a touch of bitterness. “My father’s death brought about great changes in our lives. My mother has been in deep mourning all these years.”
“I’m sorry. That’s tragic.” He drank a little of his martini, set it down. “It must have affected your whole world.”
“Of course.” Jewel didn’t touch her drink.
“So you sought to correct the past?”
Jewel suddenly reached flash point. She rose from her seat like the jet from the sparkling fountain. “My father was killed. It was a tragedy. Forgive me if I can’t speak about it.”
She left him sitting at the table, indifferent to the fascinated eyes that watched her progress across the room and into the lobby.
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.