and pretend not to be at home. Whilst she hesitated, she heard a young girl enquire in high-pitched tones, ‘So if she’s your mother, does that mean she’s really old?’
‘Ancient,’ Maxine replied. ‘Over forty.’
Thea took a deep breath and opened the door. ‘But young at heart,’ she declared, praying that Oliver wouldn’t choose this moment to break into song upstairs. ‘Darling, how lovely to see you, but you really should have phoned. I’m in a tearing hurry, about to go out .. .
‘Just five minutes then.’ Since it hadn’t for a moment occurred to Maxine that she might not be welcome, she was already halfway through the door, ushering her two small charges into the hallway ahead of her. ‘Mum, this is Ella, and this is Josh, and am I glad you’re home. We’ve walked all the way from Trezale House and I forgot to bring any money with me. If you could lend me a fiver for cold drinks ...’
‘I’ll go and find my purse,’ said Thea, backing away. ‘Wait here.’
‘... and if Ella could just run upstairs and use the bathroom,’ Maxine went on, scarcely pausing for breath. ‘She’s had her legs crossed for the last twenty minutes. It’s been painful to watch.’
Damn, thought Thea, glancing down at the small blond girl whose knees were pressed tightly together. ‘Right, um ... give me a couple of minutes first.’
‘Is that the shower?’ Maxine, listening to the distant sound of running water, gave her mother an enquiring look. ‘Who’s upstairs?’
‘No one.’ Thea gathered her black robe around her and moved towards the staircase. ‘I was just about to jump in. I’ll go and turn it off.’
‘Out,’ she hissed moments later, grabbing Oliver’s soapy arm and dragging him out of the shower. ‘My daughter and your grandchildren are downstairs, waiting to use the loo. You’ll have to hide in the bedroom.’
‘Bloody hell!’ Shampoo cascaded down his face and chest, half blinding him. Stubbing his toe against the edge of the door he cursed once more beneath his breath as Thea pushed him naked on to the landing. ‘I knew we should have stayed at the hotel. How long are they here for?’
‘As long as it takes to pee.’ Thea, stifling laughter, steered him towards the bedroom.
‘Don’t worry I’ll get rid of them. Stay in here. And whatever you do, don’t sneeze.’
By the time she returned downstairs, Maxine and the children had moved into the front room. Maxine, glancing out of the window, said, ‘If you ordered a taxi to pick you up, it’s already here. Shall I go out and tell the driver he’ll have to wait?’
‘I’ll do it.’ Thea hurried towards the door but the taxi driver was already out of the car, reaching into the back seat and sliding out a vast wicker hamper.
‘Can I go to the bathroom now?’ cried Ella, frantic with need.
‘First left at the top of the stairs,’ Maxine replied absently, her gaze still fixed on the driver as he struggled up the path with the hamper. ‘Mum, what’s going on? Have you adopted a puppy?’
‘I’ve invited someone to dinner.’ Thea looked shamefaced. ‘He doesn’t know I can’t cook and I wanted to make a good impression so I ordered the food from a restaurant.’
‘Good heavens,’ said Maxine, because Thea had never worried about making a good impression before. ‘I hope he’s worth it.’
‘Don’t worry.’ Thea smiled to herself, because Oliver was worth millions. ‘He is.’
‘Do you know, Maxine, your mother wasn’t telling the truth?’ Josh remarked as they made their way back along the beach.
Maxine licked a blob of chocolate ice-cream from her wrist. ‘No?’
‘She hadn’t had a shower when we got there,’ he continued seriously, ‘and her hair was dry.
But when ‘I went up after Ella, there were wet footprints all along the landing and blobs of shampoo on the bathroom carpet.’
‘Gosh.’ Maxine looked shocked. ‘You mean—?’
Josh, who was deeply interested in becoming a detective when he grew up, nodded.
‘Somebody else was upstairs.’
‘I knew that,’ Ella piped up, anxious not to be outdone. ‘I went into the wrong room by mistake and there was someone hiding under the duvet in a big bed.’
Josh was a particular fan of Inspector Poirot. His expression serious, he said, ‘Were they dead?’
‘Well, I could hear breathing.’
‘That’s a relief then,’ said Maxine cheerfully. ‘At least he was alive.’
Josh stared at her. ‘Why did you say he? How do you know it was a man?’
She grinned. He wasn’t the only one to be intrigued. For the first time in her life Thea was being secretive and there had to be a particularly good reason why.
‘I don’t know,’ she told Josh. ‘Lucky guess.’
Chapter 24
Janey, hampered by the tray of flowers in her arms, was about to push open the door of the restaurant with her bottom when it was done for her. She tried not to look too taken aback when she saw that it was Nina.
‘Oh ... hi,’ she said quickly, terrified that her voice sounded artificial. Nodding down at the tray, brimming with delphiniums, pinks and snowy gypsophila, she added stupidly, ‘Just delivering the flowers.’
‘Bruno told me to expect you,’ Nina replied. ‘One of the waitresses dropped twenty-eight dinner plates last night so he’s gone out to get replacements.’
She was wearing a long, droopy dress of pale blue cheesecloth, several silver necklaces and flat, hippyish sandals laced around the ankles with leather thongs. No matter how many times Janey had tried, she simply
