Page 6 of A Very Bookish Murder
Just then, Brigitte and Penelope appeared.
‘Hello, I’m Brigitte.’ Brigitte was plainly French, pretty with large brown eyes and her hair tied up in a carefully careless chignon, and much younger than the others.
‘And I’m Penelope,’ said the last of the four. ‘I’m the leader and organiser of The Literary Ladies, and I’ve come all the way up from the Cotswolds,’ Penelope said very loudly in her very posh accent. She had a double-barrelled surname, which Ally had not yet memorised. She wasn’t exactly chinless but wasn’t too strong in that department, with short greying hair and sharp blue eyes. ‘This is so kind of you, Mrs McKinley,’ she bellowed.
‘Please, everyone, do call me Ally, and do help yourselves to a glass of wine.’ She indicated the dresser. ‘I’ve opened a few bottles, but I have to warn you that this is nothing fancy, just supermarket red.’
‘Suits me,’ boomed Penelope, leading the way, with Brigitte and Millie eagerly following.
‘I don’t drink alcohol,’ Joyce said, ‘because I’m diabetic, but I’d love a sparkling water or something.’
It was a good ten minutes later before Jodi swanned in, wearing what looked like her pyjamas but was probably some form of leisurewear. She was wearing another beautiful long silk scarf around her neck, this one in what could only be described as shocking pink.
‘Sorry I’m a bit late,’ she said breathlessly, ‘but I’ve had a long chat with my agent on the phone.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Youknowwhat these agents are like!’
The others obviously didn’t because no one uttered a word.
‘Please sit down, everyone,’ Ally said, lifting the pasta dish out of the oven, ‘and help yourself to wine, Jodi.’
As they took their places around the table, Joyce said, ‘This is so very kind of you, Ally.’
There was a general nodding of heads.
‘This is so much nicer than some dreary hotel,’ Jodi said, helping herself to garlic bread and taking a hefty gulp of her red wine.
‘But you’d probably be having a nice three-course dinner down at the Craigmonie,’ Ally said. ‘The food is really very good there.’
‘Who needs a three-course dinner?’ shouted Penelope, followed by murmurs of agreement. ‘A quick supper and an early night.’
‘Well,’ said Joyce, ‘I have some good news, which I haven’t told anyone else yet. I’ve just hadanothershort story published by a women’s magazine, and that’sfournow!’
‘Congratulations,’ said Penelope without enthusiasm.
‘That’s wonderful,’ said Brigitte drily.
Millie cleared her throat. ‘What do you write about, Joyce? I don’t recall reading any of your stories.’
‘Women!’ said Joyce. ‘Women like us. Ordinary women. You should read the popular women’s magazines, Millie.’
There was silence as everyone ate and digested this news.
Then Jodi said, ‘Have you ever considered sexing them up a little, Joyce?’
‘Ooh la la!’ said Brigitte, rolling her eyes.
‘We don’tallwant to read erotica,’ snapped Joyce. This was an obvious dig back at Jodi, who wrote very racy, explicit novels.
Perhaps sensing some dissension, Millie interjected quickly with, ‘How long have you lived here, Ally?’
‘About a year and a half,’ Ally replied. ‘I come from Edinburgh and lived there most of my life. I was widowed about nine years ago, my son and daughter are both married with families of their own, and I decided to make a new start.’
‘Wow!’ exclaimed Jodi. ‘That was so brave! Especially at your age!’
Slightly annoyed, Ally said, ‘Perhaps, but I see no reason why older women shouldn’t do something with their lives if they want to, and they’re fit enough, that is. I fell in love with this old building, originally a store for the malt that makes the local whisky, mainly because of its position in the hills, with the castle towering above and the village alongside the river below.’
‘What about the famous earl?’ asked Penelope loudly. ‘We were all mates at uni, you know, and my late husband was a friend of his.’
‘Hamish is actually a very good friend of mine,’ Ally said staunchly. ‘He’s recently remarried, and his wife is expecting twins.’
