Page 68 of For Love or Money
‘Mostly, yes. I shared with Scott sometimes if there were a lot of people staying.’
‘Big fan of Enid Blyton, were you?’ she asked, pulling outFirst Term at Malory Towersand waving it at him.
‘Ah, an underrated modern classic,’ he said, taking it from her. ‘I longed to go to a boarding school like that – having midnight feasts, being on the lacrosse team and playing tricks on Mam’zelle.’
‘But you did go to boarding school, didn’t you?’
‘Yes. But Harrow was quite a let-down after Malory Towers.’
‘You’ve read all of these?’ She ran a finger along the spines.
‘At least once. That’s Scott’s influence. He said it would give us an insight into the female mind.’
‘Huh! In other words, it would help you score with girls.’
‘Exactly. He was all about the girls back then.’
‘Did it work?’ she asked.
‘I bonded with my first girlfriend over our mutual admiration for Darrell Rivers,’ he said with a smug smile.
‘I was more of aHarriet the Spygirl myself.’
Al flicked through the pages of the book he was still holding, smiling down at it fondly. ‘God, I’d forgotten how good this was. I might give it a re-read.’ He snapped it closed. ‘Well, you’d probably like to get freshened up. The bathroom’s through here.’ He opened the door to the en suite. ‘I’ll leave you to it,’ he said when he’d given her towels, explained the shower controls and shown her the trick for adjusting the water temperature.
Lesley was dying to get out of her jeans and into something cooler. The weather in Dublin had been chilly for July, and she was wearing far too many clothes. As soon as he was gone, she locked the door and stripped off.
She felt much more human after a shower. She opened her suitcase and changed into a pair of cropped trousers and a loose sleeveless top, then slipped her feet into her cushiony thick-soled flip-flops.
She was usually pretty slobby about unpacking on holidays, only taking things out of her suitcase as and when she needed them. But as she’d be sharing with Al, she decided she should be on her best behaviour. So she unpacked completely, stowing her clothes in the wardrobe and drawers, and slid her empty suitcase under the bed. She was just finished when there was a knock on the door.
‘You decent?’ Al called.
She unlocked the door and let him in. ‘I was just about to come down. I took half the wardrobe and the top three drawers,’ she told him. ‘The rest is all yours.’
‘Great. I’ll just have a quick shower and then we can go into town and I’ll show you around a bit. Rafe wants us to go for a drink with him and Scott.’
‘Oh! Just us?’
‘Yes. I’m guessing he wants to talk about Stella.’
‘Are you sure he wants me to come?’ she asked. ‘I don’t mind if the three of you want to catch up. We don’t have to be one of those couples who are joined at the hip.’
‘No, you should come. If we’re discussing Stella, I want you in on it.’
‘But they don’t know I’m an investigator, right?’ She didn’t fancy the idea of having to answer to Rafe.
‘No. The fewer people who know that, the better. As far as they’re concerned, you’re just a mild-mannered web developer.’
‘Well, it happens to be the truth,’ she said.
22
It was a short walk through winding, leafy streets to the centre of town. They caught up with Scott and Rafe on the Promenade des Anglais. Al pointed out the famous Negresco Hotel to Lesley, but she knew they weren’t there to see the sights as Rafe led the way down some steps to a bar right on the beach. Under large white canopies, little round tables were arranged on a wooden deck slightly raised off the shingle. On the beach, rows of sunbeds shaded by blue and white umbrellas were lined up in front of the sparkling blue sea. A waitress waved them to a table, and after some consultation, Rafe – in fluent, and very sexy, French – ordered a bottle of Perrier for himself, a Kir Royale for Lesley and Pernod for Scott and Al.
‘So, I presume we’re here to talk about Stella,’ Scott said. He looked at Rafe, a grin on his face. ‘What’s your plan for ridding us of the troublesome wench?’
Rafe gave him a dry look. ‘What makes you think I have a plan?’
