A Scandalous Secret

A Scandalous Secret by Jaishree Misra Read Free Book Online

Book: A Scandalous Secret by Jaishree Misra Read Free Book Online
Authors: Jaishree Misra
giant white bloomer loaves at one end of the table.
    Unable to sustain the demure Indian look for very long, Sonya was swigging her second can of Corona when Timothy arrived. His face brightened as it always did when he saw her but, because his Roman toga was too long, he stumbled on the top step of the mill while stepping over the threshold in a pair of outsized gladiator sandals. What would have been a nasty tumble was fortuitously stopped by his colliding with Wonder Woman, which led to both of them falling in a giggling heap onto a few bags of wholemeal flour. It was a funny sight that had all the observers bursting into affectionate laughter, but Sonya looked away from her boyfriend making a spectacle of himself, mortified. Tim was unfazed, however, and Sonya guessed that he was probably already a little drunk. Being a naturally shy sort, he often downed a bottle of beer before leaving for a party. ‘A pint of Dutch courage,’ he had once said while waving a lager glass of Stella Artois in a pub, and Sonya was sure he had meant it. She watched the burly Benedict pull Tim up now and stick him back on his sandaled feet. Benedict, who had gone by the name of Big Ben since Year Seven, twinkled across at Sonya. ‘I know I just said you were a fabulous eyeful tonight, Ms Shaw, but I failed to realize this was the effect you would have on poor old Tim!’
    â€˜Mind you don’t distract him when he’s stood next to the water wheel,’ someone else warned.
    â€˜Too right. Can’t have Julius Caesar die in a drowning accident, for fuck’s sake,’ came another quip.
    Cheerfully ignoring them all, Tim wandered across to Sonya for a kiss but received only a perfunctory peck on the cheek. ‘What’s that about?’ he asked; charged up, Sonya was sure, by the beer. He was never aggressive normally. She shrugged and turned away. If she was to be honest,it wasn’t merely the drink. She had been feeling distinctly cooler towards him for days anyway, the only problem being that good old bumbling Tim had completely failed to take the hint so far! Typically, Estella noticed her discomfiture, however, and Sonya saw her shoot a sympathetic look in her direction as Tim leaned in proprietorally to insist on sticking his tongue into her mouth.
    Sonya shrugged away from his grasp, cheering up slightly when she saw Chelsea Brigham-Smith walking into the mill, her face almost unrecognisable under layers of luminous green paint and a witch’s hat. She was exactly the person Sonya needed to talk to on the eve of her departure for India, because it was Chelsea who had told her about the Adoption Register at another party a few months ago. She had just been through the procedure of searching for her own birth family at the time, a story that had provided Sonya with the impetus she had perhaps been subconsciously seeking.
    â€˜Hey, Chels,’ Sonya said, waving to catch her attention.
    â€˜Hi, Sonya,’ Chelsea replied, walking over, ‘don’t you look super in your Indian clothes! Sure suits you, all this drapey, shimmery stuff.’
    â€˜Oh thanks. Don’t suppose you want me to return the compliment, given your witch’s garb! This is Tim, by the way,’ Sonya added, mumbling, ‘my boyfriend,’ as an afterthought under her breath. She turned to Tim. ‘Chelsea was my classmate back in primary school before she went off to Cheltenham Ladies’ College,’ she said, waiting while Tim and Chelsea shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. Then she grabbed Chelsea’s arm, unable to contain her news any more. ‘You’ll never believe this, Chels. I’ve been meaning to call and say – I did eventually follow up your advice and contact the Registrar General, you know.’
    â€˜You did!? And?’
    Sonya took a deep breath, aware that the more people she told, the more she was breaking her promise to Laura. ‘And …’ she

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