Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson Read Free Book Online Page A

are gods, nothing can stop them. This might sound like bitterness from a woman nearing the end of her career, Miss Lake, but please believe me when I say it’s not.’
    ‘It doesn’t sound like bitterness,’ Astrid said. ‘It sounds like disappointment.’ Bella looked at her in surprise. ‘I’m sorry if I’m speaking out of turn, but it sounds like advice from a woman who’s been let down by someone she loves.’
    The comment was so perceptive that it disarmed Bella completely, and she stood up to go. ‘I think you’ll be more than a match for Hitch, Miss Lake,’ she said admiringly. ‘In fact, I almost feel sorry for him.’

5
     
    Marta pulled the car over to the side of the road. After views that alternated between a landscape disfigured by mining and small towns packed with dark-walled chapels and tired-looking houses, it was a relief to be out on the moors. ‘What are you doing?’ Lydia asked impatiently. ‘We should get on if we’re going to have time to settle in before dinner.’
    ‘We’re already late, thanks to that Stratford crowd, so another ten minutes won’t matter.’ Marta reached across her to rummage in the glove compartment. ‘I need a cigarette.’
    Lydia sighed. ‘That Stratford crowd is my best chance of work for the autumn. Did you have to be so rude to everybody?’ She took a magazine from the back seat and began to fan herself, but there was no refuge in the open-top car from the late July sun. ‘In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not exactly flooded with offers‚ and your Greta Garbo act doesn’t help.’
    ‘Fine. Next time, leave me at home.’ Marta got out and slammed the door, ignoring Lydia’s glare. The hot metal burnt her skin as she leant against the car, but, as hard as she tried to blame her mood on the heat of the day or Lydia’s endless socialising, she was really only angry with herself: she had spent weeks longing to see Josephine; now the moment had come, she was so nervous that all she wanted to do was run in the opposite direction.
    ‘Can I have one of those?’ Lydia’s tone was placatory, and Marta knew that she was biting her tongue, wanting to avoid a full-blown row just before they entered company. ‘I’m sorry, darling, but you know how important it is to stay on the right side of people. I can’t live off thin air.’
    ‘I’ve got money. We don’t have to spend our lives running round with people we don’t like.’
    ‘That’s not the point. I need to work, Marta.’ She threw the cigarette onto the ground, barely touched. ‘Anyway, things might look up after this weekend. Let’s just enjoy it.’
    The sun emerged from behind a rare cloud, and Marta watched as the stain of light spread across the hills, transforming each shade of green into a sharper, more intense version of itself. There was no point in saying anything more: it was an argument they had had many times before and would no doubt have again, part of the settling of two lives into one, so she finished her cigarette in silence and got back into the car.
    They drove for another hour before joining the main road. ‘I’m not sure we were right to book into a village room rather than the hotel,’ Lydia said. ‘We don’t want to miss anything. Where are the Hitchcocks staying?’
    ‘I’ve absolutely no idea. Look, this is Minffordd – isn’t that where we turn off?’
    ‘Yes. Left at the post office.’ Marta did as instructed and followed a discreet sign onto a private woodland drive. ‘We can find out when we check in,’ Lydia continued. ‘It’s not too late to change rooms.’
    ‘I hope you’re not relying on this weekend to solve all your problems,’ Marta said, exasperated. ‘I’ve got no influence with the Hitchcocks.’
    ‘You seem to know a lot about them.’
    ‘It’s just gossip, Lydia. They enjoy the notoriety but they keep their privacy intact. No one gets through. And we could all learn a lesson from that,’ she muttered, wishing she had the