Persuade Me by Juliet Archer Read Free Book Online Page B

calls here if she can help it.’
    This time Anna refrained from questioning the ‘never’ word. ‘I’ll run your bath,’ she said, knowing that this would get Mona out of bed – if only to spend the next half-hour in the warm, fragrant water reading a celebrity magazine, envying other people’s lives. ‘And I’ll do a bit of tidying up while the boys aren’t here.’
    ‘Every room in the house looks like it’s been hit by a bomb. I keep telling Charles I need the cleaners here more often, but oh no, he won’t even talk about it. You’re so lucky to live by yourself, you don’t have any of the stresses I’ve got to put up with. Let me know when my bath’s ready.’
    Anna watched in silence as her sister yawned and reached for a magazine from the pile on the bedside table. At times, especially in the dark maze of a sleepless night, she would have given a lot for Mona’s stresses: a husband who was basically kind and loving, when given the chance; two adorable children; no real financial worries; and the happy-go-lucky Musgrove family on her doorstep. But the grass was always greener on the other side of the street, wasn’t it?
    An hour later, after much complaining, Mona accompanied Anna to lunch at the Great House. They didn’t take the short cut across the fields because of Mona’s new shoes, which meant a guided tour of some current bones of contention: the money her parents-in-law had spent on the new boundary fence, the cost of the recently resurfaced drive, and so on. As they neared the house, a jolly hand-painted sign propped against the porch informed them that ‘We’re in the garden’ and they walked round to a plain wooden door set in a high stone wall. Anna opened it and went in, while Mona hung back in a fit of pique at the lack of attention.
    Anna closed her eyes for a moment and let the waves of sound wash over her. Children whooping, men shouting affably at each other, women shrieking with laughter. The Land of Musgrove, where everyone was welcome – whatever Mona might say – and life was lived at a glorious, noisy gallop.
    Then she heard Ollie call her name and Harry squeal with delight; she opened her eyes just as they hurled themselves at her legs like boisterous puppies.
    She laughed, picked Harry up and ruffled Ollie’s dark curls. ‘My favourite nephews.’
    Ollie thought for a minute. ‘We’re your only nephews, Aunty Anna. You’ll have to do better than that.’
    She laughed even more. ‘What are they teaching you at that school – philosophy?’
    Mona joined them, giving Harry a sharp glance. ‘What’s that round your mouth? Has Grandma been stuffing you with chocolate again? God knows, I’ll be the one they blame when all your teeth fall out!’
    Silence, then a heartfelt whimper from Harry as he took in the full horror of his mother’s words.
    Anna rummaged in her bag. ‘Let’s see what I’ve got here – ah yes, red package for Ollie, blue for Harry.’
    The distraction worked; Harry stopped crying and clambered down. In a few seconds the boys had opened their presents, yelled their thanks and rushed off to show Charles their toy dinosaurs.
    ‘Is Harry’s suitable for a two-year-old?’ Mona said, in a deceptively sugary tone. ‘The childless never think about things like that.’
    Anna was saved from replying by Barbara Musgrove, a large, red-faced woman with cropped brown hair and, as Mona put it, the dress sense of one of her horses. Today she was resplendent in a tight orange skirt and a sparkly yellow vest top, revealing an alarming amount of flabby cleavage. She cornered the newcomers in a stable-scented embrace, then swept Anna off to the far end of the garden.
    With Barbara’s disconcerting tendency to talk about two subjects at once, Anna had to focus all her attention on disentangling the daughter-in-law from the dahlias. ‘How did you manage it?’ Barbara gave her an admiring glance. ‘Charles was convinced Mona wouldn’t come, he thinks