The Lie of Love by Belinda Martin Read Free Book Online

like? I
think the least we can do is buy her coffee.’
    Rachel looked blank.
    ‘Our tarot reader…’ Darcy added
to clear any confusion. ‘She’s just arrived and is setting up over by the fig
tree.’
    Rachel followed the direction of
Darcy’s gaze to see a woman dressed in a long, ethnic patterned skirt,
embroidered white blouse, her wrists clacking with beads and bangles. Her long
red hair was plaited and fell over one shoulder as she rummaged in a box to
produce a black cloth which she draped over a table.
    ‘Oh, right… of course,’ Rachel
said, hurrying off in the direction of the woman.
    ‘I wonder if Harry has asked her
out yet,’ Darcy said in a low voice as they watched her go.
    ‘I doubt it,’ Amanda commented
carelessly. ‘Perhaps we should do a little matchmaking.’
    ‘You mean fix them up?’ Darcy’s
laugh felt less natural and carefree than it sounded. ‘I don’t think it’s for
us to interfere. The course of true love will find its own way.’
    ‘Yes…’ Amanda agreed, ‘but
sometimes true love buys a lousy sat nav . It doesn’t
hurt to sneak a roadmap under the seat before it starts out.’
    Darcy’s laugh was more genuine
this time. ‘You really ought to write that book, you know.’
    ‘Perennial underachiever, that’s
my problem. My school teacher always said I’d amount to nothing more than an
extremely well-kept woman with nothing better to do all day than stick my nose
into other people’s affairs.’
    ‘She missed out the bit about
being a fantastic friend,’ Darcy smiled.
    ‘Naturally she’d have no knowledge
of that bit, as I wasn’t friends with the old bag at all.’
    The banter was interrupted by
Storm. ‘I’m all set,’ she announced cheerfully as she strode towards them, the jangling
of jewellery and the slap of flip-flops on the tiled flooring in her wake.
    ‘I really do appreciate this more
than I can say,’ Darcy said. ‘I’ll be sure to do as much publicity for you as I
can during the campaign.’
    Storm waved away the thanks with
a smile. ‘I’m always quiet during the day and I hope that some of these ladies
will come to me again and bring their friends, so this is good publicity in
itself. And I’m happy to help a good cause, of course.’
    ‘Well, you’re an absolute star,’
Amanda said. ‘I can’t wait to get mine done afterwards, if you have time,’ she
added. ‘I’ll pay, of course.’
    ‘Oh yes, me too,’ Darcy agreed,
feeling that she ought to offer the woman something for giving up so much of
her time, even though the thought of having her fortune told filled her with
some unrecognisable dread.  She was of the firm opinion that if bad things
were to happen to her then she would rather now know about them. In fact, she
was of the opinion that it was better not to know anything of one’s future at
all. It was an idea that had always terrified her – not because the things in
her future might be bad, but because the idea of that sort of inevitability
made her wonder what the point of trying to do anything was at all. If she knew
with fateful certainty what was coming, she might well just give up and sit
waiting for it.
    ‘I’d be more than happy to,’
Storm smiled.
    Rachel’s voice came from behind
them. They turned to see her place three coffees on the counter. ‘Anything else
I can get you?’
    ‘No thank you. But how about you
get your fortune told, too?’ Amanda asked.
    Rachel shook her head doubtfully.
‘I don’t think –’
    ‘Surely you want to know how your
love life is going to pan out…’ Amanda prompted, ‘whether your Mr Right will
ever get around to asking you out or whether you should take the initiative and
ask him before you both get old waiting…’
    Rachel blushed. ‘I suppose I
could get it done for the fundraiser.’
    ‘Good girl…’ Amanda winked.
‘We’ll even let you have a discount, eh ladies?’
    Storm smiled brightly. ‘It’s
alright with me. The more the merrier as far as I’m