A Close Connection Read Free

too badly. He was from a West Country family as well connected as hers, in addition acquiring a substantial sum of money of his own from an aunt who had adored him. He was built in the manner of a rugby player with a grace that belied his size and Eleanor, tall for a girl, needed a man of height.
    However, there had to be more to it than looks. Eleanor, aided by her mother, who had a first-class degree in devious enquiries, made sure that he was sound before she allowed their relationship to proceed, for she had determined at an early age that she was not going to go through life counting pennies. Marrying below never worked, her mother said.
    If Henry had been lacking in financial terms then she – ormore likely her formidable mother – would have instantly put an end to it before it escalated. In the event, once she decided he was the one for her, she kept him at arm’s length for some considerable time to make sure that his appetite was whetted. She only agreed to full-on lovemaking once there was an agreeably large diamond ring on her finger with the wedding date fixed. She supposed she was old-fashioned in that she had only limited sexual experience prior to Henry and perhaps that was why she had always been faintly disappointed in that aspect of their life, although she never let on to him. Henry had an outrageous overconfidence about his sexual ability; he was robust certainly but it was all about him and his needs and he was lacking in anything resembling gentleness, which she craved. She was never quite sure why he married her for there was a string of girlfriends before her, although perhaps his own mother was tiring of his bachelor ways and had a hand in it. He said he loved her and perhaps he did but his roving eye was a problem from the honeymoon onward.
    Love at first sight was a myth perpetrated by romantic novelists and she had never given any credence to it. A successful marriage could be achieved through hard work and a certain give and take, and over the years she had learned how to handle Henry. She was the boss at home and, when it came to domestic matters, he could be persuaded at every turn to agree to what she decided. She had issued the invitation to Paula and Alan without consulting Henry and, as expected, he had agreed to it, albeit with reservations.
    He would be proved wrong for she felt in her bones that this holiday would be an unqualified success.
    Once they got up in the air, that is, if the wretched driver ever got them there on time. She would complain to the company when they got back. She was tempted to nudge Henry awake but they had a way to go yet and he could be very grumpy if his sleep was unnaturally curtailed.
    How could he fall asleep under such conditions as this? Eleanor felt more excited than tired at the prospect of being back in Italy, which was by far her favourite country. They had travelled extensively, done most of the world apart from the Indian continent, which she simply did not fancy, or the cold trips up to the Arctic and so on. They could keep those kind of holidays, thank you very much.
    She had slept badly too, childishly excited on the holiday eve, although she could not drop off as easily as Henry, finding it impossible to relax when the driver clearly thought his driving was Grand Prix standard.
    Once they were safely on the motorway, he made a brief attempt to engage her in conversation, but she cut him short for at this unearthly hour she was in no mood for it, and he quickly stopped trying. She needed him to concentrate on what he was doing. As a careful driver herself, she had a horror of being a passenger and at times she had to close her eyes as he hurtled along far too fast in the outside lane of the M5.
    All she wanted was for him to get them to the airport in one piece on time.

Chapter Two
    P AULA W ALKER HAD no trouble fastening her suitcase, but once it was done she worried that the cases looked shabby and she wished she had bought new ones as she