The Room Beyond Read Free Page A

his hand.
    ‘Of course it is. It was just rather hot in the office, that’s all. Thought
I’d make an early afternoon of it.’
    A ray of sunlight caught at his blue eyes, made him seem years
younger than he was for a moment, like a handsome cheeky boy.
    ‘That sounds like a good idea. Perhaps we could do something. I’ve
just been to the park and it’s...’
    ‘I have to go out again soon, something at the club,’ and his lips
tugged themselves up at the corners into an uncomfortable smile, filling his
cheekbones with shadows. ‘I won’t be back for dinner. Another time, maybe. Sorry.’
     
    Jane was sitting in her usual place in the drawing room with a cup
of tea perched in her hand.
    ‘You’ve been gone a long time,’ she murmured.
    ‘Yes, I met the Jamesons in the park; I’ve invited them to dinner
tomorrow night along with Reverend Farthing.’
    ‘How dull.’
    Miranda tried to smile patiently at her sister. The sunshine was
still running through her veins.
    ‘You know I think I just spotted our neighbour Mrs Eden staring at
me through her window.’
    Jane sipped her tea and nibbled at a crumbly biscuit which began to
disintegrate in her lap.
    ‘Why not invite her around as well?’ she said with a sudden playful
smirk.
    ‘Don’t be ridiculous, she’s far too scandalous for our lot!’
    ‘I think it sounds like fun; might stir things up a bit. This Eden
woman intrigues me. It’s astonishing that in the three weeks since I’ve been
here she hasn’t called or passed me by in the road once.’
    ‘Well that’s not surprising, Marguerite Avenue is a dead end after
all. And anyway, I don’t think she really leaves the house after... after what
happened.’
    The muscles in Miranda’s neck were starting to grind together again,
all that freshness suddenly draining away. And when her neck hurt it always
made her want to hunch up, which gave Jane yet another thing to complain about.
    ‘Sit up!’ she always barked. ‘You look as if you’re hugging
something secretive to yourself.’
    She tried to force her chest up and out but the sensation of her
spine crushing in on itself actually made her wince. Outside on the hot road a
small gust of wind played games with the dust. Silly mistake to have invited
the Jamesons. Jane found them dull and goodness knows what Tristan would have
to say about it. It must have been the sunshine that had made her so flippant. She
could already picture Tristan, pulling faces across the dining table at her and
Jane being deliberately caustic.
    She felt her shoulders collapse into a hunch.
    ‘Sit up! You look ..’
    ‘Yes, I know I know! Very well then, I’ll ask Mrs Eden to come too. As
you said, she might stir things up...’
    ‘Oh good. I’ve heard so much about the woman it would be a shame not
to be able to return home without a story or two to tell about her.’
    ‘How could you even think about gossiping about our neighbour like
that? The poor woman’s been jilted by her husband.’
    ‘Poor woman? They’re theatre people, you loathe her!’ Jane cried.
    ‘Music hall people to be precise and anyway that’s too strong. I
have never loathed anyone in my life.’ And yet she could still feel a
deep flush of red guilt rising up her neck. ‘I’ve been wrong to avoid her, I
know that. It’s just that something keeps stopping me; perhaps it’s all the
rubbish in the gossip columns.’
    Jane eyed her up and down, her shrivelled lips defiant. ‘I doubt
whether it’s that,’ she murmured. ‘She’s hit a raw nerve with you, somewhere
along the way. Now, I must get on. Can’t sit around drinking tea all day. I’m
dining out tonight so don’t concern yourself about feeding me.’
    When her sister had gone Miranda drew her knees up tightly against
her chest. Outside thunder clouds had moved in, tinged blue and black like
bruises punched into the sky. She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders as a
long shadow fell across the room. Soon it would probably