The corner posts of the bed boasted richly carved, bulbous protuberances of indeterminate period. Crewel-work bed coverings glowed with bright reds, vivid greens and rich blues.
Honey’s heart skipped a beat when she looked at the bed. Thoughts of many nights lying alone and thinking of this moment sprang to mind. Would she and Doherty ever get it together? Well, the time had arrived. The decision was up to her.
‘Did you bring your pyjamas?’
He said it jokingly.
‘Did you bring yours?’
His smile was lopsided and made his eyes twinkle. He’d always had that twinkle when he looked at her with those kind of thoughts in his mind. His hands clenched slightly too, as though he were thinking of squeezing something not a mile away from his fingertips.
‘I never wear them,’ he said.
She decided he was telling the truth.
She smiled back. ‘Neither do I.’ It was an outright lie. Sometimes when the nights were very cold and the heating had gone off, she’d opt for the flannelette and a pair of bed socks. Add a nightcap and she’d be a dead ringer for Wee Willie Winkie – except for the candlestick, that is.
‘Shall I open the champagne?’
For all his bravado, she sensed he was nervous. It had taken a desperate situation and a near-death experience for him to get up the courage to ask her here. She was feeling nervous too. They’d been a bit like an old banger of a car for a long time now. Three speeds: slow, stop and all get off and push.
She watched him, the subdued manner in which he was doing things, the slight nervous shake of his hand as he picked up the magnum of champagne.
‘This is nothing to do with finding out more, is it? This is about us.’
‘Well,’ he said, holding the champagne bottle in one hand, the fingers of the other flexing in preparation for unfastening the wire and pulling out the cork. ‘You don’t have to stay.’ His manner was more commanding now, nervousness consigned to the waste bin.
His nervousness had touched her. The feminine side of her was bursting to come out. He was making her feel young again.
‘I know I don’t have to stay, but I will.’
‘That’s good,’ he said.
The champagne cork came out with a pop. Allowing it to make that sound was strictly a breach of etiquette, but Honey didn’t care. The stuff in the bottle was still the same. They’d enjoy it, and everything else with it.
Another Honey Driver Mystery
Murder by Mudpack
The sixth in the Honey Driver Mystery series
After Lady Marcrottie is found submerged in what should have been a therapeutic mud bath, the finger of suspicion points to the Beauty Spot Health and Beauty Clinic. Honey Driver, bath hotelier and part-time crime liaison officer, is booked in for Botox, and a little snooping. However, she does take the necessary precautions to help her survive the experience of staying in such a health, beauty and diet conscious place. Cheese, biscuits, chocolate and a bottle of Australian Shiraz are hidden at the bottom of her bag. After all, a girl cannot live on carrot juice and lettuce leaves for any longer than two hours.
ISBN 9781909520318
Look out for other forthcoming
Honey Driver mysteries:
Blood and Broomsticks
Death of a Devil
Death of a Diva
Ghost of Xmas Past
Killing Jane Austen
Murder by Mudpack
Murderous Makeover
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Deadly Lampshades
A Honey Driver Mystery
by Jean G Goodhind
Published by Accent Press Ltd – 2014
ISBN 9781909520301
Copyright © Jean G Goodhind 2013
The right of Jean G Goodhind to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The story contained within this book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers: Accent Press Ltd, The Old School, Upper High St, Bedlinog, Mid Glamorgan, CF46 6RY.
Printed and bound in the UK
Cover design by Joelle Brindley
Deadly Lampshades (Honey Driver Mysteries Book 5) Page 25
