“It was sporadic at best. I’m sure today’s teens won’t have the same difficulty. They’ll just use social media to stay connected forever, but John and I didn’t have that option. When I first went away, we wrote back and forth almost regularly, but that soon tapered off to not much more than cards at Christmas and for birthdays. Every once in a while one or the other of us would send a longer letter, whenever something significant happened in our lives, mostly.”
“So John wrote to you about Shelly?”
“Occasionally. I remember him always saying how beautiful and special she was. I wish I’d kept the letters, but when I got them they didn’t seem especially significant. I’m sure Shelly would love to see them, though.”
“It’s a shame you didn’t keep them,” Fenella agreed. “I don’t believe Shelly ever found any letters from you in her husband’s papers, either.”
Lance frowned. “That was one of the things that I wanted to ask her about. I’m not sure if I’d be happy if some were found or not, though. There’s a part of me that would love to revisit my younger self through the letters, but I’m rather concerned with how immature I must have seemed, especially in the earliest ones.”
“Here we are,” the waiter said, putting plates down in front of each of them. “Do you need anything else right now?”
“More water,” Lance replied.
“Yes, sir. Right away.”
Fenella ignored the chopsticks next to her plate and picked up her fork. Lance unwrapped his chopsticks and began to eat with a level of expertise that annoyed Fenella.
“What about your friends?” she asked after a few bites. “Are they all planning to retire to the island as well?”
“I couldn’t possibly answer for any of them, but I believe they are all considering it,” Lance said as the waiter delivered another glass of water.
“And how do you know Neil Hicks?”
“We worked together in London. All of the men who were with me at the party last night are associates from London. Did you like Neil? He was quite taken with you.”
“No, I didn’t,” Fenella replied, unwilling to be polite about the man.
Lance chuckled. “He came on too strong to you. But he isn’t really that bad. He’s wealthy and well connected, you know.”
“I don’t look for either of those things in men.”
“No? You’re unusual, then, especially for a woman who is involved with Donald Donaldson. According to Neil, he’s one of the wealthiest men on the island and he has a reputation with women that isn’t the best.”
“Donald and I are just friends,” Fenella replied.
“Of course you are,” Lance said patronizingly.
Fenella bit her tongue. It didn’t matter in the slightest what this man thought of her, she reminded herself. After today, she might never have to see him again.
“What will it take to persuade Shelly to see me? Money is no object.”
“Money? You can’t buy an audience with Shelly.”
“But can I buy some of your time and effort on my behalf? I’d really like you to try to convince Shelly to meet with me.”
“Why?” Fenella demanded.
Lance flushed. “For all manner of reasons,” he said stiffly.
“I understand that you and John were friends, but I can’t see why that makes you so determined to get to know Shelly,” Fenella pushed.
“Everything John told me over the years has made me want to get to know Shelly,” Lance told her. “You’ll laugh, but she’s always been the standard by which I judge women.”
“Simply based on John’s description of her? What if he lied?”
“He didn’t. John never lied about anything. I think that was part of why I stayed friends with him for so many years. I knew I could trust him.”
“You simply need to give Shelly some time. Let her get used to the idea of your being here for a week or two. Maybe wait until after the first anniversary of John’s death before you try to see her.”
Lance frowned. “I don’t want to wait that long,” he said. “I was hoping we could try again tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? I don’t know about tomorrow.”
“How much would it take to convince you to talk Shelly into tomorrow?”
“I’m not for sale, so don’t even go there,” Fenella snapped. “And I’m on Shelly’s side in all of this. I’m not going to try to talk her into doing something she doesn’t want to do.”
“I think talking to me will be in her best interests, though. Surely she’d like to hear stories about John’s childhood? I remember our school days as if they were yesterday. What I did yesterday, on the other hand, well, that I tend to forget.”
“That’s going to have to be a decision for Shelly to make. I’m sure she’s heard plenty of stories about John’s school days over the years. She may not be interested in hearing any more.”
“Did anyone want pudding?” the waiter asked as he cleared away the empty plates.
“No, thank you,” Lance replied. “Just the bill, please.”
Fenella thought about arguing, as she liked several of the items on the dessert menu, but she had no interest in prolonging her time with Lance.
“I don’t think this has been very productive,” Lance complained as they waited for the bill. “I was hoping you’d come around to seeing things my way.”
Even if you had to bribe me to persuade me, Fenella thought. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to do what I think is best for Shelly,” she repeated herself.
“And you don’t think she should meet with me?”
“I think she should do whatever feels right to her. I don’t think you should be putting so much pressure on her. I’m still trying to understand why you’re so determined to get to know her.”
“As I said, John made her sound incredibly special. I simply want to find out if he was right or not.”
“She is very special, which is why I’m so protective of her. Why don’t you give me your number and I’ll have Shelly call you if she decides she wants to see you?”
“I have her number,” he reminded her. “I’ve already left two messages on her answering machine. I gave her my number in both messages.”
“Then she can find you if she wants to see you. I think, for now, that will have to be good enough.”
Lance frowned and then nodded slowly. “I won’t keep ringing her, not if you feel it might upset her. Perhaps I could have your number? I won’t ring you often, but maybe I could check in with you once in a while to see how Shelly is doing?”
Fenella hesitated. She really didn’t want the man calling her, but she would rather he called her than Shelly. “Fine,” she said after a moment. She dug around in her handbag and found a scrap of paper and a pen. She wrote down the number for the apartment rather than her mobile number. The apartment had an answering machine.
Lance handed her a card with his name and number on it in exchange. Fenella glanced at it and then dropped it into her handbag. A moment later the waiter brought the bill. Lance studied it and then pulled out his wallet.
“How much do I owe you?” Fenella asked.
“Lunch is on me,” Lance told her. He pulled a note out of his wallet and Fenella nearly gasped as she noticed how full the wallet was. From where she was sitting it looked thick with twenty and fifty pound notes.
“I got in the habit of carrying a lot of cash when I first moved to London,” Lance said carelessly. “In those days you needed cash for meals and taxis. It’s a habit I’ve not broken.” He handed the waiter some money and then stood up. Fenella got to her feet as well.
“Are you heading home?” he asked as they walked toward the front of the room.
“Yes, I need to get lunch for my cat or she’ll start eating the furniture.”
Lance laughed. “I had a cat for a very short space of time. What he didn’t try to eat he clawed into pieces. I ended up giving him to the woman I was seeing at the time. Their relationship outlasted hers and min
e by a considerable margin.”
A light rain had begun to fall, so Fenella began to walk quickly as soon as they were outside the restaurant. Lance kept up with her, but neither spoke again until they were within steps of their building.
“Lance, there you are,” a loud voice said.
“Neil, I told you I had plans for lunch,” Lance replied.
Fenella forced herself to smile at Neil Hicks as he and Lance’s other friends walked toward them.
Neil was frowning. “It isn’t like you to try to snatch a woman away from me behind my back,” he said to Lance.
“Fenella was meant to be bringing her friend Shelly to lunch with us today,” Lance said quickly. “Shelly was married to my oldest friend, John. I’m hoping to get to know Shelly better, not Fenella.”
Neil nodded and then took a step closer to Fenella. “How are you today?” he asked her in a low voice.
“I’m fine, thank you,” Fenella replied, taking a step backwards.
“I’m sure Donald was annoyed with me last night,” Neil said, keeping his voice low and intimate. “I don’t normally chase after his women, but there’s something incredibly attractive about you. I hope you and Donald didn’t quarrel about me.”
“Donald knows me better than that,” Fenella said, desperately trying to think how Mona would act under the circumstances. Be distant but polite, she told herself.
“And what does it take to get to know you as well as Donald does?” he asked.
Fenella laughed lightly. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m simply not interested,” she replied.
“I can change your mind, if you give me a chance,” he told her.
“Leave the poor woman alone,” one of the men said. “She’s involved with Donald, and I know Donald well enough to know that he’ll be taking very good care of her indeed. Even if you do have more money than Donald, you don’t want to waste it all on a woman.”
Neil frowned. “I wouldn’t consider it being wasted,” he snapped.
“I’m not for sale,” Fenella said sharply. “I have quite enough money of my own. I don’t need a man to take care of me.”
“I love it when kept women get defensive,” Neil laughed. “How much does Donald pay for your little flat overlooking the sea?”
“As it happens, I own my flat myself,” Fenella told him. “And you are a loathsome and ignorant creature. If you’ll all excuse me, I have better things to do than stand here being insulted by you lot.”
Fenella spun on her heel and began to walk away. Lance caught her arm after only a few steps.
“Please don’t take out your anger at Neil on me,” he said quickly. “Neil simply can’t imagine why any woman would turn him down. It soothes his ego, telling himself that Donald is simply buying your affection. Please don’t let that influence what you say to Shelly.”
“I question your choice of friends,” Fenella said.
“Yes, so do I,” he replied. “I’ve known Neil for a great many years, and for all of those years he’s always had a woman on his arm. Yes, it was a different woman nearly every month, but he’s never had trouble finding women in quick succession. For some reason he’s having difficulty right now and he’s starting to get quite ugly about it. If you have any single friends who you think might go for him, let me know.”
“I wouldn’t wish that man on my worst enemy.”
“No, I understand. I’ll talk to him. He’s used to a certain type of woman, someone quite different from you, I’m sure. And he’s used to the games that women in London like to play. Again, not like you. I’ll do what I can to try to make him understand.”
“And in the meantime, I’ll stay well away from him.”
Lance nodded. “I don’t blame you for that. It might be good for you to get to know my other friends, though. I’m doing my best to persuade them to move over here. I’d like them to get to know the locals.”
Fenella shrugged. “Let’s take this one thing at a time. I’ll see if I can get Shelly to agree to speak to you. If we can accomplish that, then maybe we can worry about spending time with your friends.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt, a cultured voice said from behind Fenella. She turned around and looked at the man who was standing there.
“I’m Adrian Graves. I’m sure Lance is apologizing for Neil’s behavior, and I wanted to assure you that we are all equally unhappy with the things that he said to you,” the man told Fenellla. “Neil is having a difficult time right now, both personally and professionally. That isn’t an excuse for the way he spoke to you, of course, but I hope it helps to explain it, at least partially.”
“I’m not really interested in understanding why Mr. Hicks behaved the way he did,” Fenella replied. “I have no intention of ever speaking to him again, so it really doesn’t matter.”
Adrian smiled. “Donald is a lucky man,” he said softly. “But I suspect you will have to see more of Neil, whether you like it or not. He and Donald will undoubtedly cross paths regularly. It is a small island, after all.”
“If we do cross paths, I hope I can count on you and Lance to keep Neil well away from me, then,” Fenella said.
Adrian nodded. “I’m sure we’ll do our best, but Neil is hard to keep in check, unfortunately, especially when he’s been drinking.”
“I hope he hasn’t been drinking today,” Fenella said, glancing at the man who was standing a few paces away with the rest of his friends. “It’s barely past noon.”
“We had a bottle or two of wine with lunch,” Adrian told her. “We were celebrating a very successful business deal.”
“It’s a good thing I’m retired,” Lance said. “Otherwise I’d be feeling quite left out.”
“There’s still room for more investors, if you want to get in,” Neil said.
Fenella jumped. She hadn’t noticed him approaching them.
“As I said, I’m retired,” Lance laughed. “I’m not looking to invest in anything new, at least not at the moment.”
“If you’ve as much money as you claim to have, perhaps you should consider investing in our little scheme,” Neil said to Fenella. “You may not like me personally, but I can make you a lot of money, anyway.”
“Thank you, but I’m not interested. All of my money is invested exactly where I want it,” Fenella replied.
“If you change your mind, Neil is right,” one of the other men said. “This little project is going to make all of us a lot of money.”
“That’s Jared Welch,” Lance told Fenella. “He’s much smarter than I am about money. Is this the project you were talking about last night?” Lance asked.
“Yes,” Neil said. “We went back to them with a few refinements and they were happy to agree. We’re expecting a generous return on our initial investment, with scope for further investment and even larger returns down the road.”
Lance shrugged. “You’re almost tempting me,” he said. “I really do want to be retired, though,” he told Fenella. “Now isn’t the time for me to start investing in new projects.”
“I thought that myself,” the other man said as he joined the group. He smiled at Fenella. “I know we met last night, I’m Eric Palmer, and I retired three years ago at the age of sixty. It’s been lovely, doing nothing much, but I’ve become a bit bored with it, really. When Neil rang and told me about this opportunity, well, I simply couldn’t resist coming on board.”
“As I said, I’m not interested, but I hope you all make a lot of money,” Fenella replied. “And now you really must excuse me.” She took a few steps away from the men and then frowned as Eric fell into step next to her.
“I’m sorry if this is rude, but are you and Donald serious?” he asked.
“I suppose that depends on how you define serious,” Fenella replied.
“Yes, I imagine that’s true. The thing is, like Neil, I find you very attractive, and like Neil, I’m currently between relationships. Unlike Neil, however, I don’t want to do anything to upset Donald Donaldson.
I’ve worked with him a few times over the years and I have a great deal of respect for the man and what he does. He has a brilliant mind for business and, I must say, wonderful taste in women.”
Fenella frowned. What was wrong with these men? She was nearly fifty, at least ten pounds heavier than she ought to be, and incredibly ordinary in every way. The only thing attractive about her was Mona’s money, a little voice suggested. With that thought in mind, she gave the man a cold stare.
“My relationship with Donald isn’t the least bit relevant to anything. I’m sorry, but you’re not my type. I hope you enjoy the island and that your investment is a success. Excuse me,” she said, talking too fast.
Eric chuckled. “I wish I knew what Donald has that we’re all lacking,” he said. “It certainly isn’t money. Neil and I could each buy Donald out about ten times over, and Jared and Adrian aren’t far behind.”
“You said yourself that Donald is brilliant,” Fenella reminded him, wishing she could be rude and just walk away, but feeling obliged to be polite.
“He’s brilliant at business. Perhaps he’s brilliant in other areas that I’m not aware of, as well,” the man said with a knowing wink.
Fenella felt herself blushing as she took another step away. Eric touched her shoulder.
“Take my card,” he said, holding out the scrap of paper. “If you and Donald don’t work out, maybe you could ring me.”
“As I said, you aren’t my type,” Fenella replied. “Whatever happens with Donald, nothing will change that.”
“Ring me anyway,” he urged. “If you and Donald split up, I’ve many friends who I’m sure would love to meet you.”
Fenella took the card, hoping that would be enough to get her away from the man. She glanced back at his friends, who were seemingly all watching the conversation with interest. “Did you just win a bet or something?” she challenged the man. “Is getting me to take your card some sort of group challenge?”
Eric laughed. “Men are like that, aren’t we?” he replied. “But no, not this time. I’m just happy that you took it. I can’t promise that the others aren’t wagering on when one of us might get you into bed, though. Men can be terrible, can’t we?”
Friends and Frauds (An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Book 6) Page 8
