Free HIGH TIDE AT MIDNIGHT by Sara Craven, Mineko Yamada

after all this time.' He halted the car at the main road.
    'Now then, you said you were staying with friends.' He gave her an uncertain
    look. 'Was that the truth or just a face-saver?'
    Morwenna bit her lip. 'I have somewhere to go,' she said shortly. 'I'll get out
    here.' She hesitated. 'When I have a permanent address, I'll let you know and
    perhaps you could send the pictures on to me.'
    'Glad to,' Mark said a shade too heartily. He paused. 'I'm sorry it had to turn
    out like this.'
    'I'm sorry too,' she said flatly. She found her case and rucksack and stood
    watching until the car's tail-lights disappeared back down the lane. Then she
    gave a little shiver. She was really on her own now, and somehow she would
    have to find her way to St Enna and trust to luck that the friendly Biddy
    would put her up for the night.
    She stood irresolutely at the bus stop for a few minutes, then shouldered her
    rucksack and picked up her case. It wasn't warm enough for her to stand
    around for too long, and it wasn't that far to St Enna. She would walk.
    Or at least it hadn't seemed that far on the bus, if her arms and legs hadn't
    already been aching, and the suitcase hadn't seemed to weigh a ton. She
    stopped every now and then, transferring the weight of the case from one
    hand to the other, flexing her protesting muscles.
    Any moment now, she thought pessimistically, the bus would pass her. It
    was important to concentrate on minor hardships of this nature, because she
    couldn't let herself think about what Mark had just told her. It was too
    painful and incredible, and she had all the pain and uncertainty that she
    could handle just at the moment. And to think she had worried over Biddy's
    warnings about the kind of reception she could expect in Trevennon! She
    shook her head bewilderedly. The half hadn't been told to her.
    She heard the sound of an engine behind her and tensed, but it wasn't the bus.
    It was a car, travelling at a moderate speed. Instinctively, Morwenna
    dropped her case at her feet and stuck out her arm. The car went past, but she
    saw its brake lights go on, and her heart lifted. The occupants were a couple,
    middle-aged and obviously married. The woman wound down the passenger
    window. 'How far are you going?'
    'Just to St Enna.' Morwenna swallowed. 'I know it isn't far, but I've done
    quite a lot of walking today, and my case is getting very heavy.'
    'Oh, we can manage that.' She turned to her husband. 'Open the boot,
    Ronald.'
    He was just about to close the boot again when another car came round the
    corner, headlights full on, catching them in the glare. Morwenna closed her
    eyes for a moment, dazzled, and when she opened them again, she saw to her
    surprise that this car had also stopped just a little way past them. Then she
    saw who was walking back towards them, and she wasn't surprised any
    longer, just frightened. She grabbed at the startled Ronald's arm and said
    urgently, 'Oh, can we go, please?'
    But it was too late. 'So there you are.' Dominic Trevennon, his hands thrust
    deep into the pockets of a black leather car coat, confronted them. 'And just
    where do you think you're off to, young woman?'
    She stared at him dazedly for a moment, then: 'As if you cared,' she began
    roundly, but he was ignoring her and speaking to Ronald and his staring
    wife.
    'I'm sorry if this troublesome brat has been bothering you. I'll take her off
    your hands and get her home where she belongs.'
    His hand fell on her arm and she wrenched herself away furiously. 'Are you
    quite mad?'
    Her glance fell on Ronald, who, obviously embarrassed, was moving away.
    'Oh, please don't go,' she appealed. 'I don't know why he's saying these
    things. I don't live with him. He's a stranger to me. You must believe me.'
    'Stop behaving like a silly child and get in the car,' Dominic Trevennon said
    crisply. 'Just because we had a misunderstanding earlier, you don't have to
    make a stubborn scene."
    Morwenna had never felt murderous before,