Free The Green Remains by Marni Graff Page A

the responsive kick that never failed to thrill her. Then she thought of meeting Antonia Clarendon tomorrow and wondered if her pregnancy would upset the mother who’d just lost her son.
      Still feeling uneasy, she walked over to look out the French doors to the front of the lodge property. She saw a large figure cross the road beyond the garden and hurry away, and a feeling of menace ran through her.

Chapter Fourteen

    “Whoever is spared personal pain must feel himself called upon to help in diminishing the pain of others.”
    — Albert Schweitzer, Memoirs of Childhood and Youth

    Saturday, 23rd October
    8:20 AM

    Nora woke with the sense she’d been dreaming, but it faded as she sat up. Surprisingly, she’d had no nightmares of Keith that she remembered, and she resolved not to let the experience of finding Keith haunt her.
      She recalled the firelight etching shadows last night in the planes of the Ramseys’ faces before she’d left them in Simon’s sitting room. Nora envied them even their sparring, friendly as it was, a warm playfulness between a brother and a sister who respected and loved each other. She wondered if they ever had knock-down, drag-out fights. She also wondered how different her life would have been if she’d had a sibling to share it. Certainly, her guilt over her father’s death would have been assuaged sooner if she’d had a sister or brother to turn to. Despite her mother’s efforts to encourage Nora’s self-forgiveness, it had taken her years to feel she wasn’t the cause of her father’s death. He’d drowned while sailing alone after she’d turned down his invitation to accompany him in favor of a date whose name she’d long forgotten. She got out of bed, cradling her belly. The fact that he’d not know this child was one of her deepest regrets.
      Nora turned on the shower and heard a rumble as chairs were put into position in the dining room. Agnes knocked, then came in and left Nora’s tea; Nora called out her thanks. Should she mention the noises she heard or the person she saw last night? No, Ramsey Lodge was more than a hundred years old, a haven for creaks and noises. What she thought was a door click could have been the roof settling. And the figure could have been anyone—and not necessarily connected with the lodge. In the daylight, last night’s fears seemed more a reaction to the events of that day, reasonable as that was, and not anything concrete or reportable.
      Nora took her time in the shower, remembering that Kate had said she wanted to sleep in. As she dressed, Nora caught the smell of frying bacon and realized she was hungry. She added a scarf to the same old denim skirt and tunic blouse she’d been wearing far too long. It had taken a while to find a maternity skirt with pockets, and she didn’t want to spend money on a temporary wardrobe. Only a few weeks more, and she might contemplate getting back into her soft, washed-out jeans again.
      She entered the dining room, nodding to the guests she passed on her way to the table. Simon waved to her from across the room, where he stood at the kitchen door conferring with Agnes.
      It was close to 9 AM when Kate joined her. Nora ordered a full English breakfast from Maeve, who’d decided to wait on them herself. She seemed dour today, wearing a crisp, white blouse and black skirt, doing double duty as a waitress.
      “Make that two, please. Did someone call in?” Kate asked.
      “Daisy has a cold,” Maeve answered, rolling her eyes to let them know what she thought of that excuse. She left to put in their order.
      Her curtness surprised both women. “I wish that woman would learn to smile even if she’s in a bad mood,” Kate sighed as she stirred honey into her tea. “She can look like she’s just lost her best friend.”
      “Maybe she has,” Nora countered, wondering if Maeve had been a friend of Keith’s. Who knew if they’d dated before Maeve’s crush on Simon? Both were