Free The Seven Stars by Anthea Fraser

figure of the man who called after her. In the circumstances it seemed wiser not to explain, and she made herself say lightly, ‘One of you mentioned her last time. But how awful. Is she getting on all right?’
    Stella said on a high note , ‘No, she isn’t. She was dead by the time the ambulance arrived.’
    Helen went cold. So when she ’d seen Molly, she thought sickly, the girl had been running to her death. She gave an instinctive shudder, then realised they were still watching her.
    ‘ How — how dreadful for you,’ she stammered. ‘I’m so sorry.’
    ‘ Yes, it was the hell of a shock,’ said Gordon after a pause. ‘The devil of it was that she was normally here in the mornings, but she had a dental appointment so she’d switched to the afternoon.’
    There was a brief silence , broken by Kate’s calm voice. ‘Well, if everyone’s finished, shall we leave the table?’
    With an undercurrent of relief , chairs were pushed back and everyone got to their feet. Michael said something to Gordon, and through the open doorway Helen saw them walk across the hall to the bar. By the time she herself reached the hall, the others had disappeared and Michael stood waiting for her, holding two glasses of brandy.
    ‘ You look in need of this,’ he said. ‘Come and sit by the fire.’
    Obediently Helen lowered herself into the deep , winged armchair. He handed her a glass and seated himself opposite her, his eyes on her face.
    ‘ That girl’s death gave you a shock, didn’t it?’ he said quietly. ‘Why, when you didn’t even know her?’
    She was silent for a moment , staring into the balloon glass in her hand. She wasn’t sure why she’d not mentioned seeing Molly — it had been purely instinctive. But, having not done so, she felt she couldn’t now.
    ‘ It’s just that I was caught up in the drama,’ she hedged, ‘when that man came to call an ambulance. I felt — involved.’
    He didn ’t comment, suspecting, perhaps, that she was hiding something. Changing the subject, she said, ‘Where did everyone go?’
    ‘ To their private sitting-room. It leads off the office,’ he added, seeing her look blankly round for an appropriate door.
    ‘ That explains it. Are their bedrooms through there, too? There don’t seem to be enough doors upstairs.’
    ‘ No, those wings at the front each contain a bedroom and bathroom — left side Cains, right side Warrens.’
    ‘ How convenient.’ Helen paused. ‘I suppose you’ve met Dominic and Caroline before?’
    ‘ Oh yes, several times. Her father’s dying of cancer, so they come up quite regularly. In fact, as a long-term resident, I’ve met various friends of the family — and family too, of course. The Cains have a daughter living in Erlesborough and the Warrens two sons in London. They all drop in from time to time.’
    ‘ I gather the Warrens were abroad for some years?’
    ‘ That’s right, in South Africa. I often wonder if they regret coming back. Nicholas fills in his time as a business consultant, which involves a fair amount of travelling, but Kate seems pretty restless. It’s hardly surprising; she has a degree in modern languages and is a pretty high-powered lady. All she’s doing at the moment is some occasional translating and faffing around here. It must drive her potty.’
    ‘ What about the Cains?’
    ‘ Quite a different story; neither of them has ever lived more than twenty miles from here. Stella freely admits Kate has the brains in the family, but she’s an excellent cook and manages this place beautifully. She once told me she and Gordon were childhood sweethearts.’
    ‘ And Kate and Nicholas weren’t?’
    ‘ No, they met at university, and according to Dominic, she was considered to have done well for herself, the Warrens being one of the best-known families in the county. However, that could just be Dominic being Dominic.’
    ‘ What a mine of information you are!’ Helen said lightly. ‘And what does Gordon do,