Free A Slippery Slope by Emily Harvale Page B

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brill so we’ve marked a few trails off piste too, which–’
    ‘You shouldn’t go off piste without me!’ Etienne snapped. ‘Or
without one of the guides anyway.’
     ‘No, you shouldn’t!’ Josh agreed. ‘Next time you want to do that,
please ask one of us to go with you.’
    ‘But we did have a guide!’ Verity said. ‘Mathieu ... something or
other. I forget his surname. Tall, muscular, fair-haired – a bit like you,
Etienne.’
    Etienne and Josh exchanged anxious looks.
    ‘Mathieu Deschamps?’ Josh asked.
    ‘That’s him!’ Verity said. ‘Is he a friend of yours?’
    ‘No!’ Josh and Etienne said in unison.
    ‘Why did you ask him to guide you? Did he know you are working for
Josh?’ Etienne asked.
    ‘We didn’t,’ Lucy said. ‘He came and talked to us the other day.
That day we saw you actually, Josh. Monday. Anyway, he offered to take us out
the next day.’
    ‘And he did,’ Verity added. ‘He ... he seemed very nice.’ She
noticed the temperature in the room seemed to have dropped a few degrees.
    ‘He may seem it but he’s not,’ Josh said. ‘If you’ll take my
advice you’ll stay away from him.’
    ‘Why? What’s he done?’Lucy asked but Josh just shook his head as
if the subject were closed.
    ‘He ... reckless,’ Etienne said. ‘And he’s got a bad reputation
where women are concerned. Let’s leave it at that.’
    ‘Thanks, Etienne,’ Lucy said, ‘but I think Mum and I can look
after ourselves. And the last man who tried it on with Mum seriously regretted
it – once he got up from the floor, that is.’
    ‘What’s this?’ Etienne asked, his mood lightening considerably.
‘Don’t tell me you’re a black belt in karate or something, Verity?’
    Verity felt the colour rush to her cheeks. ‘Nothing of the sort.
But I can handle myself and so can Lucy.’
    Etienne grinned. ‘We’d better be careful then hadn’t we, Josh?’
    Josh merely nodded. He had a far-away look in his eyes.
    ‘Let’s eat,’ Lucy said in an obvious attempt to change the
subject.
    Nothing more was said about Mathieu Deschamps. Etienne told them
about the new ski guide, François, and Josh went over the procedure for getting
guests settled in. Most of it was in the information pack so it was just a
matter of confirming that they were both on the ‘same page’. Verity noticed
Josh glancing in her direction several times but he seemed rather aloof and she
wondered if it was because of the outing with Mathieu. She tried to bait him
more than once, in a friendly manner, but he just smiled and let the comments
go.
    This time, it was Verity who yawned.
    ‘We’re keeping you up,’ Etienne said. ‘We’d better go and let you
get some sleep. You’ve got a busy day tomorrow, girls.’
    ‘Is something the matter, Josh?’ Verity asked when he stood up to
leave.
    ‘No,’ he said distractedly. ‘We should be here around four
tomorrow but I’ll call if we’re delayed. Call me if you need anything.’
    ‘We will,’ she said as they all walked to the front door.
    Josh followed Etienne out but he seemed to hang back as if he had
something else to say. He finally reached his car and Verity was about to close
the door when he spoke:
    ‘I can’t tell you what to do or who to spend your time with,
obviously, but please take care with Mathieu. Things aren’t always as they seem
as I’m sure you’re well aware. Goodnight.’
    ‘We will, Josh, but …’
    There was no point in continuing. Josh had got in the car and
started the engine. He drove off without a backward glance.
    ‘What the hell was that about?’ Lucy asked as Verity shut the
front door. ‘You’d think they’d give us a better reason than “He’s reckless.
And he’s got a bad reputation where women are concerned.” We’re not bloody
Victorians. And as for “Things aren’t always as they seem,” what does that
mean?’
    ‘It’s all very odd,’ Verity said. ‘And Josh seemed really concerned.
They both did. I bet