Free The Cat Next Door by Marian Babson

there. It will start Milly and Wilfred arguing again.’ Carefully, Kingsley disentangled the claws from the soft wool.
    â€˜Oh. I hadn’t thought of that.’
    â€˜They don’t talk to each other much any more,’ he said grimly, ‘but the cat is the one thing guaranteed to set them off. Everybody’s had enough of it.’
    Tikki twisted and protested more loudly as Kingsley carried him away.
    â€˜Sorry, old boy,’ Kingsley said, as he dropped Tikki gently beside a clump of winter jasmine, ‘but it’s for the greater good. If it comes to a choice between you or us, I’m afraid it’s going to have to be you.’
    She was conscious of Nan’s approving nod as Kingsley rejoined her and they walked back to the house together.

Chapter Seven
    She awoke more exhausted than she had been when she fell asleep. A deep lingering depression told her that there had been bad dreams but, fortunately, she did not remember any of them. She had enough to cope with in the real world. She lay quietly, eyes closed, trying to come to terms with her disrupted life.
    She was back in England, in the place that had been home to her since her parents had died in a car crash when she was six. In recent years, home was a small New York apartment – or had been. What was she going to do about that? Could she ever return to it? Or were there too many memories lying in wait back there? All the formerly happy memories that had so abruptly turned into dead dreams. Better, perhaps, to close the door on it all and start a new life here. If only she weren’t so tired.
    Was it possible to start over again and build a new life without the person who had been the centre of the old one? She felt as though she had exhausted the last shred of her frail energy in getting this far.
    In the distance, a bell rang urgently. She opened her eyes, realising that this was not the first time she had heard it this morning. It had resounded through her uneasy dreams with increasing frequency. Perhaps it had even been what woke her.
    She was not the only one whose life had been completely disrupted. And Claudia had lost her life …
    The thought brought her to her feet, completely back
in the present. It was Saturday morning and already clear that there was going to be no peace in the house.
    â€˜I’ll be up in a minute,’ she heard Nan call out wearily.
    The bell continued ringing in a petulant, demanding way. Clenching her teeth, Margot hurried towards the sound.
    â€˜I’ll get it,’ she called as she passed the top of the stairs.
    â€˜Would you? Thanks.’ Nan looked up at her gratefully from the bottom. ‘I know it’s a difficult time for her, but she’s running me off my feet.’
    Lynette had just raised the bell to ring again when Margot appeared in the doorway.
    â€˜I’ve-dropped-my-book-on-the-floor-and-I-can’t-reach-it-come-and-talk-to-me,’ she said, all in one breath.
    â€˜Not right now.’ Margot bent and retrieved the book, although it did not seem beyond Lynette’s reach. ‘I’ve got to get dressed and go into town. Why don’t you get dressed and come with me? It’s market day.’
    â€˜No, I can’t.’ A momentary wistfulness flitted across Lynette’s face before it was replaced by an implacable stubbornness. ‘I’m not well enough.’
    â€˜You might feel better if you came out for a little walk and got a breath of fresh air.’ She knew it was a hopeless suggestion, but that momentary wistfulness had betrayed that it was worth a try.
    â€˜I’m not well enough.’ Lynette slid down under the coverlet. ‘Stay and talk to me.’
    â€˜Later,’ Margot promised. ‘Is there anything I can bring you from the market? Is there anything else you want?’
    Lynette turned away and pulled the covers over her head. A faint muffled cry came from beneath them:
    â€˜I want my