Daughters of the Silk Road: A beautiful and epic novel of family, love and the secrets of a Ming Vase Read Online Free Page A

touch for a while – he went to university, and I got married. But we met again, by chance, just outside the shop here. I was house-hunting after I’d split up with Guy. Dear Jeremy... He’s hopeless with the shop though. He really wants to be a writer, but can’t seem to get it together. He bought the shop after his parents were killed in an accident. It was all a bit of a tragedy. You’d love him. Oh God, here I go again – chattering too much and you’ve got to go.’
    ‘It’s fine. I just wish I had more time. And if you want my opinion, I don’t know what that husband of yours was thinking of, leaving you for a leggy blonde called Anya. She sounds very hard work.’ He smiled and their fingers just touched across the table.
    ‘Yes, she is rather. Still, she keeps him out my hair. Thank you, for the drink. And don’t worry at all about dinner. I need to get home and make sure G is OK anyway. She’s not used to me being out in the evenings.’
    Miranda had a sudden frisson of anxiety that she had yet again revealed far too much about herself. She didn’t want to give the impression that she had no social life.
    ‘I mean, I do go out, obviously – to yoga and a book club. It’s just that I didn’t tell G I’d be late.’
    ‘It’s fine. Let me drop you off anyway.’
    ‘You don’t have to. I have my car.’
    ‘Oh.’ He sounded genuinely disappointed. ‘Well perhaps we could have dinner another night, maybe next week?’
    ‘That would be lovely. I’d like that. Thank you.’
    They stood up and an awkwardness descended, as each tried to decide if it was ‘too soon’ to kiss the other goodbye. Finally, he leant down and kissed her fleetingly on the cheek.
    ‘Look,’ she said as she turned to walk back to her car. ‘Why don’t you come to me next week for supper? It won’t be anything special and Georgie will be around, but…’
    ‘Thanks… I’d love to.’
    ‘Great. Well, shall we say Wednesday? I don’t work in the shop that day, so you might actually get something worth eating. I’ll text you my address, shall I?’
    He smiled in acknowledgement.
    ‘Seven-thirty? ‘
    ‘Perfect.’
----
    A s soon as Charles’s cheque for the book had cleared safely through Jeremy’s account, he generously gave Miranda seventy-five percent of their finder’s fee.
    ‘Oh Jeremy, that’s so kind of you. You’re such a pal. That will be over £100!’
    ‘I know. Well you deserve it Manda. It was all your idea – the second hand area; and it’s turning out to be rather a good one. Enjoy it; fill the fridge for that starving daughter of yours.’
    The following Wednesday, Miranda drove Georgie to her bus stop.
    ‘G, darling, I’ve got a friend coming to dinner tonight, just thought I’d mention it.’
    She tried to sound as casual as she could.
    ‘Who?’ Georgie asked, ‘one of your yoga people? Oh God, it will be veggie hell for supper.’
    ‘No G, not one of my yoga friends. It’s a man if you must know.’
    ‘A man!’ Georgie spat the words at her mother. ‘What man? God, Mother… Do you have a boyfriend?’ This was hurled at her mother with such an air of disdain that Miranda felt quite hurt.
    ‘No G, he is not my boyfriend. Just a good customer and I like him, that’s all. But if he were my ‘boyfriend’ would that be so terrible?’
    Georgie fiddled with the buttons on her army coat and stared sullenly out of the window, avoiding her mother’s gaze.
    ‘Oh G, darling, don’t worry! He’s just a friend. Now get out of the car and go to school. I’ll see you later.’
    Miranda's ‘share’ of the book deal was undoubtedly a boon to her finances, but she still had bills to pay and so was careful, as always, when purchasing food. She bought a whole frozen chicken, the cheapest she could find. Once defrosted and jointed she would use it to make her ‘chicken with tarragon and bacon,’ one of her most reliable supper dishes. If she were careful when serving it, there would