Mistletoe Mystery Read Online Free

have been tough.”
    “Yes … Yes, I suppose it was at the time. I had no other
family to stay with. I was at boarding school for most of the year. Sometimes
she’d come and take me out for the day during the break. Sometimes I’d go home
with friends for the holidays. But for one fortnight a year, Aunt Robyn – I
called her that even though she wasn’t my aunt – would come and take me to
Bedlington Hall to stay.”
    “What did she do? For a living I mean?” Matt sipped his
coffee.
    “She was a model. Though she was getting on a bit by the
time I knew her. She used to model for Chanel in the fifties and sixties, and a
few other fashion houses. Beyond that, I don’t think she did anything. When she
retired she spent most of her life jetting around the world, staying with rich
friends. Male friends mostly.” Philly grimaced, feeling a bit embarrassed
talking about her godmother’s love life. “She was always talking about sheik
this, and prince that.”
    “She sounds like quite a gal.”
    “She was. Even though I didn’t see her much, when I did, it
was great fun. With Aunt Robyn there were no rules about bedtime or eating.
Everything was geared towards enjoyment. She got me into acting. She had a
great gift for mimicry, and she used to teach me all her tricks. It’s a pity
I’m not very good at it. We’ve been running murder mystery weekends at
Bedlington Hall. My friends, Meg, Puck and I, that is.”
    “Is Puck your boyfriend?”
    “Oh no, he’s Meg’s fiancé. I went out on a couple of dates
with him at drama school, then I introduced him to Meg and that was it.
Fireworks, violins, you name it. All the clichés came together in their
meeting.” A bit like when I bumped into you, she thought, but did not say. She
might have heard the fireworks and violins, but there was no reason he should
have.
    “And you’re still her friend?” Matt raised an eyebrow.
    “Of course. Meg is a wonderful friend. Besides Puck and I
never had the fireworks and violins, and like I said, we only went out on a
couple of dates.” In truth, Philly had been relieved. Puck and Meg’s meeting
gave her an excuse not to get too involved with anyone and risk getting her
heart broken. In Philly’s experience, people you loved were always taken from
you, so it was better that it happened before she fell in love with Puck. “Meg
is a good friend,” Philly added defensively.
    “I don’t doubt it. She’d have to be to deserve a friend like
you.”
    “Thank you.”
    “So… there’s no boyfriend around that I have to challenge to
a duel?”
    Philly laughed. “Nope. Though I’d rather like to see that.
It appeals to my sense of the dramatic. What about you? I bet you have an
impossibly beautiful woman in your life.”
    “Not until today.”
    Philly’s tummy did a triple back somersault. If he were too
good to be true, would it hurt for her to enjoy being flattered by a handsome
man? It had happened so rarely in her life. Certainly she had never met anyone
like Matt before. “Thank you,” she whispered, sipping her latte. “That’s a very
kind thing to say.”
    “I’m not being kind. I’m being honest. When I saw you
outside the auction house … Oh this is crazy, isn’t it? Please tell me you
heard the violins and fireworks too, Philly, or I’ll think I’m going mad.”
    “I heard them…”
    “So when can I see you again?”
    “Erm … I don’t come down to London that often.”
    “Then I’ll come up to see you. Midchester, isn’t it? Where
exactly is that?”
    “It’s up in Shropshire. It’s a lovely little village. It was
a Roman garrison at one point, and we have the ruins to prove it. I could show
them to you. If you’re remotely interested.”
    “I would love to see your Roman ruins. And Bedlington Hall.
Is it haunted?”
    “There was a rumour of a ghost haunting it at one point. The
ghost of … oh my God!”
    “What?”
    “Dominique DuPont. That’s where I’ve heard that name.”