Sealed With a Kiss Read Online Free PDF Page B

be left
squashed under a wardrobe for weeks on end, if the resident gossips had anything to do with it. Looking out of the window, she couldn’t disguise the huge, face-splitting yawn that took her by
surprise.
    ‘Och, you’re exhausted. I’ll show you the big house in the morning. It’s no going anywhere.’
    Jean turned left off the main driveway and down a stony track. Nestled by itself, surrounded on three sides by trees, was a white cottage. Smoke curled from the chimney, and in the gathering
dusk a warm light glowed from the windows. Kate jumped out of the car almost before Jean had turned off the engine.
    ‘Don’t get yourself too excited – it’s needing a wee bit of work,’ Jean said, but more to herself than to Kate, who was crunching across the gravel path to the
front door.
    It was unlocked. The same burgundy paint covered the windows and door here, too, bubbling in places to reveal patches of hot-pink undercoat. The cottage smelled of wood smoke and, faintly, of
damp. In the hall the woodchip-papered walls were painted a terrifying orange. The carpet appeared to have been modelled on giraffe skins, but Kate didn’t care. After years of living with
Ian’s love of neutral decor, even the hideous colours seemed warm and comforting. The house felt welcoming, thanks to the wood fire burning in the sitting room. A long passageway ran parallel
to the front wall of the house, with doors on the right opening into each room. After the sitting room came the kitchen. Kate laughed aloud at the ancient Formica worktops and metal-edged 1960s
cupboards. It was all so completely contrary to the modern box that she’d spent the last three years living in – and she loved it.
    ‘As I said, it’s needing some work, but maybe you’ll enjoy that?’ Jean led Kate up the steep staircase to the bedroom. The iron bedstead was huge, filling the room.
‘We thought you’d be tired, so I made you up a bed this morning. Roderick was off the island yesterday just to get you a new mattress, and there are more blankets, if you need them, in
the bottom of the cupboard here.’
    Kate walked forward into the room. The low, sloping roof gave it a cosy feeling, and flames were flickering merrily around a fresh pile of logs. Someone had obviously been in and banked up the
fire just before she arrived.
    It was heavenly. She was impatient for Jean to leave so that she could run a bath and get into bed and sleep for a week.
    Reading her mind, Jean turned around, touching Kate on the hand with a look of concern.
    ‘You look exhausted, my dear. Get some sleep, and I’ll pop in tomorrow before I go to the supermarket. Don’t forget I’ve left you some food in the kitchen.’
    Kate could have squealed for joy at the prospect of being left alone at long last, but instead she thanked Jean very properly.
    When she’d closed the door, and the Land Rover had scrunched up the path out of sight, she let out an almighty whoop of joy and leapt onto the sofa. It was the first time in her life that
she’d lived completely on her own, and she was certain she was going to love it.
    Returning to the kitchen, she found a saucepan of vegetable soup waiting on the gas hob. In the fridge were a bottle of milk, some cheese and, rather more excitingly, a bottle of champagne with
a Post-it note attached:
Welcome to Duntarvie. Hope you’ll enjoy living and working here. R
.
    The famous Roderick. Kate had noticed that Jean talked about him with a motherly pride. She had built up a pretty detailed picture of her new employer: living on a country estate that he’d
inherited, complete with his own staff. He definitely wore a waxed jacket, and spent his time shooting things; and, to top it all, he probably read the
Daily Telegraph
. Still, he’d
supplied her with a bottle of champagne, and that was a good start. Kate popped the cork.
    ‘Here’s to me. And to living alone, and to crumbs in bed.’ She poured the champagne into a mug, having