Silent as the Grave Read Online Free PDF

carried each case to the car individually, taking my time and being careful not to slip on the treacherous surface; then dumped them unceremoniously into the boot. I dragged the process out as long as I could justify and felt better for it. It was mean and petty, true enough; but I enjoyed it. When I had finished, I slammed the boot viciously; then the driver’s door with equal venom; apologising silently to the car as I did so; then set off back towards the castle.
    Whether the two of them had run out of conversation during their long wait or not I wasn’t sure; and to be honest I didn’t care much. They neither spoke to me nor to each other and that suited me fine. My attention was concentrated wholly on the road conditions which had deteriorated from appalling to ghastly since my previous journey. In parts the road was virtually impassable. For any other vehicle it would have been, but it is those conditions that a Range Rover is built for. Not for the first time did I say a silent prayer of thanks to the manufacturers and applaud the wisdom of my choice.
    It took more than an hour before I saw the welcoming light of the lodge ahead. The snow; that had started as fine pellets was now a mass of large flakes falling in whirling, gyrating confusion. As I pulled to a halt outside the main entrance to the castle the woman broke the silence. If I had hoped that the warmth of the car would have mellowed her mood or even that I might get a word of thanks for my efforts on their behalf I was in for a rude shock. ‘Take the car round to the courtyard; unload our bags, and bring them to our rooms,’ she ordered me in an abrupt tone. ‘Your slackness has already made us late for dinner. By the time we’ve changed, the rest of the party will probably be onto the dessert course.’
    She waited for her companion to get out then slammed the door in a bad-tempered manner behind them and stalked across towards the steps in front of the entrance. I watched her and the man trudging behind her. ‘And a Merry fucking Christmas to you as well,’ I muttered. I took considerable pleasure in seeing the man slip off the bottom step and deposit his fat arse in a snowdrift. It was the nearest to a bit of fun I’d had all day. My faith in natural justice restored, I drove round the end of the building and found my way to the courtyard at the rear. I parked as close to the door as I could and lifted their cases out of the boot before depositing them inside the nearby entrance. I locked the car and entered the castle, following the long corridor towards the sound of voices and the smell of cooking. I entered the kitchen; a huge room that at first glance seemed to be constructed purely from stainless steel.
    To my surprise, Harriet was there, chatting with a slim, good-looking woman who I guessed to be in her late thirties; and who by her clothing seemed to be the cook. Harriet glanced across when I opened the door, ‘Adam, thank goodness you’re back safely. We were beginning to worry that you might have had an accident or got stuck in the snow.’ She examined me closely and exclaimed, ‘Your hands are filthy, what happened?’
    â€˜I had a puncture on the way there,’ I told her ruefully. ‘That’s what delayed me.’
    â€˜But where are Eve and Edgar?’
    I grinned. ‘They’ve gone off to their rooms and are probably waiting for your chauffeur to deliver their luggage so they can change for dinner.’
    â€˜Our chauffeur … but we haven’t got a chauffeur,’ Harriet said in astonishment. ‘He left us last month to go and work in America.’
    â€˜I think they were under the impression I was the replacement.’
    â€˜Oh dear.’ Harriet began to giggle. ‘But didn’t you explain; didn’t you tell them who you are?’
    â€˜I wasn’t really given very much of an opportunity,’ I confessed.
    â€˜Oh, I