Star Promise

Star Promise Read Online Free PDF Page B

Book: Star Promise Read Online Free PDF
Author: G. J. Walker-Smith
it,” I called distractedly.
    The second she reappeared I wanted to rescind that statement. Whatever she was holding was oddly wrapped in a small pink blanket. The closer she got to me, the more I convinced myself that it was alive – or at least once was.
    She was cradling it like a baby, and when she peeled the blanket back I understood why. I peered across, working hard to keep my expression straight as I studied the creepiest looking doll I’d ever seen.
    “Isn’t she exquisite?” asked Fiona.
    “That’s one word for it,” I mumbled.
    “She’s handmade,” she explained. “Very realistic.”
    Too realistic . I half expected it to start crying at any second. Perhaps Fiona did too – she was rocking it in her arms.
    “Bridget’s too young for something that precious,” I reasoned. “She won’t care for it properly.”
    “Nonsense,” scoffed the queen. “It’ll be good practice for her.”
    “For what?” My voice sounded as horrified as I felt.
    “Well, I’m sure she’ll have a little brother or sister one day,” she hinted. “And there’s Jack, of course.”
    I forced myself to have another look at the waxy corpse thing in her arms. “Jack looks nothing like that.”
    “Of course not,” she replied, fussing with the blanket. “This one is a girl.”
    I couldn’t think of a thing to say that would dissuade her from giving it to Bridget. All I could do was prepare her for the certain abuse it would receive in her care.
    “Have you seen Bridget’s doll collection?” I asked. “She pulls their arms and legs off so they’re easier to dress.”
    Fiona glanced down at baby creepy. “You mustn’t let her do that with this one,” she warned. “It was hellishly expensive.”
    It was going from bad to worse. Not only was the hideous doll soon going to be living in my house – I was in charge of protecting it.
    “I’ll do my best,” I promised listlessly.
    The queen perked up in an instant. “Wonderful, darling,” she crowed.
    ***
    I was genuinely interested to see how Jean-Luc’s new artwork would look in his home office, but after spending so long fussing with her fake grandkid, Fiona didn’t have time to show me. “I’ve got an appointment downtown in an hour,” she explained, checking the time on her watch. “You’re welcome to stay and hang it yourself. Jean-Luc had a contractor in to put a hook in the wall yesterday.”
    She rushed over to the closet and I found myself in hot pursuit. “You paid someone to drive a hook into a wall?” I asked incredulously.
    “Of course.” She turned to face me, holding a pair of black heels in each hand. “Which ones, darling?”
    I looked her up and down before pointing to the shoes in her left hand. As expected, she ignored me and went with the ones in her right. “Just lock the door when you leave,” she instructed, slipping a foot into her shoe Cinderella-style. “Or stay, and we’ll have a late lunch when I get back.”
    “I can’t. I’m working.”
    “Of course you are, darling.”
    She was humouring me, but I let it go. Whether she believed me or not, I really did need to get back to the gallery so Bronson could make his mid-morning escape. I followed Fiona downstairs at her rushed pace, trying to pay attention to the list of demands she was throwing at me.
    “I want you to come for dinner tomorrow night,” she instructed. “I’ll give Bridget her doll and make Adam his favourite meal.”
    “What’s his favourite meal?” I asked curiously. There were a few contenders that I knew of, but nothing cooked by his mother.
    Fiona stopped and turned so abruptly that I nearly knocked her down the winding stairs. “Darling, you know he loves venison.”
    I forced a smile while I told my lie. “Of course he does.”
    Fiona grabbed my hand and pulled me down a step. “I must go. I’ll be late.”
    “Are you trying to take me with you?”
    She released me and giggled her way to the door. “Have a lovely day, my
Read Online Free Pdf

Similar Books

Return to Coolami

Eleanor Dark

A Void

Georges Perec

Shifters

Edward Lee

Lifetime Guarantee

Bill Gillham

JF01 - Blood Eagle

Craig Russell

Writ of Execution

Perri O'Shaughnessy

Killing the Secret

Donna Welch Jones

Queenmaker

India Edghill

Saturnalia

Lindsey Davis