The Betrayed Read Online Free PDF Page B

get the answerphone, again,’ said the voice at the other end. ‘How are you?’ Realising who it was, Rosie was hit by a powerful wave of emotion.
    ‘Stevie!’ she gasped. ‘Oh my God! It’s so wonderful to hear you! How are you? I’m sorry I haven’t called but… but…’
    ‘Don’t worry, we’ve both been busy and emails are fine… up to a point. I needed to hear your voice, though, and to see you.’
    ‘You mean you’re coming over?’ said Rosie. At that moment, she could hardly imagine anything better.
    ‘Actually, it means if you go to the front room window and take a peek, I am standing right outside.’
    Rosie’s heart contracted as a deluge of tears surged into her eyes. Without wasting another moment, she ran across the sitting room and tore open the door, almost afraid that she was dreaming.
    Stevie was standing there with open arms.
    ‘Oh my God… my God,’ she sobbed. ‘You don’t know how happy I am to see you!’
    ‘Wow… you look it,’ Stevie grinned.
    Stevie looked incredible. Her auburn hair was long and sleek; her make-up applied perfectly; the rest of her was all wrapped up in winter furs and long leather boots. She was as slender and elegant as the ideal American housewife. In their day, they had been quite a twosome, but Rosie was under no illusions about who the real beauty was – Stevie was in a class of her own.
    ‘When did you get back to England?’ Rosie demanded, holding her cousin at arm’s length to get a good look at her. ‘And why didn’t you tell me you were coming?’
    ‘It was all rather last minute. I was going to send you an email, and then I took it into my head to surprise you.’
    ‘Well you certainly have,’ Rosie assured her, cupping Stevie’s beloved face in her hands.
    ‘Look at you! You’re more gorgeous than ever. So sophisticated. So… so… Americanised .’
    Stevie stared back, her warm eyes filled with love, and with a growing smile on her face.
    ‘I’m as English as black cabs, double-decker buses, and red telephone boxes,’ she laughed. ‘And I’m freezing . Any chance of a cuppa? Or, if you fancy it, we could crack open a bottle of champagne.’
    ‘I’m sorry, I’m all out of champagne,’ said Rosie, as they went inside.
    Stevie swung a large Louis Vuitton bag from off her shoulder and pulled out a bottle of Bollinger. ‘You surely don’t think I’ve come empty handed!’
    ‘Let me take your fur coat,’ said Rosie, closing the door. ‘It’s amazing. Did you get it in the States?’
    ‘I did. And if you like it, you can have it.’
    Rosie’s eyes narrowed. ‘Oh no, I didn’t mean that.’
    ‘I know you didn’t, but I have another one almost the same. So consider that one an early birthday present, or belated, or whatever,’ said Stevie. She pressed the bottle of champagne against the back of her hand. ‘I’m afraid this isn’t as cold as it should be, but it will have to do. Glasses in the same place?’
    Laughing and hugging the fur coat, Rosie watched her cousin sail into the kitchen, where she carried on like she had never been away.
    ‘When did you get here?’ Rosie asked, following her. ‘And where are you staying?’
    ‘I arrived at the crack of dawn this morning,’ she replied. ‘I’m staying at the Ritz.’
    Stevie’s eyes were dancing as she popped the cork off the champagne bottle. She grinned and, after filling two glasses, handed one to Rosie.
    ‘Cheers! my dear. Here’s to you.’
    Rosie smiled as they clinked glasses. Normally she wouldn’t have a drink so early in the day… especially when she had to go to work in an hour. What the hell , she thought, knocking it back. No sooner had she put her glass down, Stevie grabbed the bottle for a refill.
    ‘You took a risk coming unannounced,’ Rosie told her, as the champagne fizzed over her fingers.
    ‘Confession number one: I have just come from Mum’s, and she told me you’d be in.’ Rosie’s eyes narrowed slightly. Stevie continued,