The Gatecrasher Read Online Free PDF

true.”
    “He’ll be even more vulnerable tonight when he realizes you’ve scooted,” said Felix, depositing Fleur’s fifty-pound note in a large tin decorated with pink cherubs.
    “Don’t start feeling sorry for him,” exclaimed Fleur.
    “Oh I don’t! Any man who allows himself to be duped by you deserves everything he gets.” Fleur sighed.
    “I had a good time on his yacht, at any rate.” She blew out a plume of smoke. “It’s a pity, really.”
    “A great pity,” said Johnny, standing back to admire the epergne. “Now I suppose we’ve got to find you someone else.”
    “And you needn’t expect another rich Greek,” put in Felix. “I don’t often get asked to sing at Orthodox bashes.”
    “Did you go to the Emily Favour memorial service?”
    “Yes I did,” said Fleur, stubbing out her cigarette. “But I wasn’t impressed. Is there really any money there?”
    “Oh
yes
,” said Johnny, looking up. “At least, there should be. My chum at de Rouchets told me that Richard Favour has a personal fortune of millions. And then there’s the family company. There should be plenty of money.”
    “Oh well, I’m having lunch with him tomorrow. I’ll try and find out.” Fleur wandered over to the mantelpiece and began to leaf through the stiff, engraved invitations addressed to Johnny and Felix.
    “You know, perhaps you should lower your sights a little,” suggested Felix. “Settle for a plain old millionaire once in a while.”
    “Come on. A million goes nowhere these days,” said Fleur. “Nowhere! You know that as well as I do. And I need security.” Her eye fell on a silver-framed photograph of a little girl with fair, fluffy hair haloed in the sunlight.
“Zara
needs security,” she added.
    “Dear Zara,” said Johnny. “We haven’t heard from her for a while. How is she?”
    “Fine,” said Fleur vaguely. “At school.”
    “Which reminds me,” said Johnny. He glanced at Felix. “Have you told her?”
    “What? Oh that. No.”
    “What is it?” said Fleur suspiciously.
    “Someone telephoned us last week.”
    “Who?”
    “Hal Winters.” There was a short silence.
    “What did he want?” said Fleur eventually.
    “You. He wanted to get in touch with you.”
    “And you told him . . .”
    “Nothing. We said we didn’t know where you were.”
    “Good.” Fleur exhaled slowly. She met Johnny’s eye, and quickly looked away.
    “Fleur,” said Johnny seriously, “don’t you think you should call him?”
    “No,” said Fleur.
    “Well I do.”
    “Well I don’t! Johnny, I’ve told you before. I don’t talk about him.”
    “But . . .”
    “Do you understand?” exclaimed Fleur angrily. “I don’t talk about him!”
    And before he could say anything else, she picked up her bag, tossed back her hair and walked quickly out of the room.

Chapter 3
    Lambert put the phone down and stared at it for a few seconds. Then he turned to Philippa.
    “Your father’s a fool,” he exclaimed. “A bloody fool!”
    “What’s he done?” asked Philippa nervously.
    “He’s got involved with some bloody woman, that’s all. I mean, at his age!”
    “And so soon after Mummy’s death,” put in Philippa.
    “Exactly,” said Lambert. “Exactly.” He looked at Philippa approvingly, and she felt a glow of pleasure spread over her neck. Lambert didn’t often look approvingly at her.
    “That was him phoning, to say he’s bringing this woman along to lunch today. He sounded . . .” Lambert contorted his face reflectively, and Philippa looked away quickly, before she could find herself articulating the thought that she was married to an extremely ugly man. “He sounded drunk,” Lambert concluded.
    “At this time in the morning?”
    “Not
alcohol
drunk,” said Lambert impatiently. “Drunk with . . .” He broke off, and for a few moments, he and Philippa looked at each other.
    “With happiness,” said Philippa eventually.
    “Well, yes,” said Lambert grudgingly. “I suppose