The Puzzle Ring Read Online Free PDF Page B

tartan rug was laid over her knees, but Hannah could see one leg was enclosed in a cast.
    â€˜Ah, Rosamund, Hannah. Do come in, please.’ Lady Wintersloe laid down her pen upon the newspaper and removed her glasses, letting them hang from a gold chain around her neck. ‘How lovely to see you both. Forgive mefor not rising. I broke my femur, you may remember, and I’m afraid it is not healing as it ought. The ravages of age, I’m afraid. Come, draw up a chair, sit down.’
    Hannah looked around for somewhere to sit. The seat closest to her great-grandmother had a smoke-grey cat curled up on it. Hannah went to pick her up, thinking to hold the cat on her lap, but her great-grandmother held up a warning hand. ‘Watch out!’
    It was too late. The cat had lashed out, scratching Hannah on the hand.
    â€˜Ow!’ she cried, and sucked her hand. The cat leapt down gracefully and stalked over to the window, where she sat, back to the room, tail lashing.
    â€˜That nasty bogey-cat!’ Linnet said.
    â€˜I’m so sorry,’ Lady Wintersloe said. ‘Are you all right?’
    Hannah nodded, looking down at the line of red beading where the cat’s sharp claws had drawn blood, then sat in the chair the cat had vacated, sucking her hand. Her mother sat nearby, looking harassed.
    â€˜She’s really not a very friendly cat, I’m afraid. Your father called her Jinx, which sadly proved to be prophetic. It was because of Jinx that I fell down the stairs and broke my femur. She has a way of always being underfoot when you least want her.’
    â€˜Which is always,’ Linnet muttered, as she went out and shut the door behind her.
    â€˜So what did you break? Is that why you’re in a wheelchair?’ Hannah saw her mother grimace at her to be more tactful, but ignored her. Hannah could never see how being good and polite helped you find out the things you wanted to know.
    â€˜I broke my femur. That’s your thighbone.’ Lady Wintersloe indicated her right leg. ‘It is such a nuisance! The doctor says I need a rod put in, but I must wait until a bed becomes available, which could be a long time.’
    â€˜So your leg is still broken?’ Hannah cried.
    Her great-grandmother nodded.
    â€˜Doesn’t it hurt?’ Hannah asked.
    â€˜I’m afraid so.’
    â€˜That’s terrible.’
    â€˜Oh, well. Nothing I can do it about it. I can’t afford private care. I’ve already sold nearly all I have of value, just to keep the house from falling apart. I’m reluctant to sell any more paintings, because about the only income I have is from the open days and no one will come if the house is bare.’ She sighed. ‘I do hate to sell what has been in the family for generations. I’d like to be able to pass it down to you, my dear.’
    â€˜Oh, that’s all right,’ Hannah said. ‘Better sell it and fix your leg. We can always buy it back again later.’
    â€˜You’ll have to set about restoring the family’s fortunes,’ Lady Wintersloe said with a strained smile.
    â€˜I want to be a great soul singer! I’ll sing all over the world and sell millions of records, and then I’ll be able to buy anything I want.’
    â€˜You like singing? I see you have a guitar. Your father was musical too, did you know? He played double bass very well.’
    â€˜He called her Mary-Lou,’ Roz broke in. ‘He said she was the only other woman in his life.’
    â€˜His double bass? He had a name for it?’ Hannah realised just how little she knew about her own father. It made herangry at her mother, for not telling her things she should know.
    â€˜For her,’ Roz corrected. ‘He always called his double bass “her”.’
    â€˜Can I see it . . . I mean, her? Mary-Lou?’
    â€˜Of course,’ her great-grandmother replied. ‘The double bass is in the music room. There