The Sun Sister (The Seven Sisters #6) - Lucinda Riley Page 0,233

he had shot him.’

‘I know, darling, I know.’ Bill sighed and sat down on the bed. ‘Obviously this is all top secret – the funeral will go ahead tomorrow and after that the police will interview Jock.’

‘Do you think he did it?’

‘As you say, he certainly had the motive. Anyway, mum’s the word for now. I just wanted to tell you. Now, I need to get back to the War Office and try and man the ship there. Will you be all right?’

‘Of course I will,’ Cecily nodded.

‘I’ll be back in time for dinner.’ With a sad wave, Bill left the room.

The funeral of Josslyn Victor Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll, took place the following day at St Paul’s Church in Kiambu, just outside Nairobi. Cecily, sitting with Bill in the front pew, looked behind her and saw that everyone who was anyone was there, but she could not spot Diana. Last night, Bill had told her that only hours before Joss’s death, Jock had agreed to divorce Diana so she could marry Joss. He’d toasted to their happiness at Muthaiga Club in full view of the other diners.

‘Please remember that only the police authorities know that Joss was murdered; everyone else still believes it was just a tragic car accident,’ he’d cautioned her before they’d left for the funeral.

Yet it was obvious during the wake afterwards at Muthaiga Club that murmurings were already afoot. Both Alice and Idina looked devastated and there were few kind words for Diana. Jock made an appearance, looking half-cut and distressed, and was taken off by his friend June Carberry before he ‘made a fool of himself’, as she hissed to Bill.

‘It feels like the end of an era,’ Bill said as he helped Cecily into the pick-up later that day. ‘Happy Valley was Joss, and even if I found some of his antics deplorable, the world will be a lesser place without him. Please take care on the journey home and telephone me when you arrive, won’t you?’

‘I will.’

As she drove off, Cecily fervently hoped that the blow of the death of Bill’s closest friend would not put a damper on their own new and wonderful relationship.

Jock Broughton was arrested three weeks later for the murder of Joss Erroll. The scandal made headlines across the world, with even Dorothea calling her for an update.

‘So you knew this Joss personally?’ Dorothea said breathlessly.

‘Yes, he’s . . . he was Bill’s close friend. He, Diana and Jock came to stay with us for a weekend in December.’

‘Oh my!’ There was an enthralled silence. ‘So you actually met Diana? Is she as beautiful as she looks in the papers?’

‘She is very attractive, yes.’

‘Do you think Sir Jock shot him?’

‘Mama, I don’t know, but Joss and Diana did nothing to hide their affair in front of him.’

‘I can’t believe you’ve had them to stay under your roof . . .’

Cecily had to smile, because her mother sounded positively star-struck, however gruesome the situation.

‘Were they in love as the papers say?’ Dorothea asked.

‘Oh yes.’ Or in lust, Cecily thought. ‘Anyway, I have to go,’ she said, hearing Stella’s complaints that it was time for a bottle. ‘Love to everyone.’

‘Wait, is that a baby I can hear in the background?’

‘Yes, it’s Stella, my maid’s daughter. She’s awful cute, Mama.’

‘Well, if this war ever ends, I’ll be straight out on that boat to see you, honey. Kenya sounds like such an interesting place.’

‘Oh, it is certainly interesting,’ Cecily said. ‘Bye, Mama.’

News of the war, which had dominated conversations for so long, had been temporarily cast aside in favour of the juicy gossip surrounding the murder investigation. Although Cecily was happily occupied with Stella, her heart ached for her husband who was spending all his time in Nairobi, not only helping to take on Joss’s old job, but also sorting out his friend’s personal affairs.

Katherine telephoned Paradise Farm regularly. She was spending most of her time with Alice at Wanjohi Farm, doing what she could to ease Alice’s grief over Joss.

‘I’m worried for her,’ Katherine had confided to Cecily. ‘Her father recently died too, and she is absolutely destroyed by Joss’s murder . . . She’s not well, Cecily, I don’t know what to do.’

Jock Broughton’s trial finally opened at Nairobi’s Central Court at the end of May.

‘Honestly, it’s like an audience come to see a show, darling,’ Bill sighed when he called after the end of the first day. ‘All of Happy Valley is here, dressed in their best, of