The Sun Sister (The Seven Sisters #6) - Lucinda Riley Page 0,241

ever, if a little weightier than when Cecily had last seen her.

‘And how are you both?’ she asked them.

‘Bored to tears with motherhood, but what can a girl do?’ Mamie drawled as she lit a cigarette at the end of her holder. ‘I can’t seem to stop having the damned things.’

‘She’s only teasing, Cecily, aren’t you?’ said Hunter, coming to stand next to his wife.

‘Don’t you just wish I was?’ Mamie sighed dramatically.

‘Now, you’re to sit down here, and tell us absolutely everything about the last seven years of your life,’ Priscilla said as she steered Cecily to the couch.

‘I’m not sure I’ll be able to do that tonight,’ she said. ‘It’s been such a long journey, but I’ll do my best to begin.’

‘Of course she can’t,’ said Dorothea. ‘I must say, honey, I’m just surprised you haven’t returned to us the same colour as your maid and that child of hers with all that sun.’

‘I wore a big hat, Mama, that’s all.’ Cecily winced inwardly at her mother’s words.

‘Well.’ Dorothea took a glass of champagne from the tray. ‘Welcome home, sweetheart. We’ve all missed you, haven’t we?’

‘Yes, we have,’ Walter nodded, also taking a glass. ‘And next time you tell us you’re leaving for a few weeks to visit some far-flung place, we simply won’t let you go!’

‘It was hardly my fault that the war began, was it?’ countered Cecily.

‘No, of course it wasn’t. Were there food shortages out there?’ Walter asked.

‘Yes, there were, but I had my own vegetable garden, so we ate quite well.’

‘Vegetable garden?’ Priscilla looked at her sister in amazement. ‘You dug up your own carrots and cabbages?’

‘I did indeed, with the help of Lankenua’s son, Kwinet. And then, of course, if we got very hungry, I’d just go to the end of the garden, shoot an antelope and put it on a spit over the fire.’

Ten faces looked back at her in astonishment; even Jimmy stopped playing with his toy car.

‘You are joking, aren’t you?’ Priscilla asked.

‘Well, maybe not at the bottom of my garden, no, but if Bill and I went out on safari, that’s exactly what would happen. Bill’s a dab hand with a rifle. He once saved me from being eaten by a lion.’

‘Bang bang!’ shouted Jimmy from the rug.

‘Yes, Jimmy, that’s the right noise, but in real life it’s a deal louder,’ Cecily smiled, enjoying their rapt expressions.

‘You are teasing us, aren’t you, Cecily?’ Priscilla said.

‘As a matter of fact, not much, actually,’ she chuckled. ‘And then, of course, there are the snakes, great shiny vipers and cobras who slither into your room at night. I have so many photographs to show you all.’

‘The good news is, we’re not likely to find snakes slithering down Fifth Avenue, and that dinner will be served without us having to kill the feast first,’ said Walter dryly.

‘We’ve invited Kiki to join us,’ said Dorothea. ‘You heard about the death of her son in action, no doubt?’

‘I did, yes. I called round to see her at Mundui House at the time, but Aleeki, her houseboy, said she wasn’t seeing anyone,’ Cecily said soberly. ‘Is she feeling better?’

‘I’ve only spoken to her on the telephone. She’s been staying at the Stanhope with her mother and Lillian, her companion. She doesn’t sound too good,’ Dorothea sighed, ‘but then, who would, after all the tragedies she’s suffered? That friend of hers she was so fond of – Alice . . .’

‘Yes, the two of them went way back and Kiki was so broken up when Alice killed herself. We all were,’ said Cecily.

‘I read it was because the dashing Earl of Erroll was the love of her life,’ interjected Priscilla. ‘Did you really dance with him on your wedding night, Cecily? Was he as much of a dream as the newspapers said?’

‘He was certainly very handsome and charming, yes.’ Cecily was finding her new status – that of being the most interesting person in the room – rather trying. ‘So, come now, tell me what’s been happening here.’

Later that night, Cecily excused herself from after-dinner coffee and virtually crawled up the stairs to her bedroom. Kiki had not shown up after all, a fact that hadn’t surprised Cecily in the least, knowing how unpredictable her godmother was. Stopping on the landing that led to her room, she looked up at the steep set of stairs that led to the attic floor above her.

Taking off her formal heeled shoes – she wasn’t at all used to wearing them