Bolt - By Dick Francis Page 0,39

of telepathic jump that sometimes occurred between people who knew each other well, but not on a regular basis, and not lately. I was glad at that moment that she couldn’t read my thoughts, not knowing if she would be more or less worried if she did.

‘Tomorrow evening,’ I said, ‘get Thomas to drive you to work. He’s not going to Devon now … and I’ll fetch you.’

‘But if you’re riding in Devon …’

‘I’ll go down and back on the train,’ I said. ‘I should be back in Eaton Square by nine.’

‘All right, I guess … thanks.’

I parked my car where hers stood usually, and took my bag from the boot, and with Danielle swathed in the rug like an oversized shawl, we walked round to the front door in Eaton Square.

‘I hope you have a key?’ she said, yawning. ‘We’ll look like gypsies if you don’t.’

‘Dawson lent me one.’

‘Good … I’m asleep on my feet.’

We went indoors and quietly up the stairs. When we reached her floor, I put my arms round her, rug and all, again holding her close, but there was no clinging relief-driven response this time, and when I bent to kiss her, it was her cheek she offered, not her mouth.

‘Goodnight,’ I said. ‘Will you be all right?’

‘Yes.’ She would hardly meet my eyes. ‘I truly thank you.’

‘You owe me nothing,’ I said.

‘Oh …’ She looked at me briefly, as if confused. Then she dropped the rug which she had been holding close round her like a defensive stockade, put her arms round my neck and gave me a quick kiss at least reminiscent of better times, even if it landed somewhere on my chin.

‘Goodnight,’ she said lightly, and walked away along the passage to her room without looking back, and I picked up my bag and the rug and went on upstairs feeling a good deal better than the day before. I opened the door of the bamboo room half expecting to find Beatrice snoring blissfully between my sheets, but the linen was smooth and vacant, and I plummeted there into dreamland for a good two hours.

NINE

Around seven-fifteen in the morning, I knocked on Litsi’s groundfloor door until a sleepy voice said, ‘Who is it?’

‘Kit.’

A short silence, then, ‘Come in, then.’

The room was dark, Litsi leaning up on one elbow and stretching to switch on a bedside lamp. The light revealed a large oak-panelled room with a four-poster bed, brocade curtaining and ancestral paintings: very suitable, I thought, for Litsi.

‘I thought you weren’t here,’ he said, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. ‘What day is it?’

‘Tuesday. I came back here before five this morning, and that’s what I’ve come to tell you about.’

He went from leaning to sitting up straight while he listened.

‘Do you think it really was Nanterre?’ he said when I’d finished.

‘If it was, perhaps he wanted only to catch her and frighten her … tell her what could happen if her uncle didn’t give in. She must have surprised whoever it was by running so fast. She wears trainers to work … running shoes, really … and she’s always pretty fit. Maybe he simply couldn’t catch her.’

‘If he meant a warning he couldn’t deliver, we’ll hear from him.’

‘Yes. And about the horses, too.’

‘He’s unhinged,’ Litsi said, ‘if it was him.’

‘Anyway,’ I said, ‘I thought I’d better warn you.’

I told him about Danielle’s handbag being missing. ‘If it was an ordinary thief, it would be all right because there would be no connecting address, but if Nanterre took it, he now has a front door key to this house. Do you think you could explain to the princess, and get the lock changed? I’m off to Devon to ride a few races, and I’ll be here again this evening. I’m picking Danielle up when she finishes work, but if I miss the train back, will you make sure she gets home safely? If you need a car, you can borrow mine.’

‘Just don’t miss the train.’

‘No.’

His eyebrows rose and fell. ‘Give me the keys, then,’ he said.

I gave them to him. ‘See if you can find out,’ I said, ‘if Danielle told her Aunt Beatrice where she works and at what time she leaves.’

He blinked.

‘Henri Nanterre,’ I reminded him, ‘has a spy right in this house.’

‘Go and break your neck.’

I smiled and went away, and caught the train to Devon. I might be a fool, I thought, entrusting Danielle to Litsi, but she needed to be safe, and one short ride in my