stay here? Doesn't Antigua appeal to you?'
'It seems a ... a paradise to me.'
'Nowhere on this earth is paradise,' Ash said, on a sardonic note.
'True, there are no serpents here—the mongooses have seen to that.
They were brought in to wipe out the snakes, and they did it a long time ago. The only slithering creatures are some blind- worms which live on Great Bird Island. But we do have scorpions and other unfriendly insects, and the climate isn't always quite as pleasant as it is now. It can be humid at times, and we have periods of drought, and hurricanes.'
Christie turned the stem of her liqueur glass, but she didn't raise it to her lips. She was far too preoccupied.
'But could I do it?—The job, I mean. I think you need a professional interior designer to do up a house of that order.'
'I think not,' was his crisp response. 'You have excellent taste of precisely the kind the house needs. I knew that as soon as I saw your flat.'
'But my flat is a do-it-yourself job, with Laura Ashley papers and fabrics. They're some of the most reasonable on the market.'
'So much the better. If you can achieve the same effect at Heron's Sound without spending a fortune, I shall be very pleased. I don't believe in cheeseparing, but nor do I think the most expensive articles are necessarily the best. Good design is what counts, and not everyone has an eye for it. Clearly, you have.'
'So has your friend Bettina Long,' said Christie. 'Don't you think she might like the job?'
'She is ultra-modern in her taste. She wouldn't know where to begin restoring an old house—except by getting rid of all the original contents and starting from scratch with new stuff. As for the running of the place, she'd be hopeless. Bettina has a number of talents, but they don't include the domestic arts.'
'When do you want Heron's Sound to be ready?'
'As soon as possible. If you started immediately, I should think the place could be habitable by the end of February. I can lay on a work force to help you. You can't be expected to do-it-yourself on that scale.'
'What about my flat in London?'
'I suggest you retain it for three months. I'm sure Mrs Kelly would be happy to keep the place aired and dusted in return for a holiday at Heron's Sound later on. In three months' time you should have decided whether you want to stay here permanently, in which case you can fly back to arrange for your furniture to be shipped over, or she can take care of that as well.'
'I—I don't know what to say,' said Christie uncertainly.
'Don't say anything. Sleep on it. Drink your coffee before it goes cold.'
Christie did as he bade her, but without tasting hat she was drinking.
'How long have you owned Heron's Sound?' she asked.
'Not long. It's a matter of weeks since the deeds came into my hands.
But I've known about it for a long time, and suffered a good deal of uncertainty as to whether it would ever be mine. Eventually—
although not for many years yet—I hope to be able to afford to keep it for my personal use.'
Ash refilled his glass with Drambuie. 'As it's rather a gloomy place at present, I think it might be advisable not to take John with us tomorrow. No doubt Mrs Jones would be prepared to spend an afternoon on the beach with him.'
'Probably.'
There were footsteps on deck, and a man's voice called, 'Ahoy below!'
Ash raised his voice slightly. 'Ahoy there!'
The man who entered the saloon a few moments later was of medium height, very thick-set, with a neatly trimmed curly blond beard and light blue eyes in a brown face. He looked to be in his late twenties.
'This is Bob Wright, Sunbird Two's skipper when I'm not aboard,' Ash told Christie. 'Bob, this is Mrs Christiana Chapman, whose sister was married to my half-brother.'
'How d'you do, Mrs Chapman. Nice to meet you. Sorry to intrude on you, Ash, but I thought I'd have an early night. I was pretty late getting my head down laSt night, and I don't want to greet the new party with bags under my
'It seems a ... a paradise to me.'
'Nowhere on this earth is paradise,' Ash said, on a sardonic note.
'True, there are no serpents here—the mongooses have seen to that.
They were brought in to wipe out the snakes, and they did it a long time ago. The only slithering creatures are some blind- worms which live on Great Bird Island. But we do have scorpions and other unfriendly insects, and the climate isn't always quite as pleasant as it is now. It can be humid at times, and we have periods of drought, and hurricanes.'
Christie turned the stem of her liqueur glass, but she didn't raise it to her lips. She was far too preoccupied.
'But could I do it?—The job, I mean. I think you need a professional interior designer to do up a house of that order.'
'I think not,' was his crisp response. 'You have excellent taste of precisely the kind the house needs. I knew that as soon as I saw your flat.'
'But my flat is a do-it-yourself job, with Laura Ashley papers and fabrics. They're some of the most reasonable on the market.'
'So much the better. If you can achieve the same effect at Heron's Sound without spending a fortune, I shall be very pleased. I don't believe in cheeseparing, but nor do I think the most expensive articles are necessarily the best. Good design is what counts, and not everyone has an eye for it. Clearly, you have.'
'So has your friend Bettina Long,' said Christie. 'Don't you think she might like the job?'
'She is ultra-modern in her taste. She wouldn't know where to begin restoring an old house—except by getting rid of all the original contents and starting from scratch with new stuff. As for the running of the place, she'd be hopeless. Bettina has a number of talents, but they don't include the domestic arts.'
'When do you want Heron's Sound to be ready?'
'As soon as possible. If you started immediately, I should think the place could be habitable by the end of February. I can lay on a work force to help you. You can't be expected to do-it-yourself on that scale.'
'What about my flat in London?'
'I suggest you retain it for three months. I'm sure Mrs Kelly would be happy to keep the place aired and dusted in return for a holiday at Heron's Sound later on. In three months' time you should have decided whether you want to stay here permanently, in which case you can fly back to arrange for your furniture to be shipped over, or she can take care of that as well.'
'I—I don't know what to say,' said Christie uncertainly.
'Don't say anything. Sleep on it. Drink your coffee before it goes cold.'
Christie did as he bade her, but without tasting hat she was drinking.
'How long have you owned Heron's Sound?' she asked.
'Not long. It's a matter of weeks since the deeds came into my hands.
But I've known about it for a long time, and suffered a good deal of uncertainty as to whether it would ever be mine. Eventually—
although not for many years yet—I hope to be able to afford to keep it for my personal use.'
Ash refilled his glass with Drambuie. 'As it's rather a gloomy place at present, I think it might be advisable not to take John with us tomorrow. No doubt Mrs Jones would be prepared to spend an afternoon on the beach with him.'
'Probably.'
There were footsteps on deck, and a man's voice called, 'Ahoy below!'
Ash raised his voice slightly. 'Ahoy there!'
The man who entered the saloon a few moments later was of medium height, very thick-set, with a neatly trimmed curly blond beard and light blue eyes in a brown face. He looked to be in his late twenties.
'This is Bob Wright, Sunbird Two's skipper when I'm not aboard,' Ash told Christie. 'Bob, this is Mrs Christiana Chapman, whose sister was married to my half-brother.'
'How d'you do, Mrs Chapman. Nice to meet you. Sorry to intrude on you, Ash, but I thought I'd have an early night. I was pretty late getting my head down laSt night, and I don't want to greet the new party with bags under my
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