Swimming Pool Sunday by Sophie Kinsella, Madeleine Wickham Page B

‘Is there some news about Katie? Is that why you came?’ Cassian shook his head gravely.
    ‘Cassian wanted to have a look at the swimming-pool,’ put in Ursula.
    ‘But I’m afraid I’ve got to go now,’ said Cassian smoothly. ‘Thank you very much for your kindness.’
    He held out one hand to Ursula. She hesitated, then took it, smiling falteringly back at him with the foolish gaze of a fascinated rabbit. Meredith watched Cassian distrustfully, and felt a sudden obscure need to protect Ursula. But against what? A young man with mesmerizing eyes?
    They all watched as Cassian made his exit out of the kitchen door, and listened in silence as his feet crunched away on the gravel of the drive. When the sound had faded to nothing, Ursula looked at Meredith with an animated expression on her face.
    ‘I’ve had an idea,’ she said. ‘We should give all the donations from yesterday to Katie, and we should start an appeal.’
    ‘Good idea, Ursula,’ said Meredith vaguely, but her face was still wary. ‘What exactly did that guy Cassian want?’ she asked.
    ‘To look at where poor Katie had her accident,’ said Ursula. She frowned. ‘Something like that.’
    ‘Who is he?’ said Alexis. He screwed up his face in thought. ‘I’m sure I know him from somewhere.’
    ‘Louise Kember’s lover,’ said Meredith succinctly.
    ‘Now, Meredith,’ chided Ursula, ‘we don’t know that.’
    ‘But why do I recognize him?’ said Alexis. ‘Have I met him?’
    ‘Well,’ said Meredith, ‘he’s a lawyer. Maybe he hangs out in the same joints you do.’
    ‘A lawyer?’ said Alexis. He looked at Ursula’s innocent expression and his face darkened slightly. ‘Did he tell you why he wanted to look at the pool?’
    ‘Well,’ began Ursula, ‘no, not really. He just said that it was because he hadn’t been here yesterday. I thought he was probably very upset.’
    ‘He didn’t look very upset to me,’ observed Meredith. ‘He looked …’
    ‘You didn’t say anything to him,’ interrupted Alexis, ‘did you, Ursula? Anything about the accident?’
    ‘Well, no,’ said Ursula. ‘I mean, yes.’ She looked from Alexis to Meredith with puzzled eyes. ‘What do you mean? Is anything wrong?’
    ‘No, nothing,’ said Alexis, quickly. ‘I hope not.’
    Later on, as Meredith came up the stairs, she heard a voice from Hugh’s study. It was a subdued voice, and it was saying, ‘Shit.’ She gently pushed the door open. There was Alexis, standing at Hugh’s open desk, holding some sort of brochure open in front of him.
    ‘What’s wrong?’ said Meredith lightly. ‘Hugh owe youmoney?’ Alexis whipped round and gave Meredith a rather hesitant smile.
    ‘No, nothing’s wrong,’ he said, in a voice that wasn’t quite cheerful. He quickly put the brochure back in a drawer and shut it. Meredith stared at him sternly.
    ‘Something’s wrong, isn’t it? What? Is Hugh’s business in trouble?’
    ‘No, honestly, Meredith,’ said Alexis. ‘I was just … just checking something.’ He began to move towards the door. ‘Now,’ he said, giving her a charming crinkled smile, ‘how about some Meredith-strength coffee to set me up for the rest of the day?’
    He took her arm, and as he did so, she felt a sudden foolish tingle of pleasure. But even as she allowed Alexis to lead her down the stairs; even as she glimpsed, with a pang of delight, the reflection of the two of them together in the landing mirror, she could feel a faint web of anxiety anchoring itself throughout her body, tugging gently at her thoughts and causing her face to wrinkle with an unspecified alarm.
    Cassian arrived at the hospital at four o’clock. He had spent much of the day loitering in the village grocery store, the post office, outside the church and in The George. And by the time he arrived at the hospital, he had talked to over twenty people in the village about the accident, carefully taking notes and writing down names after each