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She would be better once she was back home she promised herself, once she was back at work Back in control

CHAPTER TWO

HASLEWICH

Sara Lanyon still didn't knohat she was doing here She had certainly not intended to turn off the hton from her visit to her old university friend, so so here

Haslewich Crighton land

Crighton land Her mouth with its deliciously full upper lip curled into a line of angry contempt

She had heard all about the Crightons frorandmamma, poor Tania

She had been so very daently building up her confidence and her life for her

'There are always two sides to a situation like this, Sara,' her father had cautioned her when once she had exploded with anger against the Crightons for what they had done to Tania

'But, Dad, she's so vulnerable, so helplessthere can't be any excuse for the way they abandoned her

It was heartlesscruel'

Her dark-green eyes had filled with tears and her father had shaken his head ruefully

She had been eighteen at the ti in black or white

She was older now and more able to apply a little of Richard Lanyon's ade-ive up her antipathy towards the Crightons Over-eical She shook her head No, they were plainly an insensitive brutish lot,together in a clannish fashion

'The Crightons practically are Haslewich,' Tania had once told her in her soft pretty girlish voice 'Locally everyone admires them and looks up to them, but' She had stopped and shivered 'They used to make me feel so so intimidated and and unwanted

Even my own children'

As her eyes had filled with tears so had Sara's and now, here she was, her car parked just off the town's main square as she walked curiously across it

It was alry She looked uncertainly round the square and then decided to investigate the possibility of a narrow, interesting-looking lane that ran off it

A signpost at the top of the street read To the River

The river Sara loved water Her father was a keen sailor and Sara had crewed for hiirl

She was halfway down the street when she saw the restaurant A quick glance inside showed that it was busy and the s

Making up her mind Sara pushed open the door and then stopped in beed wo anxiously,

'Sara?'

'Er, yes,' she replied auto how on earth the woman could possibly know her

'Oh, thank goodness for that,' the older woency have let us down so many times but they pro to Sara to follow her as she wound her way through the busy tables

Feeling rather as though she had stepped straight into a page fro Glass, Sara followed in her wake

Once they had reached the rear of the restaurant the wo Sara as she indicated for her to precede her into the room it led into,

'I ise for the mess We've been so hectic

I've tried to keep up to date with the paperwork, but it just hasn't been possible Still, now that you're here Oh, and the cooodness I think the news that we'd got our Michelin threw it into as much of a state of excite inundated with requests for tables which is marvellous Or at least it would be if eren't cos Not that we don't want them, we dobut' As she paused for breath Sara looked round the small cluttered office

Rather oddly it had French s that gave onto an attractive little town garden and when the wo at it she smiled

'We only inally a cafe and we bought the house next door The office was the house's back parlour and we decided we'd leave the French s'

'It's very pretty' Sara smiled

'Well, yes, and hopefully next summer we shall be able to make better use of it I'm Frances Sorter, by the way,' she introduced herself 'I expect the agency will have told you that my husband and I own the restaurant Our chef is so keen on organic produce rows as much as he can himself

'Now, I don't knohether or not the agency discussed terms with you'

'Er, no, they haven't,' Sara replied truthfully

Noas the time to tell Frances Sorter that there had been a ht she was but for some reason Sara discovered instead that she was actually listening whilst she was told the surprisingly generous terms of her

'employment'

'It will only be for a few months, of course,' she was told a shade anxiously 'You do know that, don't you? Only Mary, our regular officea baby and she says she ant to come back, but'

A few months Sara started to frown She had decided toas a supply teacher at the end of the previous school year She had several options she was considering, including working abroad and her father had even suggested she could have her old university holiday job back with hi as his assistant if she wished There was really no earthly reason why she should want to cohtonville'

In fact, there was every reason why she shouldn't So as she nodding her head and assuring Frances Sorter that yes, the salary they were paying was fine?

She had always been inclined to be iot her into plenty of trouble as a girl but even she was surprised to hear herself accepting the job whilst saying, 'There's one probleh

Ierdon't actually have anywhere to live locally as yet and—'

'Oh, that's no problem' Frances Sorter beamed

'There's a flat upstairs that you could have rent free

In fact, if you did you would be solving another of our proble that the flat is tenanted Apparently they consider that an empty property is more at risk from thieves and vandals It's only small but the previous owners had it completely refurbished since they lived "over the shop" and, well, let me take you up and you can see for yourself'

Well, Sara reflected ruefully half an hour after she said goodbye to Frances Thison hera job here, and yet here she was Sara was a firm believer i

n fate and in taking the kind of chances other people ive very wary distance to Life was an adventure—or at least it should be Her eyes began to sparkle Who knew, she et the opportunity to even the score a bit for her sweet vulnerable little stepgrandhtons in their place Now that was a challenge she would accept with relish!

NICK CRIGHTON stifled a sh It had been very kind of his brother Saul and his wife Tullah to offer hi the injuries he had sustained whilst visiting one of his clients as incarcerated in a Thai jail

Another in-crazed frenzy and when Nick had gone to help hi knifed

Luckily the knife had ans, even if his recovery was taking longer than expected thanks to an infection that had developed in the site of the wound That had cleared up now but he had been told by his doctor to take things easy until the wound had completely healed

Yes, it was kind of Saul and Tullah to insist that he stay with theet rather bored by all the cosseting he was receiving

He was a grownhis spare ti and sailing, white water rafting

anything with just that little touch of exhilaration and exciteerous risks Well, not often!

The last time he had had a medical check-up he had tried to persuade his doctor that he ell enough to return to work After all, as a lawyer he was hardly likely to be overtaxing hiested slyly to his GP

'M at an office desk or even standing in court certainly aren't going to do you too much harm now that the wound has actually started to heal'

'Great! So I can go back to work then?' he had pounced eagerly

'Don't be so ridiculous, Nick,' the doctor had refused affably 'You may be a lawyer but I happen to know that your job is very much a hands-on affair