When 19-year-old waitress Millie takes a summer job as companion to wealthy Lady Vera Ashington at her Suffolk stately home, she has no idea that a mystery will unfold which puts her own life and her family's business at risk. Unexplained deaths will test her morality. Can the end justify the means? Lady Ashington (Vera) fears a breakdown due to personal regrets. She has one last go at seeking long-term happiness. Having taken Millie as a companion, the two women become friends and enjoy arguing about Vera's wealth and her inability to use it wisely. ‘ Too much cake', is the problem. Millie empowers Vera. She keeps a first person diary, and includes Vera's viewpoint. This diary is the novel. It tells how the talents of two very different women, when harnessed, move mountains. But, Vera's local influence means every good deed, leaves a loser. Millie had not appreciated this and conflicts mount. Things reach a head when a couple in the village, are murdered . The evidence isn't clear. Who would profit from their deaths? Is Vera implicated? Must Millie fear for her life?
View More"Halo, Mbak Jihan, perkenalkan, aku Ralin, kekasih suamimu."
Mendadak ruangan yang diperuntukkan bagi talent berdandan itu hening. Tempat yang tadinya ramai oleh canda dan tawa menjadi senyap seketika. Ruangan itu sempurna tanpa suara. Hanya terdengar pendingin ruangan yang berdesing pelan menandakan benda itu bekerja secara maksimal. Hampir secara bersamaan, semua orang yang ada di ruangan itu menoleh pada gadis muda yang berdiri santai di samping meja rias Jihan. Wanita itu tersenyum lebar dan mengulurkan tangan pada Jihan yang masih terpaku menatapnya dengan wajah kebingungan. Ketukan di pintu membuat kesibukan yang sempat terhenti menggeliat kembali. “Jihan, siap-siap yuk. Giliran kamu perform lima menit lagi.” “Oke, Mas Galang.” Jihan mengangkat jempol sambil mengedipkan mata pada crew stasiun televisi swasta itu. “Sudah, Kak?” Jihan menoleh pada Sisi, MUA yang sejak tadi memoles wajahnya dengan riasan dan memastikan pakaian yang dia kenakan menempel dengan sempurna di tubuh langsingnya. “Yap, sudah!" Sisi menjawab kikuk. "Yuk-yuk do’a dulu.” Sisi memanggil tim yang lain. Delapan orang yang tadi sibuk dengan urusan masing-masing langsung membentuk lingkaran. Mereka berdo’a seperti kebiasaan Jihan sepuluh tahun yang lalu setiap akan tampil. “Yuk, Bu, langsung mendekat ke stage saja." Nia langsung mempersilakan Jihan dan membantunya berdiri. Jihan mengangguk pada managernya sambil mengucapkan terima kasih. Dia berkaca sekali lagi, memastikan penampilannya sudah rapi. Sebelum melangkah, Jihan menatap Ralin yang masih berdiri di dekatnya. "Bu Jihan? Ayo!" Nia langsung menarik tangan Jihan pelan agar segera meninggalkan tempat itu. "Sebentar lagi Ibu tampil, pastikan semua terpukau seperti sepuluh tahun lalu." Jihan menarik napas panjang. Dia bergegas melangkah keluar dari ruangan. Sebelum berbelok di ujung lorong, dia melirik sekilas pada Ralin yang dihampiri oleh beberapa wartawan. Senyum tipis gadis itu tertangkap jelas di mata Jihan. "Fokus, Bu, biar aku yang urus wanita tidak jelas itu." Nia mengelus punggung Jihan pelan saat menyadari modalnya sesekali menoleh ke belakang. Jihan menarik napas panjang saat dentum musik mulai terdengar. Irama yang hanya diputar saat dia akan tampil. Instrumen miliknya. Hanya dia. Musik itu seakan melekat pada Jihan, menjadi ciri khas tersendiri yang selalu dinanti. "Setelah sepuluh tahun vakum dari dunia modeling yang melambungkan namanya, malam ini, sang supermodel kembali ke panggung kejayaannya." Jihan menarik napas panjang mendengar suara MC. Dia memejamkan mata, berusaha menyerap semua energi dan euforia yang ada disekitarnya. Saat buncah itu memenuhi dada, Jihan membuka mata sambil sedikit mengangkat dagu. Ya, wanita itu sudah mendapatkan kembali seluruh kepercayaan dirinya. "Sambutlah, bintang yang akan membuat trend baru di dunia fashion. Seseorang yang menjadi kiblat dunia model di negeri ini. Wanita yang diberi gelar Matahari Terbit Dari Timur oleh para perancang busana karena pesonanya. Jihan Qirani!" Suara tepukan tangan dan teriakan nama Jihan langsung memenuhi ruangan itu. Gegap gempita terasa seperti menggetarkan dinding mendengar keriuhan yang tercipta. Jihan tersenyum lebar menyambut panggung miliknya. "Jihan! Jihan! Jihan!" Lampu sorot dan blitz kamera langsung melahap rakus tubuh Jihan saat dia melangkah untuk pertama kali di atas panggung. Dengan anggun, Jihan melambaikan tangan beberapa kali. Sebelum memutar badan di ujung panggung, Jihan tersenyum lebar hingga giginya sedikit terlihat. "Gaun rancangan dari Latifah Wulandari yang dikenakan Jihan hari ini, cocok untuk dikenakan saat …." Jihan berhenti tepat di tengah panggung saat MC memperkenalkan gaun tosca yang dia kenakan. Dia meletakkan kedua tangan di pinggang seperti gaya para Puteri Indonesia di ajang bergengsi itu. Sesekali, Jihan membenarkan ujung jilbabnya yang jatuh ke dada. Dia menatap ke seluruh ruangan. Dadanya berdebar kencang merasakan kemewahan atmosfer panggung lagi. Sepuluh tahun dia istirahat dari dunia modeling yang melambungkan namanya. Hari ini, Jihan kembali. Bisnis fashion yang sempat redup belakangan langsung menggeliat saat wajah Jihan bertebaran di spanduk dan poster seluruh kota. Dulu, apapun yang dia kenakan selalu menjadi trendsetter hingga para perancang busana dan pemilik usaha fashion berlomba-lomba menjadikannya sebagai brand ambassador mereka. "Alhamdulillah." Nia, Sisi dan anggota tim langsung menyambut Jihan saat dia turun dari panggung. Malam itu, semarak tak hanya disana saja, tapi menyebar ke seluruh kota. Pesona Jihan tak luntur. Dia tampil memukau seperti sepuluh tahun lalu di masa-masa keemasannya. "Selamat, Sayang." Jihan menoleh saat mendengar suara Aditya Buana, suaminya. Senyumnya mengembang saat lelaki itu menyerahkan sebuket besar mawar merah dan mencium pipinya. "Aduuuuh, meleleh deh." Yang lain langsung berseru-seru melihat adegan romantis yang terjadi tepat di hadapan mereka. "Kapan pulang?" Jihan menerima buket bunga dan langsung menyelipkan tangan di lengan Aditya. Wangi maskulin langsung memenuhi hidungnya. Aroma yang selalu dia rindukan. "Baru saja tiba, dari bandara saya langsung kemari." Jihan tersenyum lebar menatap mata sendu suaminya. Aditya Buana, seorang pengusaha air minum dan pemilik tempat wisata yang cukup terkenal di kota mereka. "Mama, Mama." Jihan langsung menoleh pada suara yang sangat dia kenal. Rayna dan Damar, kedua anaknya itu berlari kecil menghampirinya. Jihan tertawa sambil merentangkan tangan. "Mama cantik sekali." Rayna mencium pipi Jihan. "Terima kasih, Anak manis." Jihan menoel hidung bangir putrinya yang bulan lalu genap berusia sepuluh tahun. "Damar bangga sekali sama Mama." Damar menyerahkan setangkai mawar merah lengkap dengan daunnya. "Mama juga bangga sama Kakak dan Adik." Jihan menerima bunga kesukaannya dan mencium kening Damar. Setelahnya, kedua anak itu langsung menempel pada Aditya. Seminggu di luar kota untuk mengontrol salah satu usahanya, membuat kerinduan kedua anak itu membuncah pada Papa mereka. Jihan tersenyum tipis menatap kehangatan anak dan ayah itu. Malam ini sempurna menjadi miliknya andai Ralin tidak menemuinya tadi. Dia sungguh tidak menyangka gadis yang usianya sepuluh tahun di bawahnya itu akan mengatakan sesuatu yang sangat memalukan sekaligus menyakitkan walau kebenarannya belum pasti. Jihan tidak habis pikir wanita itu bisa berkata dengan sangat lantangnya di depan semua orang. Bahkan, Ralin seolah sengaja benar menunggu momen ketika wartawan menyambangi ruangan tempatnya sedang dirias. "Halo, Mbak Jihan, perkenalkan, aku Ralin, kekasih suamimu." Ucapan Ralin terus memenuhi otak Jihan saat menatap wajah tampan suaminya yang penuh senyuman. "Saya bangga sekali bisa menjadikanmu sebagai seorang istri." Aditya melingkarkan tangan di pinggang Jihan saat blitz kamera wartawan dengan beringas mengabadikan kebersamaan mereka berempat. Jihan tersenyum tipis. Ini pertama kalinya Aditya mau tampil hangat dan mesra dengannya di depan publik setelah dia melahirkan Rayna. Mereka tampil mesra hanya di tahun pertama pernikahan. Setelah kelahiran Rayna, Aditya seolah tenggelam dalam dunia dan kesibukannya sendiri hingga Jihan seringkali memeluk sepi. Seharusnya, malam ini menjadi malam terindah bagi Jihan. Setelah tidur panjangnya selama sepuluh tahun, Aditya yang dulu kembali. Lelaki yang membuat cinta Jihan begitu dalam karena kehangatan dan kelembutan sikapnya. Ya, seharusnya.Day 331. Friday.Nearly a year has gone by and much has happened.My Diary. I shall never show Vera this diary and she will never ask to see it. It’s better that way. It’s behind us.Vera’s pregnancy. Nothing to report. She either got carried away with her diagnosis, she was lying for reasons only known to her, or she lost the baby. Whatever, if she wants to talk about it, she will. She doesn’t seem fussed, now she has Sid in bed and Tom and Sandra to mother.But why would she lie about that? I have my theory (as always).Charley saw himself as the surrogate father and would never have let the children down. Only by bringing Charley into the house, could she hope to get Sid and the children for herself. Trying to exclude Charley was too risky. He would certainly have been hurt after all he had done for them and may have l
'A lot has happened since then. I expected more recent thoughts.''It all has to start at that point. If we extrapolate back from all points around today’s Lower Butts, we end up at that fateful morning. That’s where big bang happened. Let’s start at that moment. We can consider distance travelled since then.''That’s fine by me,' she affirmed.'I’m going to assume that you knew Sid had lesbian leanings. I wasn’t sure. You were!'I waited for confirmation. She remained quiet so I took that as a ‘yes,’ and proceeded.'You wanted her and you wanted the children she looked after, so you hired me so that you could have contact without your scheme becoming obvious to the outside world.'Vera stiffened, sitting upright like a governess wanting to make a good impression. She still said nothing.'Then you moved the Walker children into the stable apartments - with good reason I hasten to add. Ch
'I need to explain that I’ve taken steps to legally adopt Sid, Tom and Sandra. That will give them financial security as they will qualify for a small allowance under the Ashington estate rules. The adoption was what caused me to go to the Walkers that fateful morning. I also had to broach the problem of them quitting the house. The rest you know.'No mention of blackmail this time. She’s a lousy crook. She continued, 'It’s quite likely that my visit sent Cedric over the top, but it was unintentional. Not that intent will help if I’m prosecuted.''Is that really likely?' I asked.'Probably not, but it’s in the hands of the coroner’s court.'Sid went as white as a sheet. She couldn’t cope with the idea that she could lose her protector and patron. The thought of being solely responsible for Tom and Sandra again took her back to the edge every time.I had two more questions.'Why did you exclude me fro
'Every time I deliver Lady Ashington’s evening paper, Charley is just knocking off work and on his way up to the House. It seems he doesn’t go home for a wash these days. I usually bump into him when I’m doing the morning milk and paper deliveries, coming out the house, on his way to work. But then his hair is wet so he must shower somewhere in the House. Has he shacked up with Sid?'Miss Marple, eat your heart out! That girl misses nothing and draws nearly the right conclusions.'So how long ago has this been going on?''Quite a while.''What time did he go up tonight?'She stopped and pondered a sickle moon, silhouetted against the early evening sky.'I stopped for a fag, then did the stables. About half an hour I’d say.'I’m still surprised I didn’t burst into tears, but instead I became as hard as blue steel.'That’s long enough for Charley. Georgie, if I gave you the gossip of a li
It’s a Friday. I don’t know what day anymore. Weeks have passed.I’d taken the mail to the letter box. As I walked by the bus lay-by on my way home, a car pulled up beside me. The window wound down. There was Detective Sergeant Smythe.'Just hop in please, Ms Backhouse. I need to talk to you.''Do I have to? I’m really not in the mood.''We can do this without you being in the mood,' he snapped.He released the door catch and it swung open. He wasn’t taking ‘no’ for an answer. I climbed in beside him and shut the door. The window whirred upwards.'How can I help you, sergeant?'There was a long pause, while he took his notebook and pencil out. His whole demeanour was that of a fifties cop like you see in TV dramas. I put my hand on the door release and moved to get out again. That concentrated his mind.'You will be aware that you owe me.'
Day 64.Friday. I’ve slept on it and decided I’ll have to ask Vera for her version of events, woman to woman, two friends together. It’s the only way to lay the ghost of Sonya’s ramblings. Should I tell her the full Sonya version? We could have a laugh about it. I didn’t. You can’t laugh about the death of two destitute alcoholics, who had once been the kindest, softest villagers - according to village lore that is. I’d never known them and only spoken to them the few times this summer. The walk up to the House after work that day was the loneliest I’d known. I didn’t notice the late summer colours forming, the swifts collecting on the electricity cables, chattering and practising their departure, the squirrels hunting nuts, and the chill in the air as the autumn mists collected over the sea. It must have all been there. It’s there every October. This was the first October that I had carried such a
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