Chapter Twenty Two

Ten minutes later Elena was on her way downstairs when she heard voices in the hallway, and as she rounded the curve of the staircase she could see the housekeeper talking with a tall, elegant woman in her late thirties.

‘So you’ll tell Roth that I called,’ she was saying to Mrs Elliott.

‘Yes, I will, Mrs Edwards,’ the other woman was responding respectfully.

Thoughtfully and discreetly Elena studied her. Tall, slender, expensively dressed, immaculately made up, she was the type of woman whom She could remember Roth favouring and she immediately guessed that she must be Roth’s

current woman-friend. There was certainly that very confident, almost proprietorial air about her that suggested she was far more than simply a mere visitor to the house. She turned away from the house keeper and then saw Elena, her expression changing slightly and becoming, if not challenging then certainly assessing, Elena recognised as she continued on her way downstairs.

‘I’m just on my way to Haverton H