Page 182 of The Love Letter

‘Don’t expect me to mourn.’

‘I won’t. But the odd thing was, only a couple of hours before you turned up at Welbeck Street, I’d suddenly realised where the letter had been hidden.’

‘How come?’

‘I was waiting for the Duke at York, to bring him back to London, and I saw a framed sampler on the wall. It was almost identical to the one I’d seen hanging above Jamie’s bed a few weeks earlier. If I’d have got there sooner, then all this could have been avoided.’ He leant back on the sand. ‘I know how you found out where it was.’

‘Do you?’

‘Yes. A wily old bird, by all accounts.’ Simon’s eyes twinkled.

‘Is she okay?’

‘I believe so. Safely in America, I hear tell.’

‘I’m glad. She’s one hell of a lady,’ Joanna said quietly. ‘I suppose you’ve already thought about the irony of all this? I mean, Zoe’s ex-boyfriend being his namesake?’

‘Yes. Weird, isn’t it? The current Duke was apparently devastated when Zoe left him . . . history repeating itself, one could say.’

‘One absolutely could,’ agreed Joanna. ‘And besides, you must have already worked out why the palace was so dead set against Zoe and the Duke’s relationship? I mean, they were actually related through James. They were cousins, which means that Jamie is—’

‘Just don’t go there, Jo.’ Simon shuddered. ‘All I can say is that it’s not unusual amongst the aristocracy to marry blood relatives. Most members of European royalty are related to one another.’

‘What a mess,’ sighed Joanna.

‘Yes. Anyway, changing the subject, have you decided yet where you go from here?’

‘No, apart from the fact that I’m certainly going to go by the name of “Maggie” – I’ve always hated “Margaret”.’ Joanna gave him a wan smile. ‘At least now I’m a bona fide American citizen, I can start thinking about it. You’ll laugh, I’m sure, but I’ve always had a fancy to write a spy novel.’

‘Jo . . .’

‘Simon, I’m serious. I mean, let’s face it, no one would believe the story anyway, so why not? I’d change the names, of course.’

‘I’m warning you, don’t.’

‘We’ll see. Anyway, how about you?’ she asked him.

‘Zoe and I have decided to stay in LA for the foreseeable future. We thought it was wise to make a fresh start, and it looks like Zoe will be inundated with work offers whenBlithe Spiritis released. We went to see a school for Jamie a couple of days ago. He was so unhappy at his last place, but there, everybody’s mums and dads are celebrities and he’s just normal.’

‘What about your job?’

Simon shrugged. ‘I haven’t decided yet. The service has offered me a transfer over here, but Zoe has this mad idea of me opening a restaurant. She wants to back me.’

Joanna giggled. ‘Well, we always did talk about it. But could you leave your old way of life behind, do you think?’

‘The truth is, I’m not a killer. The fact that I took lives during all this will haunt me forever.’ Simon shook his head. ‘God help me if Zoe ever found out what I’ve done, or Jamie.’

Joanna laid her hand on his. ‘You saved my life, Simon, that’s what you did.’

‘Yes.’ He took her hand and squeezed it. ‘Joanna, you know that for your own sake, I can’t see you again.’

‘I know,’ she said with a sad shrug.

‘By the way, I have something else for you.’ From his shorts pocket, he drew out an envelope and handed it to her.

‘What’s in it?’

‘Twenty thousand pounds in dollars – the bonus I was paid for finding the letter. It’s yours by rights and it might help get you started.’