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about the gallery.”
    “You’ve only been gone a couple of days, Rhia! Actually, you’ll be pleased to learn I’ve sold another painting. That customer who came in this morning wanted a present for his sister’s birthday. He raved about those landscapes.”
    “Great – Matt will be pleased and the commission will come in handy. Keep up the good work.”
    “So when are you coming back?” Fiona wanted to know.
    “Oh, it’s hard to say – not until after the weekend at any rate. Actually, I’ve just been invited to a concert with Laurie.”
    “Oh, so it’s Laurie now, is it?” Fiona teased. “Well enjoy yourself whilst I’m slaving away,” she added good-naturedly.
    “For your information, my friend, I’ve spent the afternoon doing some photographs for another exhibition and I’m going to do some painting from them so it’s not all socialising,” Rhianna said.
    “If you say so. Well, keep me informed. I want to know more about this mysterious Christina Soames.”
    So do I, Rhianna told herself as she prepared for bed. It still hadn’t sunk in that Lawrence had been engaged to Tina. She wondered why they had split up. There were still so many unanswered questions.
    *
    Rhianna spent an interesting morning with Letitia Delroy.
    The elderly lady had unearthed some old photograph albums and they sat side by side on the sofa. Rhianna realised there was so much she didn’t know about her father.
    “Did you know my mother too?”
    Letitia shook her white head. “Sadly, no. She sounded a very nice lady. Where did he meet her?”
    “Oh, at an art exhibition up in London, I believe. Neither of them said much about their early lives. They had many friends in the art world.”
    “How interesting. Of course your father inherited his love of art from his father. Reg tried to discourage him - said there was no money in it, unless you were a genius. I’ve still got a few of Reg’s paintings dotted about the place but we sold a number over the years.”
    “So the painting of Anna Soames , was that painted by my father?”
    Letitia shook her white head. “No, dear – not your father … Now, how about some coffee? I must put the casserole on too or we’ll never get any lunch.”
    Rhianna got the distinct impression that Letitia was changing the subject and wondered why. There was definitely something she didn’t understand about all this and she was convinced that it was to do with the painting.

 
    Chapter Four
     
    After coffee, Letitia took Rhianna on a tour of the downstairs rooms with Tansy trotting along beside them. It was a gracious house which had an air of shabby grandeur.
    “This place is far too big for me nowadays, but I really don’t want to move until I have to,” Letitia said sadly.
    Rhianna thought that the upkeep of the place must be horrendous.
    “Did Laurie tell you that at one time him and Tina…” Letitia trailed off, obviously wondering if she’d said too much.
    “He told me they were engaged for a short while, yes,” Rhianna said.
    Her grandmother looked relieved. “Oh, I’m glad he filled you in. It makes it less awkward all round. He would have been so good for her but it wasn’t to be. If that had happened they would have lived here at Wisteria Lodge and I expect I would have moved into the cottage.”
    “The cottage?” Rhianna queried, wondering if this was something else Letitia thought she knew.
    “Yes, I own a cottage in the village. It’s where Laurie used to live a few years back. It’s an idyllic spot but it’s rented out at the moment.”
    Before Rhianna had time to ask her any questions Letitia said, “Now I’m sure you’d like to see some of your grandfather’s paintings and then we might just have time to take a look at your father’s old room before Laurie arrives. There’s a lot of his stuff in it still. I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it.”
    Rhianna followed her grandmother into the dining-room and stood looking at the oil paintings