Read To Perish in Penzance for Free Online

face hurt and tried to say the right things, but when Mr. Boleigh finally let us off our leashes and the buffet dinner was announced, I was glad to tug Alan to the serving line. Alexis, at that point, was captured by five of the youngest men in the room and borne off to a small table, where she sat with two of them while the other three went off to fetch food and get back as soon as they possibly could.
    Mr. Boleigh’s “bit of a buffet” was set out on long tables at the end of the ballroom. Gigantic ice sculptures reflected the hundreds of lightbulbs in the chandeliers. Huge silver trays of roast beef and shrimp and smoked salmon and cheese and fruit and dozens of dishes I couldn’t name overwhelmed the senses.
    â€œBearing up, love?” Alan asked quietly.
    â€œJust about,” I replied. “I’ll be better when I get some food in me. It’s hot in here, and I drank too much champagne too fast.”
    â€œYou’re not finding much to eat,” he said, observing my plate.
    â€œI know. There’s too much to choose from. After a while it stops being tempting. Like working in a chocolate factory.”
    â€œHave some Stilton, then. Cheese is good for counteracting alcohol. I’m sorry about the Old Boy reunion sort of thing, by the way. I ought to have known.”
    So he saw it the same way I did. That was comforting. “It’s all right. But were all these people really your dearest friends?”
    â€œHeavens, I barely remember any of them except Ben Clarey. The cellist,” he amplified. “He was only fourteen or fifteen when I left Penzance, but already playing with the local quartet and making a name for himself as something of a child prodigy. Now he’s with this London group. If the other three are as good as he is, we’ve a treat in store.
    â€œThe rest, well, they simply think I’m a local boy made good, and they’re basking in a reflected glory which is purely imaginary, I assure you.”
    â€œThe superintendent was very complimentary.”
    â€œHe’s a nice chap,” Alan admitted. “From a police family. His grandfather was the super here when I first joined the force, and when the old man retired, the job passed on to his son. Now young Colin holds the reins, and I suspect he’ll make as good a job of it as his father and grandfather did before him. I beg your pardon, but are these seats taken?”
    The last was addressed to the others at the nearest table. They shook their heads and smiled, and then one of the women took a closer look at Alan as we sat down. “I don’t imagine you’ll remember me, Mr. Nesbitt, but—” And he was off again, trying to keep afloat on a tide of reminiscences, many of which might have existed only in the mind of the teller.
    That was when Lexa drifted away from her tableful of admirers, pulled up a chair next to me, and sat down with her glass and plate. The men at our table, including Alan, leapt to their feet at her arrival. Most of them were roughly our age and would probably have stood up for any woman, English manners being what they are, but I doubted they would have moved quite as fast for anyone but the ravishing Lexa.
    She distributed dazzling smiles all around and then devoted her attention to me. “I thought you looked stranded,” she murmured.
    â€œI felt that way. But weren’t you having a good time?”
    She shrugged delicately. “I suppose. Men are all alike, aren’t they?”
    â€œNo,” I said.
    â€œOh, well …” She glanced at Alan, who was once more submerged in conversation, and made a face. “Perhaps not all.” She picked up a fork and toyed with her food.
    â€œCheer up. You’re too young to be cynical about life.”
    â€œWhat would you like to wager on that?” She turned to her champagne glass, which was filled with something that looked like her usual water, sparkling this