When he saw her get out of her car he turned to sidle through into the house but she called out to him, darting swiftly across the strip of drive. 'What do you think you're doing?' Her voice wasn't loud, so much as sharp. He faced her—a slim child , in jeans and patterned shirt. 'I'm Tom Marriner, and I'm waiting for my father!' He met her eye defiantly at first and then looked away, pulling at the front of his shirt. 'I see.' So this was Alex's son. 'Why spoil the clematis?' she asked, aware now of a mumble of voices coming from the sitting-room. 'I got bored.' 'That's no excuse, is it?' The voices were getting louder: her grandmother and Alex were coming out. Swift as lightning, Anna stopped and scooped up the severed flower-heads and thrust them into her pocket, noticing Tom go red as she did so—and serve him damn well right. 'Oh, Anna, there you are!' Prue was all smiles. 'Alex has brought me the Japanese prints, and they're exactly what I wanted...
