Time to Pay by Lyndon Stacey Page A

How did it go?’ Eve asked, leaning forward to kiss Gideon on the cheek. ‘Sorry I couldn’t make it.’
    â€˜The service went OK, but there was a bit of a drama afterwards,’ he said, going on to tell her about the break-in at the farm. ‘Actually, I’ve just been talking to Giles. I’ve got to take the Merc back, and he wondered if we’d like to come to supper – both of us.’
    â€˜That’s kind of him,’ she said in her rich, musical voice. ‘What time?’
    The evening was as pleasant as it could be, following, as it did, on the heels of such a day. They dined ‘in state’ as Giles dubbed it, in the wood-panelled dining room, with candles for light and a CD of Gregorian chants playing softly in the background.
    Eve, a child of the Sixties, was dressed, as often, in long flowing garments of Indian cottons and silks, this evening in gold and amber, which lent her whole being a kind of ethereal glow in the soft light. Around her neck hung a huge red and gold pendant, and countless bangles and bracelets jangled on her wrists. Gideon thought she lookedlike a dancer from some Eastern land, and felt a warm contentment that it was
his
bed she was sharing, that night.
    Lloyd
was
there but, for once, his presence didn’t grate on Gideon. He seemed a little preoccupied, and Gideon wondered if it was reaction to the service, overindulgence at the wake, or a combination of the two. Pippa sat next to him, her jeans and lambswool jumper a sharp contrast to Eve’s ethnic finery. Gideon caught her eyes on the older woman a couple of times, and wondered what she was thinking. Being based primarily on a mutual sexual attraction, his four-month-old relationship with Eve was mostly a thing of the night, and it was pretty much the first time Giles and his sister had had a chance to get to know her properly.
    The conversation during the first course was inclined to dwell on the events of the day, but as the lamb pasties were polished off and fruit salad passed round, Giles changed the subject to that of his latest business venture.
    After years of flirting with first one outrageous idea, then another, he had finally come up with a possible winner. The Graylings estate had, amongst many other resources, several acres of extremely productive orchards, said to have been planted by the Franciscan brothers who’d inhabited the original priory, long since gone. A certain amount of scrumpy cider had always been made, but a foray into the world of winemaking had led to Giles blending apple juice with the grapes from the age-old vines in the greenhouses, and developing a light, sparkling apple wine that he was now preparing tolaunch onto the market under the name Graylings Sparkler.
    They had, in fact, been drinking Sparkler with their meal, and to Giles’ delight, Eve, who had a far more discerning palate than the rest of them, had pronounced herself agreeably surprised.
    â€˜To be honest, I expected it to be nothing more than a glorified cider,’ she admitted. ‘But it’s really rather good. There’s grape in there too, isn’t there?’
    â€˜Just a little.’
    â€˜It works,’ she said, and Gideon knew that she wouldn’t have said it unless she meant it.
    â€˜I’ll buy a case,’ Lloyd agreed, nodding.
    Pippa gave him a dig in the ribs. ‘You’d buy anything remotely alcoholic,’ she said, laughing.
    â€˜You make me sound like some old soak,’ he protested. ‘I only buy what I like – it’s just that I tend to like most things.’
    â€˜So how are you planning to promote this?’ Eve enquired of Giles, ignoring the other two.
    Given this invitation, Giles immediately started to run through his plans for the launch and marketing of the wine, which kicked off with a grand reception at the Priory in just over a week’s time.
    â€˜You’ve invited the press and local hoteliers, I