8 Chapter 8

“I’ll have some in a bit.” Her mouth twitched and she twisted the watch on her left wrist. “I’m going to need a bit of time this morning. I need to shower and, well—” she pursed her lips “—my morning routine takes a while.”

“Oh, okay. I’m happy sitting here.” Anika looked away but I thought I saw a frown flicker across her brow. “Or I could take a walk?”

“Good idea,” she said, “it’s a lovely day for it. David likes to do the hill walk in the mornings. It’s not suitable for me, so he goes alone while I sort myself out. It starts just over there.” She pointed uphill. “There’s a track to the right of that big oak, see?”

I couldn’t see anything that looked like a track but I spotted the oak and Anika obviously wanted time alone. Morning routine…What did that mean? Not wanting to pry, I finished my breakfast and trotted to my room to change clothes.