Chapter 154: The Master´s Wife´s Birthday, Part 2, Birthday Dinner

BETH

“So where are we going?”

“Spoilers...” Richard grins at me, looking indecently pleased with himself.

“And why are you driving instead of Ross?”

He shakes his head. “Ah-ah...”

As we turn off the highway up to the mountains, the penny drops. “We´re going to James´ place? Michael and Charlotte´s house?”

He looks smug. “Yup. We´re having dinner there.”

“Oh, lovely. That´s great. But why the secrecy?”

He simply looks smug, saying nothing, meeting my eyes for a moment, mouth twitching, before turning his attention back to the road.

The drive is amazing. The lovely road winds up the mountain and past the lake, with the late afternoon sunshine drawing brilliant ripples across the surface. Clouds scud across a sky which fades from azure to a pale opal on the horizon. Squadrons of electric blue dragonfly´s zig-zag through rushes, landing on lily pads, iridescent against the brilliant green.