Read Acacia - Secrets of an African Painting Page 42

  Chapter 1

  The Present

  The previous day’s events weighed heavily on Charles’ mind, but he didn’t know yet that their outcome would change his life forever.

  Sitting here in his upstairs office in the old cottage, he felt calm. The nervous energy had gone, but he still felt tense and it was that feeling he concentrated on for the moment, pondering its presence and more pointedly its source.

  Susan and Arnold had immediately pooh-poohed his concerns, telling him that he was just feeling a bit out of sorts, that’s all. ‘The old duffer had deserved it and it was about time someone stood up to him. No problem that a stiff drink and a good game of golf wouldn’t sort out.’ But he knew it was going to take more than that, a lot more than that actually.

  Lily was more forgiving of peoples’ weaknesses and had been there for him as soon as she had heard, a little too quickly for his liking to be honest and the source of yet another potential issue to be resolved at some point in the future.

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