The Ten Commandments Read Online Free

pressed the bell. It was eleven months since they'd seen each other, and a lot had happened to both of them.
    It was still warm; the sun was low in the sky, bathing the park behind her with its rich light. A game of tennis was in progress, and the plop of balls and the occasional call of 'Out!' reached her as she waited.
    Then the door opened and Gwen stood there, squinting in the sunlight which gilded her face – Gwen, just as she'd always been, with her tall, gawky frame and the strands of hair escaping from their French pleat to curl endearingly on her neck.
    'Hannah! You're a gem to do this! How lovely to see you!' She clasped Hannah awkwardly to her, endangering the basket of food which she held.
    'Welcome home, Gwen! What a long time it's been!'
    'Come in. Isn't it hot? Just like a Canadian summer.'
    They went together into the little hall, dark-seeming after the evening light outside, and, by tacit agreement, made for the kitchen. The table-top was almost invisible under a pile of mail and free newspapers, and Hannah perforce laid her basket on a counter.
    'I'm afraid there's rather an odd smell,' Gwen said apologetically, 'due, I suppose, to the house being shut up for so long, though Beatrice did come in to air it.' She shot Hannah a glance. 'She tells me you've seen quite a bit of each other over the last twelve months.'
    'We – met at various functions.’
    'And also on less congenial occasions?'
    But Hannah was not yet ready to discuss the deaths of a member of staff and a school governor during Gwen's absence, both in distressing circumstances.
    'I'll put the wine and food in the fridge, shall I, till we're ready for them? It's salad – I didn't think you'd want anything hot on an evening like this.'
    'No, indeed, and your salads are so special. Unlike mine, which, as you know to your cost, are simply bits of lettuce and tomato thrown on to a plate.'
    'Have you seen your mother yet?' Hannah asked, disconcertingly aware of the need to make conversation.
    'No, I was shattered when I got home and went straight to bed. I spoke to her on the phone, though. Bea suggested not bringing her back till tomorrow, to give me time to settle in.'
    Old Mrs Rutherford had lived with Gwen for as long as Hannah could remember – or perhaps it was Gwen who lived with her. During the sabbatical, she had stayed with her elder daughter and son-in-law. Hannah gathered from John Templeton, who was also the school doctor, that the old lady's eyesight was troublesome, and wondered anxiously how that would affect Gwen.
    I thought we might have a drink on the terrace,' Gwen was continuing. It's still warm, though the sun's moved off it.'
    'That'd be lovely.'
    'What will you have? Duty-free gin and tonic?'
    'Sounds perfect.'
    Hannah watched her pour the drinks, splashing tonic water over the mail in a typically 'Gwen' fashion. She never failed to marvel that this gauche woman with the diffident brown eyes was in reality a brilliant academic with a will of iron. Many was the parent, Hannah reflected, who, to his cost, had underestimated the headmistress of Ashbourne School for Girls.
    'You carry the glasses – I'd only spill them – and I'll go ahead and open doors.'
    They walked back into the hall and through the familiar sitting-room, which, as Gwen had said, did smell a trifle musty. She bent to unbolt the old-fashioned French windows and pushed them wide. Out on the narrow stone terrace was a wooden bench and a rickety iron table which, to Hannah's mind, could have done with a good scrub. No doubt at least a year's grime coated it, but Gwen didn't seem to notice. She sank down on the bench with a sigh, stretching out her long legs.
    'Home sweet home!'
    'Are you glad to be back?' Hannah asked her.
    'Oh, I think so, though I hated leaving Canada.'
    'From your letters, you seemed to have a busy social life.'
    'Yes, there was always something going on.'
    'And you liked the school?' Hannah prompted.
    'It was excellent;