Don't Marry Thomas Clark by Celia Hayes

the corridor.’
    â€˜Don’t tell me it’s…’
    â€˜I won’t tell you then,’ says Frank, standing aside and allowing Thomas to see for himself just how serious things are. At that moment, Cameron Hill appears at the door, wearing a pinstriped suit and a friendly face.
    â€˜May I come in?’ he asks politely.
    â€˜Please do! What a pleasant surprise!’ says Frank, trying to appear as jovial as possible. Thomas, who is standing by the bookshelf, looks as though he’s about to pass out. He grabs hold of one of the shelves and nods, while his face slowly turns a worryingly mouldy green.
    â€˜I hope I’m not interrupting you,’ the notary continues as he walks to the centre of the room, black briefcase in hand. ‘I should have warned you I was coming, I know, but no matter how many times I rang I just couldn’t get through. Ah, I see Mister Clark is here too! Now, I had been told that you would be dealing with the paperwork for the Clark estate – can you confirm that, Mr Wright?’
    â€˜Yes…’
    â€˜Marvellous! There are a few documents which urgently need signing, and that is the only reason I took the liberty of turning up without an appointment.’
    This is what you might call bad timing: they are expecting Sandy to arrive at any moment, and Cameron Hill is the last person on Earth Miss Price should meet.
    â€˜Of course, of course – no problem at all,’ Frank assures him, ‘I’m only sorry that I’m so very busy. I’m right in the middle of a rather important negotiation and I’m afraid I can only give you a few minutes. There’s no way we could postpone all this to tomorrow morning, is there? We could be at your office by eleven, couldn’t we?’ he looks at Thomas’ pallid face for confirmation.
    â€˜Oh, that won’t be necessary – it’ll only take a minute,’ answers Mr Hill, and starts searching among the documents in his briefcase. ‘By the way…’ he remembers distractedly, ‘did you manage to contact Miss Price?’
    â€˜We did,’ answers Frank promptly. ‘It was easier than we’d thought.’
    â€˜Very good,’ he says approaching the desk, a satisfied expression on his face. ‘So when are you planning to move to Canterbury?’ he asks Thomas directly.
    Seeing his friend hesitate, Frank steps in and answers for him. ‘Unfortunately, Miss Price is in the US for work and doesn’t seem particularly interested in coming back to the UK. I think she might already be involved with someone. Didn’t she tell you she was about to get married?’ he asks, pretending to have forgotten.
    â€˜She did, yes!’ continues Thomas, taking a couple of steps towards the other two. ‘I won’t hide the fact that I was very upset to discover that I wouldn’t be able to fulfil my grandfather’s conditions. It breaks my heart to think I won’t be able to grant his last wishes,’ he confesses sorrowfully, coming over all Saint Sebastian, that martyr who, though pierced with many arrows, bore his agony in dignified, melancholic resignation.
    There are a couple of light knocks on the door and it opens with a creak.
    â€˜Mister Wright, Miss Price just arrived – shall I send her in?’ says Margaret, appearing in the doorway.
    â€˜What a magnificent coincidence!’ Cameron cries happily.
    â€˜It can’t be Miss Price, Margaret. Check again!’ cuts in Frank, giving her a wink.
    â€˜I assure you, it is Miss Price.’
    â€˜Mister Wright, what are you waiting for? Let her in,’ the notary urges, before turning to the heir. ‘Thomas, you look a bit peaky, why don’t you have a seat? Are you feeling well?’
    â€˜It must be the heat. I feel a little faint.’
    â€˜It’s certainly got a lot hotter since last weekend.’
    â€˜So shall I send her in?’ asks