Bitter Legacy [antikvár]

Chapter One High above the Pacific the great white house rode on the cliff top like a ship at anchor. From the sea it seemed to slumber in the blazing midday sun, resting serenely on its wide green lawns against the shelter of the tall trees behind. But the coast road had been busy with approaching cars all morning, and now the party was in full swing. 'Happy, darling?' 'Happy? Just try me.' 'I would - if there weren't so many people here.' Dan Marshall surveyed his guests ruefully. 'Why did we decide to do this? Why didn't we just slip away on our own and celebrate privately?' 'Do you mean to say,' said the woman at his side in mock severity, 'that you have me all to yourself for the whole year and yet begrudge a few hours spent with our friends and family? Dr Marshall, I'm ashamed of you!' And Stephanie threw back her head to laugh at Dan's discomfiture. 'It's not that,' protested Dan. 'Not really, anyway. It's just that if anyone else shakes my hand and tells me what a lucky chap I am, I swear I'll dot him one, that's all! Of course, I know I am lucky,' he added hastily, seeing a teasing frown begin on Stephanie's face. 'I could just do without being told so all the time.' 'Would it make you feel better,' said Stephanie, suddenly serious, 'if I told you that as far as I'm concerned, the luck is all on my side? That I can't imagine life without you? That the last seven years have been the happiest I've ever known?' Dan looked down lovingly into the earnest blue eyes fixed anxiously on him. 'Happy anniversary, Mrs Marshall,' he whispered. 'Here's to the next seven years — and