Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist

other across the candlelight. At the end of the meal, he would reach across the table and take her hand. An electric current would pass between them. Silently he would lead her up to her room and then . . . and then . . .
    She jerked out of her dream with an effort. It was now eight o’clock and James was always punctual.
    When she stood at the entrance to the dining-room, the noise hit her full in the face. It was Saturday night and a belly-dancer was performing. Everyone was clapping her and cheering and laughing.
    And then she saw James. He was not sitting at the table she had reserved for them but at a table in the centre of the dining-room – with Rose, Olivia, Harry, George, Angus and Trevor. They waved to her and she went reluctantly to join them.
    ‘We heard your fellah asking the metter dee for Mrs Raisin’s table,’ shouted Rose, ‘so we says, she’s a friend of ours. Come and join the party. Park your bum next to Trevor and we’ll have some wine.’
    Agatha looked desperately at James but he was talking to Olivia. She tried to talk to Trevor, but the noise of the music was so loud that she gave up. How was Olivia managing to cope? Probably braying as usual.
    The belly-dancer approached their table and Trevor asked her to dance on it for them, which she promptly did. But she was joined by Rose, who climbed up on the table as well and began gyrating beside the belly-dancer. Agatha closed her eyes to block out the sight, for Rose was wearing a very short, fringed dress and no knickers.
    At last, with a roll of drums, the belly-dancer swayed out of the restaurant and the music fell silent.
    ‘That was a bit of all right, hey, James,’ said Rose, batting her eyelashes at him.
    ‘Not enough belly,’ said James. ‘Too thin.’
    ‘That’s why you like old Aggie,’ shrieked Rose. ‘Good armful.’
    Agatha’s glass of wine trembled in her hand. She was restraining herself from throwing the contents into Rose’s face.
    James began talking to Olivia and George. It seemed they had friends in common, which left Agatha to talk to Rose, Trevor and Angus.
    ‘So what’ve you bin doing today, Agatha?’ asked Rose.
    ‘We went to rent a villa together,’ said Agatha stiffly.
    ‘Fast worker, Aggie,’ said Rose.
    ‘She isn’t the only one,’ said Trevor, his voice thick with drink.
    ‘I wasn’t talking about Agatha. I was talking about James,’ said Rose. ‘How did you meet him, Agatha?’
    ‘We solved several murder cases together,’ said Agatha. ‘He’s my neighbour.’
    Rose’s eyes sharpened. ‘After we ’ad that talk on the boat, I remembered something. It came back to me. You two were about to get married when your husband turned up at the wedding. Read it in the papers and laughed myself silly. You’re a character, Agatha.’
    ‘And I wonder a lot about people,’ said Agatha in a thin voice. ‘I often wonder, for example, why some clever women insist on behaving like stupid sluts.’
    There was a silence. James had paused in his conversation with Olivia and had heard Agatha’s remark. So had Olivia, and her eyebrows had risen to her hairline.
    And then Trevor said, ‘I’ve often noticed the same thing. That’s why I’m lucky I’ve got Rose. She’s always just herself.’
    ‘Yes,’ said Angus portentously, ‘with Rose, what you see is what you get.’
    Rose winked at Agatha, who immediately felt ashamed of herself. ‘Let’s have another couple of bottles of wine on me,’ she said.
    This was hailed with cheers and only then did Agatha regret her generosity. With the exception of James, the party began to get drunk. They had already drunk a copious amount, and Agatha’s gift tipped them over the edge.
    Agatha began to wonder if she could manage to persuade James to go somewhere after the meal for a quiet coffee. There was a pleasant outdoor café along from the hotel. They would sit there and chat. They would . . .
    ‘The night is young,’ cried Rose, her face flushed and her eyes glittering. ‘There’s disco along the coast. Let’s boogie.’
    Agatha pleaded with her eyes at James, but he made no move to protest. She opened her mouth to say she was tired, she wanted to go to bed. But Olivia smiled at James and said, ‘Good idea. First dance with me, James.’
    Agatha tightened her lips. Olivia was wearing a jade-green silk shift and a jade necklace. She kept bending forward every time she spoke to James, letting the cleavage of her dress droop. He must be able