The village of Camerton was almost too small to be called a village. Alexis walked the narrow streets, absently turning over the events of the previous day in her mind. She paused in her musings long enough to buy a pack of Lambert & Butler, and to chat with a few long-time residents who hadn't seen her in a while. The pub was closed until eleven, so she strolled down to the village green, where she settled back on the grass and lit a cigarette.

Eight years since she'd been here last. They had been relatively good years, she decided, as she watched the foot traffic pass through and around the green. She'd met some very interesting people, and made some very serious money. The fact that she didn't need to take handouts from her father made her happy. The last thing she wanted was for him to have any further hold over her.

Her shoulder blade itched where he'd had her tattooed in her youth. It always itched when she thought of him. Psychosomatic, she chided herself, and lay back in the grass, staring up at the clouds. The bullfinches were singing in the trees, the late summer sun was warm on her face, and Alexis had to forcibly keep herself from falling asleep. She yawned and hoped her father would be home from the hospital soon. She wanted to get back to the continent, back to her life. Time spent at The Hawthorns always felt like a prison sentence. Even being this short distance from the estate was akin to being out on parole.

The sun was high in the sky when Alexis crushed out her fifth cigarette and sat up. She brushed a few blades of grass from her short black hair and rose to her feet. Elizabeth would likely be expecting her back for lunch. Alexis debated eating at the pub instead, but she didn't want to antagonise her mother. They might not like each other particularly well, but that didn't mean Alexis couldn't be civil.

Gordon was washing the limousine in front of the garage when Alexis walked up the drive. He waved to her, and she waved back. At least there was one friendly face at the estate. Alexis pushed open the front door and took off her coat. She was about to enter the drawing room when she heard her sister's voice.

"You needn't worry about that," Rebecca was saying. "Doctor Phillips gave her some sedatives. She could sleep through a train wreck."

Alexis stopped in the hall and held her breath, listening as Rebecca spoke into the phone.

"No, don't," Rebecca said sharply. "It's not safe. I'll meet you at the old mill." There was a pause. "Oh, I know," she continued, her voice taking on that little-girl whine that Alexis found so grating. "I miss you too, Wolfie." Another pause, and then: "Right. 'Bye."

Alexis carefully opened the front door, and then closed it gently behind herself as she stepped out of the house. She was beginning to understand Gordon's cryptic warning regarding her sister. She walked to the fountain that dominated the centre of the driveway, sat on the edge, and lit a fresh cigarette.

Five minutes later she'd smoked it down to the filter, and was just tossing it away when the door opened and her mother's maid looked out. The girl smiled when she saw Alexis.

"Excuse me, miss," she called. "Dinner is served."

Alexis smiled back and stepped on her dog-end, crushing it under her heel. "Same as usual, eh, Chantal?" she said as the maid took her coat and hung it in the hall closet.

Chantal blushed prettily. "I'm sure I don't know, miss," she said shyly. Alexis raised one eyebrow. "But your mother and sister are waiting at the table." She curtseyed to Alexis and bustled off.

"Ah, there you are, Alexis," Elizabeth said as her daughter entered the dining room. She gestured to an empty chair.

"So good of you to join us," Rebecca added with a smirk.

Alexis glared at her sister and took her seat. The meal was, in fact, the same as usual -- watercress and prawn sandwiches, thin slices of ham, and thick wedges of melon. Some things never changed.

Lunch was as uncomfortable as breakfast had been. Alexis didn't have much of an appetite, Elizabeth did little more than toy with her wineglass, and Rebecca spent most of the meal staring out of the dining room window. It was all just a waiting game.

After lunch, Alexis fled downstairs to the pool. She dug up an old bathing suit and spent most of the afternoon doing laps. It was mindless activity, and gave her a chance to think about the conversation she'd overheard that afternoon. Rebecca was obviously up to something, but how serious was it? Alexis understood the pressure she must be under -- always being monitored, rarely having time to herself -- but this seemed a little reckless.

With a mental shrug, Alexis decided to let it go. Rebecca was just entering her twenties; it was probably one of those 'let's sneak out and snog' things. Even Alexis had indulged in her youth, although when she'd snuck out of the house it was to go scrumping with her friends. For cars, not apples.

At seven o'clock, Alexis showered, dressed, and headed to the dining room where Chantal and Butler were setting the table for supper. Alexis slouched against the door frame and watched them, her hands buried deep in her trouser pockets. She'd just decided to skip the meal completely, when her mother and sister arrived.

"You're early," Elizabeth said. There was a faint note of approval in her voice. Alexis suspected it wouldn't last.

When the three of them had settled in for their meal, and Butler had filled wine glasses all round, the interrogation began.

"So, what are you doing with yourself these days, Alexis?" Elizabeth asked.

Alexis groaned inwardly. "Oh, the usual," she said noncommittally, poking her fork into the lump of cottage pie that occupied most of her plate. The colourful vegetables that accompanied it were overdone and smothered in gravy. She was rapidly losing her appetite.

"Not still fiddling with chocolate, are you?" Elizabeth said, raising one eyebrow.

Alexis stared into her wineglass for a long moment before answering.

"Yes, mother," she said, keeping her voice neutral. "I'm still a chocolatier. Work has been very good lately, in fact." She couldn't resist the dig. Her mother ignored it.

"I don't know why you bother, Alexis," Elizabeth said. She sniffed haughtily. "Your father and I groomed you to be so much more than that. All those years of schooling, and for what?"

Rebecca hid her smirk behind a bite of pie. She was obviously enjoying the inquisition.

"You really should find a nice man and settle down," Elizabeth continued. "Someone like Ian Morgan." She looked at Alexis out of the corner of her eye. "I saw his mother in Bath last week. She says he's opened his own practice in London."

Alexis rolled her eyes. "I'm quite happy being single, mother," she said, still maintaining her neutral tone. "It's much easier to travel without having to worry about --"

"Travel!" her mother said sharply. "You do too much travelling, Alexis. You need to settle in one place and start raising a family. You don't have many more childbearing years left in you, my dear, and it's high time you gave this family a grandchild."

Alexis raised her head slowly and looked at her mother, her eyes narrowing. "I don't like children, mother," she said. "I have no interest in raising a child."

Elizabeth waved dismissively. "Oh, don't be daft, Alexis. That's what nannies and governesses are for. Why, if everyone who didn't like children thought the way you did, there'd be no children at all!"

"I don't see a problem with that," Alexis muttered into her wineglass.

"Your father and I engaged nannies for all of you, and you've turned out just fine," Elizabeth continued.

Oh, sure, Alexis thought. Except that I'm a thief in my spare time, Stephen hasn't bothered to visit you since he left home twenty-five years ago, and Rebecca is a spoiled brat with an Electra complex. "I refuse to have this discussion with you, mother," Alexis said aloud. "I'm not getting married, and I'm not having children. You'll have to depend on Rebecca for that."

Rebecca glared daggers at Alexis as their mother sniffed again.

"Oh, Rebecca has several suitors," Elizabeth said, taking a sip of wine. "We're just trying to decide on the best match for her."

Rebecca flashed a nasty look at her mother and bit down hard on her fork. Alexis raised one eyebrow. So in spite of Rebecca's machinations, their parents were still planning to marry her off to the highest bidder. Very interesting. This information revived Alexis' curiosity about the mysterious phone call she'd overheard that afternoon.

"At least you don't sully the Finch name," Elizabeth was saying. Alexis' eyes sparked with anger. "I would be dreadfully embarrassed if anyone was to connect your little 'business' with your father's empire." She looked at Alexis with something approaching disgust. "If I'd known that you'd turn out this way, I'd never have allowed Paulette to teach you how to cook."

Alexis slammed her fork onto the table and stood up. Her chair fell back onto the floor, and her mother's eyes widened. Even Rebecca's mouth fell open in amazement. At the far end of the room, Butler raised his eyebrows almost imperceptibly, but his face remained impassive.

"This is not a conversation I wish to have, mother," Alexis said icily. She stepped away from the table. "Until you're prepared to entertain the notion that I'm a responsible adult with a successful life of my own, we've nothing more to discuss." She stalked out of the dining room, leaving her mother and sister to stare after her in stunned silence.