Lady of Fortune (85 page)

The week before he resigned so abruptly from Watson's, Merrit took Effie out on a rare visit to a restaurant, Andre's of Beverly Hills. They were driving quietly in Merritt's new Rolls Corniche along Wilshire Boulevard when Effie touched his hand, and said, without thinking, ‘You know, Merritt, you look 30 much like your grandfather Alisdair.'

Merrit had allowed the Rolls-Royce to coast gradually to a standstill, right in the middle of the road. Ignoring the irate horns blaring behind him, he stared at Effie and said, ‘Alisdair was my grandfather?'

Effie suddenly understood that she had let out a secret that was over sixty years old; a secret which she had sworn to herself she would never reveal to anyone. She found herself unable to speak; unable to think; unable to do anything but stare back at him with such terrible anguish.

‘Oh my God,' she said at last. Then, ‘Oh my God, I'm sorry.'

Graham Masterton (born 1946, Edinburgh) is a British horror author. Originally editor of Mayfair and the British edition of Penthouse, Graham Masterton's first novel The
Manitou
was published in 1976 and adapted for the film in 1978.

Further works garnered critical acclaim, including a Special Edgar award by the Mystery Writers of America for
Charnel House
and a Silver Medal by the West Coast Review of Books for
Mirror
. He is also the only non-French winner of the prestigious Prix Julia Verlanger for his novel
Family Portrait
, an imaginative reworking of the Oscar Wilde novel
The Picture of Dorian Gray
.

Masterton's novels often contain visceral sex and horror. In addition to his novels, Masterton has written a number of sex instruction books, including
How to Drive Your Man Wild in Bed
and
Wild Sex for New Lovers
.

Discover books by Graham Masterton published by Bloomsbury Reader at
www.bloomsbury.com/GrahamMasterton

Burial
Corroboree
Feelings of Fear
Holy Terror
House of Bones
Lady of Fortune
The Hell Candidate

For copyright reasons, any images not belonging to the original author have been
removed from this book. The text has not been changed, and may still contain
references to missing images.

This electronic edition published in 2013 by Bloomsbury Reader
Bloomsbury Reader is a division of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 50 Bedford Square,
London WC1B 3DP
First published in Great Britain 1984 by Hamish Hamilton
Copyright © 1984 Graham Masterton
All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise
make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means
(including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying,
printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the
publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The moral right of the author is asserted.
eISBN: 9781448210930
Visit
www.bloomsburyreader.com
to find out more about our authors and their books
You will find extracts, author interviews, author events and you can
sign up for
newsletters
to be the first to hear about our latest releases and special offers.