Blue Skies Over Wildflower Lock (The Wildflower Lock)

Chapter 7

Daisy and Yvonne spent the next two hours poring over maps of canals that spanned the width of Britain, along with photos of the places from Yvonne’s previous travels. She had dozens of booklets containing tide times, lock information and telephone numbers for various marinas.

‘The thing I love about the canals is how nothing changes,’ she said. ‘So many of these places still look the same as the first time I visited them. It’s a miracle, really. Everywhere else, buildings are going up, history coming down, and yet the canals get to stay. Do you know there is a bridge over the canal in Maldon that still has holes in it drilled during the Second World War, just in case they needed to blow it up?’

‘Is that right?’ Daisy didn’t know whether to feel awed or terrified that she was going to be driving the boat under bridges with holes in them.

‘It’s got a very interesting history, you know. Very interesting indeed.’ Yvonne picked up another of the photo albums, only to rest her hand on the top without opening it. For the first time since Daisy had come to the Ariadne, the pair fell into silence.

‘What is it?’ Daisy asked. ‘Is something wrong?’

‘Wrong?’ Yvonne said, before shaking her head. ‘No. No, it just brings back memories, you know. And your dad would’ve liked this. I bet he’d have given anything to be the one talking to you about these routes. Telling you about all the places we’re going to see.’

‘I’m sure he would have,’ Daisy agreed. A slight melancholy had fallen between them, yet before it could form any depth, Yvonne reached forward and took Daisy’s hands.

‘It’s probably very selfish of me, but as he can’t be here with you, I’m glad that I get to do this. It makes me feel a little closer to him, you know?’

Daisy knew exactly what Yvonne meant. And she was equally grateful. Perhaps this time spent together travelling to Slimbridge would be a time for Yvonne to teach Daisy more about her family, her past and, most of all, her father.

‘I need to figure out where I’m going to get business for the coffee shop,’ Daisy said, breaking the nostalgia with practicality. ‘I still need a couple more weeks of trade to have enough to cover me for the winter, which means I need to stop at as many points as we can. Maybe we can do one day travelling, one day opening the shop?’

Yvonne pondered the question with a shrug of her shoulder.

‘Well, it’ll take some planning, but there are definitely a fair few places we can stop, though it might be easier when we’re through London.’

‘Through London?’ Daisy said, her stomach squirming. There were several days travelling between here and the big city, and she was hoping she wouldn’t have to keep the coffee shop closed for more than two days at a time.

‘Don’t worry, there are a couple of places this side too,’ Yvonne assured her. ‘We can stop on Burnham. It’s on the River Crouch, the next estuary along from us. It’s a pretty little place with a nice seawall. I’m sure we’ll get a few customers there. After that, it’ll be Southend. Again, you should manage a bit of business. It’s not going to be quite so grand going through the Dartford Canal, though. You might have to swallow your pride and stay closed there, I’m afraid.’

Daisy nodded. The places Yvonne had mentioned sounded vaguely familiar, but not enough for her to know exactly where she was talking about. Still, it would be fine. Once they were on the canals, they would be limited in the ways they could go. And beneath those flurries of fear were definite bubbles of excitement, too.

‘You’re not allowed to mention anything to Theo, please?’ Daisy said to Yvonne half an hour later as they were packing up the maps and photographs. The longer they’d talked, the more excited she had become, though Daisy was determined not to get ahead of herself. There was still a way to go before they could leave.

‘Don’t be silly,’ Yvonne assured her. ‘And don’t worry about me bringing too much stuff either. One suitcase, that’s all I need. Just my precious bits and bobs. You concentrate on the coffee shop. Get a good couple of days’ sales in. I’ll focus on the rest of it. I’ve got all the information we need here.’ She patted the pile of booklets in front of her. The top was yellow with a torn cover and while Daisy couldn’t read the full title, the words ‘Tidal Thames’ were boldly typed across the centre. ‘I’ll get us there. I just need a couple of days to check times, book some moorings and I’d say we’d be good to go in… three days?’

‘Three days?’ Daisy’s nervousness hitched in her voice as she spoke aloud. Three days – that was absolutely ridiculous. Three days until she left not only Wildflower Lock but the entire canal system she knew. Was she really going to do it?

She answered the question in her mind without a second thought. If she was going to do it, then she needed to do it now. Any later then Theo would be coming down to see her anyway, and they would risk the bad weather.

‘Three days it is,’ she said, before squeezing Yvonne tightly. How she was going to keep this a secret from Theo was a mystery, but that was part of the fun, too, wasn’t it?