Blue Skies Over Wildflower Lock (The Wildflower Lock)

Chapter 29

A telephone call before bed was part of Daisy and Theo’s routine, and usually it was one of Daisy’s favourite parts of the day. She would hang up the phone, feeling like a teenager utterly besotted by her first crush. But that night, when Daisy had finally got to sleep, the only feeling filling her had been guilt.

She had known the telephone call wasn’t going to be as easy as normal, given how much she couldn’t tell him and the fact her lungs were practically bursting with the urge to recall all her adventures so far. Daisy could just imagine the way Theo would have laughed if she’d been able to tell him about being rescued from the marshes, once he’d got over being mad at her for walking off in the early hours of the morning, that was. Or how he would have comforted her after the whole tiller incident. But not telling him things was far easier than the lying she had to do.

The first lie was only a small one. She had told him she’d been painting, and he’d asked to see her work. Given that the painting was almost finished, she’d flicked the camera around to show him the artwork of the dog.

‘He looks cute,’ Theo said. ‘Where did you see him?’

‘Oh… uhm, yes… He was just around…’

Daisy cursed herself. It was a ridiculously vague response and she was sure Theo was going to question her further, but instead, he changed the conversation entirely.

‘I forgot to ask you,’ he said as if he’d just remembered something. ‘Have you seen my watch?’

‘Your watch?’

‘Yeah, I’ve searched the Escape and I can’t find it. I think I might have left it when I came and saw you.’

Daisy shook her head. ‘No, I’ve not seen it. Sorry.’

‘Could you check down the side of the bed? It might have slipped off the bedside table. That’s the only thing I can think of.’

‘Oh, sure,’ Daisy said, grateful that they were no longer talking about the dog.

‘Thank you. I don’t suppose you could check now, could you?’

‘Now?’ Daisy blinked. Yvonne was already tucked up in bed and had been for quite some time. There was no way Daisy could just go rummaging around in there while she was asleep.

‘It’s not expensive, but it was a twenty-first birthday present and if it’s not there, I need to figure out where else I could have left it,’ Theo said. ‘I’ll be gutted if it slipped off my wrist while I was working, but I don’t see how it could have done. I’m sure it has to be in your cabin somewhere.’

‘Right, yes, sure…’ Daisy said, still struggling to work out how she was going to do this. ‘I was about to head to bed, anyway, so why don’t we say goodnight and I’ll message you if I find it?’ Her voice sounded stoic and awkward and she was certain Theo would hear it too, but instead, he smiled gratefully. An act which only caused Daisy’s guilt to deepen.

‘Sure thing. Thank you. And I’ll speak to you tomorrow?’

‘Absolutely.’

‘Love you.’

‘I love you too.’

If Daisy had thought the guilt would end when she hung up the phone, she was very wrong. She then had to send a message to Theo saying she’d looked for the watch – which she hadn’t – and had not been able to find it. Then, to make matters worse, when she’d finally got to check the next morning when Yvonne was up, she found it in less than a minute, meaning she had to send Theo another message. No matter how pleased she felt that she’d found the watch for him, it didn’t make up for the series of lies she was now piling on top of one another, and the guilt she felt with every one. Although lying to Theo was only one of her current issues.

‘What are you still doing here?’ Daisy asked as she pulled back the curtain to find a now familiar brown and white face standing by the boat. The minute he heard her voice, he thumped his tail. With a slight groan, Daisy fixed herself her morning coffee before she headed outside the way she normally did. Only that morning, she had company.

‘You didn’t spend all night here, did you?’ she said as she offered the dog a quick rub on his head. There was no sign of a collar, but in the countryside like this, she knew that didn’t mean much. He could easily have an owner who wasn’t that worried about him running off, although where that owner lived was another question entirely. Taking a long sip of her drink, Daisy scoured the scenery. He had to belong to one of the nearby boats, she decided. Maybe someone who worked at the marina; that would make sense.

‘I’m afraid you’re going to have to find someone else to throw your stones for you,’ Daisy said, feeling guilty for a moment. He looked so happy every time she went to pick one up. ‘We’re going this morning. High tide and all that. I’ve got a boy I need to go and see, and he’s very nice.’

Given how quiet the dog had been up until that point, his sudden bark caused Daisy to jump. For a split second, she thought that perhaps his owner had appeared, but the animal was looking directly at the September Rose.

A moment later, Yvonne stepped onto the stern.

‘What a racket,’ she said, looking at the dog and frowning. ‘It’s way too early for that. Go on with you.’ She waved her hands wildly. ‘Go. Where’s your home? Go home, will you?’

The dog barked once more, but rather than leaving as Yvonne had gestured for him to do, he simply looked at Daisy.

‘I think he’s after a bit of company,’ Daisy explained. ‘He wanted to play with me yesterday, too. Though he didn’t bark like that.’

‘Obviously, he can tell I won’t give him any treats,’ Yvonne replied, looking at the dog for a moment longer before she turned her full attention to Daisy. ‘We need to get going, though. They don’t man the bridge all day.’

‘Man the bridge?’ Daisy was confused by the statement. Why did a bridge need manning? Her attention was now drawn away from the dog and back to the day ahead.

It didn’t take long for her to find out. Within twenty minutes, the September Rose was pulling away from its mooring. Thankfully, there was no sign of the brown collie; Daisy didn’t have time to worry about a dog she didn’t know. She had enough of her own worries to deal with.

There were so many river names, it was hard to keep track of where they were, and at that precise moment – according to Yvonne – they were currently on a creek as opposed to a river or an estuary, although what the differences were, Daisy really wasn’t sure. Perhaps, she thought, she should have ordered some sort of guide to help, but maybe she’d be able to pick one up at one the marina. With her piles and piles of notebooks and guides, however, she was sure Yvonne had enough for the both of them.

The bridge in question was long and grey and the only route between Foulness Island – which seemed unfairly named given how attractive the area was – and the mainline. It was also the first bridge Daisy had ever gone under that raised up to allow boats to pass.

‘They look very serious,’ Daisy commented as she waved to the man on the bridge. He might have still been a way off, but it looked like he was scowling at her.

‘MOD,’ Yvonne replied.

‘MOD?’

‘Military of Defence. All very hush-hush here. My Harry had some ideas of what went on, you know, testing… That type of thing, but never been too sure. Happens all around here.’

‘Oh,’ Daisy said, not sure how else to reply. Yvonne had knowingly had them stay the night at a military testing zone and had not said anything. Next time, she would ask her what exactly went on in the locations they were staying.

As they headed through to the mouth of the river, Yvonne looked at Daisy with a wide smile on her face. So wide, Daisy was almost certain she was missing something important.

‘What is it?’ she asked.

‘I just thought you might want to get your phone out, that’s all. Take a snap.’

‘A snap?’

‘A photo. You can paint it and put it in that diary of yours.’

Daisy looked at the view again. It was certainly pretty. Blue skies, fluffy, white clouds, an immense amount of water. Yes, it was pretty, but no prettier than any other of the views she had seen over the forty-eight hours. And she really wanted to save her paintings for the best things she saw each day.

‘I think you might be missing the importance of this moment,’ Yvonne said as she steered the September Rose out of the creek to join the far, far wider mass of water in front of them. ‘This is it.’

‘It?’ Daisy questioned, still not sure what Yvonne was talking about.

‘The Thames. This is it. The very start of the mouth of the great river. From here on, it’s one straight line to London. Well, almost.’