Blue Skies Over Wildflower Lock (The Wildflower Lock)

Chapter 43

Experiencing the Thames from aboard the September Rose, hurtling along at an unexpected speed, was an experience like no other. Without the familiar hum of the engine filling her ears, Daisy found herself in a new state of heightened awareness. Until that point, she hadn’t appreciated just how accustomed she had become to the background soundtrack of the previous part of the journey – the engine, the birds and seagulls squawking, the occasional chatter of passers-by or cars and lorries from nearby roads. All these sounds had blended together, forming a symphony that, to Daisy, was as comforting as a hot chocolate or watching a horror film under a blanket on a cosy night. Now, however, the absence of the engine’s drone felt like an all-consuming silence. A void. Had she made the right call?

They had slowed slightly. However, the gap between the September Rose and the barge in front was still decreasing.

‘I don’t think I’m allowed to pass him, am I?’ Daisy said. She’d been learning the rules on the canals by Wildflower Lock as she went, but this was a commercial river. There were other rules to remember, and right now, she wasn’t sure she could stick to them.

‘What choice do you have? Either you pass him, or you hit him,’ Yvonne replied unhelpfully.

Daisy could feel her breath growing shallower and shallower. Yvonne was right; it was either break the rules of the river or crash. When put like that, it was a fairly easy decision.

‘I think you should steer,’ Daisy suggested, her hand trembling on the tiller. ‘You’ll handle this better.’

But Yvonne only shook her head. ‘No, it’s fine. My arms have been a bit achy this morning. You go ahead. I’ll go fetch us a cup of tea.’

‘A cup of tea?’ The mere thought made Daisy feel nauseous, but she knew this technique of Yvonne’s. It was a ploy. A ruse to convince Daisy she was capable of doing things by herself. Well, she didn’t need to play any games. What she needed was Yvonne’s support.

Just then, the dog barked at her feet. When she looked down, he was staring straight at her. His gaze was intent, not hostile or frightened, but steady. There was reassurance in his eyes. She could do this. She had to do this. Determined, she shook her hand out, letting go of the tiller with her right hand for a moment before swapping it for her left. She then grasped the throttle, preparing herself for the moment. All she needed to do was speed up and pass the barge as quickly as possible, just like she would when overtaking a car on the road.

‘I think it’s probably best if you stay here,’ Daisy said to Yvonne, newfound confidence seeping into her voice. ‘Things might get choppy. I’d hate it if you broke another of my mugs. Or another of your toes, for that matter.’

A slight smile rose at the corner of Yvonne’s lips.

‘Come on, then, skipper. Let’s see what you’ve got.’

With a deep breath, Daisy removed her hand from the throttle, placed it on the horn and let out one long blast. When she let go, she restarted the engine and replaced her hand on the throttle. The September Rose surged in response, the gap between her and the encroaching barge rapidly decreasing. This was just like any other vehicle on the canal, she reminded herself, as she prepared to steer the boat to the left. She would leave herself plenty of room, and everything would be fine.

With another deep breath, she pulled out and pushed down on the throttle, but just as she adjusted her course, a Thames cruiser zipped past her. The wake splashed against the side of the September Rose. The cold spray doused both Daisy and the dog, but somehow missed Yvonne, who had jumped to the other side of the stern.

‘Idiots!’ Daisy yelled after them. The distraction had, unfortunately, allowed the September Rose to drift uncomfortably close to the barge.

‘You don’t want to get too close to that thing,’ Yvonne advised, sounding annoyingly nonchalant. ‘It could squash us in an instant.’

Grinding her teeth, Daisy tried to block out Yvonne’s comment. All she could focus on was the river and her boat.

Another barge was coming up on the other side, albeit much, much slower. That would be okay; she would pass this one first, and then she could deal with the second one. She just needed to maintain her nerve. And she did, expertly navigating the September Rose parallel to the enormous barge. The ant analogy had been spot on, she realised, as they were lost in the shadow of the gargantuan vessel, which was full of bright-yellow stacked containers.

‘You’re doing well,’ Yvonne said, her desperate need for tea forgotten, though Daisy wasn’t sure whether there was a question mark at the end of her sentence or a hint of surprise. Either way, she didn’t have time to decipher it. She was too focused on moving past the barge as quickly as she could. Her hair splayed out behind her as she drew level with the trawler. A crew of three were upfront and offered her a brief wave as she passed, but she didn’t respond. She wasn’t being rude; she just couldn’t let anything break her concentration.

With the tugboat slipping behind them, Daisy carried on. The last thing she wanted to do was underestimate the barge’s speed and slip back in front of it too soon. Not when she had come this far. And so she continued on further.

Finally, she looked over her shoulder and saw the trawler well behind them. Relief washed over her and she turned to Yvonne, a wide grin spreading across her face.

‘Wow!’ The flood of adrenaline was enough to make her breathless. ‘That was crazy. I mean, really crazy, wasn’t it? God, I should have got you to film it. Theo is never going to believe I did that. Maybe if we need to overtake one again, you can video it?’ Her cheeks were aching, and she was so excited, she’d almost forgotten about the crazy speed they were going at.

Remembering what Yvonne said about saving fuel, Daisy cut the engine, only then realising that Yvonne still hadn’t spoken, although the dog had resumed its strange side-to-side pacing.

‘Yvonne? What is it? Are you okay? Is it your foot? Are you in pain?’

The fact that Yvonne was significantly paler than she had been only a few moments before was what led Daisy to this conclusion, but still, Yvonne didn’t reply. Instead, she rifled through her bag for her binoculars. When she found them, she looked back towards the barge they had only just passed.

‘What? What is it?’ Daisy asked, her gaze darting around.

The dog was still beside her. There were no other boats in sight. Nothing seemed broken. She couldn’t fathom what was causing Yvonne’s distress.

‘What is it?’ Daisy repeated, looking back at the older woman. Yvonne bit her lip, a pained expression on her face, and an inexplicable icy chill ran down Daisy’s spine.

‘I think we might have missed our turning,’ she finally said.