The Little Island Flower Stall

Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

A mist hung over the bay the following morning as Bella arrived to open up for her aunt. The stall was even cuter than she remembered from the day before, and despite her trepidation for her first day running it, there was a kick of excitement too. No sooner had she got the keys from her bag than a delivery van arrived. Bella watched as a young woman hopped from the driver’s seat.

‘This is a nice surprise,’ she said cheerily. ‘I didn’t expect you to be open for ages. So you’re Celestine’s good Samaritan?’

‘I’m trying to be,’ Bella said. ‘Need a hand getting the delivery off the van?’

‘I can manage. Celestine hasn’t put a huge order in so it shouldn’t take long.’

‘Hasn’t she?’

The woman shook her head vaguely before going to the back and opening up. ‘How is Celestine?’ she asked, coming back from the van with a crate of roses.

‘She’s doing well.’

‘Still off her feet?’

‘She’s getting round a bit. She’s got a mobility scooter and walking aids. She’s coming over later to teach me some basic floral arranging. Nothing fancy, but enough that I can put some bouquets together.’

‘You’ve not done this before?’ The driver sounded surprised, and Bella supposed she would be.

‘No. I’m sure I can pick it up with some lessons from my aunt, though.’

The lack of a reply was all the reply Bella needed. Perhaps she was dismissing the skill her aunt had perfected through decades of practice, but neither she nor her aunt had been given a great deal of choice in the matter. Bella would have to get good, and quickly, or what was the point in her being here?

Carnations followed from the van, then fussy chrysanthemums, delicate gypsophila, aromatic branches of eucalyptus leaves, bold lilies and gerbera. Celestine had put the order in the day before, and Bella only had the delivery note to tell her what to expect in it. There were some flowers she couldn’t name, and that only added to the sense of incompetence that the delivery driver had unwittingly stirred in her. Could she do this? She didn’t want to let Celestine down.

‘Right…’ The woman slammed the doors of the van and nodded shortly at Bella. ‘That should be everything. Give my best to Celestine, won’t you?’

‘I will, thank you.’

The van pulled away, leaving Bella standing on the still, silent promenade. A man walking a dog nodded an acknowledgement her way before heading to the mist-shrouded beach. There were other stalls nearby: one that sold crab sandwiches and drinks, an ice cream and slushy van and a shack that dealt in beach goods. Nobody had arrived at any of those yet, however. Now that she considered it, Bay Blooms, her aunt’s flower stall, was in strange company. At some point, her aunt had decided that what the promenade needed, alongside the crab sandwiches and buckets and spades, was a flower vendor. Then again, however Bella looked at it, there was no denying that the stall had survived for all these years and was still trading. It was more than a lot of businesses back in Shrewsbury had managed to do, so she was clearly getting something right.

‘I see Laura has been already.’

Bella frowned as she turned to see Celestine arrive on her scooter.

‘I thought you were going to take it easy, not get up at the crack of dawn.’

‘It’s hardly the crack of dawn – it’s almost eight.’

‘Early enough. Too early to call it a rest. If you’re here because you’re worried about me, I can manage, you know. I’ve only got to put the delivery away; I could have waited for you to arrive at nine like we’d arranged before I did anything else.’

‘You might get some early customers.’

Bella tried not to let her frown deepen. That hardly seemed likely – the promenade seemed pretty dead as far as she could tell, and there wasn’t much sign of that changing during the next hour or so.

‘I can see I really am going to have problems with you,’ she said wryly.

‘I’m here now – I might as well be useful.’

‘Where are you going to put the scooter? It won’t fit inside.’

‘I’m going to stay outside with it for the time being. Pull that little table out; we’ll use it out here so I can teach you some basic arrangements.’

Bella did as she’d been asked. Despite telling Celestine to stay in bed, it did make undeniable sense for her aunt to get her up to speed before the customers started to arrive.

‘And that box, and that tray,’ Celestine added once the table was out.

‘Hadn’t I better get these crates out of the sun?’ Bella asked.

‘Oh, yes, of course…’ Celestine said vaguely as she got herself comfortable at the fold-away table now sitting on the promenade next to her scooter. ‘Not too hot yet, but I’m sure it will be up properly soon. Make sure they’re well-watered.’

When Bella had done all that, she returned to the table to find Celestine had already set out little piles of various flowers and foliage, along with ribbons and twine and bits of extra decoration.

‘You might want to get the camping seat,’ she said.

They spent the following hour chatting easily, Celestine demonstrating various combinations and then pulling them apart so that Bella could try to replicate what she’d seen. Celestine explained the colour wheel and how different blooms went together by shape or scent as well as by colour, which ones would damage each other if they were in the same bouquet, the timescales of each flower staying fresh and the peak conditions they needed to be kept in. Bella had to admit there was a lot to remember and she decided to buy a notebook from somewhere later so she could get Celestine to go over some of it again while she wrote it down.

The time went by so quickly and so pleasantly, despite requiring more brainpower than she’d ever imagined flowers could require, that she barely noticed the sun clearing the mist from the beach, or that by now, other stallholders were arriving to open up. She’d made three bouquets in a row that Celestine had stated were good enough to sell, adding that Bella was, of course, a natural.

‘And why wouldn’t you be?’ she’d added with a smile. ‘It’s in the blood, after all. You’ll need some more practice to make the more elaborate displays, but these are perfectly lovely for informal sorts of occasions.’

The sense of achievement pushed a smile across Bella’s face that she wouldn’t be able to shake for some hours.

‘Could you bring some more out for me?’ Celestine asked. ‘I might as well make some bouquets up while I’m sitting here.’

‘You’re not going home?’

‘I don’t want to leave you by yourself today – it’s your first day.’

‘I can manage. I mean to say, by all means make some bouquets to get me started, but I can run the stall after that.’

‘Oh no, I’m going to stay. You can be my muscle and do my running around, but there’s no reason why I can’t be here now that I have this scooter.’

‘As long as you don’t overdo it,’ Bella replied.

‘Good. Now that’s settled, we’d better get the till ready.’

While she was glad of Celestine’s expertise on her first day working at Bay Blooms, Bella was also burdened with extra worry. Celestine was fit and able – very fit for her age – but she was also recovering from an injury. Bella wasn’t used to spending time with someone so old either – was she meant to keep a closer eye on Celestine than she would anyone else, simply because she was old? Was that how it worked? Old people didn’t randomly keel over and die at any given moment, did they? So why was Bella plagued by the constant fear that it might happen, especially given that Celestine was working almost as hard as Bella was. She had her scooter, of course, but she quickly abandoned that for long periods of time, complaining that it was difficult to operate in such a confined space and choosing to hobble round on her sticks instead.

Bella had, perhaps foolishly, imagined that they wouldn’t be busy. She was proved very wrong on that front too. The morning presented them with a steady stream of customers. Who on earth wanted to come to the seafront for flowers? Lots of people, apparently. Some walked by and were tempted by the cheap and cheerful posies in a bucket at the front of the stall, while others had more specific requests, which Celestine tended to. This hardly helped Bella’s concerns for her. As the morning left them and lunchtime rolled around, she tried to think of an excuse for her aunt to take a long break.

‘I think I’ve got the hang of things now, and I have some premade arrangements to be getting on with. I expect you’re tired, aren’t you? Do you think you ought to head home?’

‘Not a bit. I’m happy to be out and about. I’ve hated not being able to open the stall, but now, thanks to you, I can get things going again. Being out here is all the recuperation I need. Sea air, sunshine and good company. Why would I want to be cooped up in my dull little house when I can be here with you? I’ll tell you what – I’ll go and get us a crab sandwich for lunch, if you don’t mind holding the fort here. You like crab, don’t you?’

‘I’ve not had a crab sandwich in years,’ Bella said, doubtful, but with the realisation that Celestine had no intentions of leaving her to mind the stall. ‘Sounds nice.’

‘I’ve got a flask too, so we can have a nice cup of tea with it.’

‘Are you sure you don’t want me to go and get the sandwiches?’

‘I’ve got the scooter, and it will give you the opportunity to run things on your own here and see how you go. I might just do a quick round of the stallholders here to say hello and thank them for the lovely cards they sent me after my fall, so I might be an hour or so. Would that be all right?’

Bella nodded, feeling brighter. At least her aunt wasn’t going to be unreasonably stubborn about taking time off. Socialising with old friends would do her good too. Perhaps she had a point about not being cooped up at home. Bella had never been laid up for six weeks with a serious injury, but perhaps there was a mental health aspect to recovery that was almost as important as the physical one. Now that she thought about it, the notion made a certain amount of sense, especially for an old lady like Celestine.

‘You go – take as long as you need. I’m not super hungry, and I’m sure I can manage the stall.’

‘Thank you. I won’t be too long.’

Bella helped her into the mobility scooter, feeling a little bit like Celestine didn’t need the help and was simply indulging her. Then she went back into the stall to tidy around while her aunt whizzed off on her errands.

Bella had barely begun colour-coding the scraps of ribbon she’d left out on the counter when she was distracted by a sudden screeching commotion. She’d noticed the gull perched atop the lamppost earlier. She’d eyed it warily and the gull had met her gaze in a way that seemed ridiculously human. If she hadn’t known better, Bella would have said it had mischief in its eyes. She’d laughed to herself, dismissing her silliness but having fun indulging the moment just the same.

She watched now as it swooped down and dive-bombed, neatly snatching a sandwich from the grasp of a passer-by.

To make matters worse, before the poor man had even had time to display any shock, another gull was circling overhead, perhaps hoping to pick up any leftovers and, finding none, released a missile that landed with a slimy smack on the man’s jacket.

Afterwards, Bella would feel guilty about laughing so hard, but the situation that had played out in front of her was so surreal and preposterous that she couldn’t help it. She let rip a snorting giggle, so loud that the man’s head snapped round in her direction. Even at the outrage on his face she couldn’t stop. After a moment, he seemed to realise how mad it must have looked to a spectator because he then broke into a sheepish smile.

She was about to apologise, but it was stolen by…later, she would only be able to describe it as a moment. She didn’t honestly know what it was, but simply looking at him had stolen her voice.

He wasn’t her type at all – at least, she didn’t think so. It was so long since she’d considered what her type might be that she wasn’t even sure of that much. But there was something about him, something undeniably attractive. Like there were hidden depths where a woman could lose herself…

Bella tried to shake the thought, but it wasn’t so easy. Eyes framed by heavy brows seemed to mirror the aquamarine of the sea, thick hair so dark it was almost black, deep laughter lines that seemed to suit him as his lips curled into a smile, a smile that changed his face like storm clouds clearing to reveal the sun.

Doing her best to recover, she rooted in a box of supplies for a cloth, which she ran under a tap before rushing over to him.

‘It’s not much,’ she said, offering the cloth. ‘But it might get the worst of it out until you can get properly cleaned up.’

He took the cloth, his lips still curved into that winning smile. At least it was winning Bella over quickly enough. ‘That’s very kind of you.’

‘I just felt bad for laughing. I am sorry about that, but it was just…your face!’

‘I can only imagine,’ he said. ‘I feel a bit of an idiot, though. I might have overreacted. I never could play it cool.’

‘I don’t think anyone could have played that double whammy cool. The gulls have it in for you today.’

‘It seems so.’ He held out the cloth. ‘Where would you like this? I’m sure you don’t want to handle it with all this muck on, but I don’t know?—’

‘Bin it.’ Bella pointed to a spot further down the promenade. ‘There’s one just there. I’ve got plenty more on the stall.’

‘Oh, right. Thanks again.’

He walked towards the bin, and Bella, thinking that was the last of their encounter, went back to her sorting on the stall. But a minute later, she was interrupted by his voice.

‘Sorry, I don’t mean to bother you again.’

‘That’s OK,’ she said, looking up. ‘I was only tidying. What can I do for you?’

‘As I’m here, I’d like a nice bouquet.’

‘I’m sure I can do that. Something’ – the question was out before Bella had even thought it, and the way she flushed was even more unplanned – ‘romantic? Like roses or something? For a wife…girlfriend?’

‘Oh, no, nothing like that. Something pretty. For an older lady.’ He shrugged slightly. ‘To tell the truth, it’s for someone I’ve never met. Sort of an introduction, almost. What do you think? I didn’t know whether flowers would be the thing or not, to be honest, but I couldn’t think of anything else and I didn’t want to turn up empty-handed. Could you put something together?’

For the first time that morning, Bella wished her aunt was here because she felt sure Celestine would have a much better idea than she did. However, she was silent for a moment as she took in her stock.

‘Something traditional? Like carnations or pink roses or something?’

‘Sounds good. I’ll let you use what you think.’

‘How much would you like to spend? So I know how much to put in the bouquet.’

He shrugged again. ‘What’s the going rate for an introductory bunch of flowers for an older lady you’ve never met?’

‘Beats me!’ Bella said with a self-conscious laugh. ‘I suppose it depends how impressive you want them to be.’

‘They are going to be doing some heavy lifting.’ He scratched at the back of his neck and gave her a slightly awkward but all the more attractive for it smile.

As intrigued as she was, Bella avoided asking what he meant by that. Instead, she paused again and then threw out a figure.

‘About twenty-five pounds?’

‘What would that get me?’

Bella pointed to an arrangement Celestine had put together that morning. It was gorgeous, full of bright gerberas and tropical leaves, and the only reason Bella wasn’t trying to sell it to him now was that it didn’t seem to fit the bill, considering the brief he’d just given her. Even as she showed him, he made no sign to say he’d take that one. ‘I’m assuming those aren’t the flowers you want, but would you want about that size?’

‘That looks about right size-wise. I’ll trust you on what flowers to put in – haven’t a clue about that sort of thing,’ he said. ‘Twenty-five. You take cards?’

‘Yes.’

‘Great. Go ahead – put whatever you think in there. I’m sure it will be perfect. Are you busy today?’ he asked as Bella began to choose flowers.

‘A bit. It’s actually my first day so I don’t know whether it’s busy because I’m slower at doing things or whether it’s actually busy. It’s my great-aunt’s stall, actually, and she doesn’t seem too stressed about it, so I think maybe it’s the former.’

‘If you’re new to this, you seem to be doing a good job of my flowers.’

Bella let out a girlish giggle that took her totally by surprise. It also annoyed her, but it had come from nowhere. She wasn’t entirely sure she was doing a good job and a more practised eye might have said so, but he seemed happy, and for some reason it made her happy too. ‘Thanks. I’ve had a good teacher.’

‘Your great-aunt?’

‘Yes. She’s just gone to get us some lunch. Crab sandwiches from across the way.’

‘I had one of those before the seagull incident,’ he said ruefully. Bella tried not to laugh again at the memory of his misfortune. ‘The bit I had was really good. I’ll have to get another one and take more care of it. Anywhere else you can recommend to eat around here?’

‘There’s a great fish and chip shop. Depends what you want, of course. There’s not a huge choice if you’re after fine dining, but good casual places are pretty much everywhere you look.’

‘Bay Fish and Chips? I tried those yesterday. They were good.’

‘Have you been here long? I take it you’re on holiday?’

‘Yes. Sort of. I’m visiting family too. Sort of.’

‘Ah!’ Bella twisted some twine around the stems of the bouquet she’d just constructed for him. ‘That’s a bit like me, actually.’

Immediately she wanted to slap herself for giving so much away. But there was something about him that made her want to overshare.

‘You’re on holiday?’ The man looked confused.

‘I’m here for six weeks; helping my great-aunt with this place. She had a fall. Truth be told, I’m already beginning to feel like six weeks is going to fly by. I won’t want to go home; I love it here already.’

‘I can see why you would. There are far worse places to spend your working day, right?’

‘God yes! So how long are you here for?’

‘I’m not sure yet. It depends…Well, I’ve got some things to do.’

‘Something to do with the lady you’re buying these flowers for?’

‘You could say that.’ He smiled again, the smile that made her want to drop everything and stare at him, open-mouthed. He wasn’t even that good-looking…was he? Perhaps he simply wasn’t what she’d always considered good-looking when her idea of that had been Sean. He wasn’t a bit like Sean, who was all broad and muscular and alpha male. This man was slimmer, his build almost boyish, and his eyes were gentler, intelligent…sensitive even. She supposed that was good…for what it was worth, of course. What did it matter whether he was like Sean or not?

‘The flowers,’ he began after a pause, ‘they’re for a relative.’

‘I think you might have said that.’

‘But I wanted to make it clear.’

‘OK…’

He shot an awkward glance up and down the promenade and then turned back to Bella. ‘Thank you for coming to my assistance with the cloth. I appreciate it.’

‘I suppose it was the least I could do. Am I forgiven for laughing?’

‘I’m sure I’d have laughed too. Maybe I’ll see you around?’

Bella buried her hands in the front pocket of her apron. ‘Well, you know where to find me. At least between the hours of nine to five Monday to Saturday.’

He smiled again, and she wanted to call him back and make him sit with her so she could look at it all day. ‘I didn’t catch your name – if it’s not too rude to ask, of course. I mean, we have just met. Then again, you did just rescue me from a stained jacket.’

‘That’s true. I’m Bella.’

‘Hi, Bella. I’m Rory. So I’ll see you later…’

Bella watched him walk away, wondering what the hell had come over her. But he’d barely gone twenty feet when he turned and walked back.

‘I don’t suppose you’d like to have a coffee or something? My treat, for helping me out.’

‘I didn’t do all that much.’

‘Well, I’m also here on my own, and I might be here for a few weeks yet. It’d be nice to have some company. There’s nothing in it, but I understand if it’s…well, I suppose it might come across as forward, but I swear I’m not trying to be. I only want to thank you for the seagull thing. Of course you can feel free to say no and I won’t bother you again.’

Bella hesitated. She wanted to say yes, but they’d only just met and she knew literally nothing about him. There didn’t seem to be any threat, but you never knew. Then again, somewhere open, somewhere public…she supposed there couldn’t be any harm in one coffee, and she did want to know him better.

‘I might be able to spare half an hour this afternoon if we’re quiet,’ she said finally. ‘Or another day, of course, if that’s better for you.’

‘This afternoon is good. What time?’

‘I’m not sure…around three? I don’t want to leave my great-aunt for too long, but I will be due a break and, knowing Celestine, she’ll be adamant I take it.’

‘Three. No problem. I’ll see you then.’

He flashed her another of his smiles and then walked away. She half-expected him to turn back again, and she almost hoped for it, but he didn’t. He followed the curve of the bay into a side street, where she lost track of his receding figure.

When she’d turned up to start work that morning, she could have had no idea that the day would take such an interesting turn.

Celestine returned an hour later with sandwiches and a thermos flask. ‘Have you been all right? Not too busy on your own?’

‘Not at all. It’s been fine.’

‘That’s good. I bet you’re hungry,’ she added, holding a package out for Bella.

‘God, yes, starving! Thanks.’

Taking a seat on the camping chair, she opened it up and bit into her sandwich. She was instantly assailed by memories of her childhood visits, of crab sandwiches on the beach washed down by the sort of cheap lemonade she was only allowed to drink on holiday. With a feeling of contentment, she munched on it, eyeing the sky above and glad of the shelter of the stall so she wouldn’t lose her sandwich to a gull in the way Rory had just done.

‘We’ll have to do some shopping,’ Celestine said. ‘I would have gone myself before you arrived but I wasn’t sure what sort of things you’d like to eat.’

‘I can order online, if it’s easier.’

Celestine looked doubtful as she opened her own parcel. ‘I like to see what I’m buying. They send all sorts of rubbish when they deliver it to you, don’t they? Bruised fruit and the like.’

‘You can refuse it if you’re not happy with the quality when it arrives.’

‘I might not notice until they’d gone.’

Bella couldn’t argue with that logic and so she didn’t bother to try. ‘Would you be able to spare me for half an hour around three?’

‘Yes, of course – you’d be due a break anyway. You’re here helping me; take as long as you like.’

Bella raised her eyebrows. ‘I won’t be much help if I’m missing the whole working day. Thanks, but I think around half an hour is plenty.’

Half an hour probably wasn’t enough to decide what she really thought of the man who, against her better judgement, had already made quite an impression on her. But for now, half an hour would have to do.

To avoid awkward questions, Bella kept a sharp eye out for Rory’s return. It was a few minutes to three when she noticed him walking the promenade, heading in the direction of Bay Blooms.

‘I’ll be off for my break then!’ she said before hurrying off. Celestine gave some vague acknowledgement, and as they’d had no customers for the previous hour, Bella didn’t feel too guilty about leaving her on the stall. And she’d make certain not to be missing for too long.

‘Hello!’ Rory’s smile was warm as she approached. ‘I see you’ve managed to get away.’

‘Yes, Celestine says there’s often a lull around now so she’s fine with letting me go for a quick break. I can’t leave her for too long, though.’

‘Coffee then?’

‘Actually, there’s a great ice-cream parlour a couple of streets away. How do you feel about getting ice cream instead?’

‘I feel tempted enough to say yes.’

‘I haven’t been for years, but it was always the best ice cream, and I know the place hasn’t changed hands so it ought to be just like I remember.’

‘You want to lead the way?’

They began to walk. ‘It’s not far,’ Bella said. ‘I hope you’re hungry.’

‘I don’t need to be hungry to fit an ice cream in. Is it indoors?’

‘They’ve got a little room with a few tables. Don’t you want to stay outside? I thought we might make the most of the nice weather.’

‘I would but I’ve already lost one meal to the wildlife around here.’

Bella grinned. ‘Right, of course. We can sit inside if you really want to, but I think away from the seafront you’ll be all right.’

‘Promise?’

‘I can’t promise, but I’ll do my best to defend you from attack – how’s that?’

The awning of the parlour was mint green and pastel pink. There was a small seating area outside and another inside, and a long glass counter where countless flavours of ice cream were on display.

‘What do you fancy?’ Rory asked. ‘Remember I said I’d treat you.’

‘I’m not going to argue with that,’ Bella said with a laugh. ‘Feel free to buy me ice cream any time. I mean…’ she added hastily, ‘not that I’m expecting you to come back and take me out again…I wasn’t implying that we…’

He smiled and saved her from digging the hole she was disappearing into any deeper. ‘I didn’t think for a minute that you were.’ He turned to the display. ‘I think I might go for the Biscoff.’

‘It looks nice, but I’m being pulled towards the cherry cheesecake.’

‘Double scoop?’

‘Better not. Single will be enough.’

‘Are you just being polite?’

‘No, I’m being sensible.’

He grinned and then, when his turn came to be served, ordered a double scoop for them both. Bella made a flimsy attempt to protest, but he simply shook his head, his grin spreading.

‘Too late now, I’m afraid. Once the order is in, it’s legally binding.’

‘Legally binding, huh?’ Bella took the ice cream from the server and gave it a swift appraisal. Not only were there two scoops but they were the size of footballs too. ‘I certainly don’t want to break the law so I suppose I’ll have to eat it.’

‘I wouldn’t want you to break the law either, so I think it’s for the best,’ Rory said in a voice full of mock gravity. ‘So where would you like to sit?’

‘Outside, I think. The awning will keep us safe from flying thieves, and it’s really too nice to be indoors today.’

‘Outside it is then.’

There was one small table with two chairs vacant. ‘See,’ Bella said, taking a seat. ‘It was meant for us.’

‘Seems that way.’ Rory sat across from her. Bella tried not to get drawn into how blue his eyes were as the sun hit his face, but she was finding it difficult not to. She could happily have stared at them for the next half hour as she licked at her cherry cheesecake ice cream. ‘I’m beginning to feel a lot of things that have happened today were meant to be. Like if I hadn’t been dumped on by that gull, I wouldn’t have made a new friend.’

‘If I see him, I’ll let him know you said thanks.’

He chuckled. ‘Oh, I wouldn’t go that far.’

Bella licked at her ice cream. It was sweet and creamy with decent chunks of biscuit hiding in every mouthful, and she’d probably regret the calories later, but for now she was enjoying it. Almost as much as she was enjoying the company of the man who’d paid for it. She was quickly finding that Rory wasn’t only easy on the eye but funny and charming to boot. ‘So you’re on holiday here?’

‘Sort of.’

‘Hmm. You said that earlier. How can you be sort of on holiday? Is it a work trip? Are you really meant to be slaving over a laptop right now instead of sitting with me? You can come clean – I won’t tell on you.’

‘Nothing like that,’ he said. ‘I’m actually on a quest.’

Bella leaned forward. ‘A quest? What sort of quest?’

‘Looking for some long-lost family.’

‘Wow, that sounds like a TV show.’

He seemed troubled now. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t know why I said…I’m sure you’re not…’

‘God, no, I’m intrigued. I mean, who wouldn’t be? So you think they’re here on Jersey? Like in St Rosa?’

‘My grandad was adopted. He never really talked much about it. I think he’d always had the attitude that his mother had a very good reason for giving him up and that he’d cause trouble if he tried to contact her, so he never did. He died recently. I was helping my parents clear his house, and we came across some things we didn’t even know he’d kept his entire life.’

‘What sort of things? I mean…I’m sorry…’ Bella flushed. ‘Ignore me – none of my business. I was always too nosy for my own good.’

He regarded her quietly for a moment and then smiled. ‘The funny thing is, I don’t mind you asking at all. I don’t know what it is, but…’ He gave a vague shrug. ‘I suppose some people are naturally easy to talk to, and I feel as if you’re one of those. And it’s not like I’ve been keeping it a secret. I’ve already asked one or two people locally to see if they could help.’

Bella remembered Dolly’s visit to the stall. She thought about telling him she’d already heard as much but decided knowing he was the subject of rampant gossip might put him off, and her curiosity was piqued. ‘I try to be a good listener. Don’t suppose I always manage it. But you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.’

He reached into his rucksack and took out a plastic wallet. He then produced some yellowed pages and a photograph from within it and handed them to Bella. She looked over the pages – one a handwritten letter and another a newspaper clipping.

‘I can’t read them.’

‘The clipping is in Polish. I had it translated – it’s a story from a wartime prisoner who was kept here on Jersey doing forced labour after his plane was shot down by the Nazis during the war. He’s telling the story of his escape from the tunnels where he was kept prisoner. It’s quite a read, actually. Looks as if an enemy soldier helped him.’

‘That sounds like it ought to be a film.’

‘Doesn’t it? The other page is a mystery. I can’t read it, and nobody seems to know what language it is.’

‘I think I might,’ Bella said slowly. ‘It looks like French, but it’s not. Could be Jèrriais.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Jersey French. It’s a very old language – not many use it now. My great-aunt speaks it; she’s pretty old. In fact, she was a girl during the occupation.’

He sat up, his ice cream forgotten as he stared at Bella. ‘Do you think she could translate it for me?’

‘I could ask her. What do you think it might be?’

‘It was with the photograph. We’re all assuming that the photo was taken shortly after my grandad’s birth and that’s his mother – his birth mother. We think it’s all connected – the photo, the letter and the clipping.’

‘So you think the prisoner of war might be your grandad’s father?’

‘It seems to make sense. I’m sure if I could find out what the letter says I’d have a better idea.’

‘Can I take the letter to Celestine? My great-aunt, I mean. We could ask her to translate it, if she doesn’t mind.’

‘That would be amazing!’

Bella pondered the photograph. It was in black and white, slightly out of focus, but the girl sitting up in the hospital bed with a tiny newborn in her arms barely looked older than her teens. ‘I wonder why she gave him up. I suppose in those days she had to.’ She looked up at Rory. ‘I’m assuming she wasn’t married to the father?’

‘I don’t know, but I think it’s another safe bet. From the hundreds of internet threads about this sort of thing, it seems quite a common occurrence during the war years. A lot of unwanted babies came from affairs with American soldiers, but there must have been plenty of other situations too. The mums were too ashamed to keep them, or else they were pressured by their families to give them up when the soldiers went home and left them high and dry.’

‘And I suppose some of them simply didn’t survive the war.’

‘That too, of course.’

‘You think that’s what happened here?’

‘Maybe.’

‘You said you were going to see an elderly relative. So she’s something to do with this?’

‘I think she’s the girl in the photo. Violette Le Saux. My great-grandmother. She’s really old, of course, in a home now, but…’

Bella stared at him. ‘Violette?’

‘Yes…why do you look so shocked?’

‘It’s just…I’ve heard that name mentioned since I arrived. Actually, I heard that name for the first time in my life just yesterday, and here you are, saying it again. How weird is that? I mean, it might not be the same woman, but…’

‘Very,’ Rory agreed, his expression thoughtful. ‘Can I ask…why was she mentioned?’

‘A friend of my great-aunt’s – Dolly – mentioned her. They were just gossiping, you know. Celestine didn’t seem like she wanted to discuss her, though. I get the feeling there was some animosity.’

‘What kind of animosity?’

‘I don’t know. Celestine clammed up.’ Bella frowned. ‘I’m sorry, but if that letter is from Violette, I’m not sure I can ask Celestine to translate it.’

‘Oh.’

The disappointment on his face almost made Bella relent, but some instinct was telling her not to get involved – or, at least, not to get her great-aunt involved.

‘I suppose,’ he said after a pause, ‘now I know what language it is, I can look for help online. I don’t suppose it will be on Google Translate, but there must be someone on Jersey who speaks it and can translate for me.’

‘I’m sure there must be. Celestine says they’re trying to bring it back to life in schools, so there might be a teacher somewhere who can help you. Sorry, I didn’t mean to get your hopes up for nothing.’

‘I wouldn’t say anything about the last half hour has been for nothing,’ he said, relaxing into a smile again. ‘In fact, I’ve really enjoyed our chat.’

‘Are you planning to visit Violette? You said she was in a home.’

‘I’m waiting for them to clear it. They have to do some checks, make sure I’m who I say I am, I suppose. They said they’d call me sometime today.’

‘Weren’t the flowers you bought from me earlier for her?’

‘Well…’ His smile was sheepish now. ‘Yes and no. I actually just wanted an excuse to talk to you some more, and I thought, at some point, I will need flowers to take to the home so…they’re in a vase in my hotel room right now.’

Bella flushed again. She dragged her gaze from his eyes and stared very deliberately out onto the narrow, cobbled backstreet, where holidaymakers jostled for space, dragging beach bags and excited children in their wake. Their voices echoed through the space and Bella focused on the sound. Anything to take her mind off the implications of Rory’s statement. He’d wanted an excuse to talk to her. She was flattered, but if ever a set of circumstances had been against such a meeting, her current ones had to be it. Aside from the fact that she was newly separated from Sean, there were plenty of other complications.

‘That seagull has a lot to answer for,’ she said finally, in a bid to defuse the tension. She turned back to him, and he was still smiling at her.

‘My thoughts exactly.’

Bella glanced at her watch. ‘I should be getting back to the stall. I said I’d only be half an hour and I’m already over that.’

‘I’m sorry, I…Shit…’ He stood up, and Bella had to laugh as she noticed his ice cream had melted and dripped all over his trousers.

‘You’re really having no luck today,’ she said.

‘I should have been watching what I was doing instead of getting distracted by…well, getting distracted. I see you managed to eat yours without making a mess like a toddler.’

‘There was never any danger of me wasting perfectly good ice cream by letting it melt onto my clothes. I’m sure if you ask at the counter they can get you a wet cloth.’

‘Yes, I…’ Rory gathered up the mementos he’d shown to Bella. Then he glanced towards the counter before turning back to her.

‘Go on.’ Bella smiled. ‘Before it sets into the fabric.’

‘Thank you for meeting me,’ he said. ‘It’s been great.’

‘Thank you for sharing your story. If you need any help…well, I can’t make any promises, but I’ll always see what I can do. And I’d like to know how you get on, if you feel like sharing it.’

‘I will,’ he said, heading to the doors of the parlour as she went towards the street. ‘You can count on it.’