Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Friday morning saw Fern and Daniel in a taxi early and being greeted by the sight of Sea’s End’s railway station nestled against the backdrop of the rolling hills.
The station was full of vintage charm with its platform of worn stone, ivy-covered walls and freshly painted wooden benches.
A white sign with hand-painted lettering welcomed travellers to Sea’s End Station.
As they made their way to the platform, Fern heard a train whistle sounding in the distance, growing louder as it began to approach.
They sat on a bench, each with a rucksack on their back, and in the small wheely case at their feet was the wedding dress.
The train pulled into the station with a screech of brakes. After they climbed on board Daniel lifted the small case onto the overhead rack before settling into the seat beside Fern. She noticed the way he looked at the seat numbers, a slow, satisfied smile appearing on his face.
‘What are you smiling at?’ she asked, tilting her head.
Daniel turned to her. ‘Because these are the exact same seats we were in when we first met.’
Fern blinked, caught off guard. ‘How do you even remember that?’ she asked, impressed – and, if she was honest, touched.
‘Because,’ he said, leaning slightly towards her so no one could hear, ‘I knew you were going to stay in my life for ever, and it was something I wanted to be able to tell the grandkids.’
Her stomach flipped at his words, but she rolled her eyes, determined to keep her cool. ‘You are so ridiculous.’
He grinned. ‘And yet, here we are.’
She gave him a playful shove, but he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, causing a swarm of fireflies to flutter frantically in her stomach.
Daniel let the moment linger before he added, ‘I had an errand to run so I had to get off the train early, but when I arrived back on the island I bumped into Amelia. I had a feeling it was you who was coming to take over the shop, so I told her to look out for you.’
Fern gasped, her head snapping around to face him. ‘You were the one who said I was the sort who drinks overpriced lattes, wears designer coats and will probably see inheriting the shop as a massive inconvenience. That was you? You told her that?’
His grin widened. ‘Guilty. But was I lying? I rest my case.’
‘Unbelievable!’ she exclaimed, though she took it all in good humour.
‘Never fear,’ he said smoothly, reaching into his rucksack, ‘I’m going to make it up to you.’
He pulled out a neatly packed brunch: a basket of fresh pastries, strawberries, a small jar of Nutella and even a bottle of fizz. The sight of it stole her breath for a moment.
‘You did all this?’ she asked, surprised.
‘Of course I did,’ he said with a wink. ‘Figured if I was going to spend a train journey with a snooty Londoner, I might as well keep her in good spirits.’
She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Well, I suppose I can forgive you – after a glass of that, at least.’
Daniel expertly popped the bottle open with a quiet hiss.
Unfortunately, the cork shot out like a bullet, flying straight down the aisle, only to be expertly caught in mid-air by the conductor just as he was approaching to check their tickets.
He blinked at the cork in his hand before slowly shifting his gaze to Daniel, who grinned sheepishly.
‘Sorry,’ Daniel said.
‘You’re forgiven if it’s all in the name of romance. Tickets, please.’
Once all the food was laid out on the table in front of them, with two plastic cups for the fizz, Daniel showed Fern the empty rucksack.
‘What am I looking at? There’s nothing in there.’
‘Exactly. I forgot to pack my clothes for the night.’
Fern laughed. ‘So you remembered the jar of Nutella, but not your clothes?’
‘Priorities, Fern!’
‘You are something else!’
After a change of trains, it wasn’t long before they were due to arrive at Euston Station.
Fern was leaning into Daniel’s chest, watching out of the window.
The landscape had shifted from rolling countryside to the sprawling outskirts of London, the clusters of grey buildings and winding roads growing denser with each passing mile.
Normally, this moment would bring a familiar flicker of excitement, a sense of return, of stepping back into the rhythm of home, but Fern didn’t feel like that at all.
In the distance, the unmistakable arch of Wembley Stadium loomed against the afternoon sky.
Wembley had always been a landmark of significance, a beacon of London life, the place where music’s greatest legends had played, and it had always reminded her why she loved what she did, why she chased stories and lived for the pulse of the industry.
But now, her thoughts were far from stadiums and interviews, far from the next headline, as her mind drifted to the tiny antiques shop on a sleepy island, where a moose’s head watched over a too-small bed, and a man with infuriatingly good hair was making her smile every day.
It was only days ago that she had stepped off a train in the opposite direction, bound for Puffin Island with every intention of closing the shop and leaving it behind.
Instead, she had found herself tangled in a life far removed from the polished, predictable world she had built for herself in London.
The carriage rattled over a junction, jolting her out of her thoughts. Euston was minutes away now.
‘Here we go!’ said Daniel, shoving all of the rubbish in a nearby bin.
The doors slid open with a mechanical hiss, and a sea of commuters started to spill out on to the platform.
The carriage was actually rammed and they stayed seated until most of the commuters had left.
Holding hands, they stood up, and Daniel reached up to take the suitcase down off the rack.
Instead he did a double-take – their suitcase was no longer there!
‘Fern, we have a missing case and a missing wedding dress.’
Her pulse raced. ‘That dress is too valuable to lose.’ Panicked, she scanned the area.
There was another suitcase on the rack but it wasn’t theirs.
‘Do you think someone has taken it by mistake or on purpose?’ They were the only ones left on the train.
‘We need to get off. Do we take the case that’s left or leave it there? ’
‘Let’s take it to Lost Property. Maybe the person has realised their mistake and taken ours there too.’
‘Good idea.’
Daniel lifted the case down and Fern began to wheel it down the aisle.
A moment of silence passed between them, punctuated only by the chaos of the station as they stepped onto the platform, and then, as if by divine intervention, Fern’s eyes locked onto a woman in a smart blazer, effortlessly wheeling a black case through the station. A very familiar black case.
‘There! That woman was sitting by us. That’s our suitcase! I’m sure of it! Yes, it has my black tag around the handle. She probably just didn’t notice as it’s so similar to every other black case.’
The woman, blissfully unaware of her role in this unfolding catastrophe, disappeared down the stairs to the Underground.
‘Move!’ Fern yanked Daniel’s wrist, pulling the other suitcase behind her as they hurtled through the station.
‘Can you see her? I’ve lost her,’ said Daniel, scanning the crowd.
‘There she is!’ But the woman was just a little too far ahead. She breezed through the ticket barriers at Euston with the ease of a seasoned commuter whereas Fern fumbled with her Oyster card before she and Daniel practically threw themselves onto the escalator.
‘Which line?’ Daniel gasped as they reached the bottom.
‘She’s heading towards the Victoria Line! Southbound!’
They sprinted to the platform just as the doors were sliding shut. Fern smacked her palm against the glass. ‘NO!’
Daniel groaned. ‘We are officially the worst detectives ever.’
‘Wait! The suitcase – I use it all the time and have an Apple tracker thrown into the zip compartment.’
‘You’re kidding me.’
‘I kid you not.’
Daniel smacked her lips with a kiss. ‘You are a genius!’
Fern whipped out her phone but there wasn’t a single bar. ‘No service! I’m going to have to go to the top of the escalator again. You wait there.’
Waving her phone in front of her as she attempted to get a signal, she rode the escalator back to the top. As soon as it kicked in she loaded up the app. The woman was still southbound and her train was approaching Oxford Circus. Fern raced back down the escalator.
‘Well? Anything?’
‘She’s heading to Oxford Circus!’
They tumbled onto the platform at Oxford Circus a few minutes later, dodging tourists and office workers alike. Mercifully, there was service on the platform and Fern checked the app again. ‘She got off here,’ she exclaimed. ‘She’s up on Regent Street!’
They raced up the escalators to street level, Fern’s eyes barely leaving the moving dot on her phone screen. ‘She’s fast,’ Fern wheezed, her heart pounding as they began to follow the woman’s path down the famous shopping street.
They turned right at a side street and headed deeper into Mayfair, getting closer to the blinking dot with every laboured step.
Daniel stopped to catch his breath as they reached Bond Street. ‘Where is she?’ He spun around, trying to locate the woman in the sea of shoppers and tourists.
Fern glanced at her phone, then pointed. ‘There! She’s getting into a cab!’
Daniel groaned. ‘Oh, come on!’
Fern didn’t hesitate. She grabbed Daniel’s arm and dragged him over to the nearest available taxi. ‘Follow that cab!’ she gasped. ‘I’ve always wanted to say that!’
The driver, a man who looked like he had absolutely seen it all, gave them a bored glance in the rear-view mirror. ‘You serious?’
‘Completely,’ Daniel confirmed, flashing a credit card. ‘There’s a very good tip in it for you if you keep up.’
With a resigned sigh, the cabbie flicked on his indicator and plunged them into London traffic.
Fern looked towards Daniel, who looked hot and flustered. ‘Welcome to London! I bet you didn’t think it was going to be this much fun.’
‘Every day with you is a new adventure.’
They followed the cab for several crowded blocks and watched through the window as it pulled up in front of a grand boutique near the border of Hyde Park.
Fern’s mouth fell open. ‘Can you see what I can see?’
Daniel followed her gaze, then let out a stunned laugh. ‘She brought us straight to Eliza Valentine’s shop.’
‘What the hell?’
Daniel paid the fare and they stepped onto the pavement. The woman was already through the shop door, still pulling the suitcase behind her.
Fern let out a stunned, breathless laugh. ‘Well, that saved us a phone call. Come on, let’s go and see what we can find out.’