Chapter Twenty-Three
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Lily felt it was strange to be spending the night at Sam’s home, though she wasn’t going to object again because the appearance of the intruder had genuinely spooked her. Someone had it in for her, enough to make a difficult landing on the island and risk being seen.
Elspeth was waiting on the quayside when they arrived, and hugged Lily tightly.
‘Oh, you poor thing!’ she said, while Sam tied up. ‘Sam says you’ve had a terrible fright.’
‘It was just a scare. I’m OK.’ Still cringing with embarrassment, Lily was determined to downplay her encounter, especially with islanders hanging around the quayside, their interest piqued by Elspeth’s display of concern.
‘I can’t think who would be stupid enough to try such a thing. It’s sick!’
‘They probably think it’s funny.’
‘Well, I don’t. Come on, I brought Sam’s car down for you so you don’t have to walk.’
Lily was mortified. She could manage the fifteen-minute walk to Hell Bay House. People would think she was a real diva, expecting to be chauffeur-driven such a short distance.
‘That’s very kind but, honestly, I wasn’t hurt. Whoever it was rushed away pretty fast when they saw me.’
‘Well, you jump in the car anyway,’ Elspeth said, walking with her to the Land Rover. ‘We’ll drive down there together.’
Sam joined them. ‘I’ll be along in a bit. I need to have a word with Aaron about the electrician,’ he said.
Elspeth drove, insisting Lily sit in the back, like royalty. Minutes later, she was walking into Hell Bay House. She couldn’t help but wonder if Rhiannon had stayed or even lived here with Sam before she’d left. Lily still only knew the barest details: that Rhiannon had departed suddenly, with no explanation that Lily could fathom.
Elspeth walked into the house, calling, ‘Morven! Are you here?’
Oh, God, Morven. Lily had forgotten she’d be invading the girl’s home as well as Sam’s.
‘I’m in here,’ Morven called. ‘Working.’
Elspeth marched into the lounge, with Lily dragging her feet behind. ‘We have a guest tonight. Lily’s staying over …’
Morven sprang up from the sofa, her iPad slipping onto the rug.
‘Why’s she staying here?’ The girl stared at Lily as if she’d landed from Mars.
‘Sam invited Lily,’ Elspeth said angrily. ‘She’s had a bad experience on Stark.’
Morven retrieved her iPad and wrinkled her nose as if she’d found a large spider on the carpet. ‘What kind of bad experience?’
‘Someone’s been leaving messages and hanging around Tean Porth,’ Lily said.
Elspeth faced up to her great-niece. ‘You wouldn’t know anything about it, would you?’
Morven scoffed, ‘Why would I know anything about it? Why does everyone think I’m involved whenever shitty stuff happens?’
Grabbing her tablet, she dodged past Elspeth and skulked out of the French doors.
Elspeth closed her eyes in despair. ‘I am so sorry about that. She’s so awkward these days, neither of us know what to do with her.’
‘It must be tough with her dad away,’ Lily said, trying to summon up some empathy.
Elspeth sighed. ‘It’s awful for her. I wish I could get my hands on Nathan and show him the damage he’s doing to his daughter by keeping her in suspense all this time. Poor Sam is having to bear the brunt of it … Still, at least she’s said she doesn’t know anything about the mystery intruder, that’s something.’
Actually, thought Lily, Morven hadn’t answered the question at all.
Elspeth scraped up a smile. ‘Anyway, would you like to come upstairs and I’ll show you to your room? I’m sure Sam won’t be too long.’
Lily went up the stairs, feeling the polished oak banister under her palm. The house had triple windows on both elevations, letting in loads of light. Everywhere there were comfy sofas and cosy nooks, bookcases and prints.
‘It’s good of you to have me.’
‘Sam wouldn’t want you to feel uncomfortable. I wish I’d never mentioned disturbing the spirits. Although I’m certain the island holds echoes of its past residents, I don’t think they’d come back ’specially to stalk guests. I’m sure the figure you saw is just some prankster.’
Lily had to smile. ‘I don’t think it was a ghost and I’m not sure Mabel Teague would decide to leave a message in pebbles for me.’
‘I doubt poor Mabel could even read and write,’ Elspeth said as she opened the door of a room at the front of the house, above the lounge. ‘Here you go. It’s only a single, but it’s always ready for guests and the bathroom is right next door. Nate stayed here the last time he came back to see Morven.’
‘It’s lovely. Very welcoming,’ Lily said, feeling comforted by the sight of the white duvet, Lloyd Loom chair and pastel colour scheme. It was fresh but soothing. ‘What a pretty chair.’
‘I’m glad you like it. The chair was Sam’s grandmother’s. His parents left it here when they moved to the mainland. Morven painted it green – pistachio she calls it – and made the cushion.’
‘It’s beautiful,’ Lily said, admiring the tapestry cushion, though wondering if it might explode when she sat on it.
She put her bag on the rug beside the bed and crossed to the window. Her room must be right over the porch, giving a view of all the comings and goings – and Hell Bay itself, with Stark looming mysteriously over the channel. Was anyone on the island right now, flitting about the hearths and leaving messages on her terrace?
She almost shivered but instead said enthusiastically, ‘What a view. It makes a change to be looking over at Stark.’
Elspeth had joined her at the window. ‘Yes, it must.’
Evening sunlight glinted off the windows of the cottages and reception hub. ‘I can see all the cottages from here.’
‘You can. Sam says you’ve been helping to renovate them.’
Lily laughed. ‘Renovate makes it sound as if I’m bricklaying and roofing. Sam’s done ninety-nine percent of the work already. I’m just lending a hand with the finishing touches to Samphire and Starfish so he can open them to visitors.’
Elspeth sighed. ‘I’m glad he’s agreed to accept some help. I didn’t want him to re-open the island mainly because I’ve been worried he’s heading for a nervous breakdown. It’s such a lot of work and responsibility. I think he underestimated how much. And he puts so much pressure on himself.’
‘Perhaps that’s true, but he’s now fully aware of what’s involved, which is why he’s going to recruit some experienced staff,’ Lily said soothingly. ‘The chef from the St Agnes Bistro is interested since the owner retired. Sam’s already placed ads with the recruitment agencies for a housekeeper too.’
Elspeth patted Lily’s arm. ‘Thanks for helping him. He finds it hard to admit he needs it.’
‘I’m no expert at hospitality, and he was dead against me getting involved initially. I just can’t stop myself.’
‘You’re both as bad as each other, but he needed the support. I’d do more if I didn’t have the café.’ Elspeth’s green eyes searched Lily’s face. ‘He’ll miss you when you’re gone.’
Lily laughed. ‘I’ve only been here ten days.’
‘That’s long enough to miss someone. In more than one way.’
Feeling her cheeks glowing, Lily glanced away and fixed her eyes on her overnight bag. ‘Should I unpack then come down and help you start dinner?’
‘Oh, there’s no need for that. I can manage.’
‘It would be no trouble,’ Lily said firmly, determined that Elspeth wouldn’t have extra work to do on her account. ‘I’ve enjoyed cooking while I’ve been here. I don’t have time at home and, believe me, I need the practice. I’ve run right out of my go-to recipes and I could count them on one hand.’
Elspeth relented. ‘Well, if you’d really like to. I was going to make a one-pot chicken and asparagus thing. It’s my mother’s recipe but I make it as a traybake ’cos it sounds trendier. We serve it at the café on Sundays sometimes. You could add that to your list.’
‘Sounds great. I’ll go home and make it for my mum and dad. Amaze the lot of them … I don’t get home enough but I will make time from now on. That’s one of my post-retreat resolutions.’
Elspeth looked amused. ‘Well done, but don’t make too many, will you? Stick to a couple that really matter and just try your best. You don’t want to add not being the perfect chef or the perfect daughter to the list of things you can beat yourself up about, now do you?’
Lily felt a lump forming in her throat. Cara had always found time to visit their parents. Cara also found time to be a mum and to save the lives of other people’s children. Lily, however, was hellbent on sourcing the perfect bud vase for your hall or those handmade gin tumblers you’d been seeking forever …
‘No,’ she said, stricken with the guilt Elspeth was trying to assuage. ‘You’re right.’
Elspeth patted her arm. ‘Come on, let’s cobble together a not-perfect dinner and enjoy not being invited on Masterchef .’
Lily shook herself out of her mood. If she really wanted to change her life and honour Cara’s memory, wallowing in self-pity was not the way. Change should start now. She forced herself to enjoy the process even if she kept thinking that she should be cooking with her own mum – though her mother, Ailsa, was as big a fan of the ready-meal aisle as Lily herself.
Her parents led busy and fulfilling, yet fairly ordinary, lives. They’d always seemed very happy together, providing a loving home for Lily and Cara. There had been plenty of joy and happy times in the small Staffordshire market town they’d grown up in. It was a quiet place where nothing very exciting happened, but their modest home had always been full of laughter. Her parents had given Lily and Cara a stable upbringing and encouraged both their daughters to pursue their dreams, finding time to take them to their clubs, play games, console and celebrate with them.
Along the way, Lily had somehow lost sight of how precious time was – how precious they were.
That would all change, she decided, and was already looking forward to impressing her parents with her newfound culinary enthusiasm.
For now, while she chopped and fried, diced and measured, she shared Elspeth’s reminiscences of her younger days. It turned out that Sam had known her mother briefly – his great-aunt – when he was a young boy. Nate had too, and remembered her far better, being five years older.
Delicious aromas of onions and chicken filled the house by the time Sam returned.
‘Smells great,’ he said with a surprised look at Lily. ‘Can I help?’
‘We’ve done most of it now,’ Elspeth insisted. ‘Too many cooks and all that.’
‘I’ll lay the table, then. Where’s Morven?’
‘In her room, talking to her friends,’ Elspeth said. ‘Can you go up and tell her dinner will be ready in ten minutes?’
‘Yep. I’ll have a shower while I’m up there, so I’m fit for company after working on the cottages all day.’
Lily was dying to say ‘You look more than fit to me’, but kept her mouth firmly shut, and contented herself with innocently rinsing purple sprouting broccoli in the Belfast sink. The thought of him stripping off his shorts and T-shirt and stepping into a steamy shower was enough to send her temperature soaring.
‘I’ll give Morven notice now and check on her again after my shower,’ he said. ‘See you in ten.’
Lily had forgotten what hard work it was making sure all the elements of a meal for four were ready at the right time and served up hot. She’d also whipped up a hasty Eton Mess made with strawberries from Elspeth’s garden and some meringues left over from the café service.
‘The bakery makes them ’specially for us,’ Elspeth had said, handing over a paper bag. ‘There’s some cream in the fridge. Give it a quick whip and squish it all together. You can add a drop of the blackberry cordial on that shelf if you like. I made it last summer.’
With the Mess suitably squished and chilling in the fridge, Sam came downstairs with wet hair and his clean T-shirt sticking to his still-damp chest.
‘Morven will be on her way any minute,’ he muttered, giving the impression that she’d been as difficult to shift as chewing gum from a pavement.
Although she wanted the family to be together, Lily was also nervous of Morven’s reaction to her over dinner. The girl was probably dreading their evening together even more than Lily was.
For the time being, she focused on carrying out the traybake to the table. The chicken was cooked beautifully, falling apart, dotted with melting mozzarella and asparagus that had turned crisp at the tips. It smelled divine.
‘Spuds!’ Elspeth barked, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes.
‘Yes, chef!’ Sam carried the tureen of new potatoes, scattered with mint, into the dining room.
Lily followed with a dish of broccoli and they were ready.
Elspeth brought out a large jug of elderflower cordial filled with ice and heaved a huge sigh.
‘Righty-oh. Let’s dig in … where is that girl?’
‘ She’s here.’ Morven slouched in through the door, a pair of headphones round her neck. She sniffed. ‘What is it?’
‘Thought you weren’t coming,’ Elspeth replied.
‘I’m not hungry,’ she said, sliding onto a chair.
‘Then you can sit and watch us tuck in,’ Elspeth said. ‘Pass those spuds, please.’
Sam exchanged a pained glance with Lily, who felt rather sorry for Morven, being summoned like a kitchen maid, even if Elspeth meant well.
In the end, Morven relented enough to try a portion of chicken with two helpings of potatoes and then push a spear of tenderstem broccoli round her plate.
Sam was on his second portion of everything. ‘This is delicious, Auntie Elspeth.’
‘Lily did a lot of it – and can you please stop calling me Auntie? It makes me feel old.’
‘You are old, though, Auntie Elspeth.’
Lily stifled a gasp.
‘No need for that, Morven!’ Sam said.
‘Well, actually, she’s right. Sixty-seven must seem old to a seventeen year old.’
‘I didn’t mean to be rude,’ Morven protested and, for once, Lily believed her.
She gave her a sympathetic look but Morven ignored it.
‘Is there any pudding?’ she muttered.
‘Yes, Lily’s made an Eton Mess.’
‘Hmmph … Can I take mine upstairs?’
‘Not yet, if you don’t mind. Let’s wait until everyone’s finished.’
Morven stabbed at her broccoli. ‘I wonder what the ghosts on Stark are having,’ she murmured with a sly grin.
‘Morven …’ Sam warned.
‘Spook-hetti, I should think,’ Lily said, cutting up a potato. ‘Followed by I Scream.’
Elspeth giggled and Sam grinned.
Morven stared at her. ‘That’s so lame.’
‘My nieces told me the jokes. They love ghosts. Maybe they’ll see one when they visit next weekend.’
Morven’s jaw dropped. ‘Your nieces? They’re coming here too?’
‘Lily’s family are coming to stay,’ Sam said, a core of steel in his voice. ‘Her brother-in-law and his little girls.’
‘B–but where are they going to sleep?’ Morven stammered. ‘Not here! There’s not room.’
‘On Stark. Samphire is ready now, thanks to Lily’s help, and Aaron and the gang are coming over to help me finish Starfish.’
‘ You’ve been building?’ Morven made no attempt to hide her incredulity as she stared at Lily.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Elspeth, knife and fork poised, ready to jump in and tell off Morven for her rudeness. But Lily could fight her own battles.
‘I wouldn’t say building, but I have been doing some painting and styling. I enjoy turning my hand to all kinds of creative stuff, much like you do.’
Morven opened her mouth and shut it before attacking her broccoli spear as if it might leap up and stab her.
After the main course, she scuttled upstairs with her Eton Mess. Clearly her dislike of Lily was trumped by her love of desserts.
Lily was too full to eat any pudding. Sam, however, demolished a large bowlful and Elspeth declared it ‘smashing’.
The three grown-ups retired to the terrace overlooking the bay, where clouds were gathering over Stark.
‘There’s a storm forecast,’ Sam said, shading his eyes as he stood on the paving stones. More dark clouds had marshalled on the horizon behind the island, making Lily doubly glad to be at Hell Bay House.
Elspeth rested her feet on a padded recliner. ‘If anyone is over there, I hope they get soaked to the skin!’
‘Do you think there will be?’ Lily said, getting up and standing by Sam.
‘Feck knows.’
‘Sam!’ Elspeth cried out in horror at his language.
Lily was amused that he’d let down his guard enough to swear in front of her. She was clearly no longer seen as just a guest. That sent a frisson of excitement and satisfaction through her. She might not be part of the family, but she was on the verge of becoming a friend.