The Little Island Flower Stall

Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

Business had picked up while she was away. Bella and Celestine weren’t exactly rushed off their feet, but it didn’t give Bella much time to dwell on her ice cream with Rory. They were enjoying a breather towards the late end of the working day when Bella thought about him and the story he’d shared with her again.

‘You know your friend Dolly?’ she asked as she cleared away stem cuttings.

‘Yes…’ Celestine unscrewed the cup from the top of her flask. ‘What about her?’

‘I’m sure she mentioned someone named Violette, didn’t she? Yesterday, I mean, when she came to talk to you.’

‘Violette, yes. An old friend of ours. We lost touch many years ago. The last I heard of her, she’d been taken into a retirement home.’

‘Her family must still live here? On Jersey, I mean? Some of them, at least.’

‘Some of them do.’ Celestine looked confused as she poured some tea into the cup and offered it to Bella. ‘Why do you ask?’

‘A man came to the stall while you were away. He wanted some flowers. He told me he was looking for his family…His grandfather’s birth family. He said his real great-grandmother is a lady named Violette Le Saux…’

‘For someone who only stopped to buy flowers, he gave you a lot of information,’ Celestine said briskly. ‘I hope you didn’t tell him too much – you’ve no clue who he is.’

Bella tried not to frown. She felt as if she was being spoken to like a child and she hardly deserved it. That wasn’t all. Celestine seemed suddenly evasive. It was obvious she didn’t want to talk about Violette, and yet Bella couldn’t let it go. Should she mention the letter? Perhaps Celestine would offer to translate after all. ‘They – his family – found a letter in his grandfather’s things after he died earlier this year. A photo and a newspaper clipping…I think the letter was from the mother – Violette, I mean. I think it might have been written in?—’

‘What business is it of ours?’ Celestine asked sharply.

‘Well, none, really. I wanted to help him, that’s all. The letter he showed me was in old Jersey French. I know you speak it, so I thought you might be able to?—’

‘No!’ Celestine snapped. Bella stared at her. ‘I don’t have time to look at it, if that’s what you’re going to ask.’

‘OK…’ she replied slowly. ‘So you wouldn’t be able to tell him anything at all? He only wants to know more about his grandad’s past.’

‘I doubt it,’ Celestine said briskly. ‘Certainly nothing of note.’

Nothing that she was prepared to share. Bella didn’t know much about it, but she could see that much from Celestine’s expression. Her aunt knew more than she was letting on, but for some reason, she didn’t want to say so.

‘Only I told him I’d ask you.’

‘I don’t know why you’d do that. I’m not the parish records, you know.’ She paused and then gave Bella a strange look. If she didn’t know better, she’d have said her aunt was genuinely distressed. ‘What does he look like?’

‘The man who came to the stall?’

Celestine nodded and Bella shrugged.

‘Really blue eyes, dark hair. Slim.’

‘Handsome?’

‘I suppose…yes, you could call him handsome.’

‘How old would you say he is?’

‘Forties, I suppose. I’m rubbish at telling people’s ages, to be honest, so I could be way off.’

‘Hmm…’

Celestine turned her gaze to the sea and rubbed at her temples. Bella sensed an atmosphere like a heavy curtain suddenly falling over them.

‘Anyway,’ she said with false brightness, ‘I obviously couldn’t tell him much. I told him I’m not from round here. Probably never hear anything about it again. That’s how these things usually go…Right, Celestine?’

Her aunt turned back, as if responding to her name and not to anything else Bella had just said. ‘Of course.’

Bella’s attention was diverted to someone walking along the promenade very deliberately towards them. It was the stallholder who sold the beach goods.

‘Celestine! I meant to pop over to visit! How lovely to see you out and about – how is your ankle?’

Celestine seemed to brighten as she began to talk to the stallholder. She gestured to Bella briefly, explained that she’d be helping out at the flower stall, and then their conversation turned to local matters such as potholes and street signage and the summer floral displays around the town. Bella went back to her tidying. The stall didn’t need tidying, but she needed to occupy her hands so that her thoughts wouldn’t send her berserk. What had just happened with her great-aunt? Why had she suddenly got so weird about a man asking after Violette’s family?

Once the stall had been locked up for the day, Celestine and Bella made their way home. Their route took them past the harbour, which was busy at this hour with fishing boats arriving home. One of the skippers hailed Celestine.

‘All right, my love! Good to see you out and about. Hang on there – got something for you.’

He grabbed a fish and slid it into a bag, and then leaped down from the boat to give it to her.

She beamed. ‘Oh how lovely! I was just wondering what to have for dinner. How much do I owe you, Kelvin?’

‘Nothing at all, my love. Have this one on the house.’

‘I couldn’t?—’

‘Don’t even think about it!’ he warned with a grin. ‘You’ve bought enough from me and my dad over the years.’

‘Thank you,’ Celestine said. ‘By the way’ – she nodded at Bella – ‘this is my niece, Bella. You might see her around and about; she’s helping on the stall until I’m back on my feet.’

‘Hardly helping at all,’ Bella said. ‘Celestine’s still working, as you can see. All I’m doing is cheering her on, as far as I can tell.’

‘Sounds about right,’ Kelvin said breezily. ‘Never stops, this one. Ever since I was a boy, whenever I walk past that stall, I only see the blur of her racing around.’

‘I like being busy.’ Celestine tucked the bagged fish into a basket at the front of her scooter.

‘I’m beginning to see that for myself,’ Bella said.

‘I’ll be getting on,’ Kelvin said. ‘Enjoy your fish.’

‘We will,’ Celestine said. ‘Thank you.’

‘That was nice of him,’ Bella said as they continued on their way. ‘People in St Rosa think a lot of you, don’t they?’

‘I don’t know about that. People round here are good to everyone, not just me.’

‘I’m beginning to see that. I never noticed it quite like this when I used to visit as a kid. I suppose then I was just on holiday and the town didn’t mean anything more to me than that. But this time it seems different.’

‘This time you’re more or less living as a local; it’s bound to seem different.’

‘True, and I feel as if I love it already. It’s going to be such a wrench to go home when you’re back on your feet.’

‘You don’t have to go anywhere if you don’t want to. I’ve got plenty of room – you’re welcome for as long as you like.’

Bella was quiet as she mulled over what surely was a throwaway comment. Move here? Live with her aunt?

No, that wouldn’t do at all. It would be like going backward, in exactly the same way as moving in with her parents would be. She was forty – she couldn’t be living with relatives. She had to get her own life in order and staying here with Celestine, however tempting, felt a bit too much like running away from that.

Bella finished drying the dishes from their evening meal and hung the cloth outside on the line.

‘Thank you so much,’ Celestine said. ‘You’re being such a sweetheart, I’m already going to miss you when you go home.’

‘It’s no bother. I’m loving being here – the least I can do is earn my board. I’m already going to miss it too. And you, of course,’ Bella paused, recalling her aunt’s earlier offer. Tempting as it was, it wasn’t a real solution to her problems, even if it looked like one. ‘Do you need anything else for the moment?’

‘I’m sure I can get it if I do. You must be exhausted. Go and put your feet up.’

‘I might take a walk to the beach, actually. It’s still light and I ought to make the most of it – there won’t be any beach when I get back to Shrewsbury, will there?’

‘If you like,’ Celestine said doubtfully. ‘I’m amazed you still have the energy. I suppose you’re a lot younger than me, though.’

‘Celestine, I don’t know women twenty years younger than you with your energy! I think you’re doing OK – maybe you can cut yourself a bit of slack from time to time.’

‘Thank you – that’s very sweet of you to say, although I’m sure you’re only trying to flatter me.’

‘Trust me, I’m not. I’m in awe of you. If I make it to ninety-three, I’ll be glad to be half as good as you.’

Celestine chuckled. Bella was glad to see her back to her usual self after the dip in mood earlier on the stall.

‘I think I’ll quickly phone home too,’ Bella said. ‘I mean Mum and Dad, not…’

‘Yes,’ Celestine said. ‘Good. If you so much as think about contacting that dreadful husband of yours, I will have words with you – for your own good, of course.’

Bella nodded. ‘I have no intention of contacting him unless I really have to. But I suppose I will have to at some point. There’s so much to sort out, but I feel as if I can’t face it at all.’

‘It must be awful. I’m so sorry to learn what you’re going through.’

Bella gave a wan smile. ‘It is what it is, as they say. I really only have myself to blame for the mess I’m in now.’

‘You need to stop saying that. It takes two to make a marriage work, after all. He was the unfaithful one, wasn’t he?’ Bella opened her mouth to reply, but Celestine spoke into the gap. ‘I know you haven’t shared the details, and I might be a dim old woman, but even I can guess at that much. He broke your heart, didn’t he? You loved him.’

‘ Loved . The past tense being the important bit.’

Celestine raised her eyebrows with some scepticism.

Bella shook her head slowly. ‘He hurt me, yes. I can’t deny I’m broken-hearted, but only at the way it ended and the way he treated me. I don’t love him, not now. It’s clear he didn’t love me; so knowing that, why would I still love him?’

‘Because fairness is not the way love works,’ Celestine said, and something in her tone reminded Bella of the darkness that had descended over her earlier that day.

‘Anyway,’ Bella replied, steering the conversation to safer waters, ‘you don’t need to worry. I’m going to wander down to the sea and phone Mum and Dad just to let them know I’m OK. It’s not like they need to worry or anything, but…’

‘I’m sure they’ll never stop worrying about you no matter how old you are. You go ahead – my quiz is starting on the television anyway. We’ll have cocoa when you get back if you like.’

Bella smiled. The way Celestine lived here in St Rosa was so endearingly old-fashioned she couldn’t help but love it already. Walks on the beach, television quizzes, fish straight off the boat for tea and cocoa before bed. It was wonderful, if a little nutty to a twenty-first-century sensibility.

She kissed Celestine lightly on the cheek. ‘I won’t be too long. You’ll be all right?’

‘Of course I will. Off you go.’

Bella’s wanderings took her back to the beach. All the shacks were locked up for the day now, but the promenade was still busy with people making the most of the day’s final drops of sun. On the sand, children ran up and down, casting long shadows, some playing ball games, some chasing each other, and some in and out of the sea. A few people walked dogs, others were in couples, hands clasped together or arms around each other. Bella might have been upset by the sight, but she was strangely unmoved. Sean had hurt her more than she’d even admit to herself, so much that she was still finding it hard to feel anything about him – at least, nothing that seemed real. It was like a burn that was so bad her nerves could no longer tell whether she was sensing hot or cold. One day soon, perhaps it would really hit her. For now she was glad of the numbness.

Finding a seat on a bench overlooking the sea, she dialled the landline at her parents’ house. Her dad picked up.

‘Hello, Dad,’ she said. ‘Just thought I’d let you know I’m here and everything is all right and see how you and Mum are doing.’

‘Ah…’

Something in her dad’s tone caught her off guard.

‘What’s wrong? Has something happened?’

‘Nothing…it’s nothing to worry about. Don’t get upset?—’

‘Upset? About what?’

‘Sean came round with some boxes. Some more of your things. Things you hadn’t managed to take with you when you first left. He said he wanted to clear you out of the house, once and for all.’

Bella’s breath caught in her throat. Despite what she’d told herself only moments before, her dad’s words were like a punch to the gut. Just when she’d thought Sean couldn’t get any crueller, he’d gone and surpassed himself. But on immediate reflection, she wondered why she was shocked. It would have been a reaction to their phone call the day before. He wasn’t the sort of man who’d take any kind of snub lying down, and he’d want to have the last word, no matter what it meant for anyone else.

‘I’m sorry,’ her dad said. ‘We’ve got it all here – you don’t need to worry about that.’

‘I’m surprised he didn’t bin it and take a photo to send me, quite honestly. I suppose I ought to be glad he bothered to bring it over.’

‘I can’t tell you if all the things you left behind are here or not, of course, not knowing what there was.’

‘I doubt if I could on first look,’ Bella said. ‘I took all the most important things with me at the time, so I doubt any of it’s irreplaceable anyway.’

‘But you still want us to keep it?’

‘If it’s no bother. I’ll work out what to do with it all when I come home.’

‘Of course. So, now that’s out of the way, how are you getting on with Celestine?’

‘Brilliantly. She’s great.’

‘I expect she’s glad to have you there; she must have been struggling.’

‘I doubt that,’ Bella said, her mood improving as the discussion turned to her remarkable aunt. At least, every second Bella spent in Celestine’s company was convincing her that she was a more extraordinary woman than she’d ever given her credit for in the past. ‘She worked the stall with me today and probably got more done than I did. I don’t know how she does it. I’m exhausted; she’s at home shouting quiz answers at the telly.’

Her dad chuckled softly. ‘That sounds like Celestine. I’m glad you’re getting along.’

‘I think so. Things seem good so far.’

Bella considered whether to ask her dad about Celestine’s connection to Violette Le Saux. It was likely he wouldn’t know much, if anything, but he might be able to shed some light on it – at least on the way it had affected Celestine when Bella had mentioned Rory’s digging.

‘I know you weren’t even born, but do you know much about Celestine when she was young? Like when the island was occupied by the Nazis?’

‘Not really. Probably only as much as you know. That’s a bit out of the blue – why do you ask?’

‘I just wondered.’

‘Strange thing to wonder about. Very specific.’

‘It was something and nothing. This guy came to buy some flowers today, and he was asking about the history of the island and stuff and people who had lived there during that time. And I told Celestine about it, and I got the impression she wasn’t happy to talk about it. In fact, she seemed upset that I’d mentioned it at all.’

‘I think it’s a period of her life she’d rather not talk about.’

‘I realise that now, but I wondered whether she had, at some point. I thought maybe back in her younger days she might have talked about it.’

‘Bits and pieces here and there. Mostly about the food shortages and what it was like seeing soldiers on the streets and things.’

‘It’s funny,’ Bella said thoughtfully. ‘She’s so open about so much and yet her past is a mystery. At least, it feels that way to me. I know I haven’t exactly been close to her since I got married, but I felt as if I knew her pretty well. Now I’m here, though, I suddenly don’t feel I know her at all. I mean, I know the great-aunt who used to spoil me when we came over to visit, but I don’t know Celestine the woman. What she was like when she was young, what she liked doing, what scared her, who she liked, who she didn’t, whether she had unfulfilled dreams or there was a love of her life…’

‘I see you’ve been giving this some thought,’ Bella’s dad said with a wry chuckle. ‘I can’t answer most of that myself, but I’m sure your great-uncle Roland was the love of her life.’

‘Was he?’

Bella thought back to the way her aunt had spoken about her husband. She hadn’t seemed all that upset he was gone. Perhaps that was just the passage of time, but it could have been because life had been hard with him around. Bella didn’t remember much about Roland; he didn’t loom large in her memories as Celestine did. Perhaps that spoke volumes about the kind of man he was. He’d always made himself absent, never seemed interested in Celestine’s visitors during the few times he’d been around.

‘She married him,’ her dad replied with the unquestioning faith of someone who had a far more monochrome view of life and love than Bella did. Bless her old dad. As far as he was concerned, marriage equalled love. If only life were that straightforward. Bella recognised the irony only too well. If marriage was that easy, Sean would never have strayed. Bella wouldn’t be here now trying to put her life back together.

‘She did,’ Bella said, deciding not to open up the debate. ‘How’s Mum?’

‘She’s fine. She’s gone to her line-dancing class. I expect she’ll be back in an hour or so, if you want to talk to her then. Although she did say they might go for a few drinks afterwards, so I can’t be sure.’

‘That’s OK. I’d forgotten about her class. I’ll catch up with her in the next couple of days.’

‘I’m glad you’re settling in there.’

‘I am. Six weeks will fly by. Celestine said I could stay for longer if I wanted. I must admit it’s tempting.’

‘There are certainly worse places to stay. I might even persuade your mum to go over for a visit if you’re going to be there for a few months. It’d be nice to see Celestine, and even better if you’re there.’

‘I’m sure Celestine would love that.’

‘Was there anything else?’

Bella smiled to herself. Typical Dad, more than two minutes on the phone was like an examination of the meaning of life to him. He didn’t often spend longer than that on a call, no matter who it was on the other end of the line. ‘No, I only wanted to see how you both were and to let you know everything is fine here. Give Mum my love, won’t you.’

‘I will. Bye, Bella.’

‘Bye, Dad.’

Bella put her phone away and looked out to sea. The sun was close to setting, and the sky was a gorgeous peachy pink. Her dad was right about one thing: there were far worse places to be stuck than here. Not that she was stuck in any physical sense, of course – she could leave whenever she wanted. But she felt stuck in an emotional sense. Here trying to make sense of her life, to work out her next steps, to try and decide how she felt about it all. So far, she hadn’t found much in the way of answers, but that was OK. She was beginning to see that her healing wasn’t going to be in the answers but perhaps in the journey to get them.

‘Bella…?’

She turned to the promenade to see Rory approaching her. What was it about this man that he kept turning up? She tried not to pay attention to that thick, dark hair, those irresistible laughter lines that ought not to have been as handsome as they were, and that permanent humour in his blue eyes.

‘Three times in one day,’ he added with a smile. ‘Lucky me, eh?’

‘Are you stalking me?’

‘I’d be the world’s worst stalker, I can promise you.’ He gestured to the bench. ‘Mind if I join you? Or are you having a quiet moment? Because if you are, I can…’

‘It’s fine. No quiet moments here. I was just admiring the sunset.’

‘It is a good one. I was about to go back to my hotel for the night, but the evening seemed too nice to waste so I’m doing my best to stretch it out.’

‘Which hotel are you at? Not that I’m trying to stalk you or anything…’

He gave a light laugh. ‘I didn’t think so for a minute. It’s the Driftwood View.’ He flung an arm the way he’d just come. ‘Down the promenade. It’s a bit old-fashioned but it’s cheap enough for me to be able to stay as long as I need to.’

‘Don’t you have to work?’

‘God, yes! But I’m lucky I can do a lot of it remotely. I mostly work on a consultancy basis, helping companies to brand build and that sort of thing. Some might say it’s money for old rope.’

‘And is it?’

‘I admit, sometimes it feels like it, but it suits me. Means I can do things like this.’

‘It sounds…’

‘Boring.’

‘I was going to say mysterious. A mystery to me, at least. I wouldn’t know where to start with a job like that – I wouldn’t even have a clue what you do.’

‘Half the time I don’t have a clue either. So before you came to Jersey to help your aunt, what was your line of work?’

Bella shifted in her seat. ‘The last job I had was for a drug company. I used to process the orders from hospitals.’

‘You said earlier you were going to be here for six weeks. So they gave you six weeks off to come and help your aunt?’ He blew out a breath. ‘Nice. They must love you.’

‘I wasn’t working for them when I came here.’

‘Ah. Lost your job? That’s rough.’

‘Something like that,’ Bella said. She wasn’t about to tell him about how Sean had gaslit her into giving up her career, no matter how easy he was to talk to. Whenever she thought about that now, she was filled with anger and some shame too – mostly aimed at herself for being so stupid.

‘But there’s a silver lining – it meant you could come here. Or don’t you see it like that?’

‘I’m really glad I’ve come here. My mum always says the universe puts you exactly where you’re meant to be, whether it seems that way or not. Daft, I know, but she used to trot that one out on a regular basis when I was growing up.’

‘I wouldn’t say it was that daft. I think she might have a point.’

At that precise moment, Bella couldn’t help but feel he was right. But if he was, then what did the universe intend for them, having met three times that day purely by chance? With the heat and the scent of him close as he sat beside her on the bench, she tried to ignore the most obvious answer. That way madness waited…or something like that. One of the other things her mum always said.

‘Did you manage to see Violette? You were waiting for the home to get back to you.’

‘Yes.’

‘Was it…Did it go well?’

Something about his tone suggested it hadn’t gone as well as he’d been hoping for. His helpless shrug convinced Bella that her hunch had been accurate.

‘She’s not very…well, she’s old and she doesn’t seem to understand what I’m trying to tell her. The staff at the home did warn me about her memory, but you’d think she’d have at least some recollection of a baby she’d given up, wouldn’t you?’

‘Perhaps she does but chooses to pretend she doesn’t. It must be a painful memory. It might be easier to pretend she’s forgotten than to face it.’

He shrugged again. ‘You’re probably right.’

‘Did you tell her about your grandfather? That he died?’

‘I thought about it. I meant to – she ought to know – after all, he’s her son. But she was struggling with everything else I told her, so there didn’t seem any point in the end.’

‘Do you think you’ll visit again another day? See if you can’t have another go at making her understand?’

He shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. God knows that visit was miserable enough.’

‘What will you do next then? Could you get a DNA test or something? Would that be proof enough for you?’

‘I’ve already done one; I’m waiting for the results. The thing is, I already know for certain Violette is my great-grandmother. It’s my great-grandfather I’m trying to find. I emailed the Polish embassy in London, but I doubt they’ll be able to help. It’s looking like a bit of a dead end at the moment. I thought I’d do some more digging here. I don’t suppose you ended up asking your great-aunt about translating that letter after all?’

‘Well…’ Bella’s thoughts went back to Celestine’s reaction. ‘I thought she knew it better than she does. She can speak it a bit, but she says she can’t translate it from the written word.’

‘Ah. Well, it was worth a try. Thanks for asking.’

Bella hated to lie but it seemed the easiest way out of the problem. Then she looked at him and the next words were out before she’d had time to stop them.

‘My aunt didn’t have much to offer, but her friend, Dolly…she mentioned a scandal when they were young. I’m sure that was something to do with a baby.’

‘Did she?’ He turned to her now, his eyes alive once again. ‘Dolly…?’

‘Not a clue what her surname is.’

‘You know where I can find her?’

‘Sorry, don’t know that either. But I bet someone around here could tell you. I mean, Dolly’s not a common name, is it?’

‘No; it’s not. That’s brilliant, thank you!’

‘It could be something and nothing,’ Bella warned.

‘It’s got to be more than I have now. Do you think she’ll talk to me?’

‘Again, I don’t know her all that well, but from what I saw with my aunt, I think you’d have trouble shutting her up once she starts.’

Rory grinned. ‘My favourite kind of gossip.’ He was thoughtful for a moment. ‘I don’t know why I feel so easy telling you all this. Sorry if I’m oversharing, but there’s something…’ He gave a self-conscious laugh. ‘I’m usually a bit more reserved than this, to be honest. But here I am, just clapping eyes on you and being like, hey, want to know everything about me?’

‘I’m sure it’s not everything ,’ Bella said with a smile. ‘I don’t mind. I like that you want to tell me. I’m interested. I mean, who wouldn’t be? If this was a drama on telly, I’d be glued, let me tell you.’

‘What are your plans for the rest of the evening?’

‘Mine?’ Bella tried to recall what would come next. Was he coming on to her? And if he was, how did she feel about that? He was handsome – the more she looked at him, the more she felt the attraction. She sensed his interest in her too – at least she thought so. It had been so long since she’d had to read those kinds of signals she couldn’t be sure. But right now? In her current state of mind it was a car crash waiting to happen.

‘I’m not trying to get heavy or anything, it was just…well, I’m here alone, and I wondered if you had to rush off anywhere. I’m enjoying our chat…I thought maybe we could get a drink…There’d be no weirdness, of course. Nothing inappropriate.’

Bella wondered if she might like some impropriety, but she shrugged off the thought.

She drew a breath. ‘I should tell you that I’ve literally just left my husband of fifteen years. And when I say literally, I mean days ago. The rubber on my car tyres has barely cooled off. So if this is going into any kind of date territory, then I’m afraid I’m probably not in a good place for that. Maybe if we were a couple of months down the line…’

He gave a tight smile. ‘I’m sorry; I must be coming across as a dick. It’s just…I don’t know how long I’m going to be in Jersey, and I know you’re only here for six weeks, so it really felt that there was this pressure not to waste time and…well, I don’t know what it is but I feel…like I already know you after barely an hour of conversation. And I really enjoy talking to you. It’s not pressured at all; it’s just easy.’

‘Me too. You’re not coming across badly, but I’m not in a good place right now. I hope you’re OK with that. But that’s not me saying I don’t want to talk to you at all. In fact, I want to know how your search is going.’

‘I could give you my number…You wouldn’t have to give me yours, of course. But if you had mine and you wanted an update, you could message me. Or we could connect on social media. If you really are interested, I mean.’

‘I’d like that.’

He got out his phone and showed her his number so she could copy it into her own, but he didn’t take hers, and she liked that. It was nothing like Sean would have been; he’d have pushed for what he wanted. Bella had told Rory how things were and he’d taken a respectful step back while showing her that he was still interested all the same. And despite what she’d said, she was interested in him too. It would be easy to treat this as a fun fling – and it would be fun – but there was a little voice of warning in her head telling her it would be a bad idea. Perhaps because she already felt that she liked him way beyond fun-fling territory. Could she trust her instincts? She was far less certain of that. She’d told him about Sean, but he hadn’t mentioned whether he’d ever been married or what his situation was now. Should she be concerned about that? He was around her own age – at a guess – and so it seemed a safe bet that he had at least one romantic relationship in his past…or even in his present, but she liked him and she wanted her faith in men restored, and so she tried hard not to think about that. She could ask, but that might reinforce the message that she did want more than just conversation with him and, whatever else she felt, she was certain that was a bad idea.

‘It’s been lovely chatting, but I ought to get back.’ Bella put her phone away and stood up. ‘My aunt will worry if I’m not home soon.’

‘Of course. It’s been great to run into you again. Thanks for listening to me…again. I feel like you’ve had more than your fair share of listening to me today.’

‘I don’t mind; I’ve enjoyed it. I might see you around if you’re here for a while longer?’

‘I’m not sure what the plan is yet, but I think I might be. I’m going to do some more hunting through records and it seems easier to do it in situ rather than online, back on the mainland.’

‘Well, good luck. I’ll check in now that I have your number, see what you’ve uncovered.’

‘I’d like that,’ he said, with a smile so warm and genuine there was no mistaking that his words were sincere.

A pang of regret swept over Bella at the sight. What was it about this man? She shook it off. She barely knew him.

With a final nod and a smile of her own, she left him on the bench and began to walk back to Villa Rosa.