Chapter Twenty Six
At first light, I’m packing up my cleaning supplies and pulling on my scruffiest joggers and a bleach-stained t-shirt. Operation Clean Up is officially on - I’ve got my Marigolds at the ready and I’m raring to go!
Still, I went back and forth all night long on whether it was wise to offer my help to Noah. I fear I’m getting too close again, and that if I’m not careful, I’m going to end up burned. But Noah’s my friend. Sure, we may have more chemistry than a school science lab and my legs might turn to jelly at the sight of that bright, dashing half-smile of his, but I’ve got it under control. I’ve had crushes before, and they pass. That’s what this is, a simple crush. I mean, that’s what it has to be. I can’t risk getting involved with anyone, not now. I’ve only just started to find my feet with this new-found independence I’ve had forced upon me, and I don’t need a man to come along and save me. And besides all that, I’ve got a young daughter to think of. She’s already troubled enough by the separation, it would be selfish of me to complicate things with a new person on the scene, wouldn’t it?
Firm in my decision, I dial in Kat’s number. Within seconds, she picks up. ‘Hey, what’s up?’
‘You’re off today, aren’t you?’
‘Yeah, why?’
I gulp audibly as a touch of guilt trickles in. I realise too late that I really should have checked with my sister beforehand, instead of dropping this on her last minute.
‘It’s a big ask, but do you think you could watch Penny for me? I’ve got to help a friend out today.’
I could bring her with me, I know she’d be no trouble. A girl after my own heart, she adores helping me clean, or at least, her version of helping. Still, I know she wouldn’t get in the way and she’d do what she could to be useful, but the idea of her officially meeting Noah - even though we’re nothing more than mates - sends my stomach churning with nerves.
‘Sure, no problem. We were going to nip into town for the day, she can come with us.’
‘Oh, she’d love that!’ I breathe out a sigh of relief and appreciation. ‘Thanks so much, sis.’
‘So, who’s the friend?’
I wasn’t expecting that question, and it takes me a moment to collect myself. ‘Oh, just a friend. He needs a hand, and I offered mine.’
‘He?!’ My sister practically screams over the phone. ‘He?!’
‘Yes, he.’ With a click of my tongue, I toss my hair over my shoulder. ‘Women and men can be friends you know, Kat. It’s the twenty-first century, get over it.’
‘Well, yeah sure. But since when have you ever been friends with a guy? You’re a girls girl through and through, you don’t know how to talk to a bloke unless you’re flirting with him.’
A mix of anger and embarrassment races through my veins. I do like a good flirt, it has to be said, since I got so little attention from my husband, it was nice to feel desired at times. But it’s not like that with Noah, we have a connection that runs deeper than saucy banter and batting eyelashes.
Since she’s doing me a favour, I conceal my annoyance and brush off Kat’s comments as best I can. ‘Oh, shut up. I’ll see you in ten to drop Penny off, okay?’
‘Ah, touched a nerve, I see!’ Kat chuckles maddeningly. ‘Yep, see you in a bit.’
I’m glad to put the phone down. After loading everything into the car, there’s barely enough room for Penny and I. I don’t know about everything but the kitchen sink, but I’ve certainly got everything under the kitchen sink in here, along with Mia’s trusty broom and mop. I’d have brought the vacuum, but I doubt there’s any plug sockets up there, I mean, it’s not like old Henry Gills needed to charge his phone while on duty back then.
Once I’ve left Penny with her aunt, it’s straight across town to the lighthouse. I have to call Noah down to help me unload the car, and the two of us puff and pant as we lug the supplies up the spindly, winding stairs to the light chamber.
Let the big clean-up commence!
As I stretch on my tippy-toes to clean the huge window, the floorboards creak beneath my feet.
‘Take care over there,’ Noah warns, ‘some of the boards are rotten, and they won’t take much weight.’
‘Erm, what are you trying to say, Mr Gills?’ I plant my hands on my hips, feigning great offence.
‘I’m saying I don’t want you going through the floor, Ms Knight, so watch your step!’
I work hard on the glass for no less than twenty minutes, and finally, stand back to admire my handiwork. The window is shining, and I can’t believe how much clearer the view is after a little bit of elbow grease.
‘It really is a beautiful sight, isn’t it?’ I say wistfully, mostly to myself. ‘Sunny Shore Bay and the ocean beyond.’
‘Yeah, beautiful.’
I glance over my shoulder and blush to see Noah watching me, a small, shrewd smile skittering across his lips. Clearing my throat, I turn my attention to the next task at hand, dusting off the huge beacon, which of course, no longer works.
‘Where on earth could you find a replacement for a massive bulb like this?’ I wonder aloud. ‘I mean, it’s not like you could just pop to B and Q and pick one up, could you?’
‘Sadly, no. That’s why the restoration project was so important, for all the jobs we cannot do ourselves.’
‘Don’t worry, it will happen.’ I offer him my brightest, most reassuring grin. ‘I’m certain of it.’
*
I’ve never cleaned so hard in all my life, and I’ve scrubbed baby sick out cream shag carpets.
It takes an hour and a half to scrape the first layer of grime off the floorboards and the water in the bucket is murky brown, but we’re steadily making progress. I didn’t realise how filthy the light chamber was until we started cleaning it, I’d kind of got used to the dusty, foggy-windowed aesthetic of it. Years of neglect and abandonment have really done a number on this place, I can see why restoring it is so important to Noah. If it’s stunning now, it will look truly majestic when we’re done with it, and even better once a full restoration can be done.
Once the floor is dry, I decide to give it another going over with the broom. Whistling tunelessly, I whiz around the room, dancing the waltz with my stiff wooden partner. Across the chamber, a hearty laugh sounds and Noah joins in my daft little song.
As I’m skipping past the window, the floorboard groans beneath me and jerks upward suddenly, sending me sprawling on my back.
‘Claire!’
Noah rushes to my aid and hauls me upright.
‘I’m okay.’ I examine the lifted floorboard, and notice that there’s something beneath it. ‘Hey, what’s this?’
I kneel down and reach into the hole, and pull out something small and incredibly dusty.
‘It’s a log book.’ Noah’s eyes sparkle as they meet mine. ‘The missing log book.’
‘Oh my gosh!’ I gasp, leaping up and sprinkling dust motes everywhere. ‘It was here all along, right under our noses. Or feet, I should say!’
With careful hands, I lift the leather-bound cover and begin to read the first page it falls open to aloud:
My beloved Eliza will be at the lighthouse tonight, provided she can avoid the watchful eye of her father.
I shall listen for her song to let me know she is near so I may unlock the door for her. I pray she makes it safely across town, the wind is bitter cold this night.
‘Who’s Eliza?’ I screw up my nose, more confused than before, but Noah has an answer.
‘It must be Eliza Beckworth, she was the daughter of the town’s pastor, Horace Beckworth. She was said to be a talented singer and regularly performed at the church hall for townsfolk and visiting dignitaries alike. One day, she …’ he voice trails away, as if he’s realising something for the first time. ‘She left town without a trace.’
We stare at each other, the unravelling story leaving us speechless. Desperate to find out more, we read on.
We have hatched a plan, Eliza and I. Her father refuses still to offer us his blessing to marry, so we shall take matters into our own hands.
We leave at midnight. I have stowed our bags here in the lighthouse, and Eliza will call out her song to let me know when she’s at the promenade. Such a powerful voice for such a dainty maiden, it carries clear across the town on the sea wind.
I shall miss this place, my lighthouse. It has kept me company when I had none, given me warmth when my heart was cold. But I have a new love now, Eliza, and I must follow where she leads.
This will be my last log, I leave it behind with the remnants of my old life. Farewell, old friend.
H.G
‘So Eliza was the siren all along,’ I surmise. ‘She sang her song as a signal for Henry, so he knew the coast was clear for their romantic rendezvous.’ I look up at Noah. ‘They met up here at the lighthouse, just like us.’
‘And Henry didn’t go missing, he and Eliza ran away to start their lives together, where they could marry without the condemnation of her father.’
‘We did it, Noah!’ I clutch his arm excitedly. ‘We solved the mystery of the lighthouse keeper, and the siren of Sunny Shore Bay!’
‘I suppose we did.’ Noah’s eyes meet mine, and there’s a new sort of spark in them, one that makes my tummy do the loop-de-loop. ‘Thanks to you.’
‘Well, thanks to my clumsy footwork, but I’ll take the gratitude!’
We’re about to leaf through the ancient pages together a second time, but a shrill ring-ting-ting makes us jump about five feet in the air.
‘Oh, that’s my mobile.’ I shrug apologetically as I reach into my pocket. ‘It’s my sister, I better take this.’
‘No problem.’
I turn my back and answer the call. I don’t even get chance to say hello before Kat’s panicked voice blares in my ear.
‘Claire, thank God.’ She’s out of breath and it sounds like she’s been crying.
My heart hammers against my ribcage and my mother’s intuition kicks into overdrive, a warning that something terrible has happened.
‘What’s wrong?’ I demand.
‘It’s Penny.’ Those two words chill my blood, and the next two freeze it to ice in my veins. ‘She’s missing.’