Chapter Fifty-Eight
It was finally the day of the makers market.
It was taking place in the grounds of the distillery on the village outskirts.
The building was sleek and modern, yet somehow seemed to blend into the surroundings, perfectly framed by the hills behind.
The grounds stretched down to the loch which allowed plenty of space for the market with a view across the water.
The stalls had been set up in a horseshoe shape so everyone could appreciate the view wherever they were.
Iris had offered to help Flora with her stall, genuinely wishing to support her granddaughter but also, from a selfish point of view, she knew it was better to keep busy and keep her mind off her other family matters and the search for her sister.
There hadn’t been any news and she’d had to keep reminding herself that it had only been a couple of weeks since they’d started their search.
She would have to be patient and hope that her sister might be out there looking for her, too.
That’s if she was still actually able to and wanted to.
Iris had opened the door and now all she could do was wait.
But that hadn’t stopped her imagining what she might say to her if they were put in touch.
But it all sounded a bit glib. How did you start a conversation after years of not knowing about each other’s existence?
It was now the end of July and she couldn’t believe that Flora had been with her for almost two months.
She had missed her being away in Aberdeen and Edinburgh earlier in the month, especially when she’d decided to stay on an extra couple of days with Nita.
Iris wondered if she had been missing Edinburgh and was having cold feet about returning to Rowan Bay.
Although Flora hadn’t mentioned Brodie, Iris knew that something wasn’t right between them.
They had been so close right up until the day of the storm and now there was a distance between them.
And she could sense Brodie was a bit on edge and awkward when he was in her garden finishing off the work that day.
She didn’t want to pry about that or what Flora’s plans might be after the summer.
Flora hadn’t said much about the interview at the time, other than to say it had gone okay.
Then when she found out that she hadn’t been offered the job she didn’t seem bothered either way.
In fact, she seemed quite relieved. Iris was also quietly glad Flora wasn’t going to be moving north to go back into a teaching job.
At least for now anyway. She would have been supportive, of course, if it had been the right role, but she didn’t think it was.
Iris had noticed a real shift in Flora this summer, regardless of what was going on with Brodie.
Flora’s creativity seemed to have flourished as she sketched ideas in her pad, sifted through the piles of fabric on the table in the study, sat late into the night stitching and weaving.
She had a natural flair and talent which seemed to be thriving in this space.
Flora had been completely absorbed in creating and getting herself ready for the market.
It had given her a focus and had come at the right time.
They were unpacking and arranging the assortment of things Flora had created: brightly coloured scarves that she had weaved on Iris’s old loom; fabric bunting; drawstring bags; and tartan fabric hearts filled with lavender from Iris’s garden.
‘Are you sure you think these are okay, Gran?’ Flora nervously looked around after arranging a small stack of flyers on the table which advertised her alterations service.
Iris beamed in a bid to reassure her. ‘Are you kidding? This all looks fabulous, dearie. You should be very proud of yourself. I am.’ She gave her a hug.
The market was buzzing with the sound of chatter and laughter coming from the stalls.
There were tables with hand-poured candles, pottery, gin and whisky, cheese and honey and jams and chutney.
Jessica and Gillian had also taken a table to sell their artisan bread and baking.
‘Hello, pet,’ said Jeannie, bustling over to their table where Iris was perched on a stool.
‘I thought I would come along and have a wee look. Your gran said you’ve been working hard.
’ She cast her eyes over the selection, her hands moving animatedly as she beamed.
‘Oh my, Flora. Look at all of this. You are such a talented young lady.’
Flora blushed and Iris winked at her.
‘Hey, Flora.’ Hamish waved as he passed by. ‘Great to see you. I’m so glad you’re part of this.’
Iris watched Flora’s smile reach her eyes as she started to relax. She smiled coyly as she looked around at all the other stall holders. ‘What a great event.’
‘I know, it’s been really popular,’ said Hamish, ‘and I’m glad the weather has held, too.
Last year it was absolutely pishing down and we had to move it inside.
That’s why we’ve got the covered stalls this year.
’ He beamed, clearly pleased with them. ‘I’m looking at maybe making it a monthly event.
Anyway, I’ll let you get on. Looks like you have your first customer.
’ He tilted his head at Jeannie who was taking her wallet from her bag.
‘I would love a scarf, please, and some of the bunting for my granddaughter. And two lavender hearts. These will make great gifts.’
Iris watched Flora smile as she started to gather up the things Jeannie wanted and put them in a paper bag which had her logo, a small thistle next to the words Flora Designs — designed by her friend Nita — stamped on it in purple.
‘Hold on a minute, dearie. I think we need to start doing some bartering with the customers.’
Flora gave her gran a pointed look.
‘Uh-oh. Here we go,’ said Jeannie, raising an eyebrow. ‘It didn’t take you long to take over, Iris Fraser.’
Iris chuckled. ‘Not taking over, just ensuring my dear granddaughter isn’t underselling herself. Now, seeing how you’ve got two lavender hearts there, Jeannie, how about we offer you a special deal? Normally they’re six pounds each. But how about we give you three for fifteen?’
Jeannie rolled her eyes. ‘Okay, deal.’
Flora shook her head and smiled as she rung up Jeannie’s purchases.
Thanks very much, dear. I’m off to the cocktail stall now.’ She grinned. ‘Then I might go and get a wee shoulder massage at the spa stall.’
‘I didn’t realise there was a spa stall.’ Iris was now on high alert at the thought of a nice soothing massage. ‘Where is it?’
Jeannie pointed vaguely towards the other end of the market. ‘It’s Alice from the spa in the village offering some wee tasters.’
‘I see.’ Iris focused her gaze and looked intently across at the stall. ‘I’ll check it out later.’
‘So much for you being here to help me,’ said Flora wryly.
Jeannie looked slightly alarmed that Iris was planning to head to the spa stall before her. ‘I’d better get there myself. I don’t want to miss out. Alice has the hands of an angel. Thanks, Flora,’ she said hastily, turning and beetling off.
‘Tsk. That woman is so competitive. Did you see how quickly she hotfooted it out of here when she thought I was heading the same way.’ Iris shook her head in disgust.
Flora rolled her eyes in amusement before a few more people arrived to have a look at the stall.
The next hour passed quickly as a steady stream of customers kept Flora and Iris busy. Iris continued to offer ‘special deals’ to the customers, upselling everything she could on display. Flora could barely keep up with the speed of sales as she wrapped and took payments.
‘That was just what I needed,’ said Jeannie who reappeared looking very zen. ‘My shoulders are nice and relaxed now. How’s it been here?’
‘Busy.’ Flora raised an eyebrow.
‘It’s busy there, too. You’ll be lucky if you get a slot, Iris.’
Iris bristled, annoyed that Jeannie was back to gloat. ‘I’ve heard the cocktail stall is running low. You’d better hurry if you want a John Collins.’
There was a look of alarm on Jeannie’s face as she hastily said farewell and hurried on, desperate to get her favourite gin cocktail.
‘Honestly, she’s so gullible,’ said Iris with a cackle.
After the initial rush, there was a lull as the shoppers drifted around the other stalls. Flora moved to listen to the artisan chocolate stallholder next to them explain his process. It was Iris who spotted Brodie heading across the grass towards them, carrying a set of ladders.
‘Hello, Brodie,’ she called cheerily.
‘Hello,’ he said cautiously. ‘I wasn’t sure if you would be here. I’m just helping Hamish out.’
‘We’ve been working very hard on Flora Designs.’ Iris pointed proudly at the sign and display on the table.
Flora had now moved back into position next to Iris and she smiled politely. ‘Hi, Brodie. Are you feeling better?’
‘Yes. Much better. Thank you.’
There was an awkward silence as Iris watched Flora turn to fiddle with the display and Brodie looked at the ground.
But she hadn’t missed the moment Brodie’s eyes lit up when he first saw Flora.
She really ought to bang their heads together.
‘Oh, will you look — there’s wee Jeannie waving at me.
Maybe there’s a free slot at the spa stall after all.
’ She was about to walk towards Jeannie, hoping that her exit would give the pair of them a chance to talk when Flora put her hand on her arm.
‘Can you hold the fort for me please, Gran? I need a coffee. I’ll bring you one back.’ Without waiting for a reply, Flora strode off leaving Brodie standing there looking extremely awkward.