Chapter Twenty-Four
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Sam made coffee and they drank it on the terrace while talking about the craft fair. Elspeth said that it was the highlight of the year for a lot of the artists and craftspeople and that Morven had planned to share a stall with Damon.
‘Penny Bannister was a bit cheeky asking you to help,’ she observed.
‘I didn’t mind,’ Lily replied. ‘I love being able to support local makers,’ she said, hiding the fact she was still apprehensive about the public speaking aspect of the event.
‘Yet you had to change your plans?’ Elspeth said, with a shrewd sideways look at her.
‘Yes, that was a logistical challenge,’ Lily said, and added, ‘though I was highly motivated once I heard étienne and the girls were coming.’
While they’d been cooking, Lily had told Elspeth what had happened to Cara.
‘I bet. You must be very close, especially after losing your sister,’ Elspeth said gently.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lily spotted Sam taking an interest.
‘I feel I’ve had to step into her shoes in some ways.’ She stopped, emotion welling up again. ‘Not that I’ve done a very good job of it. Or any kind of job.’
‘I’m sure that’s not true.’
‘It is. And that’s one of the things I’m going to change when I get home. I will make more time for them, no matter what. I’m going to promote my PA – not that he knows it yet – and give him and the team more responsibility. I’m going to spend more time with my family and – um – perhaps try a bit of self-care.’
Unexpectedly, Sam didn’t smile at the phrase.
‘Fasten your own oxygen mask first, eh? Without doing that, you’ve no hope of helping those around you.’ Elspeth nodded in approval. ‘I learned that along the way.’
‘It’s something I’ve realised since I’ve been here. I needed to take a step away from the everyday and draw in a deep breath to give myself some perspective,’ Lily said, looking at Sam as she spoke. ‘And Stark’s given me an opportunity to do that.’
‘Good.’ Elspeth eased herself out of the lounger. ‘I think I’ll go home. It’s been a long day. What’s your plan for tomorrow?’ she asked Sam.
‘I’m going back to Stark with Aaron. We’re going to scour the island and see if we can find any trace of this uninvited visitor. Lily, would you mind staying here until I have news?’
‘Not at all … I can go straight to the café. In fact, I’d tentatively arranged to meet up with Penny to find out more about the craft fair, so it suits me.’
‘Great,’ said Sam, sounding relieved that Lily wasn’t going to put up a fight to join him ghost hunting. ‘I’ll walk you home, Auntie Elspeth.’
Elspeth rolled her eyes good-naturedly. ‘I think I can safely make my way two hundred yards down the path. You stay here with Morven and Lily. I’ll see you at the café in the morning,’ she added to Lily. ‘Now, goodnight and sweet dreams.’
Lily thanked her for dinner with a hug and watched her walk out of the garden and towards her cottage.
‘I’ll message her as soon as I think she should be home,’ Sam said. ‘She’ll go mad if I follow her.’
‘Have you been worried about her before?’ Lily asked.
‘No … and I’m being paranoid, I suppose. Contrary to the crime novels, serious trouble is incredibly rare here.’
‘Let’s stay out here until you know she’s safely home,’ Lily suggested.
Two minutes later, Elspeth herself sent a message saying she was back in her cottage and that Sam should stop worrying.
‘That’s easier said than done,’ he murmured.
‘Tell me about it,’ Lily answered. ‘Shall we go inside?’
The sky was still light at ten o’ clock and Sam had left the French doors open to make the most of the long day. The scent of the sea blew in and gradually the birds settled in their roosts, leaving only the rustle of leaves and low rumble of the sea to be heard. Occasionally, music drifted down from Morven’s room.
He turned on the lamps and they sat talking about the cottages and his plans. He also apologised for Morven’s behaviour when he was sure she was out of earshot, but Lily told him not to worry.
‘I’ve invaded her space,’ she said. ‘It’s hardly surprising she feels painted into a corner. Have you heard any news from your brother about coming home?’
‘Not since our last chat. He knows he can’t keep Morven dangling any longer. She’s got to decide what to do about her further education once she has her A-level results and needs to focus on that if she’s staying on Bryher. It’s been disruptive enough to have to board on St Mary’s in the week, without her father staying away for so long.’
‘Where did they live before he went to the States?’
‘In a bungalow near the community centre. It’s rented out as a holiday let at the moment. He was able to work remotely from Bryher as a freelance games designer. His main client was based in Exeter and Nate managed by making monthly business trips to their office. It worked well.’
‘Until he went to LA?’ Lily said. ‘Are you worried he might not come back for Morven at all?’
‘Sometimes, yes.’
‘Poor Morven,’ Lily murmured, putting herself in the teenager’s place. ‘No wonder she feels all at sea. And even her home has been taken over by strangers.’
‘You don’t mean you coming here?’ Sam said.
‘No, I actually meant that her real home – the bungalow – is rented out.’
Sam looked relieved. ‘Good, because you’re not a stranger. I invited you here as my guest – as more than a guest, as a … friend. This is my home, and Morven will have to put up with it.’ With that he got up, gathering empty mugs. ‘I’m going to put these in the dishwasher and then I think we should both get an early night.’
As Lily got ready for bed, a tingle ran through her. Sam had been adamant she was more than a guest, although she wasn’t sure that ‘friends’ covered the relationship between them. She’d replayed the kiss often and couldn’t help thinking he was ready to reciprocate.
Even now, she found it impossible not to picture him lying in bed a few feet down the hall – even closer than when they were together on Stark. Did he wear pyjamas? Somehow, she couldn’t imagine it … she hoped he wouldn’t forget that she was in the house and go wandering to the bathroom, with nothing on …
The touch of his lips …
Needing a distraction from such thoughts, Lily decided to go outside to message her parents but the lure of the screen was no match for the scene in front of her. The scent of wild honeysuckle reached her and the moon shone down, creating a shimmering path across the channel, painting Cromwell’s Castle in a mysterious silvery hue. She smiled to herself: everything surrounding Stark was mysterious.
The wind whispered against her cheek, like the brush of Sam’s lips on hers, the touch of his hand. Perhaps the moon wasn’t as beautiful as she thought, nor the honeysuckle as delicious. Perhaps she was experiencing everything with such intensity because she’d almost died or because …
‘Hey! You!’
Lily jumped.
Morven stepped out of the French doors and glared at her.
‘I presume you mean me,’ Lily said evenly, not needing her business skills to recognise a cobra about to strike.
‘We can manage without you. We did before,’ Morven said, coming closer. ‘You take over Sam’s project, you want to interfere with the craft fair, move into our house … You just have to be the boss of everything, don’t you? Well, the island doesn’t need you! None of us do.’
For a nanosecond, Lily thought about explaining that she’d had her arm twisted to help at the craft fair, and that Morven was being ludicrously unfair – not to mention incredibly rude.
Instead, she threw her teenage nemesis a winning smile. ‘Well, perhaps I need it .’
Morven marched back inside and headed upstairs, turning up her music so loud that the floors were practically vibrating. Lily knew there was no point going to bed with that row going on.
After closing the doors behind her, Lily went back into the sitting room.
Sam walked in from the kitchen and winced. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I’ll go up and have a word.’
Not long after, the music stopped. As a teenager, Lily had done the same herself a few times and, despite Morven’s rudeness, she could understand the girl’s frustration. She must feel that the only control she had over her life was through the volume of her sound system.
‘It’s safe to go up now,’ Sam said on his return. ‘I’ll lock up.’
Wondering if he usually locked the doors, Lily went up to her room and was soon lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves breaking on Hell Bay.
When she woke, it was to sounds that were anything but soothing.
Shouts reverberated through the house, along with heavy footsteps on the stairs. Morven must be thumping around, possibly spoiling for a fight over breakfast.
Lily got up and pulled on a hoodie over her pyjamas. She opened the door a crack to find Sam just emerging from Morven’s room, raking a hand through untamed hair.
‘Is she up there?’ Unexpectedly, Elspeth’s plaintive cry came from the hall below.
‘What’s the matter?’ Lily said.
Sam’s face was grey with anguish. ‘It’s Morven,’ he said. ‘Her bed’s definitely not been slept in and she’s nowhere to be found.’