Harold had
purchased, what he had reliably been informed was a particularly good
Champagne, he was no judge himself he was more of a traditional ale kind of
man.
But the Belgian
Truffles however he could vouch for himself as they were one of his favourites
and he bought them from Crazy Chocolatiers in Abbottsford.
So with Champagne
and Truffles in hand he walked along the tow path and then he heard music
drifting across the river, he knew it had to be from Victoria’s because no one
else had moved in yet, and as he got closer, he saw that she had all the
windows open, and the music was indeed coming from her cottage.
Victoria was sat
in the armchair with her eyes closed and was letting the music wash over her
when there was a knock at the door.
She got up and
walked to the door and when she opened it Harold was standing there, Champagne
in one hand and Chocolates in the other.
“I have
housewarming gifts” he said
“Oh you really
are a wonderful man” she said and added to herself
“And you’ll be
staying for breakfast”
Elisa had so enjoyed her long
early morning walk with Henry that over the week following it, she made every
conceivable effort to bump into him again.
Henry meanwhile following his
recent epiphany and realization that he was in fact still alive had also
enjoyed their chance meeting, her kindness and her gently laughter also looked
forward to meeting her again.
The problem was that the two
of them just hoping for another chance meeting inadvertently managed to avoid
each other entirely.
When Henry was in the Village
Elisa was up by the Radar Station Ruins, when he walked along the Riverbank,
she was in the woods by the Armada Head.
In the end Elisa thought it
best just to talk to him, where she knew he was definitely going to be, at St
Clara’s on Sunday, and just arrange something.
He was doing his second and
final Sunday service because Reverend Arielle Archer was due back from
Honeymoon later that day, and it was unclear how much longer he would be in the
village, and her future plans were still unclear.
After the service the Vicar
at the door saying goodbye to the congregants and when it was Elisa’s turn he
said
“Hello, I didn’t know you
were still here”
“Really?” she replied “Why?”
“Well I haven’t seen you out
and about on my walks” he explained
“Well perhaps we should
synchronise our diaries” she suggested
“Good idea, tomorrow morning,
seven o’clock” the Vicar said
“Excellent, see you then”
It was even hotter on Sunday
than it had been the day before so Stuart and Deborah decided not to walk and
drove into St Pierre instead and had a long leisurely lunch and anyone looking
on would have thought they were a couple.
Colleagues at the
hospital had commented jokingly about a romance between them but she took it
with a pinch of salt, after all there was a lot of romance going about, but
Deborah and Stuart’s relationship was purely platonic, and she was happy with
that, and she was certain that he was too.
On the first Monday in July, Elisa was up bright and early to meet Henry for their early
morning walk, for what was to become a daily event.
Also work commenced on St Clara’s and the twelve Church
Lane cottages and Victoria Pullen started work at
Bellevue.
On the day she
started, the first-person she met was Heather
Edwards, a well-presented woman at the wrong end of her forties who had been a
receptionist at the hospital for 25 years in all.
So Heather was best placed to
show her the ropes and as she had also lived on the island all of her life, she
was the font of all knowledge on all local matters as well.
Heather made Victoria feel
immediately at home and with each successive member of staff she met she felt
even more so.
Victoria’s official job title at Bellevue was Palliative Care
Sister, but with some General Nursing duties and the home visit when necessary,
so the following weekend she got herself a motorbike, not a big machine and
nothing stylish she needed something that would cope with rough roads and farm
tracks.
During the hot weather Molly
and Danny were working under an awning on the patio which was working well for
them although with Molly wearing skimpy shorts and a bra top, Danny did find he
was somewhat distracted.
The rest of the week went by
in much the same vein, the hot oppressive weather, Elisa and the Reverend went
on their long early morning walks, and Danny and Molly spent more alfresco
workdays under the awning.
When Danny and Molly arrived
downstairs on Saturday morning, they found Elisa in the kitchen making
sandwiches.
“Morning Elisa” Molly said
and kissed her cheek
“Morning Dear”
“Are you not walking this
morning?” Molly asked
“No Henry and I are taking
the boat to St Giles instead, that’s why I’m making a picnic” she explained “He
stayed at the retreat there following his wife’s death”
“You’re spending a lot of
time with the Reverend Noble” Molly said
“Yes, we get on very well”
she replied
“I think that’s really nice”
Danny said
“Yes, so do I” Elisa said
“But…”
“But?” asked Molly
“Well he’s only here
temporarily, and I need to get out of your hair soon” She said
“Nonsense, we said you could
stay as long as you wanted” Molly said
“And we meant it” Danny added
“So enjoy your day out” Molly
said and hugged her
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