April
Renowned
Downshire Poet, Mark Edmunds and his older brother Rich
were staying for a few days at the Beaumont Manor Hotel just outside St Pierre
on Beaumont Island.
It was his
Rich’s idea, to have a short break on the largest of the Pepperstock Bay
Islands for a change of pace and some R&R, but in reality it was Rich who
needed it most as he was a TV News Reader and needed to go somewhere where he
might be able to take a walk without being pestered by people who wanted to
take a selfie.
Mark wasn’t
particularly sympathetic and paraphrased Oscar Wilde and said “The only thing
worse than being asked to take a selfie is not being asked to take a selfie”
They were both
from the quiet country village of Pepperstock Green, with adjoining Cottages
which backed on to a quiet stretch of the River Oxley.
Mark did
suggest that a trip in a cabin cruiser would have been equally relaxing but
thankfully he didn’t listen, and that was something that would later on prove
to be a very significance decision in their lives, because on their first night
at the Hotel they met sisters Linda and Kaylie Williams, who it turned out were
also from Pepperstock Green, and the irony of that first meeting was that they
asked Rich if they could have a selfie.
The four of
them hit it off right from the start and decided as they were all there to
enjoy the wonderful scenery they might just as well do it together.
So after
breakfast the next day they set off and got their first proper look of the
delights of the Island and its environs and then they got a map of the island
from the receptionist which marked the best walks.
So they set off
on a trail that took them through Bellevue woods and onward up into the crags
and planned to climb up to the top, and everything was proceeding nicely until
the weather closed in and they were forced back down to the safety of the Hotel
where they remained for the rest of the day and the day after.
Perhaps because
they were all around the thirty mark the four of them got on well and as a
result, they had enjoyed their confinement at the Hotel, but Mark in particular
enjoyed the time he spent with Kaylie, so quite naturally they fell in love.
Rich and Linda
also liked each other but for the them the path to romance was more of a slow
burn, in fact it hadn’t ignited beyond an ember by the time their short holiday
was over, but unlike most holiday flirtations it didn’t end with the holiday
because they all lived in the same village, and because Mark and Kaylie were a
couple Rich and Linda continued to come into each other’s orbits over and over
again in the two weeks following Mark and Kaylie’s courtship.
At the end of
April they returned to the Island for the weekend to celebrate Kaylie’s
impending birthday.
Linda and
Kaylie lived together in what was once the family home so early on Saturday
morning Rich and Mark picked them up and they got the first ferry from
Pipershaven.
They spend most
of Saturday exploring the island in the car as the weather was a bit inclement
but on Saturday night, they had a great meal at the Orangery and three bottles
of wine, and the conversation got onto birthdays or to be more precise Linda’s
birthday.
“So, it’s your
birthday tomorrow” Kaylie said “A significant birthday”
“Thanks sis”
she rebuked
“Oh really?”
Rich said “And if it’s not indelicate to ask, which one”
“The big three
zero” she confessed
“Well, I would
never have guessed” he said gallantly
“Flatterer” she
retorted
“Well don’t
look at it in terms that you’re going to be 30, think of it more as turning 20
– 10” Rich said kindly and touched her hand
“I myself am 20
– 11”
Kaylie was
watching her sister throughout the exchange and when Linda smiled at him.
Another wine
bottle bit the dust but rather than open another one after that they thought it
more prudent to call it a night.
Rich helped
Linda to her feet and Kaylie said
“Wait for me
while I find my bag”
“No rush” Rich
said “I can walk her home, if you want to stay a bit longer”
“Oh ok” Kaylie
said “Thank you, very gallant”
The next
morning, at first light Kaylie crept along the corridor to her room and just
reached her bedroom in time to see Linda’s door open and Rich tiptoe out.
“Well, that’s
taking gallantry to the extreme” she thought and then slipped into her bed and
slept a guilt free sleep.
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