The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (082) Redeeming a Raincheck

 

On Saturday morning Doctors Woodward and Cameron took advantage of what was to be the calm before the storm by getting out for a walk, they had got out early that morning to drive up to Stephenson’s Supermarket to do a weekly shop, and then left for their walk as soon after putting the shopping away as possible.

They followed the cliff path south as far as Norman Beach before heading inland along Beacon Farm road until they reached the Spanish River.

They were headed to where the Beacon and Spanish rivers met and as they got close, there were streams and rivulets to negotiate and as he was about to jump over one of the babbling brooks, he caught sight of something glistening in the water, so he knelt on the bank and reached down and picked it up.

It was irregular in shape and was about the size of a cigarette packet and was made of some kind of transparent plastic or Perspex.

Deborah was slightly ahead of him and looked back to see where he was.

“What have you got there?” she asked

“It looks like a bit of aviation Perspex” he replied

“And what’s that when it’s at home?”

“It was used on World War Two aircraft, German in this case I think, Messerschmitt probably” he replied

“How did it get here?” Deborah asked

“It would have dropped here after the plane was hit by either cannon fire or flak” he said and slipped it into his pocket as a souvenir of the expedition, he thought he might even do something with it when he had a spare minute of two on a cold winter evening.

 

It was early evening by the time they walked down Halfway Lane and as they crossed the road and approached Manor Row she said

“Thank you”

“What for?” he asked

“For another lovely day” she explained

“No need for thanks” he said “it was very enjoyable”

Stuart looked at his watch and was amazed to see how late it was, no wonder he was hungry.

“It’s later than I thought” he said

“Me too” Deborah agreed “And I forgot to leave something out for supper”

“Have supper with me then” he offered

“Can you cook?” she asked him suspiciously

“I can” he replied

“I don’t mean “can you microwave”“ she said with a chuckle

“No I really can cook” he insisted

“Ok then”

“Are you a fussy eater?” Stuart added

“No, I’ll eat anything” she said and laughed

“Ok then that’s settled”

“Good I’m starving” she said “So you’d better make sure there’s plenty of it”

 

Because everything was coming together in Spaniards Creek Danny suggested getting Molly out of her own head for a few days, so he booked them a short break to Paris.

“I’m not sure now is a good time” Molly said

“Everyone knows what they are doing, and we’ll be back well before Holy week” he said “Think of it as research for the new book, with a little romance thrown in”

“You make a very persuasive argument” Molly said and kissed him, and they left the island on the last ferry on Sunday.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (081) A Busy Month

 

April was going to be a busy month for Molly, a lot of things were coming to fruition.

At Midnight on Friday 8^th of April owner ship of St Clara’s Church ceased to be part of the Church of England and changed to the ownership of the Barrington estate.

Molly chose that date because she thought it appropriate because it was Lazarus Saturday, which was the day when Jesus Christ raised Lazarus from the dead after he had lain in the grave four days.

She was metaphorically doing the same thing with the Church because if not for her intervention it would unquestionably have fallen into a state of disrepair from which it wouldn't have risen again.

 

Adam Jandrell and his team were on track to have the building renovation completed on the site over on the east side of the Spanish River, by the end of April and the west side by June 1^st.

Then the team could commence work on the Church Lane Cottages.

Which meant that Amelia Williamson needed to start looking for tenants, and the Parish Council helped with a list of suitable candidates.

Molly had instructed Amelia that priority was to be given to local people or people with ties to the village at the very least or those who worked in some capacity on the island either in agriculture, the hotel or the hospital.

For the commercial units they could be rented to non-islanders, but the businesses had to employ local labour.

But the month was also tinged with a small amount of sadness because once the Church was under her full ownership, she could complete the plans for her grandfather’s reinterment, which obviously opened old wounds.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (080) Redeeming a Raincheck

 

April

On the first of April, Architect Carolyn Livingston was back on the island, but unlike her previous few visits she was not there in connection with the Spanish River renovations, she had other designs in mind.

On her previous trip she got a nearside front puncture and came to rest on the verge, and Howard Nelson came to her rescue and got her to her appointment, if not on time, then close enough.

Meeting Howard had shaken her a little when she saw him, because they were actually a thing, for about three years, but  they split up eight years before, because she got a job on the mainland, and he had just taken over his father’s Boat Yard in Spaniards Creek.

Not making it work had been her biggest regret and saw the  puncture as providential.

She was on the verge of her 40^th birthday and he was close behind.

So with the mindset that it was maybe their last chance she walked into the office at Nelson’s Boat Yard and invited him for coffee as a thank you for helping her out.

He declined, but only because he was on the way out, so he asked for a raincheck for the next time she was on the island.

Well she was back, and she was going to redeem the raincheck.

 

Carolyn phoned Howard the day before and suggested upgrading the coffee date to dinner and he agreed, so she proposed meeting at the Beaumont Manor at 7.30pm.

Howard was as eager to see her as she was to see him, so he arrived ten minutes early.

But by 7.45 when she hadn’t appeared he texted her.

“Hi Carolyn, I’m in reception”

Less than a minute later she texted him back.

“Sorry, I’m running late, come up and wait, I’m in room 223, I’ll leave the door on the latch”

 

He made his way upstairs and let himself in and he could hear movement in the bathroom, and he closed the door loudly to let her know he had arrived.

“Is that you Howard?” she called

“Why? Who else are you expecting?”

“Don’t be cheeky, go and take a seat, I’ll be out shortly”

“Ok no problem” he replied

It was about five minutes before she appeared, and when she stepped out of the bathroom, he gasped.

Carolyn was wearing matching black silk underwear, black stockings, high heeled shoes and a filthy expression.

“Can I assume that as you invited me to your room we are dining in?” he asked and pushed himself up out of the armchair

“Something like that” she replied as she walked slowly towards him, before pushing him onto the bed.

 

They never did get dinner that night, they had to make do with a room service sandwich and breakfast in bed the next morning, they did manage to make it to the restaurant on Saturday night.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (079) Exceeding Expectations

 

The Archer’s were on the early Monday morning ferry and once they left the harbour, the four siblings were all standing by the rail.

They were unmistakably siblings with their clear unblemished complexions and straw-coloured hair of various lengths and styles.

“Well Pan, we got to find out what’s so special about the place” Clarissa said

“It certainly exceeded my expectations” Pandora responded, as Peter Wilson and Kenny Woodward approached, and they smiled at one another.

 

Monday was also the day when Bucklebury and Brandywine took over the management of the Church Lane Properties.

Clive Crossfield had terminated Brown and Leigh’s contract for fraudulently invoicing for work that was never done, and legal action was still a distinct possibility and they had been ordered to supply all relevant documents to Amelia Williamson at their earliest convenience.

Brown and Leigh took the instruction literally and a Luton van arrived in Spaniards Creek at midday full to the gunwales with archive boxes.

Amelia was at St Clara’s, with Molly and the Vicar, when she took the phone call from the driver.  

After she explained the nature of the phone call, the Vicar suggested the Church Hall, but without knowing exactly when they would be able to actually open their own premises it would have been unfair to take her up on her offer, so Molly phoned Katie Harrison and she agreed to let them store the boxes in the Beacon Farm barn, so Amelia redirected the driver to the farm. 

 

The rest of the month for Amelia was spent in the barn sorting through the boxes searching for the most recent reports for the Church Lane Properties.  

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (078) The Morning After

The visit caused a great deal of chatter at dinner that night and that led to some overindulgence, so the next morning they were slow to surface and were sluggish and lethargic.

So after some reviving coffee they set off for a walk, with the exception of Harry, who was spending as much of the day as possible with the Vicar.  

Their first port of call was Beacon Farm where they picked up the rest of the walking dead and Hayley Stock who was the only clear-headed member of the party as she didn’t drink.

 

Also visiting the island that weekend was twenty-eight-year-old Peter White, who was staying on Long Lake Farm with his family for the weekend, he was also from Sharpington, but he arrived on the last ferry of the day on Friday.

He loved his family, and he loved the island, but he knew from an early age that farming wasn’t for him, and after a week at university he knew there was more to life than Beaumont island, so after getting his degree in hospitality he got a job at the Seaview Hotel where he was now the assistant manager.

On Sunday morning his brother Jamie got a call from his girlfriend Hayley so he was walking over to meet up with her so Peter said he would tag along with him as far as the river.

 

Roughly about two hours before the party set off from Beacon Farm Kenny Woodward was leaving his sister’s house in Manor Row with a packed lunch in his backpack and a crudely drawn map courtesy of his sister Deborah.

They were supposed to be walking together but she had been unexpectedly called in to the hospital at stupid o’clock.

 

Before leaving the farm George held a straw poll, to see where everyone wanted to go, and it appeared no one had a particular preference, but no one fancied climbing anything.

So they settled on following the river up towards the lake.

Katie Harrison had made sandwiches for everyone and made sure everyone had plenty of water and then they set off, leaving Katie’s sister Louise and her husband Neil and their twins to hold the fort.

 

You could not describe what they were doing as a yomp, it was more of a slow amble for the nine of them, as the newbies to the island appreciated the woods and some of the hidden treasures on view.

Hayley was the only one who wanted to press on at pace, but that was because she was eager to see Jamie, who she was meeting where the Beacon and Spanish rivers meet.

 

When they eventually arrived, Hayley could see Jamie and his brother on the far side of the river, but before she got there, there were streams and rivulets to negotiate.

Jamie and Peter moved further upstream and crossed at the widest point, using the boulders as steppingstones, while Hayley jumped another stream and one by one the others jumped across the stream behind her.

George, the gentle giant leapt it with ease, then Katie, Nikki, Sam, Molly, and by the time Danny cleared the obstacle, Peter and Jamie White had reached the party along with the Kenny Woodward, who had emerged from the woods and who the Archer’s recognized as the guy who asked for directions on the ferry.

Then Clarissa made her jump and got it wrong and ended up losing her footing on landing and fell on her backside with one foot in the brook and got a bootie.

Pandora laughed so much that when she jumped, she ended up in the water and got two booties and all of them laughed.

“Come on let’s get you out of there” Peter said reaching his hand out to Clarissa.

She took it gladly as she looked up at the gorgeous raven-haired young man and he pulled her effortlessly up to his level and she thought he was even more striking up close.

“Thank you”

“Ok, your turn” Kenny said and pulled Pandora up onto the bank.

“Thanks, that was worth getting my feet wet for.”

she said and giggled.

She and Clarissa were still giggling as they sat on a rock and tipped the water from their shoes.

“Well, I think this is as good a place as any to have lunch” Katie said, and everyone agreed.

 

After lunch Hayley and Jamie went off on their own, and five minutes later Sam and Nikki did the same, and the remaining 8 followed the path into Riverside Woods, Danny and Molly were at the back holding hands and they watched the others as they formed into pairs, the lithe Clarissa and her raven haired adonis and curvaceous Pandora and her bearded rescuer, with gentle giant George and Katie up front.

“There’s definitely something about this island” Molly said and squeezed Danny’s hand. “Something magical”

“You had already worked your magic on me before we even got to the island” Danny pointed out and she kissed him.

 

They emerged from the wood by the bridge and Kenny said.

“This is where I need to say goodbye.”

“So soon?” Pandora said rather too fervently.

“I’m afraid so” he replied, “My sister will be back from the hospital shortly.”

“We’re only five minutes from the farm” Katie said, “Come back for a hot drink.”

“Yes, please do” Pandora implored.

“I’ll run you back up the road after” George said.

“Then you I would love to” he replied.

 

About the same time Deborah arrived home from the hospital and Stuart was working in his front garden and he was pleased to see her and said “Hello”

“Hello Stuart” she replied, “Where did you walk today?”

“I haven’t been,” he replied “it’s more fun with company”

“Well if you’re up for it I’m happy to do a walk” she offered “it’ll have to be a little one as I’ve had a bit of a day”

“Well if you’re sure you wouldn’t rather have a good soak in the bath” he said “I’ll just change my shoes”

“Don’t worry I will have that soak, but later will do” she said “Just give me five minutes and I’ll be with you”

 

Five minutes later they did a short walk down to Manor Cliff  beach and spent a pleasant hour walking along the wet sands before returning to the Cliff Top and as they entered Manor Row at the Cliffs end, Kenny entered it from the other. 

“Hi Debs” he said

“Kenny! Meet Stuart”

“Stuart this is my kid brother Kenny”

“Nice to meet you” Kenny said shaking his hand

“Likewise” he replied and then added “Well I’ll say goodbye, thanks for your company”

“Bye Stuart” she chirped before addressing her brother

“How did you get on?”  

“Great”

“And you didn’t get lost?” she asked as she opened the front door

“No, far from it” he replied

“Tell me more” she said and closed the door 

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (077) The Arrival of the Archer’s

 

The Archer’s were on the 8 o’clock ferry on Saturday morning and once they were out in open water the four siblings were all standing by the rail and Clarissa and Pandora got their first proper look at the Pepperstock Bay Islands.

They were unmistakably siblings with their clear unblemished complexions and straw-coloured hair of various lengths and styles.

“Well Pan, we’ll soon see what’s so special about the place” Clarissa said

“I have very low expectations” Pandora responded

“Relax and enjoy it, it’s the place where dreams come true” Sam said, and Harry smiled, but Clarissa just huffed.

 

Also aboard the early ferry was Kenny Woodward the younger brother of Dr Deborah Woodward who was spending the weekend with her.

He had never been to Beaumont Island before, but his sister waxed lyrical about it.

He had travelled from Sharpington, where he owned and ran the Bluebird Theatre and seldom left the town, but he loved his sister and as they were the only family they had they both made sure they stayed in each other’s lives.

But it suddenly occurred to him that he didn’t know where he was going, so he decided to ask someone.

There were a group standing by the rail a few yards away, so he decided to amble over and ask.

“Excuse me” he said, and they all turned towards him

“I was wondering if you could help”

“If we can” Harry said

“Great, have any of you been to the island before?”

“Yes, we have” Sam replied gesturing between him and Harry

“Brilliant, would you happen to know how to get to Manor Row?”

“Yes, we can help with that” Sam said

“Once you leave the dock, follow the signs for “Spaniards Creek” and you’ll pass the Bellevue Hospital, then the Beaumont Manor Hotel and Manor Row is the next left”

“That’s great, thank you” Kenny said

“No problem” Sam said, and Kenny walked away

 

It wasn’t long before the ferry had lined up with the jetty, so the Archer’s walked briskly back to the car.

Harry pointed out that the guy asking directions was in the car ahead of them.

As soon as the ramp was lowered, they began disembarking and the car ahead pulled away.

“Now we get to see if he was paying attention” Harry said and when their turn came Sam followed it down the ramp and out of the dock, onto the Spaniards Creek road, past the Bellevue Cottage Hospital, likewise the Beaumont Manor Hotel, and then the car ahead indicated left and turned off.

“So did he pay attention?” Clarissa asked from the back

“Yes, that’s Manor Row” Sam said

They drove on and went directly to Cliff Haven

“I can’t believe we’re staying at Danny Nightingale’s house” Pandora said

“Well technically its Molly Barrington’s house” Harry pointed out

“Even so, Danny Nightingale” she said as they pulled up on the drive.

 

Clarissa, Pandora and Harry were staying at Cliff Haven, but Sam was staying with the Harrison’s at Beacon Farm that night, where they were all headed once everyone else had settled in.

 

Katie Harrison put on a simple buffet lunch for everyone, nothing too heavy as they were all dining at the Orangery  that evening. 

After lunch the talk turned to, Archer’s Ornamental, which was started by Sam, and elder brother Harry, after Sam left university.

The business specialized in handmade snow globes, but amongst other things they also made decorative lights from recycled wine bottles, some bespoke, others mass-produced for the tourist season, and Christmas decorations for Emmaline’s Christmas Emporium in Sharpington.

Sam was the artist of the family business, he was the creator, the carver, modeller, and painter.

Harry was more practical, doing the technical stuff, 3D Printing, acrylic injection moulding, and impact moulding.

He also managed the production staff who assembled finished and packed the completed articles.

Clarissa and Pandora were later to the party and did the ordering, invoicing, and accounts, remotely while their mother was ill, and attended the factory one day a week.

Pandora and Clarissa had given up a lot to look after their mum, they both gave up good careers and both of them suffered relationship breakdowns as a result.

Their other halves not understanding why their lives should have to change, and Pandora was engaged to her partner.

However following their mother’s death,

Rather than return to their former career paths they wanted to become more involved in the business as they found themselves with time on their hands and their one day a week in Sharpington could now become more. This also coincided with changes in their brothers lives as their hearts now resided on Beaumont Island.

The business was also at the point where it needed to expand, but they were unable to expand the premises in Sharpington.

“So, we either need to move to larger premises or split the business between two premises”

Sam said

“But where?” Clarissa asked

“Ideally, for me” Harry said “I’d like to split the business between the Sharpington and the Island”

“Unfortunately good premises are even more difficult to find here than they are in Sharpington” Sam added

“Well….” Molly began and half an hour later they drove onto the old brewery site.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (076) An Inspector Calls

 

On the last Friday in March, Daryn Goldsmith was back in Spaniards Creek to perform another inspection on the Spanish River site.

He was a stonemason by trade but doubled up as the Islands Building inspector, which was scarcely even a part time occupation.

He was forty-eight years old and was widowed, and on his last visit to the island, fifty-year-old farmer Debbie Wilson reversed her car into his in the Stephenson’s Supermarket carpark.

She was deeply apologetic and insisted on exchanging details, even though he was satisfied there was no damage.

Later that day she phoned him and offered to buy him a coffee on the pretence of an apology.

In truth she wanted some romance back in her life whether out of desperation or loneliness, so had decided to dip her toe back in the water and begin dating and she saw the accident as providence.

So they met at the Galleon Coffee shop in Spaniards Creek and made a very strong connection, and apart from being attracted to each other they also discovered a shared love of sailing.

So on the ferry on the way to the island he phoned her

“Debbie speaking” she said

“Hi Debbie, its Daryn Goldsmith”

“Oh hello Daryn” she said “It’s good to hear from you”

“I’m on my way to the island and I was hoping we could meet for coffee again” he said

“Oh I would love to but I’m afraid I can’t get away from the farm” she responded

“Oh that’s a shame” he said “Maybe next time”

“If you’re here all day, I could meet you in St Pierre about 4.30” She suggested

He was planning to catch the 2 o’clock ferry and be home by 4.30 but he had been looking forward to seeing her again very much, so he said

“I can make that work”

“Fab” she said “Theres a coffee shop overlooking the harbour called Gilbert’s, I’ll meet you there as close to 4.30 as I can get”

“Looking forward to it” he said and hoped he hadn’t sounded too keen.

 

Debbie was highly motivated to get finished in time to make herself look presentable, because she thought Daryn sounded as keen as she was so she worked like a trojan all morning, muck spreading, and ate lunch in the tractor cab and at 3 o’clock she stopped and left her brother’s Duncan and James to finish off, so she could get back to the farm to make herself at least half decent, she didn’t have time for the full works, he would just have to take her as he found her.

 

Daryn spent more time on site in Spaniards Creek than he otherwise would, and he even had time to do his first inspection of the property on the west side of the river  with project manager Adam Jandrell for about an hour and gleaned some useful information when they were chewing the fat, about a potential renovation of the Norman Church, which was right up his street.

“If it comes to fruition” Daryn said handing him a business card “I would be interested in tendering”

“No problem” Adam said

 

Debbie left her home moderately happy with how she looked, but it was the best she could do in the time allowed, and got in her car, and at that precise moment Daryn was getting in his car in Spaniards Creek.

 

They both arrived in St Pierre at the same time but parked in separate carparks, so when they emerged onto the square.

They were on different trajectories to Gilbert’s which took them either side of the war memorial and when they passed it their paths converged, and they were both so focused on their destination they bumped into each other.

It happened so quickly they didn’t realise who the other person was until they got to the apologies, and they laughed.  

“We seem destined to have collisions” Daryn said and then they kissed each other’s cheeks and made their way, arm in arm, to the Coffee House.