Page 29 of The Sisters at the Last House Before the Sea

‘That appears to be the case. Perhaps when your cousin arrived, Edith realised he wasn’t such a great catch after all.’ Ben leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. ‘Or maybe she didn’t want to leave Heaven’s Cove behind.’

Ben looked out of the window, at the rain drops running down the glass and the tendrils of mist curling around the pub. ‘That can’t be the reason, surely.’

‘Who knows? Anyway, I imagine it was very sad for William, and for Edith, too. She died a few years later and her gravestone says she died of a broken heart.’

‘That sounds very dramatic but this was back in the early twentieth century, right? Before the discovery of antibiotics. So Edith just as likely died of a bacterial infection.’

‘The last of the great romantics, are you?’

When Isla raised an eyebrow, Ben actually smiled, his first smile since arriving in the pub. ‘I can be romantic when I want to be – when the occasion calls for it. What about you?’

Isla blinked, not sure how the conversation had taken such a personal turn so quickly.

‘I’m in a long-term relationship. Well, long-ish. Eighteen months. With Paul. He runs his own business, doing logistics.’ Was it doing logistics? That didn’t sound right. And what if Ben asked what exactly he did at work? Though Paul had talked about it at length, she was still none the wiser. Isla winced and ploughed on. ‘He would have come tonight only Caitlin said she’d come with me instead, but then she…um…’

Ben grimaced. ‘Then she took one look at me and decided against it?’

‘I’m sure Caitlin had her reasons and that wasn’t one of them,’ said Isla with a smile, even though mentioning her sister had reminded her that she’d quite like to kill her for leaving her alone with this prickly stranger.

Ben drained the last of his pint and licked froth from his upper lip. ‘So what happens now, with the Edith-William mystery? I don’t suppose we’ll ever know the truth of what happened when William arrived in this very dank, very cold little village.’

Dank? ‘We’re getting hold of Edith’s death certificate, which might at least tell us why she died,’ replied Isla, ignoring Ben’s withering description of the place she called home. When a silence stretched between them, Isla added: ‘Are you heading for London tomorrow?’

‘That’s the plan. Back to the bright lights before my flight home early on Sunday.’

‘Right.’ Isla hesitated a moment, wondering if she’d be crazy to propose the idea that had just popped into her head. She pictured Nell’s friendly, helpful face and made up her mind. ‘Only, it’s supposed to be sunny here tomorrow and I could show you round the village, so you could get some photos for your mum.’

She didn’t want this irritating American to go home with a bad impression of Heaven’s Cove. It seemed important, for some reason, that he see the village in its full glory.

‘Um…’ Ben seemed non-plussed by her suggestion.

‘I could meet you at Driftwood House at ten tomorrow and give you a guided tour of the local sights.’

Isla felt hot all of a sudden. What if Ben thought she was doing this as some sort of come-on because she fancied him? He was nice enough looking, with his broad shoulders and dark hair that shone chestnut under the lights, but his good looks were countered by his unfortunate personality. She thought he was being unnecessarily abrupt. After all, it hadn’t been her idea that he journey to Heaven’s Cove and he should have said no to his mother if he was that upset about the whole idea.

‘A guided tour?’ Ben stared at her.

‘Yeah, but I’m sure you have to get back to London before—’

‘OK.’

Isla stopped speaking. ‘OK, what?’

‘OK, why not have a look around this place, now I’m here. And I have no urge to spend two days in a row stuck in a traffic jam going nowhere.’ He got to his feet. ‘Ten o’clock it is then, Isla. I’m heading off ’cos I’m beat, but it was good to meet you.’

Was he being sarcastic? Did Americans even do sarcasm like the Brits? Isla decided to treat his comment as sincere, so she smiled at him and said: ‘Likewise. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.’

She wasn’t looking forward to it at all. She should never have suggested it. But the deed was done and she’d make the best of tomorrow’s tour…and hope Paul wouldn’t kick off about it.

‘Oh, Gran,’ Isla murmured as Ben walked away, her face flushed from the flames crackling behind her. ‘What on earth have you started with your mysterious letter and riddle?’

But there was nothing else for it. She would show Ben around Heaven’s Cove tomorrow so he could get some photos for his mother, and then she would very happily wave him goodbye.

15

ISLA

‘Come on in, quick,’ said Rosie, ushering Isla through the front door of Driftwood House and closing it behind her. ‘It’s absolutely freezing out there today.’

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