Page 96 of The Midnight Secret

JAYNE

20 April 1931

Lochaline

Old Fin had brought his accordion and sat on the stool, playing it beside the fireplace in Ma Peg and Mad Annie’s front room. There was scarcely room for Mhairi to swing her long red hair, but the children were all playing upstairs, and most of the men had spilled into the garden to smoke their pipes and take in the sunset.

Food was set out on trestle tables – pies and sliced roast beef and a colourful custard trifle that had got everyone excited – as the women sipped on sherry. Most of them were wearing their Sunday best dresses, cut in colourful florals with lace collars, and had styled their hair with set curls. Jayne took in the scene from beneath lowered lashes as she carried through a plate of bacon roll-ups. The guests of honour hadn’t even arrived yet, but the party was in full swing, a buoyancy to the villagers’ collective mood that she hadn’t seen since their waulking the tweed ceilidh almost eighteen months earlier.

So much had changed since then. They had left theirhomeland and made new lives here. There had been much sorrow along the way – Lorna’s death was still a bitter shock to everyone, in spite of the betrayal of her actions; Effie (though she put on a brave face) was still numb from her split with Sholto; and Mhairi, although blooming, bitterly missed Donald. But tonight they were celebrating their small successes. Archie MacQueen was finally off his crutches, Mad Annie had been made captain of the local bowls club, and more important than anything, one of their own was finally returning.

‘Just put it down beside the gammon there, Jayne,’ Ma Peg said, leaning back to inspect the edible offerings, one arm clasped below her bosom as she nodded with pride. The party had been her idea.

‘When do you think they’ll get here?’ Jayne asked, rubbing her hands nervously. She felt unaccountably chilled for such a warm evening, a growing heaviness in her arms from carrying all the plates through, but she preferred to help with the setting up rather than stand around talking with the others. Although everyone smiled and behaved as normal, she knew what they must be thinking after the fracas a few days earlier. David had been right; she was weak and pathetic. They must pity Norman, being burdened with such a wretched and pitiful wife.

‘Any minute n—’ Ma Peg began, glancing at the clock on the mantlepiece, just as a cheer outside rose up and the children began stampeding down the stairs. ‘Well, talk of the devil herself,’ she laughed, clapping her hands together gleefully.

Through the windows, Jayne could see the high shine of a glossy black motor car, the men immediately gathering around to admire it as Christina and Archie MacQueen climbed out first. They had gone to the guesthouse where the Callaghans were staying earlier this afternoon; they had wanted to see their daughter privately, before the rest of the village.

Jayne smiled, startling slightly, as she caught sight of Flora’s beautiful face again through the glass. It was easy to forget just how very lovely she was – those appled cheekbones, perfectly tilted eyebrows – and of course those flashing green eyes so like her brother’s. Her glossy black hair had been cut into a fashionable bob back in the autumn, when she had made that fateful journey into Glasgow, but now it was growing out and fell more softly around her face – more like the island girl they had all known so well.

There was still no baby in her arms that Jayne could see from here. And in her eyes there was an ancient tiredness, as if her soul had become as old as the mountains.

Behind Flora, James was shaking hands with the men and accepting compliments on the car. Motor cars had become a source of intense fascination and admiration among the village men since their relocation here.

Jayne watched as David stepped forward from the mass to hug the sister he adored. They had both changed since their last meeting. Flora was thinner, and David...Jayne caught the quizzical frown that crossed Flora’s face as she looked into his eyes. She asked him something and he nodded, but Flora looked sceptical, although the moment quickly passed.

Jayne turned back towards the table and stared down at the feast. It was all everyone had to offer. There were no riches here, but they had community, support, love and friendship. They would continue to give to one another, as they always had.

She leaned on the tabletop, feeling the heaviness increase in her bones again, and suddenly she knew what it really meant. It wasn’t down to carrying plates.

‘Please, no,’ she whispered vainly in the empty room. ‘...Not now.’

She closed her eyes, her face raised to the ceiling as she felt the tingling start up, golden shimmers sparking in her blood, flashing behind her eyelids.

She saw grey...Grey and red...

Her breathing came more heavily as the vision, indistinct at first, began to develop clarity. Green flickered at the edges of her mind’s eye. She turned her head. What was she seeing?...Who?

People had started spilling back into the house again, the inevitable procession towards the heart of the home. Somehow, Jayne pulled herself out of the trance. It felt like swimming out of a whirlpool, resisting a force that wanted to suck her downwards, away from the light...

‘...married us at the hotel! James had arranged everything.’ Flora’s distinctive voice carried through from the hall.

‘But I always thought you’d have a cathedral wedding!’ Mhairi replied.

‘So did I,’ Flora laughed. ‘But we’ll be sure to have a grand reception party to make up for it. We’ll have a cake and flowers, and Ma’s going to help me choose a dress to wear—’

Suddenly Flora’s voice became crystal clear, and Jayne turned to find her standing in the doorway. ‘Jayne!’ she exclaimed delightedly, rushing over. ‘I was wondering where you were!’

Jayne was startled by the comment – nobody ever wondered as to her whereabouts – as Flora threw her arms around her. ‘How have you been?’

For a moment, Jayne couldn’t find her voice. She felt wretched, but compared to what Flora had suffered these past eight months...‘Tremendous. Though life here has had none of your glamour or excitement.’

It was the wrong thing to have said, of course.

‘If there has been excitement, it’s all been the wrong sort,’Flora said, pulling a face and reaching for her friend’s hand. Jayne knew Flora’s parents would have told her that everyone knew. There were no more secrets among the St Kildans.

Well, almost none.

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