Page 66 of The Island in Bramble Bay
‘And it’s been a huge success, hasn’t it?’
‘Yes, we hit our target just a few days after launching and now that we’ve exceeded it we’re continuing to raise money for the future maintenance of the project as well as to improve the fabric of what we already have on the island.’
‘Congratulations, that’s a huge achievement and I understand it’s the most successful fundraising ever undertaken by the Trust?’
‘Yes, I think the speed at which we reached the target surprised us all. And it was from lots of people making smaller donations which I think shows how much the island and the woodland means to so many people.’
‘And I understand that it’s extra special for you, Maggie. You met your partner Charlie when you were both working on the island.’
Maggie lost all focus. She could see Charlie abseiling down the tree he’d been working in when they first met. All the moments they’d shared on the island seemed to hit her all at once in a torrent of memories.
‘Okay, cut there!’ shouted someone, breaking into her thoughts.
‘I’m sorry, Maggie,’ said Eva. ‘Ben mentioned it and I thought it would be a nice touch. I apologise if it was inappropriate.’
‘No, not at all,’ said Maggie, trying to compose herself and not start crying on camera. ‘It’s complicated, that’s all. Sorry. Do we need to do that again?’
‘No, don’t worry. We’ll cut that out and finish on the previous comment and I’ll do a piece to camera to round off. You were great,’ she said encouragingly.
Maggie really didn’t feel great, so now that her minute in the spotlight was over, she headed to the office, knowing that no one would be there because they were all watching the filming on the beach. Nick and Ben were due to leave that afternoon, after the filming, and although she knew she ought to see them off, she couldn’t face it. She just wanted to be alone.
She left a note on the table beside the office door explaining that she was sorry she couldn’t see them off but she wasn’t very well and had gone home to bed. She knew Megan and Alice would take care of things for her.
Back at the cottage she changed into her pyjamas and poured herself a large glass of wine before finally letting the tears fall that had been threatening since Eva Ranj asked her about Charlie.
Perhaps she had made the most enormous mistake breaking things off between them. It had been so easy to forget how wonderful it had been in the beginning but if it was meant to be, she should have been able to stoically wait for him, been able to keep herself going with the memories. The problem was that the great times were tainted by the slightly-less-than-amazing ones. Since America, their relationship had been at the mercy of other people. It hadn’t been about them anymore, and that had changed things.
It had been the right decision, it was just hard to take. Things would get easier and in the meantime, she had the water lodge project to keep her busy over the winter months.
62
AS SOON AS Charlie had spoken to Josh and Megan, he knew with sudden clarity what he had to do. It was no good allowing himself to go down the road of letting something he knew he wanted,someonehe knew he wanted, slip away from him. The only thing making him feel bad right now was knowing that Maggie thought he didn’t love her enough to make their relationship a priority.
He could see now how it was one thing to have her blessing to come to the US and finish something he never had a chance to finish properly before, but quite another thing for that to be seemingly never-ending, involving his ex-girlfriend and not actually making him as happy as he’d thought it would.
All that mattered was winning Maggie back and he figured he could do something about that.
He looked again at the scar on his arm and grinned. That was the catalyst that had brought them together in the first place and was the best reminder he had of how he’d felt about her then. He’d never been happier than right after his accident, at least, once he’d been working again and spending every waking minute with Maggie. Before their trip to the US. And he’d be the first to admit that he’d begun to forget how great life had felt all those months ago. It had disappeared in a fog that had enveloped him ever since he’d been back in the Valley.
He walked back to The Battery with a spring in his step, a plan beginning to formulate as he walked. He booked himself on the first flight to London, checked out of his room and took an Uber to the airport.
Josh had mentioned that a TV show was going to be filming on Bramble Island the following day, to do with the houseboat project, and that gave Charlie the beginnings of his plan. The flight gave him chance to research the show, find out the email address of the producer and plead for them to let him have 30 seconds of their time. They’d agreed and when he landed, the waiting car took him straight to Sandbanks where he pulled the tarp off his little motorboat and went to Bramble Island. He’d had it on good authority from Megan, via a text when he was almost there, that Maggie was well out of the way and he’d filmed his part of the story which he hoped would be the beginning of his plan to win her back.
So as not to alert Maggie to the fact that he was back, he’d sworn everyone that had seen him to absolute secrecy, cryptically promising them that he would reward them if they managed to keep the secret until the show aired the following week. Then he took his boat and went home.
The house had been shut up for weeks and felt a little stuffy until Charlie threw open the doors and let the sea breeze fill the place with its fresh air. Despite the journey, he wasn’t tired; he was on a high and wanted to make a start on the next part of his plan.
Maggie wasn’t interested in his money, he knew that, but he also knew that to win her back would take some magnificent attempt on his part to sweep her off her feet given what she’d been through the last few months. Besides, he wasn’t planning to shower her with gifts, more of an experience.
63
THE VOLUNTEERS WERE leaving, but not without a party. Megan and Josh had organised it and had invited everyone who worked on Bramble Island, including all the staff at the ferry company – tactically necessary because otherwise none of the day volunteers and workers would be able to get home afterwards. The Countrycase episode was due to air that evening and they had been offered the use of a large television from the Castle for the occasion. Luckily it was a beautiful day so they were able to set it up on the quay, just outside the café so there was plenty of room for everyone to watch and then they would spill onto the beach near Maggie’s cottage afterwards for a beach barbecue and drinks.
Maggie sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the TV with the volunteers and a few others. Everyone else was sat in picnic chairs which they’d brought with them and Clare had provided a few bottles of prosecco that were being passed around and poured into various plastic glasses and beakers.
‘Oh my God, I’m so excited!’ said Alice. She had come out about her relationship with Ben, as she had been unable to stop herself from announcing that her boyfriend was going to be on Countrycase.
‘They did some shots of us cutting back the bracken round by the clifftop path so me and Josh might be in it too,’ said Eric.
