‘That’s sad,’ he said honestly. She was grateful to him for not holding back with his thoughts; it was refreshing having someone talk about her feelings.
‘It is, I guess, but I can’t change how things are.’
‘Don’t you have any brothers or sisters?’ he asked, letting go of her hand to manoeuvre the car through a particularly tight bend in the road.
‘No, you?’
‘I’m an only child too,’ he said. ‘I always wanted a brother or sister, but I think my parents were so stunned by my unexpected appearance into their fun-filled world and having to make time in their workload to bring me up that they didn’t dare have a second child.’
Daisy couldn’t imagine making a child of hers feel like an inconvenient intruder. ‘I’m sure they were thrilled tohave you once they got over the shock of being parents?’
‘I’m not so sure it was that easy for them,’ he laughed. ‘I was very inquisitive and always running off and climbing cliffs when we went to the beach, or jumping off rocks. I was the first one to tombstone off the harbour wall at Bouley Bay with my friends and my mother nearly went mad with fright each time I was carted off in an ambulance, or the police had to inform her that I’d had yet another accident. I don’t think they were at all surprised when I told them I wanted to be a marine explorer.’
‘Poor people.’ She couldn’t help feeling sorry for them now, though picturing someone as dramatic as Francesca trying to cope with such an adventurous child was also amusing. ‘No wonder they kept going away to work; they probably needed the break.’
‘Hey!’ he reached over and tickled her side with his free hand. ‘You’re probably right though.’
They slowed down as the car reached a small village and Gabe turned left down a long road. ‘The locals call this Hydrangea Avenue,’ he said.
Daisy opened her mouth to speak but was silenced by the avenue of pink and blue hydrangea bushes in full bloom on either side of the long road, a row of equally magnificent chestnut trees standing proudly behind them. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she gasped, making a note to come here and paint the route towards the bay.
He slowed down halfway along the road and turned into a smaller road which meandered for a few minutes until they came to a packed car park where Gabriel finally managed to find a small space.
‘We have to walk from here,’ he said, getting out of the car and walking around to the passenger side to open Daisy’s door for her.
She stepped out and watched as he went to the back of the car and retrieved ahamper and rolled-up blanket from the boot. ‘We’re going on a picnic?’
‘Of sorts,’ he said, locking the car. ‘Come on, it’s this way.’
She walked with him across a couple of fields. ‘What’s that?’ she asked, looking at a strange arrangement of large granite stones.
‘That’s a dolmen,’ he said. ‘It was used as a burial chamber.’
Daisy hadn’t expected that answer. ‘Are there bodies buried in there?’
He shrugged. ‘I’m not sure. I seem to recall my dad talking about it once when he brought me here for a walk when we first came back to live here. I think it’s about four thousand years old and they used to believe that it had been built by fairies, or that’s what he said anyway. It’s owned by the Société Jersiaise now. They look after a lot of interesting places on the island, as do Jersey Heritage. I’ll have to take you to some of the other sites.’
‘I’d love that,’ she said, peering at the ancient monument. She stared at it for a moment then, hearing the chords of a beautiful tune coming from behind a high row of pine trees, hurried to catch up with him.
In her rush, she tripped over a stone in the soil and Gabriel grabbed hold of her arm before she fell. Regaining her balance she groaned. ‘Mum always used to moan about how clumsy I am.’
He took her hand in his. ‘Come on, we’d better get moving otherwise there won’t be anywhere to sit.’
Intrigued by the sounds of voices and beautiful music emanating from behind the trees, she walked a little faster to keep up with him. Daisy watched where she was placing her feet so that she didn’t trip again. Excitement bubbled inside her; something was going on and she couldn’t wait to discover what exactly it could be. A sparrowhawk hovered in the field nearby and the music got louder.
They strode through the trees and Daisy gasped. In front of them sat groups of people on rugs and coats, watching a band serenading them as the sun, turning the surrounding sky golden orange, was getting ready to set in the channel ahead of them.
‘Oh Gabe,’ she murmured. ‘This is enchanting.’
He looked down at her and smiled. ‘I’m glad you like it,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t until we were on our way here that it dawned on me that you might think we were going to watch bands playing contemporary music. I wasn’t sure if you’d want to stay.’
She couldn’t imagine anything more romantic as sitting on the grass listening to the harmonic sounds being played by the instruments with the spectacular setting of the beach and sea behind them.
‘It’s glorious,’ she said.
‘Now we just need to find a space where we can sit down,’ he said.
She looked around the couple of hundred people who’d had the sense to arrive earlier than them. Small children played with toys next to their parents and dogs, some sitting, guarding their owners, others snoozing on the rugs while their owners relaxed with glasses of wine as they enjoyed the atmosphere.
