‘Go on.’
‘Reconnect people with nature, you said?’
Atholl looked up, eyes blank and wondering.
‘We need to encourage Mother Nature to intervene.’
‘I’m no’ sure I’m understanding ye.’
‘Nature, Atholl. Let’s set nature to work. I have a feeling Gene just needs a little encouragement to love again and then nature will take care of the rest.’
The penny dropped and Atholl’s mouth quirked. ‘Push him together with Kitty Wake, you mean? You hadnae struck me as the romantic type.’
‘Gentlypush them together, yes. And what do you mean? I’m theoriginalromantic! At least, I’ve always been good at matchmaking. It was me who introduced my sister to her partner Victoria, actually.’ She laughed and placed her own bowl down. ‘Oh, God, that reminds me, Angela’s expecting me back in Warwick tonight, and I still haven’t told her I’ve stayed on another day to do some willow-weaving. She’ll be glad I’m staying longer, I think.’
‘And areyouglad?’
‘I am. This was nice. Thank you. So… just out of interest… howdidI strike you?’
Atholl inhaled through gritted teeth, considering his answer before breaking into a broad grin. ‘Well… more of the… torn-faced type, what with all your mumpin’ and carrying on.’
‘You cheeky devil! Well it takes one grumpy sort to know another, thank you very much. You can hardly talk.’
‘Fair enough. You might have me there.’ A smile accompanied this concession.
‘So, it turns out I am quite the willow weaver,’ she grinned, holding up her efforts for his approval.
‘That’s no’ bad for a beginner. Another two or three years and you’ll be quite proficient.’
‘Two or three hours might be my limit. You have to be honest with yourself about where your strengths lie, but I did enjoy myself, thanks Atholl.’
‘My pleasure. So, tell me, then. What’s this plan you have for my poor brother and Mother Nature?’
It hadn’t taken long to devise, only as long as the walk back to Port Willow where the pair went their separate ways, looking for accomplices; Atholl to Patrick’s fishmongers and Beatrice to find Cheryl and Jillian.
Chapter Ten
Up on the Roof
‘Beatrice!’
‘Jesus Christ!’
Beatrice flattened herself against the wall on her way back to the princess room at the sound of her name hissed in the darkness. It was so late she hadn’t thought anyone would be up, but there she was, Kitty Wake, outside in the moonlight on what appeared to be a flat roof above the inn’s front porch peering through the open window onto the landing just beyond Beatrice’s room door.
‘Oops, did I scare ye?’ she hissed again.
Beatrice’s hand hovered on the door handle. Could she make her excuses, say she was really sleepy and nip inside? That would look even stranger than her creeping around the inn corridors late at night. Kitty was the last person Beatrice wanted to bump into this evening because she knew lying wasn’t her strong suit and Kitty would surely suspect something shifty was going on.
‘Come on out and see this moon.’ Kitty circled her hand, beckoning her through the window and putting her in mind of Cathy calling to Heathcliff. Beatrice knew she’d have to pop outside for the sake of politeness if nothing else. The clamber over the ledge and into the night air was inelegant to say the least, but Kitty reached for her arm and helped steady her.
‘Are we supposed to be out here?’ Beatrice asked warily, cautiously testing the strength of the roof with a few taps of her feet.
‘We used to sit out here all the time when we were wee – me and Atholl and the other holidaymaker kids. We had a contest going to see who could drop their lolly stick onto passers-by’s heads without them noticing. I was the champion, of course.’ Kitty threw Beatrice a proud wink. ‘The trick was to choose someone with a nice big eighties perm and aim straight for the hairsprayed high bit on the crown. Worked a treat.’
‘I’ll stay back here, I think,’ said Beatrice, perching on the windowsill. ‘I’ve had enough adventures on this holiday; I don’t want to add falling through a roof to my list of catastrophes.’
‘I’m heading to bed soon, I just wanted to catch a bit of moonlight.What? Don’t look at me like that. Folk pay a fortune to fly to Greece and Italy to soak up the sun, what’s wrong with absorbing a few moon rays in the Scottish Highlands?’
