‘Busy today, was it?’ He directs this towards Elliot who he catches glancing towards Minty and Jowan still huddled by the bar.
‘Oh! Yeah, steady stream of café customers all day,’ Elliot replies, collecting himself.
‘You’ll be in Clove Lore for our Sleuthing Club a week on Monday. Fancy it? Eight p.m., all the sandwiches you can eat.’
‘Thewhatclub?’ I say, rather liking the sound of the sandwiches.
‘We read a crime novel once a month and meet to dissect it. Usually turns into a bit of a rabble by nine and the book gets forgotten, but we try to stay on topic for a while. You’d have to read Vera Lancing’s new book before then, though,The Heart That Shattered.’
My mood lifts instantly. ‘I’ve heard that’s really good. Count me in. I can download it on my phone and read it in a week, no problem,’ I say, before we both turn expectantly to Elliot.
‘Uh,’ he says, blanching. ‘I’m not one for crime stories.’
‘Pity,’ the landlord says, his eyes narrowing at Elliot’s strange manners. ‘We love a mystery here at the Siren’s Tail. Some of the club members are super sleuthers, Minty especially. There’s not a red herring can put her off and not a clue she misses. She always knows whodunit long before the rest of us.’
I notice Elliot’s staring across at Minty again and his face is assuming the same stern, serious set it had this morning.
‘Well, I’ll definitely be there,umm?’ I throw in, trying to prompt the landlord’s name while drawing attention away from Elliot and the awkward atmosphere he’s creating.
‘Name’s Finan,’ the landlord says, shaking my hand, ‘and over there’s my wife, Bella.’ We turn to the bar where a woman in a low-cut dress printed all over with pink rosebuds dries glasses.
The proprietors of the Siren are a good-looking couple, and somehow matching, as though you could pick them out as a twosome in a crowd. Bella waves back at us with a smile before serving her customers.
I tell Finan our names but Elliot keeps his eyes cast down, and he looks a little absurd with his thick arms folded over his broad chest. He’s wishing he could somehow shrink, I reckon.
It must be difficult, being so striking and so obviouslypresentin any room. I’m tiny and can go wherever I want without anyone paying much attention to me. Getting served at a busy bar was always next to impossible for me – not that I’ve stood at all that many bars in my life.
I watch Finan decide to ignore Elliot’s silence, and he politely takes our food order. Just as he’s leaving our table I call him back and ask for a glass of wine instead of juice. I don’t drink much, but sitting here with Elliot being so quiet and kind of stern-looking made me do it.
‘So…’ Elliot says eventually, after our drinks arrive, and it looks like the effort pains him. He’s been watching me with growing panic in his eyes as I struggled to think of anything to say other than trite comments about our day at the shop. ‘You’reScottish?’ he manages, and the pitch of his voice makes me stifle a little laugh into my glass.
‘Borders, yeah,’ I say with a shrug. ‘Ever been?’
‘Hmm?’ he raised his brows.
‘To the Borders?’ I say, a little desperately.
‘Ah! No.’ Elliot drums nervously on the table’s edge with his index fingers before realising what he’s doing and putting his hands awkwardly in his lap.
Silence again. Laughter erupts from the table behind us. It’s a big party of tourists, an entire family by the looks of things. They’re having a lovely time.
‘So, you’re a teacher?’ I say.
‘Erm, yeah. Taking a bit of a break over the summer, you know?’
‘You mentioned a vet college, or something?’
‘Umm, kind of.’
Well this isn’t getting us anywhere. I’m relieved when my scampi arrives and he’s presented with a steaming bowl of pasta and we each have an excuse to be quiet for a moment.
I glimpse at him stabbing at the farfalle and eating like a man half starved. Most of his milkshake disappears with one long slug at the straw too.
I don’t stare at his lips as he sucks – that would be weird, obviously – but for a millisecond I caught how they looked and something flipped in my tummy, which does nothing but remind me of why I wanted to bealoneon this break. I don’t need any distractions like that.
I stare at my chips, remarking how good they are about three times more than a normal person would and I think Elliot smiles but I’m not looking at him to know for sure. The wine is good too. The wine is definitely helping. I might order a second glass.
‘Have you been to Clove Lore before?’ I’m proud of myself for coming up with this scintillating nugget.
