‘Jowan? A wedding?Minty?’ Patti was incredulous. ‘What kind of a name’s Minty?’
‘A posh one?’ Joy suggested.
‘You really have got yourself involved in the community here, haven’t you?’
They walked together up the slope, Joy holding up the ploughman’s sandwich so they could both share the last bites and Patti could cling to her sister’s arm with both hands.
‘Where are we going?’ Patti asked, as they passed Jowan’s old cottage.
‘Up!’ said Joy. ‘Didn’t you come down the slope to get to the beach?’
‘No, I parked behind the pub. I had no idea you were basically clinging to a seventy-degree incline in this place. How do the locals get anything delivered round here? Is it flown in by drones?’
‘If you really want to know…’ Joy gestured at the tourist signpost up ahead with its multiple pointy arms directing visitors to all the attractions: the waterfall, the beach, the visitor centre, the Siren’s Tail.
‘Does that say “To the Donkeys?”’ Patti snorted a laugh, stopping dead for a moment to gaze in amused judgement.
‘Yep,’ Joy replied matter-of-factly. ‘It’s pedestrians only. The donkeys cart stuff up and down the slope, apparently. I haven’t seen them though. Basically, it’s donkeys, sleds, orcarry it yourself and risk falling down the slope and into the seaaround here.’
Patti hauled on up the hill, still not letting go of her sister.
‘It’s the way things are in Clove Lore,’ Joy shrugged. ‘It’s got its own… unique charm?’
‘It’s beautiful, I’ll give it that,’ conceded Patti. ‘Some might say it’s romantic.Hmm?’ She faced Joy in exaggerated inquisition, her eyes shining wickedly.
‘Don’t be daft.’ Joy shook Patti’s arm in playful warning. ‘There’s nothing like that going on here.’
As they passed the Ice Cream Cottage, Captain James da Costa strode out in his black tie, crisp white shirt and white trousers like he was fresh from the wheelhouse of a billion-dollar cruise ship. He turned Down-along, clawing back his sleek white hair at the sight of the sisters and slipping on dark shades. ‘Good morning, ladies, beautiful day for it!’ he said with a winning smile.
Joy only nodded to him, but Patti was grinning in unconcealed glee.
‘Who wasthat?’ she whispered once he’d passed by.
‘Just one of the many,manypotential candidates for a red-hot summer romance that this place is crawling with. Sadly, he’s sleeping with the old lady who runs the ice-cream shop.’
‘Bad luck,’ Patti consoled.
‘Suchbad luck.’
‘And was he at one of the parties you’ve attended recently?’ Patti’s tone made it clear what she was getting at, but Joy only replied primly that she didn’t knowwhather sister could mean.
Even through the laughter and teasing, Joy couldn’t help thinking of Monty down on the beach that morning. He’d looked so decided, so stern and cold, and here was Patti genuinely believing there must be some dreamy holiday romance going on.
Patti knew well enough not to pry any further and Joy wasn’t going to say anymore.
‘Have you got an ETA on Mum, yet?’ Joy asked, by way of changing the subject quickly.
Patti cocked her head as though listening to the air around them. ‘She’s not in the vicinity yet, but believe me, we’ll hear her before we see her.’
‘I don’t want a big scene, Pats,’ Joy cringed, as they turned to the left and off the slope, heading into the shade between the cottages that led into the bookshop’s square.
Patti rubbed Joy’s arm, diplomatically not saying anything but very much suggesting that a big Pamela Foley-centred scene would be unavoidable.
‘Ugh! It’s going to be awful, isn’t it!’ cried Joy, dramatically, but deep down there was something new taking hold of her, something other than the worry, dread and shame she’d felt when dealing with her mum these last few years. There was a tiny, glowing scrap of hope. Her little sister, and that newspaper report, and all the police officers and lawyers and judges who’d listened to Sean’s incredibly brave victims and crucially,believedthem had done it. Everything felt different now because of them.
With Patti on her arm, Joy led the way up the stone steps and in through the open door of the Borrow-A-Bookshop, where the scene before the sisters drew them to an abrupt and silent halt on the doormat.
Chapter Twenty-seven
