“St Mary’s? It’s about an hour.”
“We could walk.”
“Not really.” She indicated the bikes. “Just take one; they’re for anybody’s use.”
She waited until he was ready then, without a word, she pedalled ahead.
A little later, as they went over the wooden bridge that connected the gardens to the lane outside, she felt guilty for being brusque. It wasn’t his fault that she had too much to do or that Nicole had pushed her around. She slowed down and let him catch up to her.
“This is called Du Montfort Wood. It used to be private, but Since Lord M retired as Seigneur, George devolved the land ownership so anyone can use it without needing to apply for permission.”
“Doesn’t it extend all the way up to that hill?” He rose up on his pedals trying to look east towards East Hill. “That’s a lot of beautiful cedar.” He slowed down then stopped and kicked the stand to prop the bicycle up while he climbed off it. “It would be a shame to have people cut it to build houses.”
What was he doing?She kept her voice chatty. “You can’t build anything on the island. People can camp, walk, have picnics here, even hold weddings and festivals but they can’t build anything.”
“What? Not anywhere on the island?”
To Pierre’s dismay, he shrugged off his satchel and took his camera out.
No, please don’t waste any more time taking pictures of trees.
“What if people need housing?” he asked.
She had one foot on the ground but remained on the bike. “Housing isn’t in high demand. People tend to leave the island to find jobs elsewhere and they rarely come back. There are lots of abandoned houses. If anyone wants something, they just apply to the municipality and get a house…Where are you going?”
He had strolled off the path and into the trees.
“Just a sec.” He put the camera to his eye and started taking lots of pictures.
Of what? Pierre could see nothing but the same cedar they’d been cycling through.
She checked her watch. It was already eleven and they hadn’t even got to the church. At this rate they weren’t even going to make lunch.
“That” — He pointed ahead — “looks like an old avenue, the trees are planted in a straight line. Can you see?”
“It leads to Margo’s Arch.”
They really should have gone there first; it would have made much more sense.
He dropped to a crouch and angled his body before taking more pictures. “I didn’t notice until I looked through the aperture. It’s very overgrown but definitely an avenue. Do you know when it was planted?”
When she didn’t answer, he looked back at her.
“Another time, maybe.” She climbed back on the bike.
She tried not to sound irritated, she really did. And apparently, failed. Gabriel flashed her a worried look then came back to his bike and packed his camera away. But instead of mounting his bike, he turned to regard her. “I seem to be upsetting everyone today.”
“You haven’t.” She tried for a smile.
“Yes, I have. I just wish I knew why.” He held her gaze. “And you’re not as good a liar as you think.”
He was right and she was being unfair. “You haven’t upset me; it’s just that we have to get to the church then make it to Margo’s Arch. And after that I was hoping to make it to the village.”
“Margo’s Arch is the old monument Lord M mentioned?” He glanced over his shoulder towards the path that lead into the wood. “Is it nearer than the church?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Ten minutes that way. It’s part of old island wedding traditions, not sure what, but that’s what I’m supposed to look into.”
“Fine, let’s leave the church till after and go to this arch.” He shouldered his satchel again.
