‘Peyton?’
‘Jenna’s diary.’
‘That was quick. Did they do a good job? Is it interesting?’
‘It is a teenage girl’s diary. What do you think?—although she is in Guillemot House, mentions Kittiwake and more interestingly the lighthouse when it was functioning. And she has met one of the keepers there called William.’
‘William? Huh. That’s interesting.’
Ben wasn’t stupid. It was indeed interesting. ‘Oh, and she hates someone called Gerren Roskilly apparently.’
‘Why?’
‘I suspect I’m about to find out. How is the car?’
Ben smirked, unfolded his long legs and sauntered over to the floor-to-ceiling glass. ‘Huh. Who left it parked right outside?’
‘I cannot imagine. Is it still thebest car on the entire planet?’
Ben laughed at the mimicry of his boast. ‘Yes. I think it still is.’
Aleksey left him to admire it and went back to see what Jenna was up to in his house.
7 November
I haven’t told Lily what I did. She’d tell Mrs D. He said we were going to get married and he gave me a ring and so I let him. But then he said he’d joined the navy and he was off to Plymouth for his training. He wants to go on this new big ship called Eagle. Mrs D was reading her paper and told me this morning we don’t have the death penalty any more. I didn’t know we did have one, but I think they should bring it back. I don’t know how they killed people, but however it was, I think Gerren Roskilly should have it done to him.
Ben settled himself back down alongside him, thankfully with a book, then swivelled around and got into his favourite position: head on his lap and long legs stretched out. Radulf turned onto his back in his crescent curl on the other side, and after few moments began to snore softly. A log broke apart with a pop in the fire and as its smaller parts exploded into flame, on the peace and tranquillity of it all, he returned to the island.
15 November
I took William some buns today. Cook helped me make them and then I iced them. She was telling me about how Walter kept them all going during the war with the garden when they couldn’t get any food. He had chickens then too. She doesn’t look like she’s ever gone short of food but she said I was far too skinny and she was going to fatten me up. We saw a picture in Mrs D’s newspaper today of a skirt that was almost halfway up the woman’s thigh. It was called a miniskirt and I want one, but I’d never be allowed to wear it here. Anywhere probably. Lily said it looked more like a noniskirt, and I think she was trying to made a joke but it wasn’t very funny. She’s probably just jealous because she’s too plump to wear one, although I didn’t say that. I said if I got one we could share it and she’s been really nice to me all day. William was so grateful when I gave him the buns and I let him keep the tin because it had kittens on it and he said he loved cats and had one when he was a boy. He seems very lonely even though he has to share with three other men! Imagine that. I wouldn’t like to use their toilet. I wondered if I looked different to him—now I’m, well, because of what Gerren and I did. I look in Mrs D’s mirror and I think I can see it, like a mark on me. I almost told William. I want to tell someone. I talked a bit about Gerren and the navy and hoped he might guess, but he just wanted to know all the details about Eagle which I have to call HMS Eagle apparently. But I won’t. I hate that ship so I’m going to call it a boat. The eagle boat. It has planes that can land on it. William says some planes can land on water and we sat on the cliff edge imagining all the places we’d go if we had one. I can only name Paris, London, Truro and Plymouth really, and America of course. Here’s the recipe I used to make the buns. It’s basically just four and four and four, but if you want to make more then six and six and six. Cook says six eggs would have lasted her a year in the war. What is it with old people that they can’t get over the war!!
‘So?’
‘Hmm?’
‘Why does she hate Gerren something or other?’
‘I don’t think she does really.’
‘Keep me up to date. I’m totally riveted.’
Aleksey changed his slow stroking through Ben’s hair to a nose tap. Ben took the opportunity to roll off and fetch some wine, which he poured into two very large glasses to save the effort of constant top ups. Aleksey didn’t think he could be more relaxed and happy than he was until he took the first swallow. It was exquisite, and so he let Ben get comfortable once more, propped his glass on the hard, flat belly, and returned to Guillemot.
18 November
I think important people are coming for Christmas. I do hope so. It’s been really dark and miserable here for weeks. I hate November. William says it’s the world’s bedtime, a moment of prayer before sleep—which is winter, I suppose. I was crying, so I think he was just trying to cheer me up. I told him I was homesick, which isn’t true, because I wasn’t happy at home either after mum and dad died. I don’t have a home to be sick for really. But William says homesickness is nothing to do with home, or a place in the past, it’s when people aren’t happy with themselves. He said we all carry our real home in our hearts and if we’re content within ourselves then we’ll always be at home; if we’re not, then we’ll always be seeking for somewhere better and never finding it. I wish I was old. I’d marry William. I love him so much. I’m teaching him a few words of Cornish. I make him laugh, so he likes me to chatter away in it. It’s such a relief after all this English… yes, Mrs Davenport; no, Mrs Davenport. We had fried spam tonight and it was so disgusting Lily spat hers out into her napkin. I got in more trouble for calling it a serviette. I’ll never get used to all these rules. What does it matter what you call things? Mrs D fainted when I asked if I could use the toilet. Only joking. I must remember to tell William it’s a loo not a toilet. I want to go back and cross out where I’ve used the wrong words now, but I don’t want to mess this up.
Ben fetched another bottle. It took longer than it should given they had a wine rack in the kitchen, but for some reason the car needed to be sat in for a while. Maybe he was trying to work the on-board sound system with its twenty speakers, or maybe checking once more to see if the stitching around the leather steering wheel was placed so as not to rub when handled…
Aleksey gave Radulf’s belly a scratch in lieu of Ben’s. The cheese, chocolate and iced buns had not improved the flatulence.
1 December
We have people coming for Christmas! Mrs D doesn’t know who exactly yet, but she’s dropping BIG hints. Everything has to be absolutely spick and span. I don’t think I can wax that floor one more time! I can’t wait until we can decorate. No paper chains though! Too common apparently. Can you imagine. I used to love making those with mum. I told William and he said no Christmas was the same without paper chains. I love him more than anyone in the world. It was too cold and wet to sit outside like we always do, so he made the other keepers let me in for the first time. They muttered it would bring bad luck, but they were very sweet really. They’ve got silly names, which aren’t their real names but come from the job they do in the lighthouse. William isn’t supposed to be called that but Master, but I don’t have to call him that. One of them pulled a chair out for me like I was royalty. I do think my voice is quite posh now and I have lovely manners of course because of Guillemot. They’ve got a tiny little Christmas tree in the kitchen, which they said I couldn’t call kitchen and had to call galley. I won’t, because it makes me think ofhimand eagle boat, but I’m not going to think about that. The lighthouse is absolutely incredible. I couldn’t stay long because we were getting all the beds ready for the visit, and that means washing and washing and washing. But William took me up to the very top where we went out through this little door and he held onto my hand and we walked around the whole thing! It was cold and windy and my hair was blowing everywhere and he said it was like watching flames in a fireplace. We tried to see all the places we said we’d fly to. It was strange seeing La Luz from up there. It seemed smaller than it seems when I’m on the ground. I got a bit dizzy and William brought me down and the other keepers made me some tea with lots of sugar and I started crying. I couldn’t tell them why but I think I wanted to jump off.
Ben returned to announce that the moron and Tim were coming over to see the car. They were bringing some Chinese with them. He did his usual fling down upon the sofa, which Aleksey suspected was often done just to get a rise out of him (which it inevitably did), and then appeared to sense something in his lack of reaction. ‘What?’
