“You’ll see what I mean once you’ve read them.” Theo shouldered his backpack. “I’d better get back to George. I left him with Adam. They were taking photos of a colony of beetles last I saw. Will you be coming over?”
Skye shook her head.
“Not right now. There’s something else I need to do first.”
The urge to read every single word Katerina had written was so strong that it dragged a groan from her. Reluctant to leave the precious bundle behind, she retrieved a tote bag and slid the folder inside, locking the front door behind her.
Skye knew her mother, and Cassandra MacKinnon was a woman who insisted upon quality. The freeze-dried coffee granules in her daughter’s kitchen would not have passed muster. Far from having no idea where her mum could have gone, Skye knew exactly where to look.
She set off down the hillside and joined the main road. It was hot enough that she could feel the sun-warmed tarmac through the soles of her sneakers. The air tasted thick and metallic. Nature was everywhere, raw and unrestrained, surviving despite the wind, the heat, the dryness. She, too, must find a way to endure, as this island endured.
With renewed purpose, Skye increased her pace, reaching the taverna entrance only to bump into Louisa coming the other way. She was laden with blue carrier bags from the mini-market, and there were larger bags below her eyes.
“I know, I look awful,” she said by way of a greeting.
“Impossible,” Skye told her. “I’ve never seen you not looking like a modern-day Rapunzel.”
“Mia keeps on at me to cut this off,” she said with a disdainful swish of her long red hair.
“Don’t you dare,” Skye said with mock severity.
“Do you have any siblings?” Louisa asked. “No? Lucky you. I mean, I love my sisters, but sometimes, I think I’d have a quieter life living with a hive of bees. I had my own place in Bristol, but after Mum died…” She trailed off. “Anyway, I shouldn’t hold you up. I only came out to get some snacks for Dusty. She’s in the most furious temper. The earthquake cracked all the concrete she’d laid in the extension. It’s not salvageable, apparently, so she’s having to start all over again.”
Skye winced.
“What did Andreas say?” she asked. “I presume he knows?”
“I’ve been trying to call him,” Louisa said. “I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything from him?”
“Not much,” Skye said mildly. “I’m sure he’ll reappear soon enough.”
“Maybe he’s upset,” Louisa ventured.
Skye looked up sharply.
“Upset?”
“Well, you know, what with your husband turning up…”
“That’s not the reason,” Skye said firmly.
A spot of color glowed on each of Louisa’s cheeks.
“I thought that you and he were—”
“We’re not.”
“Oh.” She readjusted her grip on the bags. “Sorry.”
“It’s a complicated situation,” Skye said. “Between me and my husband, I mean, not Andreas.”
“Say no more.” Louisa smiled fleetingly. “It’s none of my businessanyway. I haven’t been gossiping about you, I swear. I just…I watch people. I always have; it’s the way I am. I notice things, the small stuff. Whenever I’ve seen you and Andreas together, the pair of you seem so close. I shouldn’t have assumed, I suppose, but it didn’t feel as if I was, if that makes any kind of sense?”
Skye’s mouth opened, then closed again. She settled on a nod.
“I’ve gone and put my foot in it, haven’t I?” Louisa sighed. “Dusty’s right. I should keep my stupid opinions to myself.”
“You’re not stupid,” Skye said quickly. “And I’m not at all offended, I promise. But I really do have to go.”
