The Mystery of Macgregor’s Cove – Episode 55
The Mystery Of Macgregor's Cove by June Davies
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- 55. The Mystery of Macgregor’s Cove – Episode 55
On the morning of her marriage, Penelope rose and dressed hours before the household stirred, slipping out for her daily walk.
Starting across the garden, she caught sight of Kit sitting beneath the lime, his back leaning against the greyish ridged bark and his hat drawn down over his eyes.
“Have you been here all night?”
“Feels like it.” He rose stiffly, flexing his shoulders. “I wanted to see you before our wedding, Penny. Be with you. Is that all right?”
She kissed him and smiled.
“That’s all right.”
* * * *
At the Bell, Ethel had forbidden anybody to go near the inn-house pantry, lest some mishap befall the richly fruited and daintily decorated Lancashire marriage cake before it was presented to the newly wed couple.
She and the other womenfolk were in a flurry of preparations when Betsy spotted Kit and Penelope down on the beach.
“They’re never together today!” Widow Watkins exclaimed, rushing to the big bay window, closely followed by Ethel.
The far shore was swathed in drifting wisps of hazy September mist, the tide quietly ebbing, and with arms entwined, Penelope and Kit were meandering along the damp, shell-strewn sand.
“Not right, is it?” Freda Watkins tutted. “And it’s bad luck an’ all, bride and groom seeing each other before the wedding.”
“Foolish superstition,” Ethel rebuked, frowning. “It’s not seemly, though, is it? Being down there together like that.”
Amaryllis hadn’t joined them at the window. She remained at the ironing table, pressing Betsy’s best ribbons.
Her troubled mind was brooding over a few lines from Dorcas’s letter, which had arrived with the day’s first coach.
We’ve taken a divine villa here and Adam arranged a most elegant party to celebrate my twenty-first birthday.
You’ll never guess what he gave me, Am – a certain necklace. Adam must have kept it hidden away all these months as a surprise for my special birthday.
“Am, stop wool gathering and finish pressing those ribbons,” Ethel scolded.
Her stern expression softened when she glanced once more from the bay window.
“Kit and Penny do make a lovely couple, don’t they?”
* * * *
Approaching the Bell, Amaryllis felt a surge of happiness at the sight of Noah Pendleton. He was on the beach, making ready Starfish.
As though sensing her gaze upon him, Noah turned to see Amaryllis entering the inn’s cobbled yard.
“Hurry up!” he called cheerfully. “Time and tide wait for no-one.”
“I know,” she returned, shifting the weight of the heavy baskets. “We’ll put this fruit away and be right out.”
With heart singing, Amaryllis headed towards the inn-house’s kitchen door.
She paid scant attention to Betsy making a beeline for the pump and drawing fresh water for Flossie; didn’t notice Ethel scurrying from the Bell to have a few conspiratorial words with the child, much less Betsy’s delighted response.
Absorbed in thoughts of Noah, Amaryllis sped across the cobbled yard towards the beach and didn’t at first realise Betsy wasn’t following her.
Glancing back, she saw the little girl standing on the steps of the Bell, Flossie at her side.
“Aren’t you coming, Betsy?” she cried in astonishment.
“Betsy will go next time,” Ethel interrupted firmly, joining her youngest daughter on the steps. “Away you go.”
Leaving Starfish bobbing in the shallow surf, Noah sprinted across the sands to meet Amaryllis.
His pleasure at seeing her was undisguised.
“Isn’t Betsy coming sailing?” he asked.
Amaryllis shook her head.
“It’s just us, then?”
“Yes.”
* * * *
From their vantage point at the Bell, Ethel and Betsy had a clear view of Amaryllis and Noah Pendleton.
“It’s been a long while happening,” Ethel remarked with satisfaction, her arm about the child’s shoulders. “But thanks be, happen it has. Those two are a match made in heaven, Betsy.”
Curious, Sandy ambled over from the stables and joined them on the steps.
“What are you pair so pleased about?”
“Ammie and Noah.” Betsy beamed. “Look, Pa.”
The young couple were conversing quietly, walking so close their arms occasionally brushed.
When Noah offered his hand, Amaryllis linked her fingers through his and together they wandered on down the gently sloping sand to Starfish.
Hoisting the sail, Amaryllis glanced sidelong up to the Bell. Seeing her family, she raised an arm, waving joyously.
Noah cast off, clambering aboard and taking his place beside her in the trim little craft.
Canvas billowed and Starfish ran before the fresh wind, catching the rush of a swift, autumnal tide as Amaryllis and Noah sailed across the deep, clear water of Macgregor’s Cove.
Ashore, Sandy Macgregor turned to his wife and daughter.
“Aye.” He nodded sagely. “Happen the pair of you will be baking another marriage cake afore we know it.”
The End.
