Page 74 of Second Chance Summer
‘Yet Damon was brought up on the islands,’ Sam murmured. ‘He has access to a boat and he’s been out a lot with his brother so he knows the coastline well. Maybe they’re both on Stark now.’
‘Unless they’ve run away together and I’ve beencompletely wrong,’ Elspeth said. ‘Should we check the flights and ferries?’
‘They don’t have the money to book flights and go off together,’ Sam said. ‘As far as I know.’
‘And if he’s been in all night, he can’t have run off with Morven,’ Elspeth said. ‘Listen to that rain. Oh, God, what if she’s come to harm?’
The colour drained out of Sam’s face. ‘Nate … I have to let him know she’s missing.’
Elspeth squealed, ‘Oh, no. Don’t. Can’t we hang on a bit?’
‘She’s his daughter. I can’t keep a thing like this from him.’
Lily stood by feeling helpless and unwilling to voice something that had been niggling her … yet she had to get it off her chest.
‘Look, I apologise in advance if this is unhelpful, but if sheisthe culprit then maybe she’s gone to Stark again. She was pretty upset last night. I wasn’t going to tell you, but she – um – had a go at me.’
Sam pressed his lips tightly together before murmuring, ‘What did she say?’
‘She was annoyed because she thought I was taking over, at the retreat and the craft fair … I think it was the last straw when she saw me in her own home too.’
He closed his eyes briefly. ‘I didn’t realise she was that upset. Ishouldhave realised.’
‘I think she may not even recognise how upset she is herself,’ Lily said gently.
Elspeth sat down heavily on the oak bench in the hall. ‘This is Nate’s fault.’
‘No, it’s mine, for not listening or seeing the signs. If anything has happened to her or she’s done anything …’ Sam said ‘… I’ll never forgive myself as long as I live. I have to tell Nate and now.’
He marched off to the study.
Elspeth leaned back against the wall. ‘I won’t forgive myself either. I should have realised the state she was in. I know she can be awkward but it’s out of character for her to do something so daft as trying to scare you off Stark – or take the risk of going over there without Sam.’
Lily heard him speaking from the study. She could hear another male voice, taut with anguish, and an American woman shouting, ‘Nate? What the actual fuck has she done now?’
‘We don’t know she has yet,’ Lily said, ‘I just have a hunch. If she wanted to hide away from us, for whatever reason, there aren’t many places she could go without money.’
The door to the study slammed shut, but they could still hear raised voices.
Elspeth sighed. ‘And now Sam and Nate are at each other’s throats. This is a disaster.’
Lily sat down next to her and patted her hand. ‘While we’re waiting for Sam, why don’t we have a think about other places Morven might have gone to – we can make a list and check those as well as Stark?’ She hoped to distract Elspeth by focusing on practical things they could do.
‘She could have got to one of the other islands …Although the passenger boats were finished by dinnertime and she must have left long after that.’
‘She’d have had to have help, then?’ Lily offered.
‘That’s what bothers me! If she isn’t around Hell Bay or on Bryher, how did she get across the water? If she even made it …’ Elspeth was now in tears.
Lily pulled a tissue from a box by the phone and offered it to her. ‘I’m sure she’ll be alright,’ she said, comforting Elspeth. ‘She seems very resourceful and smart to me.’
A couple of minutes later, Sam marched out of the study.
Elspeth pushed herself to her feet. ‘Oh, Lord, what did Nate say?’
‘He’d almost gone to bed and was in pieces when he heard. I almost wish I hadn’t FaceTimed him and seen the look on his face. I’ve never seen him so scared, but what could I do? Not tell him for hours until we find her – if we find her?’ Sam stopped speaking, frozen with anguish.
‘Wewillfind her. And you had to tell him,’ Lily said firmly. ‘And we – I – had a thought. Do you think Morven could be on Stark right now? Even if she hasn’t been messing around on there, she might have gone now as she knows it so well. Maybe she thought she might stay in one of the cottages.’
