Page 76 of Second Chance Summer
Elspeth was sitting on a sofa, looking exhausted and grey-faced.
At Sam’s appearance, she burst out: ‘Is she here?’
‘I’m afraid there’s no sign of her in any of the cottages.’
Elspeth let out a sob.
Penny was next to her, patting her arm. ‘It’ll be OK, Elspeth. We’ll find her.’
‘We will, I promise,’ Lily said, before she left, armed with one of Sam’s spare handsets.
‘I’m going to check the ruined cottages by the bay. There are a couple of Neolithic chambers hidden in the bracken. She could be hiding in there,’ said Sam.
‘Chambers?’ Lily shuddered, hoping he didn’t mean tombs.
‘Elspeth mentioned them. Morven takes an interest in the ancient history of the islands so I’d better check just in case.’
‘I’ll do the pest house then,’ Lily said, suppressing a shiver as the rain hammered down like stair rods.
‘OK. Lily …’ he said, touching her arm gently ‘… thank you. You didn’t ask for all this grief when you decided to come here.’
‘Thank me when I find her,’ she said, with more conviction than she felt inside.
Lily pushed the radio deep into the pocket of her waterproof and scrambled down the hill as fast as she could without tripping over hummocks and brambles. The pest house was a grey blur through the rain. Part of her couldn’t imagine anything awful happening in such a peaceful spot as Stark, yet this place had been built for death … how horrible!
She moved carefully as the paths were muddy. Occasionally, the shouts of the others drifted to her on the wind. If Morven was hiding out, she must be petrified, being hunted like prey. Unless she was enjoying all the drama. Lily fervently hoped it was the latter.
She stopped a few metres away from the pest house, listening for any sound. A shiver ran through her at the prospect of what she might find. If Morven had been here allnight, even though it was mild, it was slippery and wet … what if she’d tripped and hurt herself?
Or what if shewasn’there – or hadn’t even made it, trying to pilot a boat alone? What if she was under the cold sea, like Lily had been?
‘Morven!’
Her desperate shout echoed off the walls but was met with silence.
‘Morven! It’s Lily. I know you don’t want to be found but people are worried.’
She lingered outside the pest house, listening for any hint of another human presence: the rain was almost horizontal, soaking her face. Her legs were red and cold.
Lily shouted again in frustration: ‘Morven, for God’s sake, if you can hear me, will you come out before I die of hypothermia?’
A snort came from the interior of the house.
‘It’s always about you, isn’t it?’
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
A bedraggled figure appeared in the open doorway. ‘You’d better come in.’
Resisting the urge to shout in relief, Lily stepped over the broken stone in the threshold of the building. Morven retreated to the shelter of the stone hearth where there was also a camping stove, a sleeping bag, a metal mug and an empty Pot Noodle tub.
‘Don’t say you slept here last night?’ Lily said.
‘’Course I did! I’ve stayed on Stark before.’
‘On your own?’
‘With Damon. Andno, there’s nothing going on between us. Not like that. We’re both seventeen so we could do whatever we wanted to,ifwe wanted to, but – and not that it’s any of your business – Damon is gay.’ Morven rolled her eyes. ‘He’s in the closet at home so don’t tell anyone, but all his friends know. He can’t wait to get to college.’
