‘Really? Don’t tell me you’re buying a house up there.’ The joy in Millie’s voice had gone.
‘Don’t be silly. No, I’ve taken the job at the museum.’
‘Oh my word. I’m so glad. I had a feeling you would when you texted to say he had offered it to you. You’ll be brilliant, chick. I know it.’
‘Thank you. I’m quite excited.’
‘I bet. Right, I’m off to search for some dirt on Harry. Let’s hope there isn’t any. Love you! Bye!’
‘Call me later and let me know what you find out. Bye.’
The line went dead, and Juliette decided to freshen herself up. Afterwards, she dressed and as she allowed her hair to dry naturally, she finished the rest of her impromptu breakfast delivery while reminiscing about her first official date with Laurie.
She’d expected to be taken for dinner, but instead he picked her up from home and took her to a local art gallery, where they spent an hour just admiring the paintings and chatting quietly about what they loved and what they didn’t. Juliette had been delighted to find out they had just enough in common to agree onmostthings, but that they differed on others, meaning discussions would be interesting. After the gallery, they had eaten at the most wonderful French restaurant in Cheltenham. At the end of the meal, they had walked along the main precinct that was all decked out in Christmas splendour. He had kissed her under a huge sprig of mistletoe, hung from an archway of holly that led into the Christmas market. Laurie had been oblivious to the people walking by, some of whom whistled, some applauded. It had felt like a romantic movie and she hadn’t wanted the moment to end—
She was pulled from her daydream by a knock on the room door. When she opened it, she was shocked to find Reid standing there.
‘Hi, I hope it’s okay that I popped round. I wondered what you were doing today. I thought I could maybe show you around the museum, if you’re not busy. Evin has gone to visit his mum, so I’m at a bit of a loose end.’ He shrugged and she noticed the tinge of hope in his voice.
‘Oh, okay, yes. That would be lovely. I’ll just get my shoes on.’
She grabbed a cardigan and checked her reflection in the mirror. She was pale and her eyes were rimmed with dark shadows. It was a good thing she wasn’t trying to impress Reid as hermorning after the night beforelook wasn’t exactly fetching.
11
Reid opened the door and switched on the lights as they stepped inside the old lifeboat house. Juliette stood for a moment, taking it all in. Case upon case stood before her, the full length of the room, which sloped away to a wall she presumed had once been the doors for the lifeboat to go through. Each cabinet was shored up to make it level and filled with multiple artefacts, all with a historical connection to Glentorrin and the surrounding area. The ceiling was high and arched; it reminded her of an upturned boat, and she wondered if that was intentional.
‘It’s a gorgeous old building. Dates back to around eighteen twenty-five. The lifeboat was launched from the slipway down there to my left, and it was stored in this main building. It was larger than other lifeboats in the area, so there was a lot of upkeep, I suppose. It was operational as a lifeboat station until the sixties. But then they centralised things up at Portree.’ There was a hint of sadness to Reid’s voice. ‘Oh, I forgot to mention, I’ve got cleaners coming into Lifeboat Cottage today to give the place a once-over. No one has stayed there in a while, so it’ll be quite dusty, I imagine,’ he told her as she slowly walked along the first row of display cases, perusing each item with intrigue.
‘That’s great, thank you. Wow, just look at this stuff.’ She shook her head in disbelief as she peered through the glass at a display about weddings in the local church. A delicate lace veil sat on a stand; the pearls and jewels that adorned the edge glistened in the artificial spotlight that shone down on it from above, just bright enough to catch every detail but low enough so as not to cause any damage to the aged fabric. Beneath it sat a faded photograph of a couple on their wedding day; the veil appeared in the photograph, worn proudly by the beautiful bride.
‘Oh yes, that piece is of particular interest to one of our locals, Hamish Gair. I don’t think you’ll have met him yet. He’s been on the mainland for a wedding. He donated the veil, bless his heart. It belonged to his wife. He comes in regularly just to look at it. He misses her like crazy, poor wee fella.’
Juliette placed her hand over her heart and imagined the bride and groom on that special day. Empathy for the groom caused her throat to tighten as she imagined his sorrow over his loss. She knew just how that felt. ‘Poor man,’ she whispered.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring you down. I suppose they just had that rare and almost non-existent thing called forever love.’
Juliette turned and faced Reid where he stood, hands in pockets, watching her. ‘That sounded a tad cynical, Reid. Don’t you believe in such things?’
He snorted derisively. ‘Hardly. It all just fades away, doesn’t it?’
‘Not for me,’ she replied instinctively.
‘Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to compare our relationships. I’m sure yours is a very happy one. Mine… not so much.’
‘Minewasvery happy, yes. Sadly, I didn’t get the opportunity for forever.’
‘Ah, you’re divorced too, eh?’ he asked with an air of sympathy.
‘Widowed,’ she replied with a small, forced smile.
‘Shit! I’m so sorry. Me and my big mouth. God, I’m such an idiot.’ He rubbed his hands roughly over his face and then held them almost in prayer over his nose as he exhaled through puffed cheeks.
‘It’s fine. You weren’t to know.’
‘I just… I presumed you were just single. You know, with you coming up here alone. I didn’t even think… I’m so sorry for your loss.’
‘Thank you. It’s been a couple of years now.’ She shrugged as if that made the pain any less. But, of course, it didn’t. It just became more manageable.
