CHAPTER 10

 

Although she was expecting Elsa when a car drew up outside the cottage, Anna was pleasantly surprised to see that it was George who had come to collect her.

‘Hello again,’ he said, tapping her on the shoulder once she had fastened her seatbelt. ‘Did you have a good night’s sleep?’

‘Yes, I did. Thank you so much for rescuing me yesterday. I can’t think what I would have done if you hadn’t been there.’

‘I’m sure you’d have thought of something,’ he said with a smile.

He looked different this evening, younger even. Yesterday she would have reckoned he was about fifty, but perhaps forty-five would be nearer the mark. Without his jacket, she could see he was lean and muscular, the sort of physique you would see pounding the streets in the west end of Glasgow early in the morning as the keep-fitters covered their daily mileage. Maybe he ran ten miles a day over the moors in Mull? She didn’t think joggers would be welcome on the single-track roads here.

‘Should I lock this door?’ Anna asked.

He smiled. ‘If it makes you feel better. The workmen have a key.’

She shrugged her shoulders. ‘Old habits die hard,’ she said, turning the key in the lock.

‘So, how have you spent your day,’ he asked, once they were on their way.

‘I went out for a walk this morning,’ she said. ‘Then this afternoon I’ve been reading through some of the information in the cottage. I know next to nothing about Mull, so this corner seems a good starting point.’

When he didn’t say anything, she continued, ‘I left home in a bit of a hurry. My original plans were… were disrupted by events. I had to make a quick decision. I’d planned to come to Mull at a later date, but decided on the spur of the moment to make the journey now. That’s why I’m so badly prepared.’ She delivered her words in short staccato sentences in her rush to hide her embarrassment at her lack of forward-planning. ‘You must have thought I was—’

‘I didn’t think you were anything. Except a stranger who looked as if she could do with a bit of help.’

 

When they arrived at Lochside, Elsa came out of the kitchen to greet them. Tucking a stray wisp of hair into her bandana, she directed them to the same table where they had sat the previous evening, now set for four.

‘Amy and Sandy will be joining you tonight,’ she said. ‘But they may be a bit late. Would you like your meal now? Or…?’

‘I’m in no hurry,’ George said. ‘What about you, Anna?’

‘Same for me. I’ve no plans for the evening.’

‘We’ll wait till the others arrive then, Elsa.’

Anna looked around her. More rested now than the previous night, she was better able to appreciate her surroundings. The dining room had six tables, half of them occupied and the others with Reserved cards on them.

‘It’s fully booked,’ Anna said. ‘Is it always as busy as this?’

‘At this time of year, yes,’ George replied. ‘It falls away a bit once the summer season is over, and Elsa and Charlie take a couple of weeks off in the winter. The locals keep the place going, and we use it for all sorts of activities: meetings, parties, weddings even. The couple who are joining us tonight had a celebration of their wedding here, although that took place outside. It was a lovely day.’

Voices in the hall suggested that more customers had arrived. It seemed from the snippets of sound reaching the dining room that the newcomers were well known, and they made straight for the table where George and Anna were sitting.

‘Hello, George. Good to see you. And this must be Anna. Welcome to Mull,’ the young woman said, shaking Anna by the hand. ‘I’m Amy, and this is my husband, Sandy.’

‘And we’re both starving,’ Sandy said. ‘What’s Elsa got for us tonight?’

With introductions over, George kept the flow of conversation going, giving Anna the opportunity to relax. In no time, she felt as if she had known these people for years. As the evening advanced through three courses, culminating in a dessert of bramble meringues, she discovered that Amy and Sandy had both visited the island in their youth, but had only returned to live here comparatively recently.

‘We have two houses,’ Amy said, in response to a question from Anna. ‘That makes us sound like spoiled brats. I inherited my grandmother’s cottage and Sandy fell heir to a family home, too. That’s where we decided to live when we were married, but I still run my business – I’m an accountant – from Columb Cottage. I’m from Glasgow originally.’

‘We can’t decide what to do with the houses until I know if I’ll have a job here,’ Sandy said. ‘I’m on a temporary contract, so we’ll make a decision once that expires.’

‘Or is renewed,’ Amy added. ‘That’s happened once already, but who knows?’

‘Sandy’s a doctor,’ George explained. ‘And we certainly need him here for the summer. We have to have medical services available for the season, when we have so many tourists on the island.’

‘And, what about you, Anna? What’s your interest in Mull?’

Anna felt her heart rate increase, but she was not yet ready to share the personal reason she had come to Mull. Fortunately, Elsa came in at that point, which spared Anna the necessity to respond.

‘That meal was delicious, Elsa,’ Amy said. ‘I loved the venison.’

‘I agree,’ Anna said. ‘Thank you so much once again.’

Elsa smiled. ‘I’m glad you all enjoyed it.’

Anna began to feel slightly guilty. Until she’d met George, she had no idea any of these people existed. Their kindness was overwhelming, yet she didn’t feel she could to take them into her confidence about the search for her birth mother. If only Roddie were here, perhaps he would be able to advise her?