Two days later, Oriel was waiting for Rose when she went downstairs to the shop. They’d already gone over every detail of the fire half a dozen times, and it was still the talk of the village. This morning Oriel was jigging around the moment she saw Rose.
‘You are not going to believe what’s happened!’
‘I might after the past couple of weeks.’
‘It’s about Nige,’ Oriel declared.
‘Has he been beamed up by the same aliens who built the Pyramids?’
Oriel sniggered. ‘No. It’s better than that. It’s miraculous. Auntie Lynne has kicked him out!’
‘What? That’s fantastic!’
Oriel hugged her. ‘I know.’
‘Why? What’s he done now?’
‘Well, I went round to see her because she’s been so down, despite me finding the sword and all the people coming to the shop. She was crying and I felt so sorry for her because she’s really been like a mum to me. I hugged her and then she told me that Nigel had used some of her savings to try and pay his friend back for the boat they blew up.’
‘Oh, your poor auntie. Was it a lot of money?’
‘A couple of grand. She’d let him have the password to one of her savings accounts, but his mate’s wife found out and made him pay it all back. She’s changed all her passwords, got a locksmith in and thrown him out. She said she was sorry she’d let him take over both our lives.’
‘I have to say that’s great news, even though I feel sorry for your auntie.’
‘I don’t like to see her upset but it’s the best thing that could have happened. She told me “the scales had fallen from her eyes” whatever the hell that means. Now she’s got rid of him, all of her friends from the cricket club catering committee have said they couldn’t stand him. I’m going round to see her again later.’
‘Give her a hug from me,’ Rose said, hating the idea of Lynne being upset but hugely relieved.
After listening to more about the final comeuppance of Nigel, Rose left, leaving Oriel to serve a bunch of people who all wanted to know about the Roman sword.
She walked around the estuary, which was mirror-still and serene. The sounds of hammering and planing drifted over the water. Temporary repairs had been carried out to the rear of the shed, but Finn had told her that Morvah Marine was going to be rebuilt once the cutter had been finished. The boat was back inside and he and Joey were working on it all the hours to get it ready for launching again, hopefully by early October.
Rose passed Bo’s and saw Joey outside, laughing while he waited for his order. He collected a foil-wrapped parcel and a coffee and turned away.
Rose jogged after him, her heart pounding.
‘Joey!’
He smiled and joined her. ‘Rose. I’m glad I saw you. Finn says you have to go back to Cambridge?’
‘Yes. For now, but it’s only for this term. I’ll be back for Christmas in Falford and I can start my new project with Penryn Uni in the new year.’
‘I’m really pleased. We’ll miss you.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘Finn will be climbing the walls until you come back.’
‘I’m sure he’ll cope.’
‘Trust me, he’ll be like a bear with a sore head.’
She laughed. ‘How about you? How are you doing?’
He rested the food and coffee on a mooring post. ‘You mean without Lauren? I’ll have to manage. She’s gone back to her job. I couldn’t take her away from what she loves so we’re going to find a way of making things work long-distance.’ He sighed. ‘Or one of us will have to move. Probably me. Maybe it’s time I fled the nest.’
Rose smiled. ‘Maybe.’
‘I’ve already started looking at yards I could join that are closer to Lauren. She’s also checking out some senior positions down here. That’s life but the most important thing is that we want to be with each other. We’ll work it out.’
Rose believed they would.
‘And I’m sorry if we got off to a bad start.’
She laughed. ‘I wouldn’t call it that.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘No?’
‘No. I’m glad we got to know each other. I hope we’ll always stay friends.’
‘The way things are going, you’ll be part of the family. I’ve never seen Finn smitten before.’
She laughed and her face warmed. ‘I doubt it.’
‘Oh, he is – and no one is happier than me to see him happy. The day you breezed in here was a good one, Rose.’
She nodded, almost too full of emotion to reply.
‘I have to get back to work and I guess you want to see Finn.’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘Then I’ll say goodbye for now.’ He kissed her cheek. ‘Thanks for being a friend to us all, and saving Finn’s miserable life.’
Her stomach fluttered. She and Finn had agreed that it was better if Joey didn’t know the truth about her but it was still very tempting. ‘Thank you,’ she said, teetering on the very edge of blurting it out – of shouting it to the world: ‘Do you have any idea of what you’ve done?’
She hugged him, trying not to hold him too tightly. ‘Thank you, Joey. Thank you so much.’
He laughed, but there was pleasure in his eyes and a little embarrassment. ‘God knows, why. Most people think I’ve been a pain in the arse.’ He pecked her cheek and picked up his food. ‘See ya, then.’
‘Fair winds,’ Rose said quietly but he was already walking away, oblivious to the fact that without him, she would only be a memory to her family and friends, and nothing at all to him, to Finn or anyone who’d never known her.
It was a lot to deal with. Too much for some.
She let him go, unmarred by the burden of knowing he’d saved her life, and carried on to Curlew where Finn was waiting for her.