Isaac’s plan of exploring the north coast of Wales has taken root with Lucia and the other two men while they’ve been drinking endless tea and arguing the merits of toasted tea cakes over rock buns. Peter has plenty of suggestions of places to include in their whistle-stop tour and while he and Tommy visit the gents, Lucia takes the compass from her bag and opens the case, half-cross with herself for what she’s about to do. She’d wanted to see how the next part of the journey would pan out without its help and sure enough, the choice to travel to Wales had been made by Polly and Isaac anyway. Now though, Lu has a sudden yearning for home and her own bed. Will the compass back her up?
She takes it out and places it on the table in between the teapot and the sugar bowl. It’s as beautiful as ever and she cups her hands around it and stares into the centre of the two dials. Before she’s had chance to make sense of what she’s seeing she hears the men come back, and looking up furtively, she makes to put it away again but Tommy stops her.
‘Hang on, darling, you’ve got the right idea. Let’s see what my old friend says about the next part of our jaunt,’ he says.
Peter sits down and leans forward. ‘This must be what you started to talk about, back at the Manor when we first met,’ he says. ‘My goodness, what a beautiful thing. Tell me more about it.’
‘I think we should let Tommy explain,’ says Lucia, feeling Tommy’s bright blue eyes on her face. ‘We’ve never really discussed it properly, have we?’
She waits, feeling as if she’s on the verge of something that she might not understand, but desperate all the same to know what the significance of this strange instrument is. Tommy sighs.
‘It’s very hard to express what it’s meant to me,’ he says. ‘But I’ll try. The compass and barometer were given to me by Angelina a long time ago. To be honest, I had to convince her to let it go for her own good. She was completely reliant on it to make even the smallest decision, and that’s not how it’s meant to work, in my opinion.’
Peter reaches out and touches the smooth marble outer casing of the beautiful thing.
‘It’s got powers then, Tommy?’ he asks.
‘You don’t seem surprised.’
‘I’ve travelled a lot in my time and seen some odd occurrences, sometimes involving what seem like inanimate objects … but aren’t. Go on, I’m all ears.’
‘I tried to get Angelina to divulge how she came by it, but she’s closed up every time the subject is raised in the past. All I know for sure is that the compass only has one owner at a time. It has to be freely given to the next person. After that, if it’s used in the right way, it can provide simple advice about the right way to act or the way to go. Lucia is just at the start of her relationship with it.’
Lucia frowns. ‘But are you trying to tell me it might get a grip on me? Have too much power if I’m not careful? Really?’
‘It could do. I was ready to let it go, but even then, it wasn’t easy to give it up. So what is it saying to you now? Full interpretation takes a long time and a concentrated effort but you’ve made a start.’
She takes the compass in both hands again and stares down at it. The needles begin to move immediately but to begin with, they spin crazily, not settling on any place in particular. At last they slow down and stop. The compass needle is pointing due north and the barometer is set to stormy.
‘What does it mean?’ Lucia asks, frustration at the immensity of her task getting the better of her. ‘How am I supposed to get better at knowing what the message is? There’s no instruction book.’
‘It’s saying we’re right to be travelling to the north of this lovely country,’ says Tommy. ‘That’s the easy part. But the other reading really depends what you were thinking about when you were asking it a question.’
Lucia ponders on this. It was Polly who was on her mind, and has been all day. There’s been an underlying restlessness in the girl ever since they she decided not to meet up with her sister’s friend in South Wales.
Lucia’s thoughts about the compass reading are forgotten until later when, exhausted by their frantic tour of the North Wales coast, camp is finally made on the outskirts of Rhyl.
‘Let’s just sit here and play with Reggie while the others get the water and so on. Everything else is done,’ Lucia says to Polly as they set up the camping chairs in the shade of a giant sycamore tree. ‘I want to talk to you.’
Polly looks at her in some alarm. ‘Have I done something bad?’
She sounds so much like the worried little girl she must have once been that Lucia’s heart twists painfully for her. The anguish she’s suffered is still only just under the surface, however bright and breezy she appears most of the time.
‘Not at all, love.’
Lucia realises suddenly that she’s reached the point where Polly might have to be told about the compass. Her mind shies away from more revelations and possible doubting. Peter’s acceptance of it surprised her but he’s clearly had a wealth of unusual experiences in his own travels. Now doesn’t feel like the time to be asking Polly to suspend disbelief.
‘It’s probably just me being silly and fussing,’ she begins, trying to find the right words. ‘But I’ve been having the strongest feeling that someone I cared about had some sort of … storm brewing in their life. The others all seem fine. Could it be you?’
Polly doesn’t answer for a moment. Her frown deepens. Then she takes a deep breath. ‘My dad lives in Shropshire, not far from a little town called Church Stretton. I’ve never been there but I’ve looked on the map and it’ll kind of be on the way home. I haven’t seen him since he tried to come to Alice’s funeral. I’ve been wondering if now’s the time. But Lu, I’m scared.’
Lucia slips an arm around the younger girl, amazed at how slender she feels under the big woolly jumper. ‘Tell me about it?’
‘I’ve always assumed that he left because he couldn’t stand living with us. I’m afraid if I go to find him and we talk, I’ll find out things about my family that I don’t want to know.’
‘Does he want to see you?’
The question sounds brutal but Polly doesn’t flinch. ‘Yes. He’s got my mobile number and he often texts news about what he’s been doing and asks how I am but I hardly ever answer. Maybe it’s time to face up to it. Could we?’
‘Of course. I’ll tell the others. We’ll plan a stop there and then head for home. We can take Reggie for a walk while you go and find him.’
‘No, I need to take Reg with me. He’s never seen his grandson.’
They look at each other and Lucia is horrified at the pain in Polly’s eyes. ‘In that case, we must go,’ she says firmly.
The coast of North Wales is very easy to fall in love with, and as they make their leisurely way along it the next day, Lu begins to think seriously about the future. Parking the van behind rolling dunes, she’s overcome with a wild desire to run and run.
As the others get ready for a more gentle stroll, Lu kicks off her trainers, rolls up the legs of her jeans as far as they’ll go and begins to jog down the wide expanse of firm sand. She can hear Isaac’s surprised cry at the sight of his mum hurtling towards the waves. By the time Lu splashes into the shallows, she’s out of breath and every muscle in her body is telling her to have a rest, but her mind feels freer than it’s been for months.
Perhaps it’s time for a complete change? The thought of going back to the house she’s shared with Des for so long, whether he’s in it eventually or not, doesn’t fill her with joy. Lu paddles along the shoreline, thinking about all the places they’ve visited so far. Might it be fun to come and live by the sea? Would Isaac relocate? How about Polly? Lu has no idea how long the girl is planning to stay with them. Polly’s said she chanced on Chandlebury by accident but Lu still feels there’s more to it than that. Her mind moves on at a pace and she feels a sharp pang of loss as she wonders what Des is doing now. They need to talk, and soon.
As the rest of the group draw nearer, Lu makes the decision to shelve all these thoughts for now and just enjoy the moment. The future can look after itself. Today is full of sunshine, sea air and friendship. That’s quite enough for the time being.