A sound behind Nellie made her turn and jump with fright. ‘Oh goodness,Margaret!’ Nellie cried. ‘How long have you been standing there?’
Margaret, leaning casually against the worktop, shrugged.
Nellie swallowed down her annoyance. ‘Did you sleep well?’
Margaret nodded.
‘Kindly look at me when I’m talking to you, Margaret,’ Nellie reproached. Her patience with Margaret’s moroseness was wearing thin.
Margaret looked up sullenly.
‘Listen, my girl,’ Nellie began, ‘if you’re going to stay here for the nextcouple of months until the event is over, then you need to stop this sulkiness;it’s not an attractive quality in a young lady.’
Margaret’s eyes began to glisten. She stood up and looked Nellie in theeyes. ‘I might not stay here, anyway. I might keep the baby—it’snot just Dad’s decision, you know.’
Nellie emitted a scoffing laugh and instantly regretted it. ‘Sorry, buthow are you going to cope raising a child by yourself? You’re sixteen,for goodness’ sake.’
‘I could get myself a flat somewhere and get a job,’ Margaret said without muchconviction. ‘What can my brother give it that I can’t?’
‘Your brother and his wife have a house. He has a job and money. It’s a fantasy, Margaret—you’d never cope with a child by yourself.’
‘How do you know what I could cope with?’ Margaret demanded.
Nellie paused for a moment and lowered her voice. ‘Because I’ve beenthere. I raised your father for four years by myself and it was awful. Truly awful.’
Margaret ground her back teeth, as she considered what Nellie had justsaid. ‘But you did cope,’ she said indignantly. ‘And socould I.’
‘Until I got an insurance payout following Charlie’s death, do you know how Icoped?’ Nellie asked. Without waiting for answer, she continued, ‘I copedby killing wild animals, by growing my own food, by begging and borrowing, byearning a pittance in a God-forsaken war factory; it is not a time Iwould have wished on my worst enemy.’
Margaret suddenly broke down in noisy sobs. ‘I don’t want the baby,anyway—not without a father.’
Nellie pulled Margaret into a long embrace. ‘It’s okay, we’ll get throughthis together.’
ChapterTwelve
25thDecember 2014, Cadgwith, Cornwall, England
Mortonand Juliette woke with a start. His phone, vibrating and dancing on thebedside table, was sending its shrill alarm cry into the room.
‘Christ, what the hell’s that on for?’ Juliette demanded. ‘Turn itoff! It’s Christmas Day and you’ve probably just woken half of Cornwallwith that thing.’
In the darkness of the room, Morton pulled an apologetic face. ‘Sorry. Happy Christmas,’ he said, leaning over and kissing her.
Juliette sighed and replied drearily. ‘Happy Christmas.’ She flaked backdown into the bed and tugged the duvet over her head. ‘Night.’
Morton stepped out of bed, pulled the duvet back and switched on the bedsidelamp. ‘Time to get up! I’ve got something to show you.’
Juliette groaned. ‘What is it?’
‘Get dressed,’ he instructed.
She looked at him incredulously. ‘Really? It can’t wait for anothercouple of hours?’
Morton shook his head and began pulling on his clothes.
With a slight huff, Juliette climbed out of bed and got dressed.
‘You’ll need a coat, scarf and gloves,’ Morton warned once they’d creptdownstairs. As soon as they were fully dressed, he looked at the time onhis phone and smiled. ‘Right, follow me!’ he said brightly, opening thefront door and stepping out into the chilly dawn air.
‘God, that’s freezing! Are we going far?’ Juliette breathed, pulling herknitted scarf up over her chin.
‘Nope, not far.’
Juliette sidled up close to him and the pair walked side by side away from thehouse. They walked in silence until they reached the old coastguard hutnot far up the hill. Morton led Juliette out to the low stone wall andput his arm around her. ‘There.’
The pair stared out over the ocean, asstill and flat as if it had been frozen. As if ascending from the verydepths of the sea, a large, blood red sun sat on the horizon.
‘Wow!’ Juliette uttered. ‘That’s just stunning.’
‘It really is,’ Morton agreed. ‘Now look behind you,’ he said, turningJuliette back towards the village.
‘Amazing,’ she said, as she took in the spectacle of the picture-postcard sceneof the whitewashed thatched cottages of Cadgwith bathed in an ethereal orangeglow, each tiny window glistening in the sun. Juliette exhaled. ‘Okay, so maybe it was worth waking me up and dragging me out into the cold forthis.’
Morton smiled. ‘That wasn’t what I dragged you out here for.’
‘What do you mean?’ Juliette asked.
Morton bent down on one knee, taking her hand in his and looked into her hazeleyes. ‘Juliette Meade, will you do the honour of marrying the strangeforensic genealogist stooped before you?’
A wide smile erupted on her face. ‘Really? Are you joking?’
‘Nope,’ Morton answered, fumbling around in his jeans’ pocket. ‘I’ve gota ring and everything. You might not like it—it was my grandmother’sengagement ring.’ He held the ring up for her approval.
‘It’s beautiful,’ Juliette grinned.
‘Great. I’m getting arthritis of the knee here; so what’s your answer?’
‘Yes! Absolutely, yes!’
Morton stood up and received her warm lips to his. He had done it. He had overcome the fears that had blighted his adult life, about not beingable to give his surname to another person when it didn’t truly belong tohim. But it did belong to him; it was his to share and his to give awayto someone else. Maybe even one day to pass on to his own descendants.
‘Come on, then; get this ring on me!’
Morton removed the glove on her left hand and gently slid onto her finger thesimple gold band with a single diamond.
Juliette inspected her hand. ‘Perfect—totally perfect! And what aperfect place, too.’
‘Yeah, it’s not bad, is it? When I planned it, I envisaged a gentlefluttering of snow falling down, but this will do.’
Juliette smiled and kissed him again. ‘I can’t believe I’m going tobecome Mrs Juliette Farrier.’
‘Another one to add to the weird Farrier family tree,’ Morton commented.
‘You wait—the second we get back I’m digging out all that wedding planningstuff I got this summer at the Rye Wedding Fayre.’
‘Yippee!’ Morton joked.
‘Come on, let’s get back in and tell them the good news,’ Juliette said,tugging Morton’s hand.
They entered Sea View to
