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  Orkney Literary Society invites you to a

  Summer Ceilidh

  with Merina Wilde

  To celebrate the end of a successful tenure of our current Writer in Residence we invite you to dance the night away as we travel back in time to Orkney in the 1940s.

  Dress up or dress down, it’s up to you, but wear your dancing shoes!

  Friday 31st July

  7pm until 11pm at Orkney Library

  Booking essential.

  Email [email protected]

  Chapter One

  ‘Merry? Are you okay?’

  Merina Wilde didn’t turn at her best friend’s words. Instead, she kept her gaze trained on the spire of St Magnus’ cathedral, reaching up towards the still-light night sky even though it was long after nine o’clock in the evening. Behind her stood Orkney Library, its sleek modern design a stark contrast to the centuries-old cathedral that towered over Kirkwall. And, between the bench where Merry had been sitting for the last forty-five minutes and the library, was Jess.

  ‘I’m fine,’ Merry said, in a voice that sounded nothing like her own. ‘Just taking a moment.’

  She heard the tap of Jess’s heels as she crossed the courtyard that had been filled with enthusiastic readers just an hour earlier. Then there was the faint rustle of fabric on stone as Jess settled next to Merry.

  ‘You’ve been out here alone for the last fifteen minutes,’ she said, draping a jacket around Merry’s shoulders. ‘You must be cold.’

  She was, Merry realized, and the observation caused a belated shiver to ripple through her. What she’d mostly felt until now was numbness. It had started the moment she’d looked across the crowded library hall and seen her ex-boyfriend watching her, had gone on throughout his earnest apologies and heartfelt declarations of his own stupidity, and had lasted right up to this very second, when she couldn’t even find the words to reply to Jess. It was exactly how she had felt the night Alex had ended their sixteen-year relationship, back in November, when she’d stared at him with stunned incomprehension as he’d told her he no longer loved her. Except that tonight he’d reversed that painful assertion by saying he’d never stopped loving her. And Merry couldn’t even begin to get her head around the implications, much less figure out what to tell Jess.

  ‘Thanks,’ she managed, pulling the jacket close beneath her chin. ‘It is a bit chilly.’

  Jess nodded patiently, as though a chat about the weather was precisely what she’d come outside for. ‘So, what did the weaselly little prick have to say for himself? No, wait, don’t tell me – I bet I can guess.’ She adopted a sorrowful expression. ‘I’m going with “I had to leave you to find myself, but all I discovered was that I can’t live without you, babe.” ’

  It was such a perfect line that Merry smiled in spite of herself. ‘Isn’t that from one of your books?’

  ‘Might be,’ Jess said, shrugging. ‘But I reckon that’s the angle Alex took. Am I right?’

  There was no point in trying to deny it, Merry thought. Jess had been her best friend for more years than either of them cared to count and she’d been there throughout the devastating aftermath of the break-up; she had a pretty well-formed opinion of Alex’s behaviour, before, during and since. And, on this occasion, she was absolutely bang on the money.

  ‘Pretty much,’ Merry conceded. ‘He said that when I changed, that made him change too and he lost sight of how good we were together.’

  ‘Okay, let’s just unravel that…’ Jess frowned. ‘So, what he means is, your mental health issues made him decide he could do better.’

  Merry blinked. That was blunt even for Jess. She opened her mouth to object but her friend held up a hand. ‘Don’t argue, that’s exactly what happened. And now that you’re back on your feet, looking smoking hot and with a shiny new movie deal in your back pocket, he’s suddenly afraid you’ve moved on.’ Jess paused and shook her head. ‘I bet he even had the audacity to say he didn’t want to lose you!’

  Merry said nothing, because Alex had indeed said he didn’t want to lose her, and Jess slapped a hand against the stone bench. ‘You know who he is? Jasper Bloom, from The Holiday – the mealy-mouthed arse who gives poor Kate Winslet just enough attention to make her hope, but not enough to mean anything. It’s only when she kicks him to the kerb that he goes chasing after her. Sound familiar?’

  Another shiver chased its way down Merry’s spine and she felt the dull thud of a headache beginning at the base of her skull. She rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. ‘I know you don’t approve, Jess. But what was I supposed to do – send him away without even listening to what he had to say? He travelled a long way to see me.’

  Jess let out a snort of derision. ‘It was his choice – you didn’t ask him to.’

  ‘No, but that doesn’t mean I can pretend he’s not here.’ Merry paused as another of Jess’s comments came back to her. ‘You’re wrong about the movie deal, by the way – it hasn’t been announced so he doesn’t know it’s even happening. As far as he’s concerned, I could still be struggling with writer’s block.’

  And now Jess laughed. ‘Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately, Mer? You don’t look like you’re struggling with anything. In fact, you look like you could take on the world.’

  The words made Merry remember something Magnús Ólafsson had said not long after they had first met, that she reminded him of a Valkyrie. She’d assumed he was joking at first, but once he’d made it clear he wasn’t, she’d gradually begun to feel flattered by the comparison. If only he hadn’t been called back to his native Iceland to nurse his sick mother, Merry thought wistfully. She’d have felt much less unsettled by Alex’s sudden appearance if Magnús had been at her side.

  ‘I don’t feel like I could take on the world,’ she admitted to Jess. ‘Right now, I’m not even sure I can handle the drive home.’

  ‘That’s easily fixed at least,’ Jess replied, getting to her feet. ‘I should probably tell Niall his writer is still in residence, anyway – I think he was worried Alex might sweep you off your feet and whisk you back to London.’

  A moment later she was gone, leaving Merry to cringe inwardly with embarrassment. Niall Gunn was the link between her and the Orkney Literary Society, who funded the Writer in Residence scheme, and she couldn’t help wondering what he thought of this latest twist in her tangled love-life. Surely none of the previous incumbents had caused this much drama, she thought with another rush of mortification. He’d probably let out a long sigh of relief when her residency finished at the end of July.

  Those fears were exacerbated when Niall arrived with Jess a few minutes later.

  ‘Is everything okay?’ he asked. ‘Jess says you’re not feeling too good.’

  His manner was as professional as ever but Merry was certain there was an unfamiliar coolness in his blue eyes. She dredged up what she hoped was a reassuring smile. ‘I’m fine, honestly. It’s just—’ Her voice wavered and she felt the smile slip as an unexpected gush of emotion bubbled up inside her. ‘It’s just been a long and slightly overwhelming evening.’

  He nodded. ‘Yes, I can appreciate that. Why don’t I drive you both back to Brightwater Bay? The Mini will be fine in the staff car park – we can sort out collection tomorrow.’

  ‘I grabbed your bag,�
�� Jess said, holding up Merry’s battered but much-loved Mulberry. ‘Was there anything else?’

  ‘No, just that,’ Merry said. She took the bag gratefully before turning her attention back to Niall. ‘There’s really no need for you to come all the way to the croft. I’m sure I can manage the drive.’

  ‘It’s no trouble,’ he replied, a slight frown creasing his forehead. ‘As you said, it’s been a long evening and it’s my job to get you home safely, so I’m afraid I’ll have to insist.’

  And that made Merry feel even worse. Of course, he was just doing his job but seriously, just how much of a liability did he think she was?

  As usual, Jess read her mind. ‘You’ve had a shock, Mer. I’d drive if I could but, obviously, I’m not insured for the Mini. Let’s get back to the croft and we can chill out over a glass of whisky and some cheese.’

  Weariness washed over Merry again and she realized she was too worn out to argue. What she wanted most was the solitude of the bench that overlooked Brightwater Bay, where the sea-faring birds would be settling down for the night as the sun finally sank beyond the Atlantic Ocean. That, coupled with the whisky Jess had suggested, might help her come to terms with the turn her evening had taken. And if all else failed, she’d undoubtedly feel better in the morning. As long as she and Jess didn’t get carried away with the drinking…

  ‘Okay,’ she said, and did her best to smile. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I’ll just make sure Callum is happy to lock up,’ Niall said. ‘Why don’t I meet you in the car park?’

  Whether by accident or design, neither Jess nor Niall spoke much on the journey back to the croft. Usually, Niall would point out interesting features of the landscape or tell stories about the landmarks they were passing, but this evening he was quiet. Merry allowed her eyes to close as she rested her head against the passenger seat and let the steady thrum of the engine soothe her. Before she knew it, Niall was turning down the narrow lane that led to Brightwater Bay.

  ‘Thank you,’ Merry said as he pulled up beside the croft. ‘Both for delivering a brilliant author event and for bringing us back here.’

  ‘As I said earlier, it’s no trouble,’ Niall reassured her. Then his gaze flickered to Jess in the rear-view mirror and he half turned. ‘See you tomorrow, then. About ten?’

  Merry frowned. Tomorrow? They didn’t have any plans involving Niall for tomorrow. Had she forgotten an event? But Jess didn’t seem confused; Merry twisted in her seat just in time to see her best friend bob her head.

  ‘Sure,’ Jess said. ‘Can’t wait.’

  Niall smiled. ‘Great.’ He gave Merry an enquiring look. ‘Maybe I can take you into Kirkwall once I’ve brought Jess back, so you can pick up the Mini.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Merry echoed, now thoroughly bewildered. Brought Jess back from where, exactly? But whatever their plans were, they didn’t seem to include her and it felt oddly intrusive to ask. Instead, she gathered up her bag and reached for the door handle. ‘Anyway, thanks again.’

  She almost expected Jess to linger in the car but she hopped smartly out and followed Merry to the croft. Focusing on unlocking the door, Merry didn’t turn to wave at Niall as he started to reverse away and stayed silent as she flicked on the lights and dropped her bag onto the sofa. It shouldn’t bother her that Jess and Niall had plans to do something without her; apart from anything else, she was due to go for a run with her neighbour, Sheila, in the morning. But there was a tiny, unreasonable part of her that was irritated. And she didn’t understand why.

  ‘Valkyrie?’ Jess suggested, stripping off her jacket and hanging it on the hooks by the front door. ‘Or do we need to bring out the big guns and go straight to the tequila?’

  Merry glanced out of the living room window, towards the bench at the edge of the cliffs. There’d been plenty of nights she’d grabbed a cosy woollen throw and sat outside with a drink until the stars began to glimmer overhead. In fact, up until five minutes ago that was exactly what she’d planned to do, with Jess by her side. But now all she wanted to do was sink into bed and close her eyes.

  ‘Do you mind if we skip the drinks and post-mortem?’ she called, striving to keep her voice light. ‘I think I need an early night.’

  ‘Of course, I don’t mind,’ Jess said, following her into the room. ‘Niall’s showing me round Skara Brae tomorrow and you know I’m not normally a morning person. An early night suits me too.’

  The words caused another barrage of little needles to prick at Merry’s nerves. She did her best to ignore them. It made total sense for Niall to be taking Jess to Skara Brae, the way he’d taken Merry when she’d first arrived on Orkney. ‘You’ll have a great time,’ she said, hoping her tone was less wooden than it felt. ‘Niall really brings the history to life.’

  But Jess was adept at reading between the lines. A slow frown creased her forehead. ‘You don’t mind us going without you, do you? I didn’t think you’d be up for it since you’ve already been.’

  It was the kind of place she could visit over and over and still see something she’d missed, Merry thought, especially when Niall was her guide, but she didn’t say it. The last thing she wanted was for Jess to decide that she was – well – jealous or something equally ridiculous. ‘No,’ she said carefully. ‘I don’t mind. And I have a run planned, anyway – an eight-miler with Sheila. She’ll hunt me down if I miss it.’

  ‘Okay. We could all go somewhere for lunch when we’re finished,’ Jess suggested.

  It was a nice idea, and just a few hours earlier, Merry would have liked nothing better. But now she just did her best to smile. ‘Perhaps. Let’s talk about it tomorrow.’

  She still felt shivery when she got into bed fifteen minutes later, but the cotton sheets felt like silk against her skin and she’d never been more grateful to lower her head to the pillow. An epic yawn caught her by surprise; events were tiring at the best of times, she thought, but even more so when an ex-boyfriend crashed the party and stirred up a whole host of feelings she thought she’d forgotten. It wasn’t the time to think about Alex, she told herself wearily – the only thing that would do was ensure she lay awake all night. But in spite of her determination to give her exhausted brain some rest, it took Merry a long while to fall asleep. And just before the darkness came to claim her, a face flashed into her mind and almost jolted her into wakefulness. But it wasn’t Alex who drifted in and out of her dreams until dawn. It was Niall.

  * * *

  ‘And I’ll tell you something else, she’s not quite what I expected.’

  They were two miles into their regular Sunday morning run along the cliffs and Merry was starting to wonder whether Sheila might sing Jess’s praises for the entire duration. It wasn’t that Merry minded hearing how much her neighbour had enjoyed their joint author event the night before – far from it – but Sheila never usually talked this much on a run. In fact, by this point she had usually grown bored of Merry’s slower pace and abandoned her to lope off into the distance. So it was something of a surprise that she seemed inclined to chat now, on a day when Merry was secretly craving the silence and headspace that running normally gave her.

  ‘I mean, I thought she’d be sharp,’ Sheila went on conversationally. ‘It’s obvious from the way she writes that she’s very clever. But she’s funny and charming with it, so you don’t notice her mentally running rings around you, and then there’s the way she looks. I imagine she stole a few hearts last night.’

  Merry concentrated on navigating the springy, heather-laden ground beneath her trainers. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t heard before – Jess was never short of admirers – but she couldn’t help wondering if Sheila had noticed any hearts in particular being stolen. Nevertheless, she stored the comments away to pass on to Jess later. ‘I’ll tell her you said so.’

  Sheila nodded, almost to herself. ‘Aye, she’s got a good head on her shoulders, that one.’

  Merry considered some of the awkward scrapes she and Jess had got themselves into ove
r the years and tried not to smile. Her best friend’s famous sense of adventure meant she never held back but Merry couldn’t deny she was equally good at getting herself out of trouble. ‘Most of the time,’ she said to Sheila.

  They ran on in silence for a few minutes, settling into an even pace, and Merry began to think her companion had finally grown tired of talking. But it appeared she was wrong – Sheila had something else on her mind.

  ‘So was that the infamous Alex last night?’

  Merry wanted to groan. The crowds had begun to thin by the time Alex had made his sudden appearance and she’d hoped Sheila and the rest of her eagle-eyed friends might have missed it, but no such luck. There was no point in pretending it had been someone else; news travelled fast on Orkney and Sheila had probably already tapped into the community network to establish where Alex was staying, how long he was staying and how many eggs he’d had for breakfast.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I thought it must be,’ Sheila replied, managing to sound satisfied and disapproving at the same time. ‘I said to Bridget, he looks like the type to break a woman’s heart. Eyes too close together, I told her. Untrustworthy.’

  The last word rolled off her tongue with such emphasis that it seemed to linger in the crisp morning air. And as always, the criticism evoked an instant desire in Merry to defend Alex. ‘Really? I’ve always liked his eyes.’

  Sheila threw her a sideways look. ‘Clearly, since you were prepared to marry him. But he’s no Magnús, is he?’

  It was on the tip of Merry’s tongue to point out that Magnús hadn’t proved to be a good long-term romantic prospect either, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. The circumstances of his departure from Orkney had been out of his control and he’d left to do the honourable thing, to care for his ailing mother; there was no way Merry could fault him for that, no matter how disappointed she’d been when he’d gone.

  ‘Or Niall, for that matter,’ Sheila went on with barely a pause. ‘I’ve known him his whole life and I can tell you now, he’s steadier than the stones at Stenness.’