Amelia took a deep breath.
“Well, like I said to Evie, I’ve been doing a bit of research, but it’s only got me so far. My dad had two letters in his belongings from a woman called Sheila – who I guess is Evie’s grandmother – and they had a daughter called Cara who was brought up on Hrossey and married a man called Duncan when she was sixteen. I then found out online that they had two daughters.”
Evie nodded. “Yes, and that would be me and my older sister, Liv.”
Amelia leaned forward eagerly. “I can’t wait to meet her. I want to talk to as many people as I can with a connection to my father. Do you think Liv would also be up for telling me about the past?”
Evie and Freya glanced at each other. Liv’s own past was littered with malicious lies, and a sad track record of trouble-making and addiction to drugs and alcohol, although recently she had tried to clean up her act.
Freya jumped in, “Of course you must meet Liv, but she’s been going through a lot. Evie’s helped her with rehab—”. She stopped herself, the whisky had loosened her tongue. “That stays between us. In the meantime how can we both help you right now?”
“I would just like to know more about my Orkney family. I felt like I never fitted in back home in America and maybe that’s because my roots are actually in Scotland and here in Orkney.
“So what can you tell me about Sheila and Cara?”
“Well,” said Freya slowly. “I was born on Hrossey and of course it’s a small and close-knit community, so I knew CaraRendall as she was then, quite well. She was a few years younger than me and was more a friend of my sister when they were in the same class at primary school.”
“Your sister! Would she be willing to talk to me?”
“Ah, Amelia,” said Freya sadly. “If only she could, but Anne Marie died of breast cancer a long time ago. She was a lovely woman and apart from Evie here, she was my staunchest ally.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss, Freya,” said Amelia, reaching out to squeeze Freya’s hand gently.
“Thank you, it was a long time ago, but I still miss her. Every time I go back to Hrossey, I expect to see her there waiting to greet me off the boat. Even after all these years.”
Freya shook her head and went on, “Anyway. I’m afraid Cara and I didn’t get on very well. She didn’t approve of me you see.” It was seventy years ago but Cara’s cruel stinging words calling her a freak still hurt, although just a pinprick these days compared with the deep raw ache when she was a child.
She continued on, “Like all the teenagers, Cara left the island to go to secondary school in Kirkwall, and that’s where she met Evie’s dad Duncan. They were just bairns of sixteen when they got married.”
Freya smiled sadly, remembering the big, soft-hearted man who doted on his Cara but could never make her happy, and his bafflement when his firstborn daughter Liv turned out to be such a difficult child. But then there was his unconditional and overwhelming adoration of Evie, who he called his Teenie.
The more they talked, the more Freya warmed to Amelia, and Evie began to feel less on edge.
Amelia seemed to be so interested in Orkney, and Cara and Evie’s extended family and asked them many intelligent questions. She was careful never to ask anything overly intrusive, and both Freya and Evie found themselves opening up.
There was only one awkward moment, where Amelia asked about Evie’s time in London and Evie was stunned – she didn’t remember telling Amelia about that.
“You mentioned you’d lived away, and that a friend from London was coming to visit,” said Amelia. “Sorry, I was just putting two and two together.”
“London was … a difficult time,” said Evie. “I was glad to get back here where I belong.”
Amelia smiled at her. “Say no more, Evie. I’ve had difficult times in my own life as well.”
The three of them chatted for hours. Amelia was apologetic when she saw Freya yawning and realised it was way after midnight.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t notice the time. I’ve been so selfish, keeping you both up.”
“I’m amazed you haven’t hit the wall after all your travelling, Amelia. You are made of strong stuff,” said Freya. “It’s been good to talk to you about Hrossey and most of my memories are good ones. Like I said, I will get in touch with the Rendalls and you can hop up and visit them.”
Amelia smiled, “You’ve both been so good to me. I really appreciate it. I didn’t know what to expect. But you’ve been so very kind.” She added, “There’s so much to discover and I would like to know much more about Orkney. And to meet everyone else, especially Liv, of course.”
Freya said, “I know the very fella to help, I will put you in touch with my dear friend Andrzej. He came here from Poland many years ago and knows more about Orkney than most of the locals. He will talk to you until your ears bleed.”
She chuckled, “They do say the rescue donkeys he keeps on his land only have two front legs because he’s talked the back ones off of them.” Freya had made this joke many times in the past, and it always made Andrzej laugh too.
“And I dropped past the animal sanctuary today,” said Evie, keen to show Freya that she was doing her bit to welcome their new visitor, but also to distract from another mention of Liv. “They’d be so happy to show you around.”
Amelia clasped her hands and tears came to her eyes as she told Evie and Freya just how grateful she was for their kindness. Freya gave her a hug, which led to Amelia enthusing about them both for so long that Evie felt decidedly uncomfortable. She wasn’t used to such over-the-top displays of emotion.
