Page 61 of Starry Nights over Dragonfly Lake

‘Isn’t this great?’ said Alex, beaming from ear to ear as he walked up to them. ‘The snug is going to be packed afterwardsand we’ve had loads of enquiries about everything from staying here in one of the bedrooms to the water sports centre and even renting out the whole Boathouse Café for a private event.’

‘Some people hadn’t even heard about the light festival and want to come back for that next weekend,’ added Hannah.

‘Brilliant,’ replied Beth, still gazing at the crowd. It was a far greater number than she had ever imagined would turn up for a meteor shower.

Something was suddenly thrust into her hands and she looked down at the microphone.

‘What’s this for?’ she asked Alex, who had just handed it to her.

‘I thought you had a PhD,’ he replied, with a smile. ‘It’s for amplifying your voice.’

Beth grimaced. ‘I’ve never used one of those before.’

‘It’s all quite easy,’ Alex was telling her. ‘Just press that button on the side and everyone will be able to hear you without you going hoarse from shouting.’

She nodded. People had actually paid money to hear her speak, she reminded herself. They wanted to hear her knowledge, something that she was still getting used to. After all, she wasn’t an expert like Jeremy.

She frowned to herself, annoyed for even thinking about him at a time like this. She was delivering her magazine articles on time, trying to keep their relationship on a purely business level, but he was still bothering her with texts and missed phone calls. She didn’t reply to those. After all, he still thought that she was having a passionate affair with Noah and why let him think any different?

She was still staring down at the microphone when she felt someone else come up to them. She looked up to see Noah.

‘All set?’ he asked.

She nodded, somewhat grateful that he was there once more. She needed his quiet presence more than ever. She had felt as if they had grown a little closer, especially since she had told him about her childhood. Sometimes she wondered whether he just felt sorry for her but then she reminded herself that his upbringing had sounded equally awful which at least made his empathy a little more understandable.

She blew out a long breath to steady her nerves, seeing it in the cold air. The temperature was low, although not quite freezing, but thankfully it had also meant a clear sky in which to view the meteor shower.

Hannah shivered. ‘It’s freezing out here tonight,’ she said.

‘I’d better not keep everyone waiting then,’ replied Beth, fixing on a bright smile.

‘That’s the spirit,’ said Alex, nodding his approval.

They made their way to the beach just as Ben switched down the lights around the hotel to a low lighting, just for safety. It meant that the night sky above them twinkled even brighter with the stars all coming alive.

Beth stood at the end of the beach and looked at the microphone once more with terror. Then she found herself looking up into Noah’s eyes as he stepped forward in front of her. He reached out and zipped up her coat all the way to the top.

‘Just to me, like last time,’ he murmured.

She instantly relaxed, her nerves steadied by his presence.

So she switched on the microphone and wished everyone a good evening before introducing herself.

She gave out a few safety instructions before finally getting onto the important bit. The stars.

‘We’re all here tonight to hopefully witness the Leonids meteor shower,’ she announced. ‘The Leonids are so-called because they appear to originate from the constellation Leo. Andyou’re in for a treat as it’s one of the most prolific annual meteor showers. When these pieces of celestial debris enter our planet’s atmosphere, they’ll be travelling at speeds of up to 43 miles per second, at which point they vaporise and create the spectacular streaks of light known as meteors.’

A ripple of excitement went around the crowd at her words.

‘The meteors can be very bright because they’re moving so quickly. Sometimes we get fireballs as well during the Leonids and they can outshine a star or a planet. Luckily, all of this can be seen with the naked eye, although of course you’re welcome to use any binoculars or telescopes which you might have brought with you.’

She then went on to suggest that everyone began to look up at the sky to get their eyes accustomed to the darkness.

‘Whilst we’re waiting for the big show, let’s have a little tour around the sky, shall we?’ she carried on, now totally at ease as she stared up at the heavens. ‘Let’s start with Sirius, otherwise known as the Dog Star. And it’s the brightest star in the sky. It’s always somewhere in the winter skies, especially in the northern hemisphere. There it is, flickering like a sparkling diamond, just above the treetops, even though it’s 8.6 lightyears away from earth.’

Beth lost track of time, chatting away amiably to the crowd about how ancient civilisations viewed Sirius as well as other stars and planets that she pointed out.

In fact, she was so relaxed that she was as amazed as everyone else when the meteor shower began. The first bright light dashing across the sky brought ooohs and aaahs from the crowd and then continued over the next hour to everyone’s delight.