Page 63 of A Scottish Highland Surprise

I shook my plait. “No, she isn’t.” I tapped my pen against the edge of the counter, trying to stem the tide of growing optimism inside me. “But she did say she thinks she knows who did.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

I arranged to go and speak to Ivy at closing time.

The footfall began to peter out by quarter to six, so Cass and I decided to close ten minutes earlier than usual.

She insisted on locking up so I could get away. I think Cass could tell I was brimming with hopeful anticipation, from the way I was hopping from foot to foot like an agitated five-year-old requiring an urgent visit to the bathroom.

Ivy lived in one of the detached cottages up by the swooping rise and fall of the Briar Glen hills.

The house was very compact and presentable, built of cream and toffee brick, with a beech door and plumes of trees in the well-tended front garden.

Ivy came bustling to the door and beckoned me in, with her inquisitive, friendly bitter-chocolate cockapoo at her heels. She led me into a sitting room with honey-coloured walls and squashy tan furniture strewn with hessian cushions.

As we sat down opposite each other, me on the sofa and Ivy taking up residence in her armchair, she apologised for her dog. “I’m so sorry about Cooper. He’s very sociable.”

“Please don’t apologise,” I grinned, as Cooper plonked himself down on his bottom by my feet for an extended ear rub. “He’s gorgeous.”

She gestured to her galley kitchen through from the sitting room. “Give me a second and I’ll make us some tea.”

A few minutes later, Ivy returned with a tray set out with Cath Kidston crockery, which I recognised straightaway. I smiled, pointing to the white porcelain splashed with images of wildflowers in primary colours. “That’s familiar.”

Ivy poured the tea out of the matching pot. “I couldn’t resist it when I came into your lovely shop the other day.”

“Thank you.” I scrutinised her open, friendly face. “It couldn’t have been me that served you. I would have given you a very generous discount!”

Ivy laughed and explained that it wasn’t. “It was an enthusiastic young lady with a bow in her hair.”

“Cass,” I replied. “Yes, she’s great.”

There was a pause in our conversation while we both took a sip of excellent tea.

“Ivy,” I began. “You said you knew the—”

But before I could speak again, Ivy shuffled forward, balancing her saucer on her lap. Her floral blouse shimmered. “I believe I know who may have deposited that tea set with you.”

My heart did a hopeful leap.

She set her cup and saucer down on a coffee table positioned beside her chair. “I have a close friend. Her name is Ophelia Walker. She lives on the outskirts of Briar Glen.”

She laced her hands together in her lap. Her wedding ring glittered. “Ophelia was a schoolteacher at Briar Glen Primary for years. She retired last year. She’d seen a couple of TV programmes about tracing your family tree and she mentioned to me she wanted to do that, now she had more time.”

I nodded, taking another pull of tea.

Ivy smiled. “Sorry. I’m digressing a bit.” She took another sip of tea. “The upshot is, I have seen that tea set before, in Ophelia’s home.”

I craned forward in the armchair, my expectation growing. “So, your friend – Ophelia Walker – she owned the tea set?”

Ivy nodded. “Her sister Annabel did. When she died last year, Ophelia discovered the tea set stashed up in the attic. I remember her telling me about it at the time.” Ivy frowned. “That’s what I don’t understand – why all at once she has decided she doesn’t want it.”

She flicked me a look. “When I saw your post on Facebook and recognised the crockery, I was in two minds whether to contact Ophelia straightaway and ask her about it, but she has had a tough time coming to terms with losing her sister and I didn’t want to embarrass her or make her think I was prying.”

Ivy studied me with her misty grey eyes that fanned out with fine lines at the corners. “When she first found it, she was so enamoured with it. So why try to give it away now?” She looked confused. “When I saw the photographs of the tea set and read your appeal for information about it, I was taken aback. Goodness knows why Ophelia had a change of heart and decided she wanted rid of it. Especially with an old letter inside…”

I was giving Cooper another rub behind his floppy velvet ears. He let out a satisfied grunt, just as my hand stopped petting in surprise. “So, Mrs Walker discovered the letter beside the tea set?”

Ivy nodded. “Yes. Well, not at first. I think it was a day or two after finding the tea set and she took a closer look at it. She didn’t go into great detail about what was in the letter. She was a bit guarded about it all, which isn’t like her.”