Page 78 of The Bookshop By the Loch

Indignation raged inside me. I marched over to where she was. “What was that remark you made to Celeste just now? Something about her being the silver songbird? It really upset her.”

Flora blanched under my scowl. “I didn’t mean to. I knew I recognised her from somewhere and then it hit me.”

Pity something actually didn’t, snarled a voice inside my head. I thought of the contented smile on Celeste’s handsome, lined face vanishing and my anger reared up again. “You could see she was getting upset and yet you just carried on picking on her.”

Flora’s frosted mouth sprang open. “I did no such thing.” She recovered herself. “It’s not my fault if she’s ashamed of who she was.”

I blinked at Flora. “What are you talking about now?”

But she didn’t elaborate.

Flora flapped the ends of her florally scarf draped around her neck. “Some people are overly sensitive.”

My mouth flatlined with disapproval. “I don’t want this bookshop used as some sort of local gossip hub. I’m certain Trevor wouldn’t either. It’s supposed to be welcoming and inclusive to everyone.”

Flora fixed me with a stare. “It isn’t gossip. It’s fact.”

I was struggling to keep a lid on my irritation with this woman. “What is?”

She pursed her lips and refused to answer. Oh, this was ridiculous!

I planted both hands on my hips and surveyed the meandering customers inside and lingering tourists outside. I pushed my face closer to Flora’s and hissed out of the corner of my mouth. “Whatever you know or think you know about Celeste, I’d appreciate it if you kept your opinions to yourself.”

Flora gave a dismissive tut, but still took a step backwards.

My phone rang out from the counter, before I could add anything else.

“I’ll get that for you, Lexie,” said Chloe, firing chilly looks at Flora as she answered my mobile on my behalf.

“Yes. Well, some people don’t deserve courtesy,” Flora trilled, banging down another book she’d been holding. I watched her sweep out of Book Ends.

I stuck my tongue out at her retreating back.

Chapter Twenty-Four

That evening, I set up my laptop and after uploading some promotional pieces for recommended beach reads for the summer on Book Ends social media channels, I decided to do some investigating myself on this silver songbird reference that Flora made.

My growing optimism died. There was nothing.

I didn’t know what to expect, but I had hoped there might be some sort of link or clue. I typed in a number of combinations, but still it didn’t come up with anything. I looked up the history of Bracken Way, hoping there might be a mention somewhere, but that didn’t throw up anything either.

I frowned at my laptop screen and decided to ask Mum, who was curled up on the sofa with the latest Jodi Picoult.

“No. Silver songbird, you say? Nope. Doesn’t ring any bells with me. I’ll mention it to your grandpa though. He’s just getting ready to head off to bed. Give me a second.”

“Thanks, Mum. That would be good. It seems to be a bit of a mystery.”

I waited while I heard muffled conversations through Grandpa’s bedroom door at the top of the stairs.

A few moments later, Mum returned. “He said he vaguely remembers some local gossip about a young girl in Bracken Way being called by that nickname years ago now, but who she was, he doesn’t know.”

“Does he know why she was called that?”

Mum relayed my question to Grandpa, by calling up the stairs.

He stuck his head round his bedroom door. “Och, it was supposed to be some scandal or other, but there were a few different stories going around. Then it became yesterday’s news.”

Well, for Flora Simmonds, it was still current. “Scandal?” I repeated, my curiosity rising. “What sort of scandal, Grandpa?”