Page 118 of The Secret Castle in the Highlands

Georgina Helen Lapley (née Fawcett)

Born 31 May 1767

Died 15 January 1828

A much-loved mother

I bent down, the scent of damp earth and grass rising to greet me. I took one of the two sets of entwined roses and leaned them against the gravestone.

Standing up and nestling into Mason, I said, ‘Do you think…?’

Reading my mind, Mason jerked his head. ‘Let’s take a look.’

The upturned collar of his military-style jacket tapped against his cheek as we stepped around to inspect the back of the stone.

I let out a sigh.

Engraved at the bottom were two entangled roses.

Epilogue

TWO WEEKS LATER, PORT STARR

Darwin charged ahead of us, his paws pounding through the surf. Despite the brisk early August breeze whipping across the sea, he bombed into the water. The waves rippled onto the sand.

I gazed up at Mason, his aviator sunglasses almost as silver as the eyes they were shielding. He seemed strangely preoccupied today.

‘I was wondering about us organising some sort of local memorial service for Gideon and Georgina.’

He brushed a stray hair from my cheek. ‘I think that’s a lovely idea. After all, they fell in love here and did so much for the local community.’

‘That’s what I thought. Nothing formal or stuffy, though. I was going to suggest a torchlight procession along the beach.’ Then another idea came to me. ‘It might even be a nice touch to have a fiddler play a lament.’ I remembered that there was often a chap who played at the Sea Shanty.

I stared out at the water. It was rippling and peaking in crests of silver. ‘I just think we should do something to remember them. I mean, thanks to the Lapley family, Gideon was treated like a social outcast, and they weren’t much better to Georgina and Oscar, either.’

Mason pulled me in closer to him and I nestled against his navy fleece.

He smiled. ‘It was so nice of Port Starr Community Council to offer the town hall to Katie and you for an exhibition of your artwork.’

‘I think it’s their way of saying thank you,’ I said. ‘I mean, since all this came out about Gideon Kelly and the Lapley family, tourist numbers have gone crazy in the last week.’ I grinned. ‘The cottages are all currently occupied and we’ve got the six of them fully booked until the end of October. Not that I’m complaining.’

I closed my eyes for a moment, soaking up the air drizzled with sea salt. The noise of gulls rattled above our heads. Darwin loped this way and that, chasing the birds and barking at the waves rushing to meet him.

‘Mason! Poppy!’

‘Oh, bloody hell!’ groaned Mason, his trainers squelching to a halt on the wet sand. ‘I thought they said they were having such a great time up in the Highlands they were planning on staying up there another few more days.’

A pang of guilt hit me again as I saw Orla and Jack striding along the beach towards us, arm in arm.

‘We shouldn’t have lied to them,’ I hissed up at Mason. ‘They’re lovely people and I still feel bad about deceiving them like we did.’

‘But we’re not deceiving them now, are we?’ assured Mason, removing his sunglasses. He lowered his lips to mine. ‘This is real.’

I kissed him back. ‘I know it is, but I do feel bad about it. We were really naughty.’

Mason’s eyes glinted at me. ‘Oh, that does sound interesting. Are you naughty often, then?’

‘Sshhh!’ I reddened. ‘They’re coming over!’