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I grab her hand and we leave quietly out the back without saying a word to anyone.
With our coats wrapped warmly around us, Leyna and I walk down the embankment and past some local shops, giddy after our ownperformancein the café.
‘So how long until the whole department knows? One day? Two?’ Leyna muses.
‘I’m not going to think about it. Fancy something sweet?’
‘Always,’ Leyna replies.
The evening air is cool with a gentle breeze that makes Leyna snuggle further into her coat. We walk through the town, and I place my arm around her once again, this time to keep her warm. But it serves the dual purpose of protectionandpossession. Walking like this, I allow myself to believe that Leyna is mine to keep.
The moonlight illuminates the town, reflecting off the damp cobblestones as we make our way further into the centre and walk across the centuries-old walking bridge. High above the town the castle, perched upon a hill, overlooks the river. The lights all around the castle walls bask the ancient stones in a golden glow that filters across the whole of Castle Eden.
‘Down this way,’ I say and lead us down some stone steps. There’s a walkway along the river and a dessert place.
Before we arrive, though, I hear ‘Jack!’ as someone cries out my name. I turn. Gerik and Dalton are on the riverbank waving up at us, heaps of equipment and bags surrounding them. Gerik is wearing a wet suit rolled down to his midsection and Dalton’s reading a book. I wave back and we walk down the steps that lead to the river.
‘What are you lot doing here this time of night?’ Gerik is surrounded by scuba gear. ‘You can’t have been diving this late at night?’ I say incredulously.
‘Nah, I’m just lazy and haven’t bothered to take most of the gear off yet,’ he shrugs.
‘And I’m supervising,’ Dalton pips in.
I can’t help it and laugh. ‘Are you really?’
‘He is actually,’ Gerik says. ‘I’m not allowed to dive on my own. Need a responsible adult according to the paperwork.’
‘Sounds like you’re shit out of luck,’ I say.
Dalton completely ignores me, and leaps to his feet, brushing off his trousers and offering his hand to Leyna. ‘And who might this be?’ With hand extended he looks at me, grinning. Clearly, Gerik has already told him about the Botanic Gardens.
‘This is Leyna. We were just going to grab some coffee and dessert.’
Gerik nods hello and Dalton shakes her hand. ‘Has he apologised yet?’ he asks seriously.
I give him the sternest look I can muster as Leyna asks ‘What?’
‘Nothing. It’s nothing. He’s just joking,’ I shoot him another look that says,Don’t you fucking dare. Dalton grins and winks.
‘Would you like to join us for dessert?’ Leyna asks.
‘That’s kind of you to offer but I’ve got to get this mess cleaned up,’ Gerik interrupts and gives Dalton a look saying,and you’re going to help me, buddy. ‘Feels like the end of an era...’
I explain, ‘Gerik is an archaeologist at the university. He’s been studying these riverbeds for... How many years have you been diving here?’
‘Just about five years now, on and off. Grant money has run out so I’ll just have to do it for fun now,’ he grins.
‘Did you find anything exciting?’ Leyna asks.
‘Oh, aye. Though what an archaeologist finds exciting might not seem very spectacular to the layperson. Roman pottery fragments, some coins from the fifth century. We even found a key. That was a particularly exciting, rare find.’ He was grinning like a schoolboy.
‘That sounds very interesting.’
‘Perhaps the best find so far has been a beautiful copper-alloy Roman penannular brooch. They are quite common in this area but this one had some lovely detailing which made it slightly more unique.’
‘What exactly is a penannular brooch?’ Leyna asks.
‘It was effectively a safety pin. The Romans could use them on their cloaks or other fabrics to keep them fastened together. Relics of Roman Britain,’ Gerik grins again.
