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Chapter Twenty-One
When Edie woke up, she stretched her arms above her head. Swinging her legs round and out of bed, she looked down at her feet, wondering why on earth she had thick, fleecy socks on. She didn’t remember putting them on, unless she’d got up in the night to do so. Pulling on her dressing gown, she tightened the belt around her middle and padded downstairs to make her usual mug of warm water and lemon juice. Years ago, her mother had taught her that it was good for the digestive system and stimulated one’s ‘agni’. It was one of the few good habits that she had managed to keep up over the years. As she bustled around the kitchen, she found herself singing an island lullaby her mother used to sing to her.
‘Coo roo koo, cooruku, coo ru ku, coo ku. Coo roo koo, cooruku, coo ru ku, coo ku.’
‘Oh, Molly,’ she said to her faithful pet who sat wagging her tail, clearly hoping for some breakfast. ‘What’s happening to me today? I’ve gone all melancholy.’
Glancing out of the window she was surprised to see Fergus walking up the path. Had she asked him to do some work in the garden? Then she narrowed her gaze when she noticed that he wasn’t in his work gear. In fact, he seemed to be wearing pyjama bottoms. And he was coming from the direction of the shepherd’s hut. ‘Oh my. Well, he certainly didn’t waste any time, did he? I hope she doesn’t mention that he’s a perk of the hut when she starts trying to market it.’
Fully expecting him to jump in his van and drive off, she was surprised when she heard the door.
‘Hey, Edie,’ he called. ‘Just me. Are you up? Are you decent?’
‘Am I decent?’ She looked at Molly. What a cheek! ‘Hi, Fergus. I’m here in the kitchen, come on through.’ Molly’s ears pricked up and she ran to greet him, hoping he might feed her.
‘Good morning. You’re up bright and early, aren’t you? Did you have astopover?’
Fergus frowned when he realised she was staring at his checked pyjama trousers. ‘No!’ he shouted, as it dawned on him what she was insinuating. ‘Though, yes, kind of, but not in the way you think.’
‘Are you sure about that?’ Her eyes glinted with mischief. ‘Now, Fergus, I don’t mean to lecture you but I get the sense that Amelia isn’t here for that kind of thing, if you catch my drift. She wants to be somewhere quiet and uncomplicated without any hassles.’
Fergus took a deep breath. ‘Edie, I’m not quite sure what you’re referring to, but Amelia and I are friends. She’s a sweet girl but . . .’
Edie raised an eyebrow. ‘Friends with benefits. Isn’t that what you young folk are all into these days?’
‘Edie.’ His voice was gentle. ‘Amelia actually messaged me in a bit of a panic last night. Someone was trying to break into her hut.’
‘What do you mean?’ Edie’s eyes widened in shock.
‘She woke in the middle of the night and someone was trying to open her door. Fortunately, she’d locked it, but she got an awful scare. Her first thought was of you and she asked me to come and check you were okay.’
‘Oh.’ Her face paled. ‘Somebody tried to break in?’
Fergus pointed to the table. ‘Let’s sit down for a minute.’
Edie sank into a chair and Fergus sat opposite. He took a breath. ‘Edie, it was you. You were trying to get into the hut.’
She clasped her hand across her mouth.
‘We think you must have been sleepwalking.’ He reached across and squeezed her hand. ‘Has this been happening a lot lately?’
Edie shook her head vigorously when she should have been nodding — for it had started again, but she couldn’t bear to admit it. At the moment her main concern was that she’d frightened poor Amelia. ‘Oh, goodness me. Is Amelia okay? She will have been terrified.’
‘She got a bit of a fright to begin with, but she’s fine. More worried about you.’
‘So that’s why I had socks on when I woke up? I couldn’t work it out.’
‘Yes. Amelia put you to bed and was worried your feet were cold and muddy, so she thought the best thing to do was slip on some socks.’
‘The poor girl. I owe her an apology.’ She lowered her chin and sighed.
He waved his hand dismissively. ‘Not at all. She’s fine. She’s more worried about you.’
‘And you must have been worried about her if you felt the need to stay over?’
‘She had a bit of a fright, and so she asked if I would stay until she went to sleep.’
Edie watched him as he spoke, noticing something flit across his eyes. Was it concern? Or affection? Or something else? ‘Oh, Fergus, I am so sorry for giving you all a scare. I’ll go and see Amelia later and try to explain.’
