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‘He was worried he’d upset you,’ Honor explained gently.
‘Of course it would upset me but I would have understood.’
‘But you made him promise not to volunteer.’
‘You made Jags promise he wouldn’t volunteer?’ Merryn asked. ‘That wasn’t a good thing to do.’
‘Why, Mer?’ her mother asked, puzzled.
‘Because he loves doing it. When we take Ivy for a walk around the harbour he always stops and looks at the lifeboat and reads the incident board. He goes all whiskful–’
‘Whiskful?’
‘Do you mean wistful, Merryn?’ Honor asked.
‘Yes. Whiskful. All sighing. Gets this soppy look on his face. Actually,’ Merryn turned to Honor, chocolate stains from drinking cocoa too enthusiastically around her mouth, ‘he gets like that when he talks about you too. He talks about youa lot.’
Honor blushed.
Avril ruffled Merryn’s hair. ‘I was only trying to keep him safe, baby girl. I didn’t want him to die like your daddy did.’
‘But making Jago promise isn’t going to bring Daddy back, is it?’
‘No.’ Avril said, nonplussed at the logic.
‘It’s all about doing a chance, isn’t it?’
‘What do you mean, Mer?’
‘It’s like when I ride Holly’s pony at her house. Holly’s my best friend from school,’ she explained to Verity. ‘She’s got ponies and puppies. They’re sausage dogs.’
‘Ah yes, I’ve heard about her,’ Verity spoke for the first time. ‘So, what’s this about taking a chance, Merryn?’ she asked.
‘I’ve been learning to ride.’
‘You’ve what?’ Avril half reared out of her seat.
‘Stay cool, Mum. It’s like I said. About doing a chance. I wear a hat to keep my head safe and a body protector thing and I go slow in the marriage.’
‘Marriage? What are you on about, Mer?’
‘Menage?’ Honor put in. ‘Do you mean the enclosed outdoor space the Carmichaels have?’
Merryn nodded enthusiastically. ‘Yes. Holly and her mum walk Pasco round ever so slowly. Once they know I’ll be okay I’m going out on a hack.’
‘Well maybe, after I’ve had words with Ciara, and then we’ll see,’ Avril said. ‘She had no right to teach you to ride without asking me first.’
‘Ah, Mum, that’s the point. I do a chance but asafechance. I wear the right stuff, do training and everything and I’m safe. There’s only a teeny chance I’ll fall off.’
‘But it’s a chance too many.’ Avril gathered up her daughter in a fierce hug. ‘You and Jago are the most precious things in my life. What would I do without you both?’
‘But riding Pasco makes me happy, Mum.’ Merryn’s voice was muffled against her mother’s chest. ‘And I got to know about horses cos I want to be a vet.’
Avril released her and gave her a watery smile.
‘And being at the lifeboat makes Jags happy. We don’t stop you doing things that make you happy.’
‘You don’t but I’m not going to come to much harm at the Knit and Natter Club or working at the bookshop, am I, pumpkin?’
