Chapters (50)
- Cover
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- The Pengarron Sagas
- The Harvey Family Sagas
‘No, of course not,’ he protested at what sounded like an accusation. ‘She’s always been like a little sister to me. I only realized she’d grown up yesterday. And before you girls call me heartless, let me tell you I’ve been thinking about her all night. Ah, Kelynen, that’s wonderful, don’t stop! I need to talk to her when Bartholomew isn’t around, he’s set on her bringing up his child, which won’t be easy in view of her colouring. People will either shun Tamara or treat her as a curiosity.’
‘So you have come to a decision?’ Kelynen looked at his face.
‘Yes, I suppose I have.’
‘And?’ Olivia asked eagerly. ‘You’re blushing!’
‘I am not! I value Cordelia more than any woman I know and I need her to be with me. Polgissey would be too lonely without her, and in view of her feelings for me, we cannot be there together unless we are married. In due course, when Cordelia is back and I’ve made myself presentable, I’m going to ask her to marry me.’
‘What’s going on in here? Planning games like the old days?’ Kane appeared smiling in the doorway.
‘We’ve got wonderful news!’ Olivia and Kelynen called out excitedly together.
‘Not as wonderful as mine,’ Kane shushed them with his hands. ‘Mama and Father have just come down to breakfast together. They are reunited, and that’s official!’
Thirty-Seven
In the nameless little cove under the Polgissey cliffs, which her cousin favoured to do his writing, Cordelia was standing on a high cluster of rocks that jutted deep out to sea. It was low tide and this allowed her the vantage point.
She had been down here twice before, with Luke, the sea coming in both times, slapping against the rough base of the granite. The first time, while he had sat well back near the foot of the cliff and raced on with his play, she had run barefoot on the sand, tossing pebbles into the rushing breakers and peering into the rock pools, hoping to discover marine creatures and seaweeds unknown to her, but the pools had soon filled up, losing their identity and denying her the quest.
The second time she had been forced to retreat quickly to Luke’s side as the ocean had greedily invaded all of the beach. She had asked him what his play was entitled. His reply, when finally roused from the world of his imagination, was that he would tell her when he had decided. It would be something very special, extraordinary, unforgettable. If he had thought up a title he had forgotten to tell her what it was.