And now she was changing the subject. Libby let her, but she filed away the question for later examination. There were questions Mabena clearly didn’t want her asking, and that was all right. She didn’t need to know everything about her friend’s past. But if she was so determined to keep that past a secret, why had she invited Libby to the Scillies for the summer to begin with?

Libby mentally reviewed the contents of the icebox and larder. “That bacon looked lovely. Perhaps with toast and eggs? I intend to do a bit of walking today, so something more than porridge sounds good.”

“Perfect. I’ll handle the eggs and bacon if you would tackle the toast. I’ve a fire lit in the stove already. No electric toaster here, I’m afraid.”

“Not a problem.” Their cook at Telford Hall had been rather excited to get the device last year from a small company in Scotland, but it wasn’t as though they’d even had electricity for most of Libby’s memory. Papa had resisted having it installed, quoting “needless expense” as the reason, but they all knew he just didn’t like making any changes to his ancestral home. Bram, however, had always been one for the latest and greatest. He’d had both the country estate and their London townhouse wired soon after Papa died.

She could rather see Papa’s point though, especially here on St. Mary’s, where so much was as it had been for centuries. There was a charm to the unchanging. To watching and learning the rhythms of nature and seeking to be part of them, rather than to rule them. To gliding over the waters with the help of the wind or oars rather than churning them up with an electric motor.

“I should like to learn to sail while I’m here. I’m a decent hand at rowing already, thanks to our lake.”

Her sudden declaration was met with a moment of silence before Mabena’s clattering of pans commenced again. “And you went from toasters to sailboats how, exactly?”

Libby grinned. “The old ways versus the new. There’s no reason I can’t learn, right?”

Mabena shook her head. “No reason, but don’t get any fool ideas about sailing around by yourself in search of puffins or seals. It takes more than a summer to learn all the waterways.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take you with me on those adventures.” She flashed her another grin. “How do we find a boat? Can we rent one?”

Mabena sighed. “We can, though I daresay we needn’t. My father builds them. I’ve had a small sloop of my own for years, and he’s already promised to get her ready for me. The Mermaid.”

“Oh!” Libby’s eyes went wide. “He builds boats? Fascinating. Could I see his shop sometime?”