by Joan Fleming
‘I didn’t mean to offend you, Finn.’
‘Sorry to rush off yesterday, Anna.’
A burst of laughter and a quick hug restored them to their easy friendship of the previous day.
In the van on the way to Tobermory, their initial conversation consisted of garbled fragments of sentences.
‘I didn’t want you to think…’
‘I thought it was only for your project…’
‘You have your living to earn…’
It became obvious that both of them wanted to clear the air and just enjoy each other’s company.
‘If the weather holds, I think we should go to Calgary Bay first, so we can enjoy it in the sunshine. The weather doesn’t really matter for Bloody Bay,’ Finn said.
In an island of many beaches, Anna had read, Calgary was the most beautiful. It was certainly the most famous, appearing on brochures and other publicity material advertising the island. Led by Finn, who kept tight hold of her hand, they made their way from the car park to the sandy beach.
Anna caught her breath, unable to speak as she took in the vista of the silvery white sand of the crescent-shaped bay, where the aquamarine sea glistened in the sunshine. The pair made their way down to the damp stretch of sand, which made walking easier.
‘I like to take off my shoes on a beach, but I warn you, the water’s cold.’
‘Let’s do it,’ Anna said. ‘But I’ve no plans to swim.’
Leaving their trainers on the dry sand, they approached the crystal-clear water, and ventured in. It looked so inviting, but Anna yelled as the chill of the water travelled from her feet to the rest of her body. Finn bent down and scooped up a handful of water and threatened to throw it at her. In no time, they began to caper like small children having a water-fight in the shallows.
Suddenly Anna became aware that they were not alone on the beach.
‘Oh, Finn, we’re disturbing that couple over there with our nonsense,’ she said.
Still giggling but more quietly now, they stopped, and returned sedately to where they had left their shoes. The sand was warm there, and they sat for a while in silence, calmer now, drinking in the peace of the secluded spot. Famous though it had become, it was still possible to find solitude on Calgary Bay, to be at one with nature, to admire the awesome land- and seascape, to drink in the magic of Mull. The sheer beauty of her surroundings brought tears to Anna’s eyes.
After a short stop for tea from the snack bar near the car park, they set off again for their next port of call: Bloody Bay.
‘And now for something completely different,’ Finn joked.
‘I can’t think of any experience to equal a few hours spent on Calgary Bay,’ Anna said.
Finn glanced over at her. ‘Your eyes are all dreamy,’ he said.
‘It’s like a dream. I’m glad I took pictures, or I wouldn’t believe I was really there.’
As she spoke, Anna wriggled in her seat, and gave a long sigh of contentment.
‘We’re heading for Tobermory now, if you’d like to follow it on the map,’ Finn suggested.
Anna retrieved the map, which had fallen off her lap, and found their position.
‘There must be hundreds of bays and beaches around the coast of this island,’ Anna said.
‘And each one more stunning than the last,’ Finn said.
‘It would be hard to find one more impressive than Calgary.’
As they got out of the van, Anna once more had to battle with the wind to hold the passenger’s door. Black clouds pursued each other across the sky, their ragged edges joining together to obscure the sun. She could hear the noise of the waves drumming against the rocky shoreline, with the occasional roll of thunder joining in the chorus.
‘Atmospheric conditions to order, Ma’am. A fitting background for your report of the battle.’ Finn had to shout against the wind to make himself heard.
‘I’m used to Scotland’s changeable weather, but this is off the scale.’ Anna’s words were almost whipped away by the wind, but Finn had come close enough to hear.
‘Hold my hand tight,’ he said. ‘We’ll be on the cliff to see the bay from above, so you’ll have to watch your step.’
Although the cliff wasn’t particularly high or dangerous, the looming storm made Anna feel giddy, and she clung to Finn.
‘Isn’t this exciting? Can’t you just see the battle raging in the bay?’ Finn asked.
‘I think you’re as involved in this project as I am,’ Anna said.
‘I’m on a learning curve, too,’ he said. ‘I’ll be able to include The Lords of the Isles in my talks to visitors.’
He turned Anna round so that she was facing the bay, and put his arms round her waist.
‘I’ll hold you steady while you take your pictures,’ he said. ‘Then we can go down to the water’s edge, where it’ll be more sheltered.’
They clambered down over the rocks, which, although it didn’t take long, was all the time needed for the strong wind to blow the storm clouds away. When they reached the shoreline, another vista opened up, with a view of the Rubha nan Gall lighthouse against a background of the shoreline along the Sound of Mull. An incongruous clump of pink carnations grew so close to the waterline, Anna reckoned they would be submerged at times.
‘How is it that flowers can grow in this position?’ she asked.
‘This is a magic island. Anything’s possible here.’
In this cove, the water was relatively calm, with occasional flurries of spray turned up by the wind – a different picture from the one Anna had taken from the cliff, where it was easy to imagine the defeat of John of Islay, Earl of Ross by his son Angus Og, and the beginning of the end of The Lords of the Isles.
‘So, the end of an era?’ Finn asked.
‘Yes, exactly that.’
Heading back for Benview, Finn asked Anna how much longer she planned to stay in Mull.
‘I think I’ve done as much as I can do for the moment here. I’ll work on it tonight and tomorrow morning, then complete it once I’m home.’
‘Which means you’ll be going home?’
‘The day after tomorrow, I think. I’d like to see Janet and George again, though. I’m hoping to do that tomorrow afternoon.’
When they arrived at the cottage, Finn came in behind Anna.
‘I have your camera in my rucksack,’ he said. ‘I hope you’ll have some great pictures. I’m taking a group to Iona tomorrow, so I guess this will be goodbye.’
Anna put out her hand to take her equipment, and for a moment she thought Finn might pull her into his arms, but he simply handed her the camera, gave her an awkward hug – and walked out of the cottage. His exit was so swift; Anna had to rush after him before he closed the van door.
‘Thank you for today, Finn. I’ve enjoyed it so much. And for the other days you’ve spent with me while I’ve been here.’
‘My pleasure, Anna. I’ve enjoyed all of it. Sorry it has to end.’
With that, he gunned his engine and drove away, leaving a trail of gravel behind him.
Anna sat for a long time after Finn had gone, trying to work out why the day, which had started so full of promise, had ended in such a brusque farewell. Could it be that he hadn’t forgotten their squabble of the day before? Or had she simply misunderstood his approach all along?
The cottage surrounded her with silence; an emptiness left by his rapid departure.
CHAPTER 41
George dropped Anna off at the door of Heather Cottage, but left the car engine running.
‘I have to go and collect something for Janet,’ he said. ‘Make sure she has the coffee ready when I come back.’
‘Should I tell her how long you’ll be?’ Anna asked.
‘She’ll know,’ George said.
When Anna walked into Janet’s home, she felt as if she were entering a completely different house from the one she’d been in previously. Where before, the walls had been bare, this time an array of pictures, mainl
y of beaches, were on display.
After greeting each other with a warm hug, Anna looked around.
‘Are these all your paintings?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ Janet said. ‘I think they’ve been in cold storage long enough.’
‘They’re lovely,’ Anna said, her eyes roving round the pictures. ‘That’s Calgary, isn’t it?’ she asked, as she recognised the bay she had visited with Finn the day before.
‘Yes, and you’ve been to Fionnphort, I think. That’s over here,’ she said, pointing out a tranquil scene.’
‘Finn says there are lots of beautiful beaches on the island,’ Anna said.
‘He’s right. And he should know. He’s only been around here for a couple of years, but he seems to know every corner of the island.’
‘Yes, he loves it here. And his enthusiasm’s contagious.’
‘Yes. He’s an intriguing young man. But no doubt you’ve discovered that for yourself. He was a bit wild to begin with, but he seems to have settled down,’ Janet said. ‘He can’t do enough to help me; makes George a bit cross at times, because he wants to be the one looking out for me.’ She gave a little laugh at George’s reaction, but she didn’t strike Anna as the type of woman who sought out help.
‘My mum would like to meet you,’ Anna blurted out. ‘She’s suggested that you and George might like to come to Glasgow to visit us. There’s plenty of room for visitors to stay.’
Janet was busy preparing the coffee, but suddenly she seemed to lose concentration.
‘Oh. I don’t know.’ Her face looked troubled. ‘I never go away. I haven’t been off the island since... since I came back without you.’
There was something so poignant about her last two words that Anna went over and put her arms round her.
‘No pressure, Janet. Only if you’d like to come. If it would be too difficult…’
‘No,’ the older woman replied, her tone brisk. ‘I can’t run away from life. I’d like to see where you were brought up, meet your parents again. It would square the circle, I suppose.’
‘Think about it. It’s an open invitation – you can make a decision any time.’
‘Yes. Please thank your mum for me.’
‘Oh, it was ready, then,’ Janet said, addressing George as he came in carrying a large, flat parcel wrapped in brown paper.
Taking it from him, she propped it up against the sofa, before turning to Anna.
‘This is for you,’ she said. ‘No prize for guessing what’s inside. Now, before you start worrying about how you’re going to transport it home, George is planning to come with you as far as Oban, where he’ll see you onto the train. Can someone meet you at the other end?’
A painting, Anna was sure. What would the subject be? One of the many beaches in Mull?
‘Thank you so much,’ she said, giving Janet a hug. ‘And thank you, George, for your help with the transportation.’
‘No hug for me?’ His mock pout added a touch of levity and prevented the atmosphere in the room from becoming too emotionally-charged. Anna was sure they were all dreading the imminent parting.
‘Of course, George,’ she said, smiling as she gave him a swift hug.
He went over to the sofa and sat down beside Janet.
‘We have something to tell you,’ Janet said, glancing coyly at George for a second. ‘George has asked me to marry him—’
‘Many times,’ George interrupted. ‘And finally, the lady said yes.’
There was a brief moment of silence, while the couple on the sofa waited to hear Anna’s reaction.
‘I’m delighted to hear that,’ Anna said, beaming, ‘but not at all surprised. You seem to be so well-suited to each other.’
In no time the three were in a huddle in the centre of the room, clinging to each other in an atmosphere charged with emotion.
When, at last they all sat down, George said, ‘And we owe it all to you, Anna, to your determination to meet your birth mother. Janet would never have agreed to marry me if you hadn’t come looking for her.’
For the next half hour, while they drank coffee and ate the scones Janet had baked, they chatted about matters which didn’t probe too deeply into what the future held for all of them: the weather, the times of the ferries, the fluctuation in the price of salmon sent all over the world from the island.
Suddenly, Anna knew the moment had come when she must cut the meeting short. At some point, she would have to say goodbye to Janet, and she knew they would both shed a few tears. She was just on the point of making a move, when the cottage phone rang, conveniently providing an interruption.
‘You’d better answer that,’ George said. ‘It could be important.’
When it became clear that Janet’s call might take some time, Anna and George made a quick decision to leave on the spot. They made signals to Janet, who excused herself to the caller for a moment.
A swift embrace, and Anna’s farewell to her birth mother was over in seconds, with only a glisten in the eyes of both women.
As soon as Anna arrived back at Benview, she called her parents to give them details of her plans to return to Glasgow.
‘My train arrives at Queen Street about a quarter-to-six, and Roddie has offered to pick me up. I’ll come over to see you on Sunday, to tell you all about it,’ she said.
She knew her mum would be impatient to bombard her with questions about her trip.
‘What did Janet say when you asked her to visit us?’ Moira asked, already launching her information-seeking offensive.
‘I’ll tell you everything at the weekend, Mum,’ Anna said.
‘I’ll make a roast dinner, so make sure you come early.’
‘Looking forward to seeing you and Dad,’ Anna said. When the line went dead, she stood for a moment, imagining herself back in her parents’ home. It seemed like a lifetime since she’d last been there.
CHAPTER 42
The following afternoon, Anna and George stood on the deck of MV Isle of Mull, leaning on the guardrail. Although she was looking forward to going home, Anna had a lump in her throat as the boat began to pull away from Craignure. She became aware of a pain, a stone in her heart at the thought of leaving the Isle of Mull. She would miss this magical island.
With her camera ready to capture one last view, she focused and clicked to take the picture. As soon as she lowered the camera, George caught hold of her sleeve.
‘Look! There’s Finn,’ he said. ‘I half expected him to be here to see you off. He must have been held up on the road.’
‘Finn? I don’t think so,’ Anna said. ‘We said our goodbyes the last time I saw him.’
George gave her a searching look, but said no more.
‘It was kind of him to show me round the island,’ Anna continued, ‘but I think he was eager to pick up his own business again.’
She stole a glance at the picture she had taken, and realised it was Finn that George had seen. Half-hidden by a sign on the quayside, the figure looked as if he could have emerged from the rocks on the shoreline. A few drops of water had landed on the lens of the camera, clouding the image and surrounding Finn with a mist that was silvered by a ray of sunshine. A surge of white foam, possibly activated by the departure of the boat, rose up over the rocks below him. Anna had the fanciful notion that here was a sea-creature being reclaimed by the waves. She swiftly put her camera away in its case.
‘So, what do you think of Mull? Now that you know that’s where your ancestors came from,’ George asked, as they headed for the restaurant to have coffee.
‘I love it,’ Anna replied. ‘Although I’m leaving, I’m already planning to go back.’
‘And are you happy with the outcome of your search for your birth mother?’
‘More than happy, George. I’m sure you know that. And although I knew nothing about you before I set off, I’m pleased that my arrival helped Janet to agree to marry you.’
‘You must have realised how much that meant to me… and to Janet, I
hope.’ George tightened his grip on her arm and gave her a smile of pure happiness.
They’d reached the restaurant and managed to find seats at a table.
‘The coffee on the boat isn’t bad, considering,’ George said.
‘Considering what?’
‘Considering it’s no match for the coffee we drink at home.’
Anna smiled. ‘You’re very fussy about your coffee,’ she said. ‘So, I suppose “not bad” is a compliment.’
‘No harm in having high standards,’ he said.
Anna was relieved to pull the conversation away from emotional topics, to relieve the tension. She felt easy in George’s company, relaxed enough to ask when he and Janet planned to marry.’
‘As soon as possible, if I have my way,’ George said.
‘So, that would make you my blood stepfather.’
‘Would you object to that?’ George asked.
‘I’d love it,’ she said.
‘So would I,’ he whispered, taking hold of her hand across the table. ‘I was sure when I first saw you on this boat that there would be a connection between us.’ He paused for a moment. ‘All it needed was the magic of Mull.’
Over the loudspeaker, an announcement told car passengers to return to their vehicles. It was also a signal to those travelling on foot that they should make ready to disembark.
Anna put on her rucksack; while George took charge of her wrapped painting and her other bag. Once they were back on deck, McCaig’s Tower came into view. The mainland beckoned.
A short walk took them to the station, where George made sure she was comfortable in her corner seat on the train.
‘I can come all the way to Queen Street with you, if you like,’ he offered.