Page 54 of The Little Shop on Silver Linings Street
Robin just grinned. ‘Still night, I haven’t been to bed yet…’
‘Oh…’
‘The elusive plot twist, which has been missing for days, showed up about nine o’clock last night, leading to the inevitable all-nighter in case the damn thing eluded me again.’
‘And did it?’
‘No, I nailed the little bugger.’
Daisy smiled. Robin peppered his speech with swear words, but his books were elegant in their use of language. It made her like him even more. She had never been on board his boat and she probably never would. Their brief conversations were all they had, but he was as much a part of her landscape as the trees and water. She waved a hand and walked on.
‘Enjoy your sleep,’ she called as she passed.
Half an hour later she was home again, refreshed and buzzing with energy. No nearer to resolving the complex thoughts in her head but at least they weren’t shouting at her quite so loudly now. Her phone pinged as she opened the front door and a brief message flashed up on the screen.
NickCarr1: Nail hit squarely on the head. You are a genius! Please proceed with the second design and as long as it doesn’t cost more than one arm and a leg, I’m good. In awe, Nick.
It looked as if she was going to be rather busy…
* * *
Amos arrived on the dot of eleven grinning from ear to ear. ‘I like your wreath,’ he said, pointing to the front door.
‘Yes, it’s been somewhat inspirational,’ she replied, greeting him warmly as she ushered him inside.
‘And what an amazing place to live. If it hadn’t been for your brilliant directions, I would never have known this place was here.’
Daisy smiled. ‘No, it’s not every day that directions to your house include the phrase, “Turn left at the lock gate and then follow the hedge.”’ She took his coat and then invited him straight into the sitting room where not only was there a roaring fire, but her work table, spread with everything she had been working on.
Amos looked around him. ‘This is just how I imagined it to be,’ he said. ‘You suit one another… the house and you,’ he added, in response to her curious expression. ‘You’d be surprised, but some people don’t ever get along with their houses.’
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I’ve always thought we make a good pair.’ It was something she had always believed, but had never spoken about to anyone else. Somehow when Amos said it though, it didn’t seem odd at all.
He headed for the table almost immediately, his eyes lighting up as he approached. His hand reached out instinctively before taking it back at the last moment. ‘Sorry, may I?’ he asked.
She nodded, pleased. He’d been reaching for the tiny bee she had made yesterday evening and she’d only just finished polishing it. She watched as he held it closer, turning it this way and that to see the detail. He paused in his observation, his eyes sweeping the page of her sketchbook, and she could see him make the mental connection between what he held in his hand and what she had drawn. He looked up, eyes wide.
‘Daisy, this is incredible. These things… they’re perfect. All of them. And apart from the bee, I don’t remember even talking about them and yet, theyareGrace… you have captured the essence of her beautifully. I really don’t know what to say.’
Daisy could see that he was struggling, his emotions very close to the surface but he made no move to hide them. She felt a moment’s discomfort that she had caused such a reaction, but then it hit her –shehad made him feel that way, her jewellery had moved him almost to tears, and a sudden elation rose in her.
She traced a finger across the sketched design on the page. ‘This is silver wire,’ she said. ‘It’s very delicate, but stronger than you’d think. I’m hoping it will connect everything in a way that will make it seem as if all the elements are floating. Ethereal, I think you said.’
‘I did… but I never thought for one minute…’ His gaze was still fixed on the table, but then he looked up at her. ‘I can’t thank you enough, Daisy. Grace will absolutely love this, and it’s everything I could possibly have wished for.’
Daisy smiled. ‘Well I haven’t made it yet, so hold that thought until I have. It may all go horribly wrong.’
But Amos was shaking his head. ‘No, it won’t. This has been right from the very start. I knew it the first minute I met you.’
‘Yes, you did, didn’t you? I wonder why that was?’
‘Perhaps I saw a little spark of something.’ He was grinning at her. ‘And all it needed was feeding, just like your beautiful fire.’ He looked back down at the table and then she saw his gaze shifting to another set of drawings. He pulled one closer.
‘These look a little like the prints that Flora makes,’ he said. ‘I didn’t know you were a painter too?’
‘No, I’m not. I was just messing with an idea I’d had.’ She tipped her head to one side, studying her sketch. ‘I couldn’t remember the detail, but it was more the composition I was after.’ She picked up a small daisy head she had been working on, still in its rough clay form. ‘You see, I rather thought that if the prints were big enough I might be able to add something… or perhaps if just a part of the design were made bigger, maybe on a card instead of a print. I’m not really sure…’ She was still turning the daisy over in her hand when Amos took it from her.
‘So where does this go?’ he asked.
