Page 20 of A Snowy Seaside Christmas
‘I rooted it out after our conversation. I had a feeling we had a book on local smuggling somewhere in our stock. Thought you and Nate might be interested in it.’
‘Ooh, definitely.’ Lark hung her bag over the back of the chair, unbuttoned her coat and slipped it over the bag. With recent events, she’d found herself eager to learn more about the town’s smuggling heritage. ‘Does it mention anything about what happened to Benjamin Fitzgilbert?’
‘I haven’t got that far yet, but he features heavily, as you can imagine. Jacob Crayke, too. As well as the rumour of a missing chest full of gold coins. You never know, they might turn up under the floorboards at Crayke’s Cottage. Mr Thurston did say Nate could keep the contents, didn’t he?’ She gave an impish grin that made Lark laugh.
‘He did, but I’m not sure either of us wants to go back and find out. I think we’ll leave anything else that’s there to the next owners, chest of gold coins or not.’
‘I’m guessing the place must’ve seriously spooked you.’
‘You’re not wrong.’ Lark tucked her hair behind her ears. ‘I’m keen to find out why.’
‘There you go, it’s yours. Let’s hope it helps.’ Florrie slid the book over the table to Lark.
‘But you’re still reading it.’
‘Not really, I was just interested in a particular chapter and I’ve finished that.’
‘Well, in that case, I have to give you something for it. If it’s out of print then it’s probably worth quite a bit, you can’t just give your stock away,’ said Lark. ‘You’ve mentioned plenty of times how there’s always a demand for books on local history like this.’
‘We’ve got a few copies actually.’
‘Yes, but all the same…’
‘Think of it as an early Christmas pressie,’ Florrie said jokingly. ‘And anyroad, you’re always giving me stuff from your shop, like this gorgeous item.’ She tapped the silk scarf she was using as a hairband to keep her dark bob off her face. ‘It’s so versatile, I love it.’
Lark smiled. As soon as she’d spotted the scarf, she’d known it was perfect for her friend. The pattern of vibrant red poppies against the cream silk background hadn’t been the only reason; it had oozed positive energy, which Lark had thought would be the perfect boost to her friend, who was finding things tough at the time.
‘In that case, thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’ Florrie leant forward, resting her hands on the table and lacing her fingers together. ‘So, come on, tell meeverything. I’ve been dying to hear what you found at Crayke’s Cottage, it all sounds so intriguing.’
Lark puffed out her cheeks and was just about to speak when a waitress appeared at the table, tablet in hand. In her early thirties, she was dressed in the tearoom’s uniform of black skirt and white blouse with lace collar and white apron tied at the waist. Her shiny auburn hair was fixed into a neat bun.
‘Hi, I wondered if you were ready to order?’ she asked with a smile.
‘Ooh, sorry, Abbie, we’ve been that busy chatting we haven’t even looked at the menu,’ said Florrie, hurriedly reaching for a couple of menus, passing one to Lark.
‘No worries, I can pop back in a few minutes, if you like?’
‘Actually, I think I know what I’d like,’ said Lark. ‘I’ve got a real taste for a smoked cheese and chutney toastie on brown bread with chunky sweet potato chips.’ She was almost salivating at the thought. ‘Ooh, and some of that yummy spiced tomato relish, too, please.’
‘Mmm. That does sound good,’ said Florrie. ‘Can you make it two, please, Abbie, and a large pot of tea, thanks?’
‘Of course, no problem.’ Abbie tapped the order into her tablet.
Once Abbie had left, Lark launched into an unabridged version of everything that had happened since her first trip to Crayke’s Cottage with Nate, finishing off with what had gone on there that morning.
‘Wow! That cottage sounds seriously creepy if you ask me. And there’s no wonder poor little Luna was terrified of the suitcase. Animals are so tuned in to things like that. Larks, too,’ Florrie added with a grin.
‘Yeah, I still can’t decide whether it’s a good thing or not,’ Lark said, just as their food arrived.
‘So, have you thought about what you’re going to do with the pistol and the other things you found?’
‘Actually, it’s what I wanted to pick your brains about. I know you’re friendly with the curator of the heritage museum and wondered if you’d mind giving me her number. Nate and I were going to ask her if she’d be interested in the pistol for the museum, especially with the initials pretty much identifying it as belonging to Benjamin Fitzgilbert. We’d also like to ask if she has any information on him and Jacob Crayke, see if there’s any genuine connection to Crayke’s Cottage – other than the items in the suitcase.’
‘I’m sure she’d be thrilled to hear from you. Her name’s Louisa Norton and she’s really friendly and hugely enthusiastic about local history. Remind me to text you her number before you leave.’
The conversation moved on to Florrie updating her on the latest with Ed’s parents who were moving back to the UK from abroad since his father was diagnosed with heart problems. It hadn’t gone down well with Peter and Dawn that Ed had inherited the bookshop along with Florrie after Ed’s grandfather, Mr H, had died. They’d caused a shedload of trouble trying to convince Ed to hand his share over to them and convince Florrie to do the same. They’d planned to sell the bookshop and use the proceeds to fund their lifestyle of living overseas in sunnier climes. It had come as a huge relief to the couple when things had calmed down and Ed’s parents had finally accepted the bookshop was to stay in Ed and Florrie’s hands.
