Song of the Sea by Mya Roberts

Author:Mya Roberts [Richards, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cranthorpe Millner Publishers
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 24

‘Choose,’ Amos said bluntly. ‘Do the job you’re here for or leave the cabin I provide for you. This has gone on long enough.’ He stood at her open door, his arms folded across his chest.

Elise felt like weeping as she looked around her at the remnants of her stunted life with Thomas. His fisherman’s hat still hung from its nail by the window, his razor and shaving mug sat on the shelf by the water jug. His best boots were beside the door and his once-loved fisherman’s sweater was still by the fire where she’d left it.

‘This is my home,’ she said to Amos. ‘The home I shared with Thomas for near on six years.’

Amos shuffled. ‘It’s been seven months since he…’

‘Nine. It’s been nine months since he died.’

‘There you are then. We have to get someone else in if you won’t pull your weight. This cabin goes with the job, you know that.’ He tipped his hat and strode off.

Elise stood outside in the sun and tried to clear her mind. With the arrival of spring and its verdant promise of new life she had started to feel a lifting of her spirits. Once again she’d begun to enjoy the company of others and the fulfilment of working on her remedies. Her many customers, and especially her friend Nancy, had brought warmth back into her heart. She had started to relish her own company. No one else to be answerable to. No one else to fret over and to fear displeasing. The guilty pleasure in living the life of a self-sufficient woman was a great consolation.

As for Amos, she couldn’t really blame him for asking her to move out. Choosing between working for the Sebires at the trading post and running her own small but viable business wasn’t difficult. After their initial kindness on her arrival and again at the time of Thomas’s disappearance, they had soon reverted to their mean ways. Renee rarely exchanged a pleasant word, and Amos had yet again became aloof and stern. Neither did they have time nor patience with each other. It was as if they’d used up the last dregs of their humanity.

So be it. After her day’s work making and selling remedies, she began to search for a cabin she could buy. Nancy said that she knew of one nearby. ‘Really sound and in a fine position. Plenty of land with it. My Jake did some carpentry work on it.’

Elise called the following day and met a Madame Boudreau. ‘My husband’s a coaster,’ Madame explained, as she poured Elise a strong coffee. ‘We’re moving to Isle Madame to set up in trade with my sister. Let me show you. It’s nothing fancy, but I keep it clean.’

‘I think it more than adequate for my needs, M’dame,’ Elise told her after her look round. ‘And you’ve cultivated yourself a good-sized garden. That would do well for my herbs.’

‘If you’re interested, we might make arrangements over some of the larger pieces of furniture.

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