The Last Lighthouse Keeper by Alan Titchmarsh

Author:Alan Titchmarsh
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: For the Benefit of Mr. Kite
Published: 1998-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Fifteen

Strumble Head

Primrose Hankey was having a high time of it all. On a scale of one to ten in terms of quality gossip, Pencurnow would normally struggle to reach two. But the past few days had yielded rich pickings, which she gleefully retailed along with the paraffin and Pampers. Not that her face betrayed any pleasure in passing on the information: it was all done with an innate sense of duty.

Will had avoided the shop for the best part of a week, but eventually had to call in for provisions. Mrs Sparrow’s hospitality did not run to lunch, and a boat-builder, as Amy had discovered, had quite an appetite. His curiosity also encouraged him to acquaint himself with the lie of the land as Primrose saw it.

Will hated himself for falling prey to her desire to inform and be informed, but something inside him told him that she might have some knowledge, however scanty, that would give him a better overview of what was going on. And he felt guilty at not having shown more appreciation of her athletic personal delivery service.

Primrose was up a ladder, which was unfortunate, not only because the view of her from ground level was less than flattering but also because when she set eyes on Will Elliott her excitement was so great that she almost lost her footing. In the event, she descended to the concrete floor with greater speed than was good for her, and a shelf stacked high with tinned goods vibrated dangerously on impact.

“Mr Elliott! How nice to see you. Come for your magazine, have you? Lovely to see your boat. So glad I was able to help!” She reached under the counter for Classic Boat, anxious to ingratiate herself after their last meeting.

“Yes.” It was as good as Will could manage, and a considerable accomplishment, bearing in mind the short space that Primrose allowed between sentences.

“About Miss Finn…”

“Have you any Cornish pasties?” Will waded in to change the subject.

“Over there in the cool cabinet. She seems such a nice person. Very genuine. I’m sorry if you thought I was interfering.”

Will delved among the chicken and mushroom slices and sausage rolls, seeking vainly for a pasty and wishing he’d shopped elsewhere.

“Sorry to hear about the fire. It must have been dreadful.”

“Yes. Terrible.”

“Poor Mr and Mrs Hallybone. Are they both all right?”

“I think so. A bit shocked but I hope they’ll get over it. It’s just a good thing that the fire was fairly contained.”

“I’m sorry you lost your diaries. All those memories gone.”

Will had finally located a battered pasty. He closed the cabinet and came over. “No. Not the memories. Just the diaries. But you have to move on, don’t you, Primrose?”

Primrose was unsure whether or not this was delivered as a reproof. She paused to consider. Will felt that the best form of defence was attack. He became the inquisitor rather than the one who was being quizzed.

“What do you make of it all, then, Primrose?”

Primrose was an old hand at being pumped.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.