Much to Sal’s surprise, she had found herself pregnant again, and had given birth to a third daughter. She sometimes thought that it was this pregnancy that had kept Janet hanging on to life for a while longer – a determination to see her great-niece arrive. They’d called the child Hannah, after her other great-aunt.
Janet herself knew that she was weakening fast. Where once she would have been helping Anders in the garden, now she was content to sit on a bench in the warmth.
Petranella came to join her. Janet had been so used to thinking of Petranella as the baby of the family – but her sister, she realised, was showing her age too. The blonde hair was now mostly white, and though her sister was still vigorous and active, she wasn’t young any more. Janet leant over to her sister.
“It’s been a good life, here. And you’ve been the best of sisters.”
Janet said it again that night, when they were eating together.
“It’s been a good life. And I’ve been blessed with a wonderful family.”
Petranella’s heart sank within her.
Petranella’s forebodings had been right. Not long afterwards, they buried Janet next to her parents. Anders wept for the aunt who had been part of his life for longer than his own parents had been.
Joshua had been hit hard by his sister’s death. First Penny and Perdita, now Janet…there was only himself and Petranella left. And he wasn’t seeing as much of Cecelia as he would have liked – there always seemed to be so much to do, and no spare time – and Bella was so wrapped up in her children…
The other worry at the back of his mind was the age gap between himself and Brigit. He’d always felt protective towards her, ever since she’d been washed up on the shores of the island all those years ago. But who would look after her if he died first?
Joshua decided to make the most of the time they had left together, and took a day off to go to the far side of the island with Brigit. They went to the old ruins, and wandered round them, remembering childhood days spent there.
Presently, Joshua wrapped his arms round his wife.
“I do still love you so much, my dear.”
Brigit reached for his hands and smiled up into his lined face.
“I know. And I love you too – always have done, always will.”
She knew how sad he was about Janet’s death, and wished she could ease his grief.
“Brigit – I don’t want to sound gloomy, but what would you do if I died before you?”
And at the back of both their minds was the thought that this was quite likely to happen.
“Would you stay with Patrick and Bella?”
Brigit let go of him, and tried to imagine life without Joshua in the house.
“Do you know, I don’t think I would. I think I’d go and live with Cecelia.”
They gazed at each other for a long time, as though they were re-learning the faces they already knew so well.
“We should do this more often – spend a bit of time together,” Brigit said. “Why don’t we?”
“I don’t know,” Joshua said. “We seem to be busier than ever – and yet Patrick helps so much.”
“But Bella doesn’t,” Brigit said shrewdly.
“I suppose she’s so busy with the children…” Joshua said uncertainly.
“But Nell had the five of you – and only Jon to help her. So how did she cope?”
And Joshua had to admit that he couldn’t remember Nell devoting herself exclusively to her children - and yet they’d not felt neglected. They both went back home with a lot to think about.
The Luigli family fitted easily into life on Salk Island West. And Jon had been right – Carlo and Maria had many new ideas and skills to share with everyone else. Little by little, Astrid was finding out more about why they had been so willing to leave the family farm and start again at their age. Carla visited often – she missed her mother, and Astrid had always secretly wanted a daughter. They were good for each other. She’d come over one day for a brief visit, but a sudden autumn rainstorm had forced everyone indoors.
“Thank you for letting me stay.”
“You’d have been soaked, my dear!”
“Not just for keeping me dry though. I love being here. It feels so safe.”
Astrid was touched, and said so.
“But I do mean it.” Carla laid her hand on her heart. “I used to be so worried – what would I do if Nonni and Nonna died too? How would I look after the younger ones? And I missed Mama and Papa so much as well – I still do – but I don’t feel so alone now.”
Jon gazed at Carla with an expression on his face that his mother had never seen before.
“You don’t ever have to feel alone again, Carla. Because you’re not alone any more. There’s a whole island full of people here who’ll look after you.”
Jon looked at Carla sitting there, safe and warm and dry, and thought about how he’d first met her, begging for bread from them and half-starved. She was still thin, but not as painfully skinny as she had been. When she’d taken him to meet her grandparents, he’d been horrified at the state of the farm and the fear in which they were all so clearly living. Bringing them all to Salk Island West had seemed an obvious thing to do – but it had been during the voyage that he’d fallen so deeply in love with Carla. He didn’t know what she thought about him, but as soon as she was old enough, he intended to find out.
Carla herself hadn’t considered how she felt about Jon at all. He was just the person who’d brought them all here, to safety and friendship and acceptance.
The rain didn’t pass until much later, but finally the stars came out again. Carla ate with them, and then, when it was time to leave, Jon said he’d walk her home. This time, it was Ben’s turn to notice something new about his eldest son.
Autumn was coming fast, and Jon and Ben were working flat out to get the last of the grapes pressed and bottled before the winter set in. It had been a good harvest, and they had high hopes of the new vines Jon had brought back with him from his voyage.
Barnabas and Tobias were out most days fishing. What they caught would be salted or smoked to last through the winter. This day they were fishing in the little bay where Nell and Jon had landed all those years ago.
“We’ll be travelling to somewhere new next year.”
Tobias nodded. “It’ll be odd, not having you around.”
“I know what you mean. But we’ll both come back.”
Astrid and her family weren’t the only ones getting to know Carlo and Maria. Cecelia was a regular visitor there, and Maria had promised her cuttings from her herbs once they were well enough established. David, Ingrid and Cecelia had cleared round their little house, and dug another bed for those same herbs.
They’d been taking both cooking and building lessons from Carlo and Maria too! They’d built themselves an oven in the same style as Maria’s, and Maria was teaching Cecelia how to cook on it. The hut got very smoky, but it was better than grilling fish over charcoal outside! Cecelia really liked Luisa and Bianca too – Sal had been right. She did get on well with children. Just not her sister’s children.
Maria lifted the hot loaf for their breakfast out of the oven, and counted her blessings. She needed to do this, to keep her griefs and worries in proportion. Her grandchildren were safe. Marco and Liesel had died, but the three girls were safe. And there would be a future for them here. Maria wasn’t blind, and she’d seen the way Jon looked at Carla.
It was winter now, and the heat from the oven was welcome in the house – the smokiness didn’t seem to matter at all!
“Bianca, you and I need to do some more reading together.”
One of the treasures Maria and Carlo had brought with them was books.
“And I,” Carlo said, “will start making some chairs for us. These tree stumps are all very well, but now we cannot fish or tend the garden, I will start making furniture for us.”
The glass in the windows was beginning to frost over, and the trees were bare against the snow. But inside, they were warm enough. Maria listened to Bianca reading aloud from one of the books they had brought with them, and counted another blessing.
Maria was beginning to think she might have found a solution to another of her worries. She’d gone over to see Cecelia, to teach her another recipe, and they’d talked as they worked.
“I do so like Bianca and Luisa. And Carla too, obviously, but the two younger ones are lovely girls.”
“They really like you too. They’re starting to call you Aunt Cece, and they’re always asking when you’re coming over again.”
Maria paused.
“Cecelia – can I ask you something? If Carlo and I died – and we’re not as young as we used to be – before the children grew up, would you take care of them for us?”
Cecelia’s eyes filled with tears. She was unexpectedly moved by the trust Maria was putting in her.
“Of course I would.” Cecelia hugged the older woman.
“But I hope I don’t have to. I hope you and Carlo live to be a hundred and something!”
For once, Jon was alone with his father. He seized his opportunity and cleared his throat.
“There’s something I want to tell you…” he began.
Ben put his book down and sat closer to his son.
“It’s like this – it’s Carla, you see…”
And, a little shy, Jon tried to tell his father how he felt about her.
“I think that’s wonderful!”
Jon was a little surprised by his father’s pleasure at the news, but Ben was thinking of how happy he and Astrid had been – still were – together.
Although when Ben started to tell Jon about how much he’d gained from having someone there to help him, support him, share the good times and the bad times together, Jon began to understand his father’s reaction a bit better.
“It’s been a partnership. Of equals. And sometimes your mother protected me, and sometimes I’ve protected her, and sometimes we’ve fought back to back against the elements – I can’t really tell it all: all that she’s meant to me, all that she’s given to me.”
It was a cold winter that year – not as long as some of the winters had been, but much chillier – and Joshua found it too much for him. Brigit watched her husband fade before her eyes. Much as she had thought, she didn’t want to stay in the house that had been theirs together, but where could she go? David, Ingrid and Cecelia didn’t have enough room for her.
And then Maria suggested something.
“Why don’t you and Cecelia move in with us? Honestly, Brigit, it would be such a help. Carlo and I – we found this winter hard too. Two more adults about the place would make such a difference.”
Brigit called in a lot of favours, and a massive building party descended on the Luigli’s house. And, as Spring finally returned, there were six people sitting round the table Carlo had made, with Luisa crawling round on the floor.
Cecelia felt the loss of her father keenly. Unlike Bella, she had no husband, no children – but Maria had asked her to look after Bianca and Luisa.
“And I can take care of them,” she thought. “I can help them.” For she too had seen how the hard winter had left its mark on Carlo and Maria.
The leaves were showing on the trees – and with the coming of spring, the vines needed work again!
Jon was standing next to the fence he was building – he wanted to grow more vines yet – gazing out to sea. He’d loved his voyage on Waverider, but this island was very dear to him. And since he’d met Carla, his heart belonged here even more.
And then Carla herself appeared behind him! She’d grown up over the winter – though Jon rather thought she’d done a lot of her growing up before she ever reached Salk Island West. Suddenly, he couldn’t bear it any longer – the uncertainty, the hiding of his feelings from her.
“Come for a walk with me, Carla. There’s something I want to show you that you haven’t seen yet.”
“This is impressive,” Carla said, when they reached the old stone circle.
“Carla. There’s something I want to tell you. Or ask you.” Jon reached for her hands.
“Carla, I do love you so much. Do you think you could ever love me?”
Carla’s answer took Jon completely by surprise.
But not for long!
And then Jon dropped to one knee and said the words he’d been planning for so long.
“Carla Luigli, will you marry me? Will you let me protect you and care for you? Will you share all life’s adventures with me? Will you be my companion at arms, my friend, my love and my wife?”
“Yes. Yes. Oh yes!”
