FOR THE LOVE OF THE SEA (2 page)

Leaving the bank, Cassie made her way to the printers and collected the barge brochures. As she passed the Harbour Commission offices, James White came striding out and relieved her of the parcel.

“Cassie how lovely to see you. Let me carry that. Have you time to have lunch with me?”

The moment she agreed, Cassie found herself being steered in the direction of The Riverside Café. Once seated at a window table with panoramic views of the harbour and the river mouth, she smiled at James. “This is an unexpected treat.”

“We should do it more often,” James said. “Make it a regular date.”

Cassie smiled back but said nothing. It was a long time since she’d had a regular date.

James looked at Cassie wondering if she realised what an attractive woman she was. Ever since he’d arrived in town as the newly appointed Harbour Master a year ago, he’d been fascinated by her.

Although she’d accepted his invitation for the cinema once or twice, he was still no closer to telling her about his feelings for her. She’d told him on their first outing that she was happy to be friends but that was all she wanted -friendship.

Recently he’d begun to suspect that, despite being surrounded by family, she was as lonely as he’d been since his wife died eight years ago. But getting past the barrier she’d erected around herself was proving far more difficult than he’d ever envisaged.

Now, sitting opposite her, he entertained her with tales of his life among the men who formed the Harbour Committee and were, in effect his bosses.

“Honestly Cassie I don’t think there’s a man amongst them who remembers the freedom a boat gives you. Come sailing with me on Saturday?” he asked suddenly.

The pain that surged through her body at his question was as unexpected as it was hurtful.

“I can’t,” she answered, frantically trying to think of an excuse. “Tom is due home at the end of the week. I must be there for him,” she said finally, not meeting James’s eyes.

Like Tom and Polly, Cassie had loved sailing in her youth. She’d lived for the exhilaration of skimming over the waves, the mainsail billowing in the wind, the freedom, as James had referred to it of being out on the water.

Sailing had also given her Miles. They’d met on a RYA training course. But  then sailing had taken Miles away from her. From then on, the sport had lost its personal magic for her.

When Tom and Polly started to sail, she’d forced herself go with them for safety reasons. She’d even sailed with them up river to Miles’s favourite picnic spot in an effort to keep his memory alive for them, and herself.

But for years now, since they’d been old enough to sail on their own she hadn’t set foot in a sailing dinghy or yacht.

She didn’t have a problem using the motor launch on the river. It was just a mode of transport that helped her do her job. But sailing was something that belonged most definitely to Miles and her past.

Now, James, watching her intently, was about to say something, but changed his mind when he saw her expression.

“OK no sailing,” he said instead. “How about dinner and the theatre on Saturday evening? Even if Tom is home won’t he and Mai want to be together? They haven’t been married long have they?” he asked innocently.

“Three months. And you’re right. They will need some time together. Dinner and theatre it is then. Thank you.”

As she accepted James’s invitation Cassie inwardly chided herself for not realising that she’d have to get used to not coming first in Tom’s world now that he had Mai.

Polly dressed with extra care for her date with Sebastian that evening. The proposal of marriage from the man you love is a moment that is supposed to stay with you forever. She wanted to be able to look back and remember it as perfect.

Mai had gently teased her that afternoon, when Polly had mentioned her suspicions about Sebastian’s plans.

“It doesn’t matter where the proposal is made or how you look. It’s the fact that you love the man who is proposing.”

“Where did Tom propose to you?”

Mai laughed. “Oh it was totally unromantic! I was hanging upside down cleaning the bilge of an old boat. I was filthy, wet and smelled terrible. Tom said he had this sudden urge to take me away from it all.”

She glanced around the barge and laughed. “Didn’t take me far though did he?”

“How did you know you wanted to marry him? How could you be sure that he really was THE one?” Polly asked seriously.

“I just knew. I love him and couldn’t bear the thought of him not being in my life,” Mai said simply. “When he’s away I worry constantly and I miss him terribly.”

She hesitated, looking at Polly thoughtfully, before saying, “If you have any doubts, say no. And remember it’s not just Sebastian you’d be marrying but in his case, the Navy as well. A different way of life. Anyway, I thought you had plans of your own to do some more professional sailing?” she said.

There was a short silence before Polly answered. “I did. I do.”

“Well how will that fit in with Sebastian and the Navy?”

“He loves sailing too,” Polly said quickly. “Wants his own boat,” she paused, “but he thinks it’s just a hobby for me - not a career option.”

Mai looked at her. “Surely that’s for you to decide, not him?”

Polly shrugged her shoulders. “Lack of sponsorship will probably do the deciding for me.”

Now, as she put on her amber earrings, she thought about their conversation.

She was in love with Sebastian, there was no doubt about that. He was so handsome and charming and her heart quickened at the sight of him. But did she want to spend the rest of her life with him?

She clearly didn’t feel the way Mai did about Tom. She was looking forward to some time on her own whilst Sebastian was away on his latest posting.

It was ages since she’d had a proper sail in
It’s Mine!
her battered 25ft sailing yacht.

She always seemed to be too busy these days. Her time taken up with work or with Sebastian and the various functions he wanted her to attend with him - functions that she knew would only increase once she was a Naval wife.

Mai had clearly been happy to give up the lifestyle she’d carved out for herself and throw her lot in with Tom and his ambitions.

Polly sighed. Would Sebastian expect her to do the same once she was Mrs. Grove? Would her own desires have to be sacrificed for his? More importantly was she prepared to make the sacrifice? She and Tom were planning to compete together in next year’s Round the Islands race and if she could raise the money she dreamt of being the next Ellen MacArthur and sailing around the world single-handed.

But with the next Vendee Globe just four years away so far nobody she’d approached had shown a flicker of interest in sponsoring her.

She might be five feet nothing but she knew she was as good a sailor as Tom.

Picking up her bag she went downstairs to wait for Sebastian. Cassie and Mai were in the kitchen poring over a large sea chart.

Polly recognised it instantly as a chart of the Southern Ocean - an ocean that would play a large part in Tom’s life in the coming months.

“We’re trying to work out some alternatives for Tom,” Mai said. “But in the end it will clearly depend on the prevailing weather.”

Just as Polly had leaned over to take a closer look, a car tooted outside.

“That’ll be Sebastian,” she observed. “I’m off. Don’t wait up Mum.” And Polly was gone.

Mai and Cassie looked at each other.

“D’you think she will…?” They both asked the question together before laughing wryly.

“Oh Mai, I do hope not,” Cassie admitted. “I like Sebastian but I’m not sure he’s the right man for Polly,” she sighed. “I wish Tom was home. She listens to him more than me. He’d stop her doing anything foolish.”

“A few more days and he will be. And if she does get engaged tonight…well engagements can always be broken can’t they?”

Cassie smiled affectionately at her daughter in law, feeling comforted. Tom had certainly made a wise choice when he’d married Mai.

“Have you thought anymore about staying on here when Tom gets home rather than moving back to River View?” Cassie asked.

The small cottage Tom and Mai had been living in since their marriage was just a hundred yards along the riverbank from the boatyard.

Mai shook her head. “When Tom is away I’m glad of the company down here but when he’s home well…” She smiled shyly at Cassie.

“It’s nice to be on our own - especially as Tom is going to be away for months soon. I’ll certainly be back then if I may.”

Chapter Two

Anna, when she arrived mid-afternoon on Wednesday insisted they ate out that evening.

“Don’t want to dress up, so nowhere posh. Just somewhere we can sit and catch up on the gossip without interruptions. Oh, and please may we go by launch? It’s ages since I’ve been out on the river. I want to take deep gulps of sea air and blow all the cobwebs away.”

Cassie had laughed at that, remembering how much Anna had hated fresh air when they were growing up.

Now as they sat sipping a glass of wine, waiting for their lasagne in the Bistro behind the harbour, Anna asked, “What’s the news from Tom?”

“Expects to be off Lands End sometime late tomorrow. So, fingers crossed, he should be home Friday afternoon,” Cassie said.

“When does the race itself start?”

“Six weeks on Sunday. Will you still be here? I warn you though, the next few weeks will be hectic. If you’re around, you’ll get roped in.”

“I’m not going back,” Anna said quietly.

“Never?” Cassie was astonished.

Anna shook her head. “I’ll have to collect my things of course, and tie up some loose ends, but otherwise no. I’m going to find somewhere down here to live.”

“Why the sudden decision?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for ages and now David has officially taken over the farm, I’m free to do my own thing. And I want to come back.”

“Are you sure? When Harry died I asked if you were going to come home and you were emphatic your place was with the farm. What’s really changed?”

“Foot and mouth,” Anna said quietly. “For hundreds of farmers it killed more than the livestock. It certainly destroyed my spirit. Harry and I put so much of ourselves into the farm, I simply can’t face doing it all again without him. David is resilient and young enough to cope but I’m not. So I’m coming back to my roots.”

Cassie was silent for a moment. “Well I wish it was for any other reason but I’m so pleased to have you back,” she said finally. “And until you find somewhere you like, the spare room is yours. No arguments.”

“Thanks Cassie,” Anna said gratefully. “Now you haven’t mentioned my God-daughter yet? What’s Polly up to these days?”

“Can you believe she’s considering a proposal of marriage?” Cassie said. “And also getting extremely frustrated at not being taken seriously by race organisers and sponsors.”

“Who’s the boyfriend? The one I met last time? Sebastian something? Very good-looking naval officer?”

Cassie nodded. “That’s the one. He asked her on Monday and apparently she’s agreed to think about it whilst he’s away on a tour of duty.”

“Hmm. He’s quite a catch – though I can’t see Polly as a Navy wife, somehow.” Anna said. “She does like doing her own things doesn’t she? Besides, what about her sailing?”

Cassie sighed. “Can’t find enough sponsorship to do much at the moment. She’s helping with the barge and when Tom gets back she’ll work with him on preparing
Clotted Cream
for the single-handed. I think she’s crewing in a couple of races later in the season but I also know Sebastian is putting pressure on her to give it all up.”

Anna pulled a face. “That’s a bit old-fashioned, isn’t it?”

Cassie agreed.

“If Polly finds some sponsorship and can prove herself as a yachtswoman, I reckon she’ll carry on racing whatever Sebastian says. But,” and she shook her head, “if not, I’m afraid she’ll end up just getting married.”

“Polly’s got too much spirit simply to give in,” Anna said confidently. “Besides, the fact that she’s considering the proposal makes me pretty sure she’ll turn him down... I didn’t have to think twice when Harry proposed. Did you when Miles…?”

“No. If he hadn’t I was going to propose to him on February 29
^th
,” and Cassie smiled remembering how much she’d wanted to marry Miles.

“Perhaps you’re right. Having to think about it must mean she’s not sure. What a dilemma - settling down or sailing the high seas. I’ll worry whatever she decides.” Cassie smiled ruefully before finishing her wine.

Wandering through town later, Anna stopped outside the estate agency and took one of the free advertising papers out of a rack.

“Bedtime reading,” she said stuffing it into her bag.

“I think we’d better be heading back,” Cassie said. “The wind’s gusting and the tide will be on the turn soon.”

In fact they were lucky to make it home before thirty-six hours of bad weather set in. As Bill had predicted they were suffering the tail end of the storm from Biscay.

The next day, as the gale raged outside, Cassie worked in the office, clearing paperwork so that she could devote as much time as possible to Tom’s preparations over the following few weeks.

Polly and Mai roped Anna in to help with finishing the barge. In the evening the four of them sat around the large wooden table in Cassie’s kitchen drinking wine and stuffing the barge brochures into envelopes ready for posting.

Although nobody said anything, everybody was anxious to keep their minds off the bad weather Tom would be experiencing on his way home.

Late on Thursday evening Mai got an e-mail from him saying he was in the Channel and hoped to be home within twelve hours. Everybody breathed a collective sigh of relief and went to bed. Happy in the knowledge that Tom and
Clotted Cream
were almost home.

It was mid-day Friday before
Clotted Cream sailed
into her home port. James rang Cassie to give her the welcome news.

“I’ve just been out and given Tom my official routine check and he’s now on his way up river to you. Said he hasn’t slept for forty-one hours because of the weather. He looks all in but everything else is fine.”