It was impossible not to be entranced by Kristofer Bakke. Not only was he easy on the eye, but he was sweet, humble, witty, interesting and endearingly enthusiastic about just about everything. After less than ten minutes, Harper was completely won over. She’d shared more of the details around the morning of the find than she’d wanted to – certainly more than she’d given to Cesca, which caused the Finds Officer to subtly raise her eyebrows more than once, particularly at reports of some of Shay’s reactions to unearthing the box and discovering its contents. But Kristofer seemed not to judge, only to smile and nod and take studious notes at every pertinent point of the conversation. He’d shown childlike glee at the sight of the now almost finished excavations, leaping into the trench and poking in the soil as if he might yet entice secrets to the surface that the professionals had failed to uncover.

As they walked back to the tearoom together, Kristofer chatting amiably while both women watched him quietly, something shifted subtly in Harper’s subconscious. Later – a day still months in her future – she would be able to pinpoint the moment and name it, but for now it was indistinct, a feeling she couldn’t recognise. She only knew that she could listen to him talk and laugh all day, and that he made her smile in a way nobody had ever done before. The gardens that hugged her beloved tearoom were fragrant, the evening bringing the scents of magnolia and honeysuckle dancing into the air as the first bats from her loft tentatively slipped onto the dusky breeze. They were small things on the periphery of her thoughts that would later colour the memories of this moment.

These thoughts were pushed aside as Harper opened the door of the tearoom to find Pip sitting at a table, staring into space, hands wrapped around one another and her phone resting inches away. At their entrance, she looked up. Everyone was silent – even Kristofer – some instinctive understanding that the look on Pip’s face meant something huge had just happened.

‘Esther’s back,’ she said.

---

Cesca killed the engine in the car park of the Rising Sun pub. ‘Well,’ she said, giving Kristofer a wry smile, ‘I can’t pretend I’m not insanely curious about what was going on there.’

‘It sounded serious,’ Kristofer agreed, but as he offered nothing else, Cesca went back to her own musing as she unclipped her seatbelt.

‘They sent us away pretty sharpish. Not in a rude way, of course,’ she added.

‘They are very nice people,’ Kristofer said. ‘Perhaps we’ll be able to go back again when they have solved their problem.’

‘It sounds like Esther is their problem,’ Cesca said. ‘Whoever she is.’

A cool breeze ruffled her hair, sending a delicate shiver down her neck as they crossed the car park towards the pub entrance. Once inside the door, the air was warm and flavoured with beer and the smells of cooking meat, vibrant with conversation and laughter.

‘Smells good,’ Kristofer said with an approving nod.

‘It does. I’m afraid I’m going to be most unladylike, because I’m starving and I might just eat a whole cow.’ She strode up to the bar.

The landlord smiled. ‘What can I do for you?’

‘We’d like to eat. Have you got a table?’

The landlord angled his head at an area beyond the bar. ‘Take your pick – there’s plenty. Would you like a drink to take over with you?’

After a quick consultation, she ordered guest ales for both of them, and Kristofer followed her to the restaurant area, giving an amiable nod to everyone he passed.

‘I like it here,’ he said as they sat down. ‘It looks old.’

‘I would say so,’ Cesca agreed. ‘It looks as though there have been some extensive refits over the centuries but I bet these beams above us are fifteenth century.’

‘How can you tell?’ he asked, looking up. Heavy wooden joists peppered with old woodworm holes spanned the ceiling above his head.

‘I’m only guessing from this distance and by the construction of the place. It seems as if this is the oldest section of the pub and I’d say it dates back to around then. If I had a closer look I’d be able to say for certain but perhaps now isn’t the time to ask for a ladder.’

Kristofer grinned. ‘People would stare for sure.’

Cesca smiled as she turned her attention to the menu. ‘When I said I was going all out carnivorous, I wasn’t kidding,’ she said, looking over it at Kristofer, who was now reading one himself. ‘I think it’s going to have to be steak and ale pie. I hope you’re not a vegan because the way I’m going to eat it will be disgustingly cavewoman.’

Kristofer let out a chuckle. ‘I’m not vegan so you can eat as much meat as you like.’

‘What are you having?’

‘I don’t know,’ he said, turning his gaze back to the list. ‘Perhaps I should have pie too – I have never tried that one before.’

‘I would,’ Cesca said. ‘Otherwise you’ll be jealous when mine arrives and I’m not sharing it – not one solitary pea.’

He laughed. ‘That’s easy then.’

Cesca’s attention was drawn to the pub entrance as she folded her menu up and placed it back into the holder on the table. She watched as a man came in, greeted by some of the patrons lined up against the bar. Frowning, she tried to place him, but it clicked as the landlord said his name.

‘Alright there, Shay. What’re you having?’

Harper Woods’s fiancé. Far from the genial man she’d met at her first visit to Silver Hill Farm, however, this Shay looked drawn and troubled, his features contracted into a frown that looked as if it had been sewn in place.

‘Alright, Dave.’ He nodded curtly, his words friendly enough but not a trace of good humour in them. ‘I’ll have the usual.’

As the landlord pulled the drink, Shay turned his back to him and leaned against the bar, surveying the pub. His gaze came to rest on Cesca and she gave a hesitant smile, uncertain if he remembered her and wondering whether he’d thought she was staring at him in a way that was just a bit invasive. Which, she had to admit, she probably was. She’d expected perhaps a nod of acknowledgement, or that he might not recognise her at all, in which case she’d simply look away and pretend the moment never happened. But to her dismay, he was now striding towards their table.

‘Miss Logan,’ he said, plunging his hands into his pockets as he stood looking down at her.

‘Hello,’ she said. ‘It’s Shay, isn’t it?’

He nodded. Kristofer was suddenly watching him with interest.

‘We’ve just come from the farm, actually,’ Cesca added, more for something to fill the strained silence than anything else.

‘Harper said you were planning to.’

‘It was an interesting visit.’

Shay looked at her keenly now. ‘Oh? You’ve got some news?’

‘Oh, sorry, not really,’ she said. ‘We were just trying to get some more clues. But it’s an interesting mystery… that’s what I meant.’

‘So Will Frampton is out of the picture?’

‘Whatever gave you that idea?’ Cesca asked.

‘It just seemed obvious to me that as the stuff was on our land we’d be entitled to the reward.’

‘It doesn’t work quite like that,’ Cesca said, her tone hardening. She liked Harper and Pip, but she wasn’t quite sure where she stood on Harper’s fiancé.

‘I’ve been reading about it,’ he said stubbornly.

‘On the internet?’ she asked.

He nodded.

‘You do know that anyone can put information out on the internet,’ she said, ‘and not all of it is true. Rest assured that when I know more about the situation, I’ll let Harper and Pip know.’

‘They need the money,’ he said.

‘Many people could benefit from the money,’ Cesca returned primly. ‘But the law doesn’t always rule for those who need, only for those who are lawfully entitled. If it did, there would be no poor people.’

‘I’m just saying.’ His expression darkened, and Cesca glanced at Kristofer uncertainly. As far as she could tell, it was only his presence that was stopping Shay being far more antagonistic than he was right now. What had prompted this change, she had no idea. The last and only time they’d met before, he’d been the epitome of charm and good humour. She could never have seen this completely different man lurking inside. She wondered if Harper ever saw this version.

‘Would you like to join us for a meal?’ Kristofer asked, and Cesca stared at him.

But Shay shook his head. ‘No… I’ve eaten already. Thanks.’

‘We’re very hungry,’ Kristofer added. ‘We’ll be eating soon.’

‘That’s… good,’ Shay said, looking slightly puzzled.

Cesca smiled inwardly. Kristofer, in his own wonderfully charming and inoffensive way, was actually telling Shay to piss off because they were trying to have a meal and his dampening of the mood was not welcome. And it seemed that Shay finally worked it out too, because he shot a glance back towards the bar, where his pint sat waiting for him, and then back at them again.

‘We’ll wait to hear from you soon then,’ he said.

‘I’ll be in touch the moment I know anything,’ Cesca replied. She forced a bright smile. ‘It was lovely to bump into you.’

He nodded in acknowledgement and then turned to go back to the bar. Kristofer raised his eyebrows at Cesca.

‘I think he’s rather keen on the reward,’ she said.

‘He’s a troubled man,’ Kristofer said, his gaze following the direction Shay had taken.

‘It’s not just me who thinks so, then? It’s funny, because he was completely different when I first met him at the farm – he seemed so lovely then.’

‘Because he thought you were going to make him rich, perhaps?’

‘I feel quite stupid for not seeing it before, really. I hate to admit it but I think you might be right.’

‘Perhaps he has a good reason for wanting money. He has problems that only money can fix?’

‘Perhaps. But Lord Frampton has problems too.’

‘I am looking forward to meeting him and investigating his family’s past,’ Kristofer said warmly.

‘I think you’ll like him,’ Cesca said. ‘He’s a dour sod, but at least you know that what you see is what you get. He wants the reward too, or even the treasure itself, and he’s straight up about it. He doesn’t pretend to be nice when he’s not; he’s just not all that nice at all.’

Kristofer grinned. ‘I like him already!’

---

Pip pushed away her plate.

‘You’ve hardly touched it,’ Harper said, looking at the remaining pile of salad, half a quiche smudged over it. Pip had made a good show of pretending to eat something, but Harper wasn’t going to be fooled that easily.

Sometimes, when the sunset was particularly glorious, or when downy snow fell in fat flakes around the farm, or when the sky was pricked by lightning and rocked by thunder that made it feel as if the earth would shake to bits, they’d eat dinner in the glass-walled room of their closed-up café and watch the show, both content and happy in the wonders of their rural home. In a year, the novelty had never worn off for Harper, no matter how many sunsets they watched, how much snow or how the lightning cracked and flashed. But today, as the sky turned from blue to rose, their attention was barely on the setting of the sun beyond the burnished gold of the hills. Even though they’d waved goodbye to Kristofer and his Scandinavian charms, and Cesca, the woman with their future practically in her hands, only a matter of hours before, their conversation that evening had been dominated by one subject. Or rather, one person – Esther.

‘What do you think she’s after?’ Pip said, ignoring Harper’s chastisement.

‘It sounds like she’s missed you.’

‘She’s got no right to miss me; she’s the one who decided to take a job halfway across the world, knowing that it would end us.’

‘People are allowed to realise they’ve made a mistake. So, she’s in London for how long?’

‘She didn’t say. I don’t think even she knows.’

‘But you were the first person she phoned after she landed.’ Harper gave an encouraging smile. ‘That’s got to be a good sign, hasn’t it?’

‘I don’t know if I’m the first person she called. And it would have been nice to have that phone call before she took off, even when she’d made the decision to book the flight, not have this bombshell dropped on me after she’d already decided to come back to England.’

‘Would it have made any difference if you’d known before?’

‘I don’t know. I’d have had time to process it.’

‘But you’re going to see her.’

‘Just because she’s asked me to? Is that how it works? Would you drop everything if Ricky called you and said he was sorry and wanted to see you?’

‘It’s not the same and you know it,’ Harper said. ‘He was a bastard and I’ve moved on.’ Her mind flitted back to Shay. She’d moved on, but right now she had no idea whether she was better off. ‘You and Esther… well, you were amazing together. She made you happier than I’ve ever seen you. That’s got to be worth something.’

‘She also made me unhappier than I ever thought possible when she left. I don’t know if I can survive that pain again.’

‘I’m sure she wouldn’t put you through it again.’

‘She wouldn’t mean to, but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t. She didn’t mean to last time, but she has incurable wanderlust and that won’t change, whoever she’s with. She can’t keep still – you know that as well as I do. She’s home from New Zealand, but where next? It won’t be long before her feet are itching again and I’m left in the dust.’ Pip shook her head. ‘I couldn’t do it, Harper. I couldn’t go through it again.’

‘You know how important you are to me here,’ Harper began slowly. ‘And I can’t pretend that it wouldn’t make things awkward to lose you, even for a few days. But I know how much you miss her. I think you should go and hear her out.’

‘There’s no point.’

‘You don’t know that. You don’t know how you’ll feel until you see her.’

‘I do, and that’s just the problem. I’ll see her and I’ll crumble, and all that time I spent trying to get over her, to get strong again, will be wasted.’

‘You make that sound like a bad thing. She was good for you.’

‘Was she?’

‘I think so. Everyone thought so. But she wanted to further her career, and there’s nothing wrong in that. You could have gone with her.’

‘I couldn’t. I wasn’t going to wait tables or clean toilets while she went to glamorous parties and I didn’t have anything else to offer. We’re equal or we’re not at all.’

‘You were always equal in her eyes. That uncertainty was with you.’

Pip forced a tight smile. ‘I don’t deserve you,’ she said. ‘Why couldn’t you be gay? All my problems would be over if you were.’

‘You’re assuming I’d fancy you,’ Harper said with mock offence. ‘That’s just rude.’

‘But you always see things clearly, and you always know just the right thing to say.’

‘I think we can agree that’s not true, seeing as I ran away from Weymouth to escape a screwed-up relationship.’

‘He was a bastard and if you hadn’t left I’d have kidnapped you and taken you away. But it was a good decision in the end anyway. You like it here.’

Harper glanced around the tearoom, the sky darkening beyond the panes of glass, chairs stacked on gleaming tables, the slate floor newly mopped and ready for another day.

‘I love it here,’ she said. ‘It feels like home.’ She shook herself. ‘But we’re not talking about me; we’re talking about you.’

‘You’d never manage without me.’

‘I could ask Shay to help me out. His work’s a bit thin on the ground at the moment.’

‘He won’t like grafting in here. He’d find it impossible to be nice to customers for a start.’

‘He’d have to. I could talk him round. Besides, it’s going to be his home soon too and the tearoom is, after all, what keeps the roof over our heads. I’d streamline the menu, just serve what could be made before we open and he could see to the animals. It would only be temporary until you came back. And if I ask around in the village, there might be someone who could do with a bit of casual work and he wouldn’t have to worry then. Either way we’d manage.’

‘Is this your way of telling me that you think I should go?’

‘You already know what I think.’

Pip reached across and pulled Harper into a hug. ‘I bloody love you.’

‘I know. I also know you still love Esther, so go and get her back, you soppy cow.’