A Shore Thing by Joanna Lowell EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Joanna Lowell
- Language: English
- Genre: LGBTQ
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 4.5 MB
- Price: Free
1888
St. Ives, Cornwall
“Seaweed wasn’t my first choice either.”
Muriel said it with an air of apology, wobbling slightly on the
uneven rock, and cast a regretful glance into the gleaming pool of water.
Seaweed wasn’t her first choice, most definitely not the botanical topic
about which she’d prefer to lecture upon arrival in New York. But marine
plants were strikingly beautiful, undulating ruby fronds and green silk frills
and tiny tufts of lilac. She could watch them float for hours.
Apparently not without a full-scale mutiny on the part of her oldest
friend. James had assumed the desperate look of a man about to do
something unspeakably rash. Despite his wideawake hat, his face showed
signs of sunburn and his eyes were glazed.
“We’ll head back to the hotel,” she said. “We can climb up to the cliff
path and take the long way round. It’s shadier.”
“The long way round.” James spoke in a disbelieving whisper. “My lips
are dry, or I’d laugh.”
He lifted his arm, and, with it, the gutta-percha-lined basket filled to the
brim with her specimens. She’d been overenthusiastic. Muriel could admit
that now. This was their first day in St. Ives, after all. She might have
foregone collecting and idled away the morning. She and James could have
sat in those wicker beehive chairs on the hotel terrace and played cribbage
and caught up more thoroughly on everything they’d missed in each other’s
lives over the last three years.
Instead, she’d all but dragged him out of bed
and onto the shore for a gruelingly prolonged march in unforgiving
footwear. She’d gotten him soaked, leading him into the waves, so she
could hook promising algae with a stick. And then she’d led him farther and
farther away from the other holidaymakers, and lost track of time, hovering
over the tide pools, while he crisped in the noonday sun, holding her basket.
“Seawater.” His voice sounded stronger and more ominous. “Do you
know the poem? Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.”
“Sounds familiar.” She gave him a bright smile. He knew she wasn’t
much for poetry.
“Familiar?” His lips weren’t too dry for a rather exaggerated frown. “Try
apropos.”
She kept smiling. She had meant to pack a few provisions, but he’d
come down so late to the dining room, and the tide had already ebbed, and
her haste made her forgetful. Seaweed spoiled so quickly.
“Here.” She handed him another jar, seawater, yes, and a rosy little
Callithamnion. He tucked the jar into the basket, where it clinked against
the others—a reproachful clink.
“James,” she attempted. “I wish I’d brought tea and biscuits. Particularly
because I’m the reason we missed luncheon.” Contrite, she reached for the
India rubber bag at her waist. “I collected an edible species. If you’re quite
famished, you could—”
“Good Lord.” He did laugh. “You promised me a seaside holiday. And
here I am, half-expired on the least hospitable stretch of shore for miles, and
you’re suggesting I revive myself with a mouthful of kelp.”
“Not kelp. Irish moss. It’s very good, as a jelly.”
“I believe it’s chiefly used as a mattress stuffing.”
“Shall I pile some in the shade of the cliff, then?” She sniffed. “You can
lie down and take your rest.”
For More Read Download This Book
EPUB