Love Mends by Leslie K Rose

Chapter 1
     
     
    “We'd better open the windows. It's a little fusty in here,” Anne said.
    “I'm not surprised. How long is it since someone came to stay?” Katherine ran her finger through the dust on the window ledge.
    “Ages. It must be at least two years. I think the last person to stay was the school inspector.”
    “What was her name? Sarah—that was it.” Katherine smiled. “She was really nice. Do you remember how worried everyone was before she arrived?”
    “Mum thought the school would be forced to close.”
    The outcome of the inspection wouldn't have affected Anne because it had taken place during her final few months at the school. Even so, she still remembered how concerned every parent on the island had been.
    “Sarah's report said the school was one of the best she'd visited that year,” Anne said.
     
    “Do you two actually intend to do any cleaning today?”
    They hadn't heard their mother open the door.  
    “Sorry Mum,” Anne said. “We were talking about Sarah.”
    “The school inspector?”
    Anne nodded.
    “Don’t remind me. At least we don't have to worry about another inspection for three years.”
    “When’s dinner?” Katherine asked.
    “The same time as it always is—at seven. There'll be no dinner at all for you if you don't get finished up in here.”
    They both knew their mother was joking. Still, the threat was motivation enough for Katherine who enjoyed her food a little too much. Not that anyone would have guessed to look at her slight frame.
    “I’ll leave you to get on then,” their mother said. “See you later.”
     
    “What was Grandma like?” Katherine asked, as she lifted the mat.
    “Don’t you remember her at all?” Anne was washing the crockery, which had gathered dust since it was last used.
    “Not really. I was only five when she died. I can kind of see her face, but I think that’s from the photographs I've seen.”
    “She was lovely. She told wonderful stories, and baked the best buns ever.”
    “They can't have been as good as Mum’s.”
    “Maybe even better. But then, she did teach Mum to bake.”
    “What stories did she tell you?”
    “She had a million of them. I don’t think she ever told me the same one twice. They were mostly made-up adventure stories set on the island.”
     “Do you think she wrote them down somewhere?”
    “I don’t know. I don’t think so or we'd have found them when we cleared her things out.”
    “What about in the old chests?”
    “I suppose there might be something in there.”
    “We should ask Mum if we can look.”
    “Maybe. I don’t think she likes to look in the chests. She still gets upset.”
     
    “Anne! Katherine! Dinner’s ready!”
    By the time David called them, the two girls had worked their way through every room in the cottage.
    “I’m starving,” Katherine said, as they followed their younger brother across the yard to the farmhouse.
    It seemed to Anne that her sister was always hungry.
     
    “Is the cottage ready for our visitor?” Their father was already seated at the kitchen table.
    “All spick and span,” Katherine confirmed.
    “Wash your hands girls,” their mother said, without looking up from the stove. “David, fill the water jug please.”
    “Who’s coming to stay?” David asked.
    “An engineer from the mainland. He'll be here tomorrow.”
    “Why’s he coming?”
    “To service all the generators on the island.”
    “Doesn’t Mr Williams usually do that?” Katherine asked.
    “He does, but he hasn’t been well. It could be some time before he’s back on his feet.”
    “How long will the engineer be here?” David placed the water jug on the table.
    “Probably two weeks. There are a lot of generators on the island for him to look at. It will depend if he finds any problems.”
    “Can I watch him working?” David loved nothing better than taking things apart, and then putting them back together again. Unfortunately, he had a habit of having