shortcomings, but to their own.'
He gave her an intent glance which made her wish she had not enlarged on her answer. To her relief he did not pursue the subject, but said, 'Will you join me for breakfast in the restaurant? As you know, I like to start the day with something more substantial than the orange juice and coffee which is all you have here, I daresay.'
And all you would get at Bettina's cottage, she thought, as she said, 'A little more than that, but nothing substantial. Why don't you collect us when you're ready? About what time are you thinking of leaving for town?'
'The shops in St John's are open from eight until noon, and again from one until four. We'll leave here about nine, if that suits you?'
'Perfectly, but I should have thought, after being away for some days, you would have had more important things to do than taking us shopping for snorkelling kit.'
'No, I've managed to arrange my affairs so that, providing no more unforeseen emergencies crop up, I can give a good deal of my time to showing you the places of interest. See you both later.'
With a lift of the hand, he turned in another direction, towelling his head as he went, the action making the muscles ripple down his back.
His car was larger than Bettina's, with a bench seat in front so that they could both have sat beside him had he allowed it. But he made John go in the back in the interests of safety.
'There's a forty-mile limit on all roads here, but not every driver observes it,' he remarked dryly, as he slid his tall frame behind the wheel.
But he did, Christie noticed. He was a very relaxed driver, showing no sign of impatience when a large herd of goats blocked the road for several hundred yards, and stopping to pick up an elderly villager who had missed the bus into town and set out on foot.
Although she knew that it had a cathedral and a deep-water harbour for cruise ships, to Christie St John's seemed more like a country town than a capital city.
The main streets were arranged on the grid system, with broad roads sloping downhill towards the harbour, intersected by narrower cross streets.
Tucked in between the big buildings were houses no larger than village houses. Modernity, in the form of large, air-conditioned banks, mixed with tradition in the form of pavement stalls spread with trinkets made from shells and seeds.
First they went to a shop selling sports gear where Ash selected a mask and flippers for his nephew and then for Christie.
'You must let me pay for mine,' she said.
He shook his head. 'Extra gear is always useful on the boat, and they won't be much use to you in England.'
As they left the shop, he said, 'I have one or two business calls to make. John can come with me, and you can explore the shops at your leisure. We'll meet at Darcy's in St Mary's Street at eleven. It's more or less opposite the Coco Shop, which is good for clothes and presents, I'm told. Don't worry if you can't make it on the dot. If you're late, we'll have another drink.'
On her own, Christie went first to a branch of her English bank to cash a travellers' cheque. Ash had already explained that there were two currencies operating on the island, American dollars and East Caribbean dollars, and that it was important to be sure which currency price tickets were marked in.
There were several people for whom she wanted to buy presents, notably Margaret Kelly. The shop he had recommended was a small timber house painted dark brown with a corrugated iron roof painted white like the shutters on the windows, and the guard rail of the twin flights of steps leading up to the front door. Inside it was larger than the exterior suggested, and Christie was tempted to buy Margaret one of the cotton smocks imported from a neighbouring island and hand-embroidered round the collar with lizards, hummingbirds, shells and other local motifs. In the end she decided to wait until she had looked around more. In a neighbouring building, painted royal blue and
He gave her an intent glance which made her wish she had not enlarged on her answer. To her relief he did not pursue the subject, but said, 'Will you join me for breakfast in the restaurant? As you know, I like to start the day with something more substantial than the orange juice and coffee which is all you have here, I daresay.'
And all you would get at Bettina's cottage, she thought, as she said, 'A little more than that, but nothing substantial. Why don't you collect us when you're ready? About what time are you thinking of leaving for town?'
'The shops in St John's are open from eight until noon, and again from one until four. We'll leave here about nine, if that suits you?'
'Perfectly, but I should have thought, after being away for some days, you would have had more important things to do than taking us shopping for snorkelling kit.'
'No, I've managed to arrange my affairs so that, providing no more unforeseen emergencies crop up, I can give a good deal of my time to showing you the places of interest. See you both later.'
With a lift of the hand, he turned in another direction, towelling his head as he went, the action making the muscles ripple down his back.
His car was larger than Bettina's, with a bench seat in front so that they could both have sat beside him had he allowed it. But he made John go in the back in the interests of safety.
'There's a forty-mile limit on all roads here, but not every driver observes it,' he remarked dryly, as he slid his tall frame behind the wheel.
But he did, Christie noticed. He was a very relaxed driver, showing no sign of impatience when a large herd of goats blocked the road for several hundred yards, and stopping to pick up an elderly villager who had missed the bus into town and set out on foot.
Although she knew that it had a cathedral and a deep-water harbour for cruise ships, to Christie St John's seemed more like a country town than a capital city.
The main streets were arranged on the grid system, with broad roads sloping downhill towards the harbour, intersected by narrower cross streets.
Tucked in between the big buildings were houses no larger than village houses. Modernity, in the form of large, air-conditioned banks, mixed with tradition in the form of pavement stalls spread with trinkets made from shells and seeds.
First they went to a shop selling sports gear where Ash selected a mask and flippers for his nephew and then for Christie.
'You must let me pay for mine,' she said.
He shook his head. 'Extra gear is always useful on the boat, and they won't be much use to you in England.'
As they left the shop, he said, 'I have one or two business calls to make. John can come with me, and you can explore the shops at your leisure. We'll meet at Darcy's in St Mary's Street at eleven. It's more or less opposite the Coco Shop, which is good for clothes and presents, I'm told. Don't worry if you can't make it on the dot. If you're late, we'll have another drink.'
On her own, Christie went first to a branch of her English bank to cash a travellers' cheque. Ash had already explained that there were two currencies operating on the island, American dollars and East Caribbean dollars, and that it was important to be sure which currency price tickets were marked in.
There were several people for whom she wanted to buy presents, notably Margaret Kelly. The shop he had recommended was a small timber house painted dark brown with a corrugated iron roof painted white like the shutters on the windows, and the guard rail of the twin flights of steps leading up to the front door. Inside it was larger than the exterior suggested, and Christie was tempted to buy Margaret one of the cotton smocks imported from a neighbouring island and hand-embroidered round the collar with lizards, hummingbirds, shells and other local motifs. In the end she decided to wait until she had looked around more. In a neighbouring building, painted royal blue and
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