said.
‘Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll never see them again,’ Tess murmured as they walked off the beach. They joined the main road through the village and followed the signs to the Abbey. There was a short queue at a kiosk to pay the entrance fee and Dan waited his turn.
‘Two adults please,’ he said.
The girl at the kiosk stared at him. He realised he was the last in the queue and that there was no one else in sight.
‘You muppet!’ whispered Tess fiercely.
‘Oh! Sorry! I mean one adult,’ he said quickly, ‘I thought I was with somebody.’
He handed over the money.
‘Oh yeah, that sounds better!’ Tess said.
The girl gave him his change, his ticket, a guide to the Abbey and a look of pity. 'There’s a tour starting in ten minutes if you’re interested. You just need to wait by the biggest of the crosses,' she said.
‘Oh right, yes thanks.’
Two large carved Celtic crosses stood near the main door to the Abbey. The carvings were beautifully intricate, the stone itself a perfect grey-green bridge against the contrasting blues of sky and sea.
Dan took a number of pictures of the crosses and the outside of the Abbey. He couldn’t resist taking some with Tess in the shot; she was stood next to the larger cross, tracing the swirls of the carving with her fingers. He lowered the camera and checked the images on the screen that he had just taken. There was no sign of Tess on them. He sighed and walked over to her, just as a neatly dressed grey-haired woman came out of the Abbey’s front door. She was in the green tweed skirt, green lamb’s wool jumper and black jacket which was the uniform of the staff.
‘Excuse me, are you the guide?’ asked one of the Canadian women who had just arrived.
‘Oh no dear, that’s wee Fiona today, she should be out in a moment.’
‘Ah thank you.’
‘That’s my pleasure my dear, I hope you enjoy the tour,’ said the woman with a smile.
The woman smiled at Dan and walked past them up the path to the kiosk where Dan had paid. They saw her exchange a few words with the girl, obviously passing on some kind of message. It was obviously a short one because she immediately turned and headed back towards the Abbey.
‘She’s from the Iona community,’ whispered Dan to Tess, ‘They are the people who live and work in the Abbey.’
‘It must be such a fabulous place to live,’ said Tess as the women passed by them, ‘It’s so peaceful and beautiful.’
‘Oh it is that my dear,’ said the woman, who was still smiling, ‘My you’re a brave girl! Aren’t you cold dressed like that?’
Chapter Seventeen
Monday afternoon
They were so startled that the woman had walked on several steps before either reacted. Then they both spoke together.
‘You can see me!’
‘She can see you!’
The woman stopped instantly. She turned around, her eyes darting straight to Tess, surprise showing in them.
Dan also noticed that all conversations around him had stopped and that everyone else’s eyes were on him. He realised that he had virtually shouted. Fortunately the woman recovered very quickly and came to his rescue.
‘Ah yes,’ she said, ‘I forgot. I can see you now, I have some time to spare.’
She ignored Tess and walked straight to Dan, her hand outstretched.
‘It’s Mr…?’ she said.
‘Mr Jackson,’ said Dan, taking her hand, playing along, ‘Dan.’ He added.
‘Glad to meet you Dan, I’m Susan Arnold. Now if I remember right you’re researching the St Columbia period?’ She was talking loudly; Dan realised it was for the spectators benefit. She leant closer, ‘I think we all need to walk somewhere quiet don’t we, my dears?’ she whispered into Dan’s ear.
‘Yes that’s right,’ said Dan, also more loudly than normal. He was relieved to hear that the conversations had resumed.
They walked away from the cross and the entrance, walking alongside the Abbey. As soon as they were out of earshot of the group, Susan stopped.
‘My apologies,’ she said, ‘Even on Iona you sometimes need to seek out peace and seclusion.’
She turned to Tess, ‘Hello, my dear. I’m sorry I couldn’t speak to you down there. It is lovely to meet you. What’s your name?’
‘Tess Williams. You can see me?’
‘Oh yes. And hear you of course.’
‘And you know what I am?’
‘Oh yes dear.’
The questions from both Dan and Tess tumbled out.
‘Why can you see her?’
‘You’re not shocked? Only Dan has ever seen me before.’
Susan held up her hands. ‘That I don’t know. But, no,