Sunlight over Crystal Sands: A gorgeous uplifting romantic comedy perfect to escape with this summer

by Holly Martin

  ‘Oh.’ She approached the counter and peered through the glass at the multicoloured cakes topped with a range of Maltesers, Minstrels, Smarties and other sweet treats. ‘The coconut cream please.’

  ‘I’ll have the marshmallow dream please,’ Nix said.

  Kendra bagged up the two cakes.

  ‘I’ll get these,’ Lyra said.

  ‘No, let me,’ Nix said.

  ‘No, you paid for lunch, let me.’

  Lyra handed over her card before there was any more argument and then took the cakes, handing Nix his bag.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said.

  Lyra waved goodbye to Seamus and Kendra.

  ‘Don’t forget to come over later for those books,’ Seamus said.

  ‘Oh I won’t.’

  They walked out onto the street and Nix nudged her as he tucked into his cake.

  ‘What?’

  ‘You,’ he said. ‘Your face lit up like a child in a sweet shop when Seamus mentioned there was a secret tunnel and a legend about missing treasure. I think you really do have an inner Indiana Jones waiting to come out.’

  Lyra grinned. ‘Come on, secret treasure is the stuff of everyone’s dreams, right? Plus I adore a good mystery to solve. Me and my brothers and sisters love doing those escape rooms where you have to work together to solve the puzzles.’

  ‘Well, I think we should definitely work together to solve this one.’

  She smiled to herself. She liked the idea of that.

  ‘Any idea of where the tunnel could be in your house?’ Nix said.

  Lyra shook her head. ‘It’s a small cottage, I would think I’d have noticed a hidden door or a secret hatch.’

  ‘In the garden maybe?’

  ‘It could be, but again, it’s very small. It’d be hard to miss.’

  Nix was quiet for a moment. ‘Maybe we take a look at the cave at the back of Crystal Sands one day. We could take the boat out and sail round to the cove.’

  ‘You heard Seamus; he said the beach was really hard to access because of the rocks.’

  ‘That’s not to say we couldn’t swim to it from the boat.’

  ‘That’s not a bad idea.’

  ‘I do have them occasionally,’ Nix said.

  ‘I think you’re full of them.’

  ‘Or full of it.’

  Lyra laughed. ‘Are you coming with me to collect the books from Seamus tonight?’

  He paused for a moment before answering. ‘Why don’t I come round to yours tonight after you’ve been to collect those books? Say eight? I have some stuff to do first. We can search the garden and house together for any signs of the tunnel.’

  ‘OK, I’ll cook you dinner if you like. Bring Dexter as well.’

  ‘Sounds great. We’ll find you your treasure, Lyra Thomas.’

  She smiled. She got the feeling finding the treasure was going to be like searching for a needle in a haystack. But they would have a lot of fun looking.

  Back in the office, Nix finished counting up all the responses to their research. From their impromptu survey of the locals, it had become very apparent that there was a definite even split between Nix’s original plans, which were for something fun that would involve the community, and Lyra’s ideas, which involved something a bit classier.

  ‘Well?’ Lyra said, as she finished printing off the table plan for Jack and Heather’s wedding.

  ‘I think we need to do both,’ Nix said.

  ‘So classy on day one and fun on day two.’

  Nix was silent for a moment as he looked out over the turquoise sea. ‘I’m wondering if we combine it into one day, on the Saturday. Something fun for families during the day, something classier like the horse racing or casino night on the evening.’

  He watched her as she thought about it. She was such a stickler for the rules but that wasn’t the real Lyra. She had this inner spirit that she’d sometimes let out but for the most part kept locked away for fear of turning out like her mum.

  ‘What are you suggesting?’ Lyra said.

  ‘I think we should work together on one great celebration.’

  She frowned. ‘But what about the competition?’

  ‘I want to work with you, not against you. We can tell them that we’re not doing it. We can easily both be part of the management team if that’s what they want, split the increase in pay and the bonus between us. We’re a team Lyra, they shouldn’t be pitting us against each other like this.’

  She was visibly torn. ‘I would love to work with you on this. I think you have some wonderful ideas and I think we could be of real benefit to each other, pooling our experiences and different styles.’

  ‘Why do I get the sense there’s going to be a but?’

  She smiled. ‘But they were very clear about the brief. They wanted separate days, they wanted us to compete against each other.’

  ‘What kind of way is that to find out who is the best? If they truly want just one events manager then let them decide that based on our work for the next few months, not one silly competition.’

  Nix could see she was wavering.

  ‘Don’t you think it’s a bit of a risk? We don’t want to piss them off after only one week,’ Lyra said.

  ‘Life is a risk sometimes.’

  ‘But when I take a risk, when I let go, things go wrong, people get hurt, or I end up embarrassing myself. Last week I ended up flashing a really cute guy on my bike when I freewheeled down a hill.’

  He laughed. ‘But what was the moment like before you flashed him, the freewheeling part?’

  She smiled. ‘Exhilarating.’

  ‘Sometimes we have to take a risk to create something beautiful and unexpected.’

  He watched her smile. They both knew he wasn’t just talking about the party.

  ‘And this is a small risk in the grand scheme of things,’ Nix said. ‘We already know they’re impressed by us; they’ve been singing our praises for weeks.’

  She looked down at her notes for the party for a moment and then she nodded. ‘OK, I do think we’d be better off together. I mean, working together.’

  He grinned.

  ‘Although I was looking forward to whipping your ass in this competition,’ Lyra said.

  A smile spread across his face. ‘Why do I get the sense that you’re very competitive?’

  ‘Oh I am, something else you need to know about me.’

  He stared at her. ‘I think I’m going to enjoy getting to know everything about you.’

  She smiled and turned her attention back to her work.

  He was getting under her skin and he liked that.

  Lyra left Seamus’s house with a pile of local history books tucked into Daisy’s basket and started cycling up the hill. It was a lovely warm summer evening, with a gentle breeze in the air, wildflowers dancing on the edges of the road. Laughter tumbled out from the gardens as people hung out with their friends and families. She could smell the scent of a barbeque somewhere, making her stomach rumble. The mince for the lasagne she was going to make later was already cooking in the oven but it would be a while before they sat down and ate. She cycled away from the main part of the village and followed the road over the hill towards her cottage. It was quieter here, the only sound that of the birds in the trees. As she reached the top of the hill, she could see the turquoise blue sea stretch all the way down the coast until it disappeared in a pinky heat haze in the distance. She would never tire of this view.

  Nix was waiting for her in her garden when she got back to the cottage and she couldn’t help her heart leaping at the sight of him. She told herself that was just because she was excited about finding the tunnel or the treasure, nothing to do with the man himself. Dexter was lying on the doorstep.

  ‘Hey,’ Lyra said.

  Nix waved and Dexter came running over to say hello. She squatted down and stroked his soft head, and his whole body wagged with excitement. Maybe he knew they were going to go on a treasure hunt too.

  ‘I�
�ve had such an interesting chat with Seamus about this house, well about all of the island’s history actually,’ Lyra said. ‘He’s given me a ton of books to read. Although I’m not sure any of it will help us find the tunnel. He said the entrance was down an old well. I certainly don’t have…’ she trailed off as she watched Nix’s eyes light up.

  ‘A well? I might be able to help you there.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘When I bought my land, the deeds made it obvious that the fields used to belong to your cottage but were sold off separately many years before. The old maps I saw when I was researching the land use showed the garden of the cottage was much bigger than it is now.’

  ‘Are you saying we need to look on your land for this tunnel?’

  The haystack had suddenly got a lot bigger.

  ‘I’m saying I have an old well on my land. Just on the other side of this fence, as it happens.’

  Lyra stared at him. Surely it couldn’t be that easy.

  ‘Can we put Dexter in your house and then take a look?’ Nix asked.

  ‘Sure.’

  She stood up and unlocked the front door. Dexter went straight in and sniffed around. She quickly went into the kitchen and put down a bowl of water for him and then stepped back outside, closing the front door behind her.

  ‘Come on,’ Nix said, already climbing over the wooden fence that separated her garden and his land.

  She hurried to join him and he helped her over the other side. He gestured to an area that had been boarded over, with large rocks on top of the wood. She couldn’t help feeling a tiny bit disappointed that it wasn’t the old-fashioned type of well with a little tiled apex roof and a pulley for the bucket that she’d been expecting.

  ‘I covered this when I first bought the land. I didn’t want George or his family to fall down it, although from what I remember there wasn’t much of the well left.’

  He started removing the boulders from the boards and she knelt down to help him. Soon they had shifted all the rocks and Nix carefully lifted the boards to one side.

  Lyra could see a deep hole that had been lined with rocks all the way down. There were metal rungs in the side of the walls that fell away into the darkness. She couldn’t see the bottom of the well, but she could see that much of the walls had collapsed and crumbled and that many of the rungs were missing. If it was that bad up here at the top, what would it be like at the bottom where it would be wetter?

  ‘I don’t think these ladder rungs would be up to holding much weight any more,’ Nix said as he kicked out at one, and to prove his point the rung came clean away and fell down into the darkness. They listened as it bounced off the walls but it took a good five seconds or more before they heard it clatter into the bottom.

  ‘That’s very deep,’ Lyra said.

  ‘Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if it went all the way down to the caves on Crystal Sands, or at least did at one point.’

  ‘Yes, I think you’re right. It makes sense location-wise. Isn’t it fascinating to think they really used this for smuggling things onto the island all those years ago?’

  ‘It’s exciting but I don’t think we’re going to find any treasure in there, even if it was safe to climb down. Do the books mention the treasure at all?’ Nix asked, as he bent down to re-cover the well.

  ‘I’ve not had a proper look yet. Seamus says the treasure is more of a legend than historical fact, but he thinks it’s where the name Jewel Island originally came from,’ Lyra said, bending down to help him. ‘There’s not a lot to go on other than hearsay. No one knows the name of the ship or where it came from, or what the origins of the jewels were. I’m not sure where we can go from here?’

  ‘I’ve asked around about the treasure too,’ Nix said. ‘Legend says the fisherman who stole it left a map of where it was hidden so he could come back for it one day. Only no one knows where the map is, and no one ever saw the fisherman on the island again, so they think he might have died before he had a chance to come back and reclaim it.’

  ‘An actual treasure map,’ Lyra laughed. ‘Come on, this legend is looking more and more unlikely.’

  ‘Well we have the tunnel,’ Nix said, gesturing to the great hole in the ground. ‘That part is obviously true.’

  ‘It could just be a well.’

  ‘Why would a well need a ladder going down to the bottom?’

  ‘In case someone fell in.’

  ‘It’s very deep if it was just a well,’ Nix said.

  Lyra conceded that. ‘OK, it’s possible there really was smuggling on the island, and it’s possible that they used this tunnel. Doesn’t mean the legend of the treasure is true. That sounds like a nice story to tell people about the origins of the name of Jewel Island.’

  Nix shrugged. ‘Maybe. Wouldn’t hurt to look, would it?’

  ‘But where do we start?’

  ‘We need to find that map. I’ve been talking to some people in the village and I think I’ve got just the place to start looking for it.’

  Nix led Lyra across the field towards the old stone house that was no more than a shack now. Most of the roof had collapsed years ago but the walls were still in good condition if you ignored the ivy that had almost reclaimed the whole building. It was hidden in the trees and, the first few times he’d explored his new land, he’d missed it entirely.

  ‘What’s this?’ Lyra said as they moved closer, stepping over brambles and other bushes and plants. He smiled at the hint of excitement in her voice.

  ‘I’m not sure. I doubt anyone lived here, it’s way too small for that and only consists of one main room, but maybe it was used for storage.’

  There were quite a few large rocks littered around the building and Nix offered out his hand to help Lyra across them. She took it easily and he couldn’t deny how nice it felt.

  The door had long since gone and they stepped inside cautiously. There was so much debris and leaves in here, broken parts of the roof hanging down from the remains of the ceiling. It was in a pretty bad state but Lyra looked really interested.

  ‘God, I wonder what they used this for, it’s so old,’ she said. ‘You’re right, I don’t think anyone lived here – there’s no sign of a fireplace.’

  ‘I was wondering if it had been used as some kind of ice house at some point,’ Nix said, moving carefully to the far side of the room.

  ‘What makes you think that?’

  ‘Because of this,’ he said, brushing some leaves aside to reveal a hatch in the floor.

  Lyra’s eyes lit up as she crossed the room to stand next to him. He lifted the hatch and it creaked in protest over lack of use. Stone steps led away from them into the darkness. Nix fished his torch out of his pocket, switched it on and took Lyra’s hand as he walked down into the gloom.

  He shone his torch around to show her the stone shelves and some of the old pots, jars, and various tools. It wasn’t exactly a treasure trove of historic significance but the look of wonder on Lyra’s face was priceless.

  ‘Here, hold this a second while I sort out some light,’ Nix said, handing her the torch. He started lighting the candles he’d left there the last time he’d come here and then placed them around the small chamber. ‘I came down here when I first bought the land, but I didn’t know what to do with it, it seemed a shame to interfere. I came down here again a few weeks ago and cleaned it all up a bit, took a load of photos and sent them to a museum to see if they were interested in coming and having a look at it and if they wanted some of the artefacts, but they haven’t come back to me yet. But other than cleaning it, and leaving candles down here, I’ve left it exactly as it was, just in case they ever were interested.’

  The light from the candles flickered across the stone walls, creating a golden glow as Lyra walked around and picked up a few of the artefacts. ‘I don’t know enough about history to even begin to date this stuff but, from the glazing on the pot, I would guess it might be seventeenth or eighteenth century.’

  ‘
That’s when all the best exploring was happening, when great clippers were sailing the world and bringing back treasures from foreign lands,’ Nix said.

  She placed the pot down on the shelf and looked at him, excitement dancing in her eyes. ‘You think the treasure map is in here?’

  ‘I think it’s definitely worth a look. Based on what the villagers told me, the fisherman used to store the smuggled goods in his ice house. If this is that then there could be something here. Check for loose floorboards or loose stones in the wall. If it’s here, it’ll be hidden away.’

  Lyra started stamping on the floorboards to see if any sounded hollow or moved, and for a moment he just watched her. He loved that she was getting into this. Nix began checking some of the stones, while Lyra turned her attention to the wall opposite where Nix was looking. He smiled to himself that she was taking this seriously despite her earlier protests.

  ‘Oh my god, this one’s loose,’ Lyra said, after a while.

  He turned to see her wiggling a stone out of its place in the corner of the room. It was big and quite visibly heavy so he rushed over to give her a hand. It came out easily and he grabbed a candle so they could see inside. There was space behind it and the light glinted off what looked like a dusty glass bottle.

  ‘Look,’ Lyra gasped, reaching into the hole and bringing out the bottle.

  It was a dark browny-green colour, but it was quite obvious there was something inside. He reached inside the hole to check if there was anything else but it seemed the bottle was the only thing in there.

  Lyra eased the cork out of the bottle neck with a satisfying pop and slid her finger inside to coax out whatever was in there. ‘Got it.’

  He watched as she twisted and pulled at what was evidently a piece of yellowy-brown paper and he found himself holding his breath as she finally released it from the bottle.

  It had a shiny red seal on the outside, keeping the paper in a neat roll. He watched as she ran her fingers over the wax seal. ‘I can’t believe this.’

  ‘Anything else in the bottle?’ Nix asked.