True to their word, the Board had followed through on the travelling exhibition for Cornwall and by November it was ready to make its first stop in Portwenn.

The timing suited us well because our cottage was ready. We would travel down on Thursday, and return to London on Friday of the following week. As we began getting ready for our trip, Louisa was so happy, it was infectious.

"I feel as if I'm going on a picnic."

"What is so special about a picnic? I have never been on one."

Louisa looked at me in amazement. "Never? Oh, you missed so much - the excitement of planning, preparing the food, getting there ... James used to love going on picnics. Joan would pack us lunch at the drop of a hat and we would be off somewhere."

Then a sad look passed over her face. "For a long time it was just the three of us."

I didn't like when bad memories made her sad so I changed the subject quickly.

"I know what a picnic is ... I have just never been on one. You're not planning to take food to eat in the car are you?"

"No, silly. We're going to take our time driving and stop somewhere nice for lunch."

I had wanted to fly down and rent a car to get us around when we got there. After I saw all that Louisa insisted we had to take, I had no choice but to drive.

"We are only going for a week. A quiet week. Why are we taking so many things?"

"Because we want to be comfortable and when James and Rosie join us, we want them to be comfortable."

"Haven't you taken things down already. What is this?" I asked as I opened a bag that contained bed linen and towels. "We do have a laundry facility, you know."

"Oh, Martin. I don't want to spend time doing laundry. It's a holiday."

Word had spread about the exhibition and it seemed that everyone was planning to be in Cornwall. Some of Louisa's former students, including Peter Cronk who was now a brilliant doctor in Liverpool, were coming down. So were the Fenn's and their boys, Tricia, a now slim Alison and other former teachers.

Even a couple of media houses had called to ask for information about the travelling exhibition. The news had spread around Imperial and some of my colleagues said they would be coming to support us. I don't know that we needed support, but, if they wanted a day out in Cornwall, it was fine with me. All this fuss ...

The night before our trip, Louisa was so excited that she didn't sleep well. She kept getting up to check that we had everything packed. On her last climb out of bed, I grabbed her hand before her feet hit the floor.

"You have to get some sleep. You will be of no use to yourself tomorrow if you keep jumping in and out of bed."

"I just don't want to forget anything."

"You won't," I assured her, remembering the long list she had pinned up in the dining room. As usual, she fidgeted around until she found a comfortable position then mercifully slept through the rest of the night.

At 7 am, she shouted up at me from the dining room. "Time to get up. We have to hit the road early."

I groaned, she was really behaving like a child going on a picnic.

The drive down was uneventful. Louisa chatted for much of the way until she exhausted herself and fell asleep after lunch. I looked over at her and hoped that after the debacle at The Centre with Melody and her friends, she would get some much needed rest. She woke up when we were almost there and opened the windows to "breathe the fresh sea air."

We drove straight to our cottage. I was glad for alone time with her, especially because this was her first time back for an extended visit since she had packed up and left the village for good. Hard to believe it was almost a year ago.

This was also the first time I was seeing the finished cottage. When we agreed to buy it, construction had been well underway. We had flown down for a day trip. After seeing the construction in progress and our location on the property, I was pleased with our decision to buy it. Jenny's brother had done an adequate job and had kindly allowed us to have an input in the design. We had requested universal design features to take into account our age. Louisa had been down a couple of times for quick turnaround trips and with her photos and computer models, I had a fair idea of what to expect.

The Parsons had started a garden for us and although it was almost winter autumn, we were amazed that some flowers were still in bloom. A large oak tree out front had enough leaves to create a lovely shaded, relaxation space complete with a table, a bench and a few chairs.

When we walked inside and deposited our bags in the entrance area, Louisa reached up to hug me.

"Welcome to Cornwall. Thank you so much Martin. I know we're going to enjoy it here."

"Yes, we will. Anything to make you happy." I hugged her back and buried my head in her hair.

For no apparent reason, it felt good to be back. Then I remembered Joan. She would be pleased that I had renewed my link with Cornwall and had not taken Louisa away completely. I couldn't believe that I had laid down roots in Cornwall and with Louisa as my wife.

"Anything?"

"Yes, Mrs. Ellingham, anything. Is there something you want?"

She looked at me shyly. "Would you sit outside with me for a little. I want to savour the feeling of being here with you."

I didn't really want to, but for Louisa, I obliged. We sat outside holding hands, not saying anything until I felt myself dozing off. I was tired.

When I looked across at her, she was looking at me and smiling. "You were always here in Cornwall, you never left."

"I know."

"James kept you here."

"And you too.

I reached for her hand and helped her up. "Let's unpack and get settled."

"Good idea. Jenny and Chris might be coming over."

"Ummm ..."

Driving had been tiring and all I wanted to do was relax and recover with her. I treasured this interlude with just her, before James and Rosie joined us. Still, Chris and Jenny were friends and I suspected that Louisa and Jenny might have a lot of catching up to do, leaving Chris and myself some quiet time.

"Let me show you around," she said brightening up. "We'll start upstairs."

Louisa had furnished the cottage beautifully with her "allowance," although I had insisted on funding the major purchases. I was relieved to see that it wasn't over-furnished. We would not be here that often to need a lot of stuff. Jame might be here a lot though. He was looking forward to coming on weekends, when his schedule allowed, She had sent down a few items with Jenny, including art, from our London home to make it our home away from home, she explained.

The cottage was a decent size, though not so large that upkeep would be an issue. I noticed that the ceilings were high, one of my stipulations. James would appreciate that too. The doorways were wide and high, and there was a small bedroom and full bathroom downstairs in the event that either of us became ill or incapacitated. For now, Louisa and I could use it as a study or a guest room, in a pinch. The two bedrooms upstairs had spacious storage, generous window seats and their own en suite bathroom. From the larger of the two, which was ours, we had a lovely view, above the trees, out to the sea in the distance. The eat-in kitchen was fairly large and came complete with a fireplace. Our dining table was next to a window, which gave us a nice view into the garden and this is where we ended up after unpacking.

I was happy being here with Louisa. We hadn't been married six months good, but it seemed as if we had been together for ages, which in a way was true, given that we had become parents with James.

"You have a seat and let me make you some tea," I told her.

"Not so fast, Mr. Ellingham," she teased. "Sit beside me for a minute." When I sat in the chair next to hers, she leaned over and eased herself into my lap.

I wrapped my arms around Martin in absolute contentment. Life with him was still a dream. It had taken me some time to get used to living with him full-time, but I knew we worshiped each other and believed in our marriage vows. Life without him was unthinkable.

Although I was happy to be in Cornwall, I had misgivings about returning to the village with him as his wife. I knew that some still thought of me as an opportunist. I had never really escaped the sins of my father who had stolen money from the boat fund a million years ago. Seems that story had been passed down to the next generation. Then there was Nathan. Many, Pippa had told me in confidence, had spoken ill of me burying Nathan then marrying Martin, three years later. I didn't care about the gossip. I still had a few friends there, but I had experienced a lot of gossip and mean spiritedness when I returned to the village six months pregnant with James.

Together, Martin and I would face whatever reared its head tomorrow.

Martin must have sensed that my mood had changed because he began rubbing my back. I love when he does that. It was calming.

"How does it feel to be back in Cornwall and going to the village tomorrow as my wife?"

"We'll just have to see. They can be a tough lot."

"You do know that I can drop you off and wait for you until you're ready," my sweet and understanding Martin offered.

I would have none of that. "We have each other. I'll be fine."

Suddenly, I wished to wile away the evening with him instead of talking about the village.

"Let's go into the lounge."

Martin had a better idea. "No, let's go upstairs for a nap. We're tired. I'll bring up our tea."

We fell asleep almost as soon as we got into bed, which was unusual. Neither of us are day sleepers.

After we prepared dinner, Jenny called to ask if she and Chris could come over. I told her we would love to have them, totally ignoring Martin's eye-rolling. I promised to hold dinner until they came.

In 30 minutes flat, they walked through our door.

"Glad to have you back in Cornwall, Louisa, Mart," Chris said as he gave me a peck on the cheek and patted Martin on his shoulder. "Here are some fresh vegetable, fish and supplies we thought you mind need."

Handing me a huge bunch of mixed flowers, Jenny explained with an impish grin, "This is to welcome you and Martin back to Cornwall and add a little sparkle to your holiday."

Soon, we were devouring the delicious meal Martin had put together from supplies we had either pre-cooked and brought or bought on our way out at a small supermarket near our London home. Martin and Chris washed up and tidied the kitchen while Jenny and I sat in the lounge having a catch up. Martin had put on a couple of arias, not my taste really, but they were calming and surprisingly easy background listening.

"So, I hear you were the inspiration for the travelling exhibition, " Chris said when he and Martin joined us. "Are you excited about going into the village tomorrow to greet the crew and be the centre of attention?"

I answered for myself and Martin. "Excited is not the word. We'll just be guests. We saw them working on the exhibits, Martin showed me the computer models and they are lovely. We'll only spoil it be getting in the way. Janet Simms is the primary school's seasoned and capable headmistress. It's her baby."

"Very generous of you," Chris observed dryly. "From what I hear, you planted the idea, Martin secured funding and you were the design consultant. He'll do anything for you, won't he?"

"Oh, let's not talk about the village and the exhibition. Tomorrow will come soon enough." I began feeling weary of it all.

Martin folded me in his arms and steered the conversation in another direction. It was so good to be among friends and the evening turned out to be very enjoyable. Even Martin was talking and responding to Jenny's endless teasing.

As we got ready for bed on our first night together in Cornwall, Martin pulled the duvet over us and looked at me.

"Are you happy now Mrs. Ellingham?"

"Blissfully so." I whispered.

"Sleep tight, sleepyhead. Tomorrow will be a long day."