Chapter 59

“You would!” Mark made to cuff Sam’s ear, but the teen managed to duck. “I don’t think that was the kind of foreign influences your mum and dad thought you’d be exposed to while you were here.”

“English gin isn’t foreign,” Sam countered.

We laughed.

“Well, yes and no,” Cliff answered. “The gin on the island isn’t quite like the stuff we drink at home. Although you’re right, Richard Kane, the first English governor, though he was actually from Ulster, introduced gin-making to the island. You’ll probably see it being made when you go on the trip to Mahón.”

“Why aren’t you and Tom coming with us on that trip?” Sam asked.

Cliff paused. “We thought you might want to spend some time by yourselves. We didn’t want you to get sick of the sight of us.”

“I couldn’t do that,” Sam said, looking up at Tom.

Tom smiled his biggest smile yet and patted Sam’s back. “Thanks, little mate.”

“Won’t you come with us?” Sam asked again.