When the Heather Blooms

by Gwen Kirkwood

  ‘Is there anything I can get you?’ she asked as she slid her arm into the sleeve of her jacket.

  ‘You’ll not need that on!’ He grabbed hold of her and swung her round to slam her hard against the door. She gave a yelp of pain. The door was old, salvaged from some derelict building. It had an old-fashioned latch with the sharp end pointing to the inside. It pierced Mimi’s shoulder. Pearson was oblivious to her pain. He was pressing her back against the door with the length of his body. She felt she was going to faint as the metal sank deeper into her flesh, even through her shirt.

  ‘The latch,’ she gasped. He didn’t seem to hear but as his fingers clutched her shoulders they encountered the warm stickiness of blood. He yanked her away from the edge of the door. The rusty latch jerked ruthlessly out of her flesh with a spurt of blood. Pearson didn’t care. He shoved her back against the door panel, his hands groping at the waistband of her trousers. His intentions were clear. The prospect filled Mimi with horror and made her even more nauseous than the searing pain in her shoulder. She felt she was going to faint, or be sick, or both. She struggled valiantly to hold on to her senses. There was no one to come to her rescue even if she screamed. Her strength was puny compared with his lean hard body and muscular arms. She sagged in despair.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Pearson had a young wife and family but he revelled in the feel of Mimi’s small, neat body. He fastened his mouth on hers with sickening force, taking away what little breath she had; everything went black. Mimi felt his hard bony fingers groping at her stomach, trying to push away her trousers.

  Through the mists she recalled a conversation between Alma and Libby. Her knee came up with all the strength she could muster. She was as surprised as Pearson. He recoiled with a furious gasp, clutching himself. Mimi felt her leg was going to collapse. She was trembling violently, but she pulled open the door and slipped through. She sobbed in fear and frustration when the sleeve of her jacket caught in it. She pulled it free and shot the bolt on the outside. She didn’t wait to fix the padlock they used at night. She made a limping sprint for her car. Her hands were shaking. She dropped the keys, half sobbing as she fumbled amongst the stones and soil. Her brain hadn’t registered that Pearson was locked in the office until someone unbolted the door. Her only thought was to get away and never come back.

  Her shoulder was throbbing and she could feel the sticky blood with the tips of her fingers. Her legs were trembling so much she had difficulty pressing the accelerator. As she came into Darlonachie she saw the lights on in the doctor’s surgery. Better to ask one of the doctors to look at her shoulder rather than worry her father. He must never hear what had happened.

  ‘The surgery doesn’t start for another quarter of an hour,’ the receptionist began, then she saw Mimi swaying and rushed out of her cubicle, yelling, ‘Doctor, Doctor!’ It was Doctor Ritchie who ushered Mimi into the consulting room.

  ‘Put your head down, Mimi,’ he said, ‘you’ll not feel so faint. However did this happen?’

  ‘I-I caught it on the door latch.’ He helped her ease her arm out of her cardigan but the material from her blouse was caught in the wound. ‘I’m afraid this is going to hurt,’ he warned. ‘It is surprisingly deep. It’s going to need stitches. What really happened, Mimi?’

  She didn’t want to think, even less to talk about it. She began to shiver but she didn’t make a murmur as he stitched up the jagged cut and put a dressing on.

  ‘I’ll take you across to the house. June will make you a cup of tea. You’re not fit to drive. Leave your car here for tonight.’ Mimi tried to protest but she was feeling light-headed now. Mimi knew June through her friendship with Libby and their children. Steve had asked her to get at the truth but it was only when they reached Libby’s that Mimi burst into tears told them both what had happened.

  ‘H-he will st-still be locked in the sh-shed …’

  ‘He deserves to be locked in a prison cell!’ Libby declared furiously.

  ‘No, no!’ Mimi stood up in alarm. ‘I don’t want Dad to know what happened. I’m not going back there, not ever.’ She began to shake again. June frowned.

  ‘You’re suffering from shock, Mimi. I think you ought to get to bed. Didn’t Steve tell you to take a hot drink and a couple of aspirins?’

  ‘Y-yes, he did.’

  ‘I’ll take her home,’ Libby said. ‘We’ll tell Uncle Willie you’ve had a bit of a fall.’ She knew he would never let her out of the house if he heard about this, but the man deserved to be punished. ‘Are you sure you don’t want anyone to know about this, Mimi?’

  ‘Yes, yes, I’m sure. I-I couldn’t bear it. And he has a wife and two children. It would be awful.’

  ‘Dear Mimi, thinking of other people …’ Libby sighed.

  Ian Blake returned to find Dick locked in the makeshift office and cursing profusely. He said Mimi had locked him in for a joke. Ian didn’t believe him and his suspicions were confirmed when Doctor Ritchie telephoned him with a warning for Dick.

  ‘Mimi needed stitches in her shoulder. She was in shock but she refuses to report the incident. Tell Mr Pearson I shall have no such scruples if I hear so much as a whisper of anything like this again.’

  The following morning Ian Blake arrived at High Bowie. Willie had set off up the hill with his dogs when he arrived so Mimi gave him a cup of tea but she was adamant about giving up her job.

  ‘I’ll sack him,’ Ian promised.

  ‘No. You’ve told me how good he is at his job and his wife and children would suffer. I only work two mornings a week so I’m resigning now.’

  ‘Will you keep my accounts if I bring them to you here? Please, Mimi? You’ve made such a difference to my business. I could bring you all the invoices and accounts once a week.’ Mimi agreed to this arrangement so long as he brought them himself.

  It was the Saturday afternoon of Christmas Eve when Ian Blake arrived at High Bowie with a gaily wrapped gift for Mimi. She was talking to Peter beside one of the hen houses so Willie invited the young builder into the kitchen while he shouted for Mimi. Willie quirked an eyebrow when he saw Peter frowning at the personable young man handing Mimi a Christmas present.

  ‘All the employees get a Christmas cockerel,’ Ian grinned, ‘but that would be like bringing coal to Newcastle. Anyway my sister reckons all girls like a surprise so she chose this.’ Peter seemed to relax at this explanation and he sat down beside Ian at the kitchen table.

  ‘I shall put it beneath the tree and open it in the morning,’ Mimi smiled, ‘but please say thank you to Christine for me.’

  ‘Christine?’ Willie repeated, frowning. ‘Christine Blake? She wouldn’t be the wee bairn who used to come for holidays when Mr Blake was farm manager at Home Farm?’

  ‘Yes, that’s right. We both came. Chrissie can’t remember much, but I do. Uncle Henry took me everywhere with him. There used to be a cart track just before we came to High Bowie land. He said the track had once been the boundary between the two farms, but two of the best fields from the bottom of High Bowie were put onto Home Farm.’

  ‘Aye, I’ve heard that story before, now you mention it,’ Willie nodded. ‘It’s a pity they took the fields away. We could have done with them now that I’m selling the hill for planting trees.’

  ‘You’ve decided to sell then?’ Peter asked.

  ‘Aye, it seems the best thing to do for Mimi’s future.’

  ‘Och, you’ll have no need to worry about Mimi’s future, Mr Pringle,’ Ian said, winking at Mimi and giving the cheeky grin which always showed a dimple in his cheek. ‘I’ve already asked her to go out with me but this fellow beat me to it.’ He looked at Peter with a twinkle in his eye. ‘I’m just waiting for her to get tired of you then I shall be up here every day.’

  ‘I hope Mimi will never get tired of me,’ Peter said without any answering smile, ‘so you’ll have a long wait.’

  ‘Aye, just my luck,’ Ian gave an exaggerated sigh. ‘I’d better be off before you
throw me out, or give me a black eye.’ He wished them all a happy Christmas and went off with a cheery whistle.

  Willie seemed to be deep in thought for some time after Ian Blake had gone. He was beginning to think Josh and the rest of the family were right about Mimi being an attractive girl, in spite of her limp. Neither the young builder nor Peter was the kind to pursue a girl for a bit of extra cash.

  It was after supper when they were sitting before a blazing fire that he brought up the subject of the cart track again.

  ‘I’d forgotten about that old track,’ he said. ‘It’s rough and overgrown now but it could soon be opened up again with Billy’s caterpillar tractor. It wouldn’t do for a car of course but you’d be all right with the Land Rover, Peter.’

  ‘I would? Where does it go to?’ Peter asked, wondering what was on Willie’s mind.

  ‘It goes across to Darlonside, and it used to go on through the strip of woodland. It came out behind Darlonachie Castle.’

  ‘I see …’ Peter frowned, still at a loss to know what was in Willie’s mind. Then he saw the twinkle in his eyes.

  ‘I know you two have always been good friends, ever since you arrived in the glen, Peter. I’m wondering if it’s a bit more than friendship these days.’ Willie looked from one to the other and saw Mimi blushing, looking pink and pretty. Pride swelled in his breast. Her happiness meant more to him than anything on earth. ‘Was young Blake right, then?’

  Mimi chewed her lower lip but Peter knew he had to seize this opportunity; it had to be a moment for truth. He didn’t want to make Willie unhappy but he loved Mimi. He would always love her, and it was becoming impossible to resist the temptation of making love with her.

  ‘I know Mimi is not nineteen until March,’ he said, ‘but I’ve known for a long time she’s the girl I want to marry. I understand you will want the best for her, Willie, but so do I. My future depends on whether Mr McNay will renew my tenancy when the lease is up, and maybe you feel that’s not enough security to …’

  ‘Whisht, laddie!’ Willie held up his hand, looking into Peter’s earnest brown eyes. He had always liked the lad.

  ‘Do any of us know how secure our future is? When we came to High Bowie we had a lot less than you have, but we were prepared to work hard to make a success. I know you’re not frightened of hard work either so I’ve no fear on that score. All I want is Mimi’s happiness and you’ve always treated her kindly.’ He turned to look at Mimi’s flushed face and bright eyes. ‘What about you, lassie? What do you want?’

  ‘I love Peter, Dad,’ she said.

  ‘Well then I reckon it’s time we changed places, lad. I shall have a bit of spare capital when they pay for the land that I’m selling for forestry. They’ll not start on this side o’ the glen until next August. If you wait until then I reckon we could swap houses. Do you think the factor at Croston would take me on as a tenant for your cottage when you move in here?’

  ‘Oh but I couldn’t …’ Mimi turned to Peter, her blue eyes wide and pleading. He squeezed her shoulder and she relaxed against him.

  ‘It would distress Mimi too much if you were to move out of your home, Willie, and I should feel like a usurper. Couldn’t we change bedrooms instead of houses? I could move upstairs and you could move down? Would you be happy with us all under the same roof?’

  ‘Won’t you young folks want a house to yourselves?’

  ‘If you’re willing to share then so are we,’ Peter said. ‘I know Mimi would be unhappy thinking of you on your own down at Fellows Cottage. To be honest I wouldn’t like it either.’

  ‘Peter’s right, Dad. You’d be miserable without your dogs and sheep to see every day. I know that bout of flu took a lot out of you but come the spring you’ll be good as new.’

  ‘We-ell …’ Willie frowned. ‘I’ve worked hard all my life. I can’t say I’d enjoy having nothing to do except potter in the garden.’

  ‘Besides, if you’re talking about combining High Bowie and Darlonside there’d be too much work for me on my own,’ Peter said. ‘Is that what you were thinking of when you talked about clearing the track?’

  ‘That was the idea. You could run the two places together, I thought.’

  ‘But you’re not ready to retire yet, Dad …’

  ‘And I don’t want to give up the tenancy. If ever it is to sell I might have a chance to buy the land as a sitting tenant.’

  Willie’s smile widened as he looked from one young face to the other.

  ‘I always knew you had ambition, laddie, but you have a kind heart to go with it, and that’s a fine combination in a man. I think I’ll open that bottle of malt whisky and we’ll drink a toast to the future as well as to Christmas. What d’ye say?’

  ‘Oh Dad, I’m so happy!’ Mimi flung herself into his arms and hugged him as she had done as a child. His face softened and he met Peter’s eyes over her head.

  ‘Welcome to the family, Peter,’ he said. ‘Will you manage to wait until next autumn for the wedding?’ They were more than happy now they could plan for a future together. Having Willie’s blessing meant everything to them.

  Mimi was nineteen in March and Peter took her to Edinburgh for the day to buy an engagement ring and to meet his sister, Cathy, for lunch. Already everyone knew they were to be married in September. Mimi didn’t feel she should have a proper wedding without her mother but both her father and Aunt Victoria insisted Mary would have wanted her to have a day to remember. Mimi had agreed but she insisted it should be family and close friends.

  When Cathy joined them for lunch she inspected the new ring and rejoiced with them.

  ‘I wondered whether you would be my chief bridesmaid, Cathy?’ Mimi asked.

  ‘Oh, Mimi, I’d love that? Are you sure?’

  ‘Of course we’re sure. You might wish you’d refused though when you hear Lucy and Kirsty are desperate to be bridesmaids. Molly says she has only agreed to dress up and be a bridesmaid because she is cousin to both of us but we think she feels quite special.’ She grinned. ‘She is a real tomboy, but she has already stated her choice for a dress the colour of primroses. How would you feel about that?’

  ‘I think it would be lovely. Maybe we could have pale green sashes or something, though I believe it is the bride who decides these things?’

  ‘I don’t mind what anyone wears. I’m just so happy we’re going to be married,’ Mimi said and her eyes danced as she looked across at Peter.

  She’s lovely and so innocent, Cathy thought, and she must have had courage to survive the effects of the polio. She met Peter’s eyes. He looked happy and contented.

  ‘I can’t tell you how glad I am for both of you,’ she said.

  ‘We shall send Dinah and your father an invitation,’ Peter said, ‘though I don’t expect either of them to accept. I’d rather they didn’t unless they can be happy for us.’

  ‘We don’t see much of each other. Whatever I do it never seems to be right. I’ve been thinking I might apply for a place in Dumfries to do my midwifery training. Dinah is very scathing about it. She reckons there’ll be no need for midwives soon, with the contraceptive pill being made available in this country. She doesn’t want babies herself.’

  ‘The world would come to an end if nobody wanted babies,’ Peter scoffed. ‘Dinah always had some ridiculous opinions.’

  ‘It will be splendid if you can come to Dumfries to train,’ Mimi said with enthusiasm. ‘You could come out to see us whenever you have time off.’ Cathy surveyed her with her head on one side.

  ‘You know, Mimi, I really think you mean that.’

  ‘Of course I mean it. We would love to see more of you, wouldn’t we, Peter? When he first came to Langmune to stay Peter used to tell me how much he missed you.’

  ‘Did you, Peter?’ Cathy asked. Her voice quivered as she looked at him.

  ‘Yes, but you were the only one I missed.’

  ‘You’ll never know how bleak and empty the house seemed after you’d gone,’ she said. T
hen she gathered up her handbag and pulled on her coat. ‘It’s time I was going. I’m on duty in three quarters of an hour, but at the first opportunity I shall make enquiries about the midwifery courses.’

  ‘And you’ll come down to stay and discuss the wedding and things whenever you get some time off?’ Mimi prompted.

  ‘I will.’ Cathy bent and hugged her. ‘I think you’re so lucky, Peter. You both deserve to be happy.’

  Towards the end of August Willie received the money for the sale of High Bowie’s peak.

  ‘They’re expecting to put up a new boundary fence next week and then they’ll be ready to start draining and planting.’ He had mixed feelings about the hundreds of acres of land which were being planted with trees but there had been a scarcity of wood ever since the war and from his own point of view he knew it made sense to sell the hill, even if he did have some private regrets about changing the familiar landscape.

  Peter understood how Willie must feel. He wanted to show Mimi the view from the top of High Bowie before it changed forever.

  ‘I always wanted to go when I was younger,’ she sighed when he mentioned it. ‘Dad used to say I’d be tired before we got half way up. I think he was afraid I might make my gammy leg worse than it is already, so I’ve never been.’

  ‘He didn’t have a Land Rover then, though. If you would like to try we could drive up as far as it will go. If it’s too hard going you must tell me, Mimi. The wedding is in a fortnight so I don’t want you exhausting yourself.’ He kissed her tenderly.