For a long time he remained in that same spot. ‘She’s gone,’ he whispered, ‘she’s gone.’
Striding across to where the lamb was grazing, he collected it into his arms, and placed it safely inside the fence, then secured it tightly behind him. ‘Looks like I’ve got my answer,’ he said under his breath. ‘She seemed happy enough, and that’s all I want for her.’
Now, he had to make up his mind. Did he stay to be his brother’s best man? Or did he go back right now, pack a bag and disappear?
When he returned to the farmhouse some time later, he was still undecided as to what he should do.
It was Nancy who innocently made the decision for him. ‘I’ve ironed your shirt for Saturday,’ she told him excitedly as he came into the kitchen, ‘and your shoes are all polished and ready.’
She then folded her arms about him. ‘When I stand in that church and see my two sons side by side together…’ A tear brightened her eye, ‘…I shall be the proudest mother in the world!’
Joe saw how she was, and he knew he must stay.
After all, no one would ever know their secret, not his parents, and not Frank. Thankfully, there were only two people who knew of their lovemaking, and that was himself, and Alice.
That much at least, he was thankful for.
Alice had seen Joe, and she knew he had seen her. She suspected he now realised that she was going ahead with the wedding. It would not be an easy thing to do, because Joe had awakened a part of her soul that would be forever his.
Yet Frank was the man she must marry, because if she chose Joe, it would split his family apart, and her own family would banish her from their lives. That in itself would not break her heart, but she had seen how happy Nancy and Tom were on seeing Joe home again. If she deserted one of their sons to be with the other, they would be devastated.
There were so many reasons why she could not be with Joe. In time Joe would see that, and forgive her. Right now, she was convinced that following her head instead of her heart was the right thing to do, for all concerned.
‘Here we are.’ Frank steered the car up the gravel drive to the house. ‘I like this house.’ Sick with envy, he observed the long casement windows and the grand entrance with its deep porch and heavy wood-panelled door. ‘One day we’ll have one just like it. We’ll find a plot with land somewhere deep in the countryside, and we’ll design the house together.’ He drew the car to a halt. ‘That would be my dream come true. What say you, Alice?’
‘I wouldn’t care about the house being as grand as this one,’ she said honestly. ‘As long as ours is a happy home, filled with laughter and children, I’m sure I would be content.’
‘Oh, so you’ve decided to show your face at last, have you?’ Having seen them arrive, Alice’s mother rushed out in a flurry to greet them.
With her thick, greying hair wound into a bunch at the nape of her neck and her tall, straight figure clothed in what was obviously a very expensive brown tweed two-piece, she made an authoritative figure.
When she complained about the heels on her shoes being ruined as as she crunched her way angrily through the gravel, Alice knew she was in for a lecture.
‘Have you no sense of responsibility? You were supposed to be home hours ago. Honestly, Alice! I was beginning to wonder if you’d changed your mind about getting married, what with the final fitting of the dress still waiting to be done, and we have to inform the hairdresser on how we want your hair dressed, and then there are a thousand other things you need to help with!’
Totally ignoring Frank, she took hold of Alice by the arm. ‘For goodness’ sake, child, have you no sense of urgency? Don’t you realise how time is racing away? What did I tell you? I said to be home first thing today, so what kept you, that’s what I’d like to know?’
‘I’m sorry, Mrs Jacobs, it was my fault entirely,’ Frank intervened. ‘I’ve been having trouble with the car lately, and on the way here it broke down. We had to stop while I fixed it, which took a bit of time I’m afraid.’
‘Yes, well, you should have seen to it earlier, but never mind, she’s here now, and like I say there are so many things to deal with, poor Pauline and I are quite worn out.’
‘It was you who wanted me to stay over for another night,’ Alice reminded her. ‘Oh, and how’s everything with Uncle Larry?’
‘Like I told you, he’s very upset, but never mind that for now. With this wedding to organise, I think I have quite enough to deal with without worrying about someone else’s marriage problems.’
Taking control of Alice, she led her inside. ‘The dressmaker is already here, waiting to do the final fitting,’ she announced grandly. ‘It’s total chaos! I’ve got the florist in the sitting room waiting for me to go through everything with her, and Pauline has gone into Bedford town to change her shoes. Apparently they pinch her toes.’
‘Why didn’t she put them on and walk about in the shop?’ Alice asked. ‘She would have known then, and it would have saved her going back.’
Angered by Alice’s innocent remark, Maureen Jacobs tutted, ‘You know very well, Pauline will not try shoes on in the shop, especially if there are other customers about.’
Not wanting Frank to hear of her daughter’s personal problems, she lowered her voice to a whisper, ‘Have you forgotten your sister has this unfortunate business with her feet?’ She wafted her face with the back of her hand. ‘Foot sweat can be extremely unpleasant. The poor girl is a martyr to it!’
She ranted on, while keeping a firm grip on Alice’s arm as she marched her through the hallway.
Bemused but not wanting to alienate his soon to be mother-in-law who he believed would help to set him on a path to riches, Frank followed a few steps behind. ‘Is there anything I can do, to help with the wedding arrangements?’
Her answer was painfully direct. ‘I’m sorry, Frank, but this is no place for you at the moment,’ she retorted with a frosty smile. ‘Have you eaten?’
Thinking he was about to be asked into the hallowed living room, Frank offered his best smile. ‘Well thank you, yes I had a little breakfast, but I’m a working man, and working men are always hungry.’
‘Ah! Well in that case, you may as well go through to the kitchen. I’m sure Cook will find you something. After that, you might want to hurry home. We’ve got lots to sort out and I’m sure you have too. Beside, you won’t want to be underfoot.’
Disappointed that she wanted rid of him, Frank replied cockily, ‘I’m already sorted.’
‘Are you really?’ Pausing in flight she turned to regard him yet again. ‘As I recall, Frank my dear, the last time we spoke you were still waiting for your brother to come home. Up to that point you had no best man. So are you saying the matter has been resolved?’
‘That’s exactly what I’m saying, yes.’ Like most people, he had no liking for this arrogant woman, but he needed to keep her sweet for his own purpose. ‘Everything is fine,’ he assured her. ‘My brother Joe is home, and more than delighted to stand beside me as my best man.’ He winked at Alice. ‘All we need now, is the bride.’
‘You’ve been fitted with your suit I hope?’
‘Yup. Fits a treat it does.’
‘And you’ve got the ring safe, have you?’
‘Safe as houses.’
‘And you have a note of when the cars arrive, do you?’
‘My mother has it all written down in big black letters. Don’t you worry. Everything is fine and dandy. To tell you the truth, I’ve never been so organised.’
‘And are you clear about who goes into which car?’
‘Of course.’
‘Well!’ She forced a smile for his impudence. ‘I really am impressed. It seems like you’ve left nothing to chance.’
Frank agreed. ‘Like I said, all we need now is the bride.’ He glanced about; there were doors on every side. ‘Er…which one leads to the kitchen?’ The last time he was here, they were ensconced in the dining room for most of the evening; except for ha
lf an hour when they were offered drinks in the drawing room.
‘Through there.’ Pointing to a narrow door beside the stairway, Maureen Jacobs found Frank a bit too brash for her liking; but the fact that he was ready and willing to take on the responsibility of her youngest daughter, certainly warranted a polite, even friendly manner. After all, she didn’t want a daughter of hers being left on the shelf.
Nodding his thanks, Frank went gingerly through the narrow door. ‘Hello…’ Seeing no one in sight he shouted again, ‘Hello…anybody here?’
‘Oh, Mr Arnold!’ Emerging from the pantry, the Jacobs’ cook, a little grey-haired woman, was all smiles. ‘I thought I heard you out there, talking to Mrs Jacobs.’ She clapped her hands together. ‘Oh, but it’s so exciting!’ she exclaimed. ‘I can’t wait to see Alice in her wedding dress.’
She was instantly mortified. ‘Oh, but you can’t see her in it, because it’s bad luck, don’t you know?’
Frank gave a genuine smile. ‘Everybody and his cousin has told me the very same,’ he groaned. ‘But…’ lowering his voice, he gestured towards the door, ‘…the High and Mighty have marched Alice away, so I don’t supppose there’s a chance in hell of me seeing her until the wedding, is there?’
Lucy chuckled. ‘Fraid not. So now, you’ve been sent for something to eat before you make your way home, have you?’
‘That’s about it, yes.’
‘What d’you fancy then?’
‘What have you got?’ Frank rubbed his hands together in anticipation. The smell of fresh-baked bread filled his nostrils, and his stomach growled hungrily.
‘Do you want savoury or sweet?’ the little woman asked.
‘Savoury.’
‘Well, I’ve got ham on the bone with some fresh-baked bread. Or I’ve got baby meat pies and chutney, oh, and I’ve got a couple of chicken legs left over from last night.’ She looked like a little bird as she bent forward to ask in a whisper, ‘What’s it to be then?’
Frank’s mouth was watering. ‘It all sounds tempting.’
‘So?’
‘So, I’ll have the chicken legs! But don’t bother with all the niceties,’ he told her, ‘I’ll take them with me and munch on the way if that’s all right with you?’
‘Are you sure?’ Proud of her kitchen and cooking, Lucy was horrified. ‘Won’t you at least have a nice cup of tea before you leave?’
Sometimes it got very lonely in the kitchen; and though she had heard through the village grapevine that Frank Arnold was a law unto himself, she hardly ever paid mind to idle gossips. Besides, the company of a man like Frank was better than no company at all.
Frank refused the tea. ‘I need to get back,’ he explained, ‘I’ve left my brother ploughing the bottom field, and it’s been some long time since he was let loose on a tractor and plough.’
Lucy shrugged her narrow shoulders. ‘Makes no difference to me whether you have tea or not,’ she declared, ‘but as the kettle is already on the boil, you might as well have a cup of tea while you wait.’ She gave him a merry smile, ‘All right?’
‘Have I got a choice?’
‘Not really.’
‘Tea it is then.’
Pleased with her powers of persuasion, Lucy ordered him to sit down while she made it.
When Frank was seated, she made a pot of tea, and brought it to the table, along with cup and saucer, and a plate of biscuits and cake. ‘There y’are,’ she announced. ‘See how fast you can shift that little lot, while I get your chicken legs ready.’
‘You sound like my mother!’ he laughed. ‘She bosses me about an’ all.’
‘Hmm!’ The little woman wagged a finger. ‘Quite right too. It’s a mother’s job to keep her offspring in their place! I know, because I’ve got a couple of my own.’ Having imparted that snippet of information, she disappeared into the pantry.
While Frank tucked into the biscuits, she began muttering and moving about, before eventually reappearing with a brown paper bag. ‘There y’are,’ she said merrily. ‘Now go on…be off with you and get yourself ready for the big day. Oh, and I’ll be there…somewhere in the background, waiting to throw my little bag of confetti.’
As he went towards the door, she came up behind him. ‘Mr Arnold?’
When he turned, she spoke to him in a whisper, ‘I do wish you all the best, I really do.’
Puzzled by her attitude, Frank thanked her, but when she spoke again, it was to issue a covert warning. ‘Me and your mother are one of a kind,’ she said, ‘we’re straightforward women and if we have anything to say, we’ll say it to the person intended and not behind their back. What I mean is, what you see is what you get with some people. But not everybody’s like that. Other people might put on a front, when behind your back they can be very spiteful.’
‘I’m sure they can.’ Frank thought it might be time she retired and put her feet up.
Lucy went on in a hoarse whisper, ‘All I’m saying is, with Alice you have a beautiful little soul; a girl with a heart of gold. She’ll be a loyal wife to the end; even if some others turn out to be a disappointment…if you know what I mean? Never expect more than you will ever receive.’
‘Right! Well, thanks for the advice. I’ll certainly keep it in mind.’
He didn’t know what else to say, except, ‘I do know what a gem I have in Alice, and there is nothing I wouldn’t do for her. I assure you, she will be safe enough with me if that’s what you’re worried about?’
The little woman smiled. ‘Go on then, young man…get yourself off home. I’ll see you at the church on Saturday. Oh, and tell your mother I’ll be looking to catch up with her. It’s a long time since we had a good natter.’
She quickly closed the door on him, talking to herself as she went across the kitchen, ‘They may be my employers and he may be marrying their daughter, but they have no liking whatsoever for that young man.’
She shook her head and sighed. ‘I’ve heard them talk about him, and I know what they’re saying. They don’t care tuppence for Frank Arnold, and while Mr Jacobs may have some regard for his youngest daughter, his wife sees Alice as a burden she can’t get rid of quick enough!’
She stomped about, reaching into cupboards and getting out her pots and pans. ‘It’s Pauline this and Pauline that, and just because she’s turned out to be a good businesswoman like her parents, it does not make her a better person than her younger sister. In fact, Alice is twice the lovely person she will ever be!’
Making herself a fresh cup of tea she crossed to the table and sat down. ‘Disgraceful.’ She nibbled on her ginger-snap. ‘That’s what it is, downright disgraceful!’
Standing outside the kitchen door, Frank paused a moment, turning Lucy’s advice over in his mind. ‘She’s losing her marbles, silly old bugger!’ One thing did intrigue him though. ‘What did she mean “behind your back they can be very spiteful”? That was an odd thing to say.’
Dismissing her babbling, he followed the sounds of Alice speaking and her mother’s loud voice. Before he had gone even a half-dozen steps, he heard Maureen Jacobs screeching madly at some poor person: ‘I distinctly ordered WHITE roses! If you’re not able to provide them, then I’ll find someone who will!’
Alice intervened. ‘It’s all right, Mother,’ she insisted, ‘I prefer red roses anyway. They’re my favourite, you know that.’
‘Please, Alice, do not interfere. I will have what was ordered, and that is that!’
Frank retraced his steps. ‘Lucy’s right,’ he muttered, ‘This is no place for me just now.’
Heading for his own car, Frank recognised the black saloon now approaching the house. He also recognised the man who climbed out of it.
Ronald Jacobs appeared every inch the businessman; strongly built and grey at the temples, he held himself with the kind of well-bred authority that made you look up to him.
Excited, Frank decided to linger a moment or two, hoping to somehow creep into the older man’s good books. ‘Hello sir, an
d how are you today?’ Flashing his best smile, he changed direction and made his way towards the other car.
‘Ah, Frank!’ The older man swung his briefcase out of the car. ‘So, you’ve delivered my daughter safely, have you?’
‘I have, yes, and now I’m on my way back. There’s lots of work to do before the big day, as I’m sure you understand.’
The big man gave a reserved kind of smile. ‘It’s always good for a man to work.’
Frank saw his chance and he took it, ‘Of course we don’t own all the land,’ he explained. ‘My father rents all but a small parcel of it from the landowner who bought it some years ago from my late grandfather. My father has worked the land for many years.’
Ronald Jacobs applauded such initiative. ‘Good man! What with the War now well and truly behind us, the country is in dire need of building up. We could do with a few more of your father’s sort, yes indeed! Sort this country out in no time at all, it would.’
‘Yes, sir, you’re right!’ Impatient, Frank still had an eye to his big chance, never mind the country’s needs. He had more pressing needs of his own. ‘One day I mean to have my own acreage,’ he confided proudly. ‘Rich, prime land that stretches away as far as the eye can see, and for your lovely daughter, I’ll build her a house fit for a Queen!’
He lowered his voice, ‘Mind you, it might take years, being that I’m just an ordinary working farmer.’
‘Well done all the same!’ The older man appeared delighted. ‘Very commendable attitude, Frank!’ Shaking Frank by the hand he wished him well. ‘I’m pleased we’ve gone into certain matters that had concerned me. I see your vision and I like the way you plan forward. Yes indeed. It certainly seems as though my daughter Alice has managed to get herself a man with purpose. A man after my own heart.’
He felt the need to add, ‘I’m very gratified that you have ambitions to build my daughter a house that would be fit for a Queen, but that kind of achievement does not happen overnight, so in the meantime, I’m sure you will both be more than happy with the cottage we’ve had renovated for you to occupy for the time being.’
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