The Beekeeper’s Cottage: An absolutely unputdownable feel-good summer read

by Emma Davies

  ‘You could look on it as a massive compliment,’ he remarked.

  Grace’s withering look suggested otherwise.

  Amos held up a hand. ‘I’m playing devil’s advocate here for a minute, but just hear me out. Aside from being supremely insensitive, and some would argue tantamount to blackmail, there is also one way of looking at this situation so that it works in your favour.’

  ‘Yes, I know, I get to keep the house.’

  ‘No, I don’t mean that. When is this house party supposed to take place?’

  ‘Sometime next month, I don’t know exactly. Why?’

  ‘Because, as you yourself said, what you used to do all those years ago is very similar in nature to what you’re proposing to do in the future. We’d already agreed that there are areas of the house that you’d like to spruce up ready to receive guests, so let’s do that anyway. It won’t hurt the cause, and you could treat the whole house party thing as a dry run for when your business is up and running. You haven’t done anything like this for a while, so it could throw up some other problems which you might not otherwise have thought of.’

  ‘Yes, and I’d be giving Paul exactly what he wants. I’ve done that for too many years, Amos. And that’s aside from the fact that after I caught Paul kissing one of the guests at the last weekend we hosted, I swore I would never, ever, do it again.’

  ‘And that was when Dominic made a pass at you?’

  ‘Yep, right after Paul made a laughing stock of me in front of everyone because I refused to find his actions funny. They all jeered at me, Amos… I’ve never been more humiliated in my life.’

  Anger quickened Amos’s heartbeat as he clenched his jaw. Who could even do that to someone as lovely as Grace? But anger wasn’t the way forward, and he thought quickly.

  ‘Does Paul know what you’re planning to do with the house?’

  ‘No… And I don’t want him to; he’d hate the idea.’

  ‘Then that’s even more reason to do it! Take all the anger, humiliation and hurt that Paul has made you feel and channel it into a determination to succeed, Grace – that’s the only way you’ll win. You think you’re giving him what he wants, but only if you view it in that way. Worse, by doing so you risk losing the very thing you want yourself. This is just one more step along the path that you have chosen, you and nobody else, and that’s the only way to look at it. And if you do, you’ll see that it’s actually incredibly good timing.’

  Grace sat up, staring at him. ‘How did you do that?’ she asked.

  ‘Do what?’

  ‘Suddenly turn what I’d thought of as the worst kind of insult into the best idea there’s ever been?’

  Amos merely smiled. ‘What do you think?’ he said. ‘Could you make it work? Forget who these people are and why they’re coming, and treat them as guests, just as you would any other?’

  Grace was studying his face, listening to him but drawing in what he was saying deeper and deeper, thinking of the possibilities, what it would all mean. And as he watched her, taking it all in, he could see the moment when she decided that she could. Her face broke into a smile and she reached forward. Her hand slipped into his, taking his breath with it.

  ‘Will you help me?’ she asked.

  ‘Of course,’ Amos replied. ‘I already am.’

  ‘I know, but I meant…’ She trailed off. ‘Amos, I can’t do this by myself.’

  ‘Then I’ll be here,’ was all he said in reply.

  15

  Grace wasn’t sure who was the more surprised, Dominic or her. She suspected that having practically thrown him out of her house he’d thought he would never hear from her again, save for the obligatory Christmas card, if he was lucky. And yet here she was, agreeing to his proposal and asking that he send her more details as soon as he could so that she could prepare for her guests in the best possible way. Likes, dislikes, she wanted to know it all.

  It wasn’t a long phone call and Grace kept it as business-like as possible. She could hear the intrigue in Dominic’s voice – he was dying to ask her why she had changed her mind but that was a conversation she had no wish to hold with him.

  She put down the phone and smiled at Hannah. ‘There now, that’s done,’ she said. ‘There’s no going back.’

  ‘I think you’re incredibly brave.’

  ‘Or incredibly stupid,’ replied Grace. ‘I know it makes sense, but it’s not having the guests here that bothers me, it’s having to pretend that I’m still part of a couple, that this is the home I share with Paul. He’s hardly been here over the last few months anyway, and since I asked him for a divorce he hasn’t set foot in the place, but I’m ashamed at how much I like it that way.’

  Hannah smiled sympathetically. ‘Grace, don’t you dare feel bad about that, not given what you’ve had to put up with. Goodness, even in the last week or so there’s been a change in you that’s as obvious as the nose on my face.’

  ‘Has there?’ Grace’s hand wandered to her hair. ‘What kind of change?’

  ‘A good one,’ said Hannah. ‘The kind that a certain dark handsome stranger has wrought.’

  Grace swallowed. She feared as much.

  ‘And don’t you go looking like that either. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt over the past six months it’s that if there’s something you need to say or something you need to do, then do it or say it. Don’t wait, Grace, because you may never get the opportunity. The same goes for happiness. Life can turn on a sixpence, so don’t waste the time you have now worrying about the rights or wrongs of a situation, or what other people might think about it. If it makes you happy, clasp it to you and never let it go. It took almost losing Fraser to make me realise that.’

  Grace touched a hand to her friend’s arm. ‘Oh, Hannah. I can’t imagine how it must feel to love someone so much that you can’t bear to be without them. I just know I never had it with Paul.’

  ‘No, but none of us have a crystal ball either. You didn’t know what was going to happen all those years ago when you married Paul, and no one can accuse you of not giving it your best shot.’ She gave Grace a coy glance. ‘You’ve had a lightness about you recently, as if something bright and shiny, deep inside, is bubbling closer and closer to the surface. All I’m saying is if it’s Amos that has done that for you, then that’s a good thing. Don’t let the opportunity to be happy pass you by just because Paul has only just gone. The reality is he left years ago.’

  Grace sighed. ‘I hadn’t realised it was that obvious.’

  ‘It isn’t. But I’ve known you for a very long time, don’t forget. Besides, I can recognise it in you only because I now recognise it in myself, Grace. I’ve come to life again these last few months, we all have, and seeing the same happen to you now makes me very happy.’

  ‘I don’t even know what it is about Amos,’ Grace confided. ‘And it’s not as if anything has happened between us – I cried all over him and I held his hand, or he held mine, that’s all. He’s like someone I’ve known all my life and a total stranger at the same time. Let’s face it, none of us know very much about him.’

  She could see Hannah thinking about her words, trying to summon all the information she had about Amos and, like her, finding it lacking.

  ‘That doesn’t worry you, does it? I just think perhaps he’s a very private person. I don’t think there’s anything sinister in it.’

  ‘No, neither do I. In fact, given the way he lives I would imagine it’s something he’s very keen to protect. When you don’t have much, perhaps the last thing you want to give away is your identity, it’s the only thing left that’s sacred to you.’

  ‘So ask him, Grace. I don’t think he’d be offended.’

  Grace chewed the corner of her lip. ‘That’s just it, I did ask him. I was probably a bit heavy-handed but something I said really seemed to spook him and, although he tried to hide how he was feeling, it was pretty obvious I’d upset him.’

  She paused, trying to recall what had happened on th
e day they opened the beehives. Amos had paled, claiming that his blood pressure fell every now and again, but Grace wasn’t altogether convinced that had been the truth. At the time they’d only been talking about the bees though – it hadn’t been until much later that she’d asked him why he had left his home. So why the strange reaction? She couldn’t understand it. She looked back up at Hannah.

  ‘I tried to apologise on the day when Dominic came around and, after I’d finished crying all over Amos, he claimed he had been on his way to see me too, saying he felt he owed me an explanation about his past. But although he opened up a little, somehow I knew I wasn’t getting the whole story.’

  ‘Then perhaps all you can do is carry on as you are. You need Amos’s help, we all do, and he’s prepared to give it, whatever the reasons. He’s not going to be around forever, Grace, so whatever you’re feeling now, just enjoy it while you can.’

  Which was exactly part of the problem, thought Grace. From what he had said, Amos would be moving on as soon as he finished work at the farm, but the thought of him leaving wasn’t something she wanted to dwell on at all. She didn’t know quite what it was about him, but she did know that things felt better when he was around.

  ‘So, what do you think then, Hannah?’ she said, changing the subject. ‘I really need your help here; I haven’t cooked for a dinner party in years. What on earth am I going to feed these people for an entire weekend?’

  Hannah’s notebook was still tucked underneath her arm – it went pretty much everywhere with her these days – and she took it out now, pulling out the pen that was clipped to the spine. ‘Run it by me again,’ she said. ‘When are they arriving?’

  ‘Dominic is going to send over full details by the end of the day, but they fly in on the Friday, getting to us late-ish evening, so a light supper is all they’ll need. Then a full breakfast the next morning, after which they’ll be taken out and about by Paul and Dominic for the day, returning here for an all-singing, all-dancing dinner. Sunday will be breakfast and lunch, or possibly brunch if they want a slightly lazier morning. Then they leave mid-afternoon.’

  Hannah tapped the end of the pen against her lips. ‘You know, if the weather holds it might be nice to have at least one meal in among the trees so that they can take in the wonderful view across the field of flowers. It would show them a slice of our wonderful British countryside.’

  ‘I was thinking that,’ replied Grace. ‘But what with my bees and the number of wasps which are starting to appear, it could be an unmitigated disaster. I had visions of everyone running around screaming.’ She pulled a face.

  ‘Hmm, you may have a point. But wouldn’t it be glorious though? I’m sure we could think of some way to make it work.’

  ‘I’ll ask Amos, he’s bound to know.’ Grace stopped then, realising what she’d just said, and groaned. ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake,’ she muttered, catching the smile on Hannah’s face. ‘And you can stop that as well.’

  Amos was struggling to concentrate, and realised he had missed what Ned had said again. Halfway up a ladder was not a good time to have your mind on something other than the job in hand, but ever since he had found himself unaccountably holding Grace’s hand, Amos had thought of little else.

  ‘Sorry, Ned. What did you say?’

  ‘I wondered if you’d seen the pig flying past, that was all.’

  It took a moment for Amos to process what was being said.

  ‘Oh, haha, very funny… Sorry,’ he added. ‘I was miles away.’

  ‘So I see,’ replied Ned, grinning from his own ladder. ‘Although as the crow flies, not that far away as it happens.’ He nodded in the direction of Grace’s house.

  Amos declined to answer.

  ‘Actually, what I was wondering was how long you reckon this place is going to take to sort. I know Flora is already beginning to think about how to market everything and now that we know Grace will more than likely get to keep the house, it makes everything a little more real, doesn’t it?’

  Over the last couple of days they had already removed half of the false ceiling in the milking parlour, and another day would probably see it finished. In many ways, though, this was the easiest part.

  ‘I think we’ve got another week at least to see the ceiling down and all the batons removed. After that the original beams will all need checking, as will the windows. Then there’s the electrics to sort, the walls to paint, floor to finish and any dividers to add. About six weeks all told if we’re lucky.’

  ‘So the end of the summer then?’

  Amos nodded, turning his attention back to the tile above his head. He just hoped that Ned wouldn’t ask him what his plans were, because he really didn’t want to have to answer that question.

  ‘But what about the work that Grace needs doing?’ Ned asked. ‘Shouldn’t that take priority at the moment?’

  ‘I’m going around this evening to make a start,’ replied Amos, evenly. ‘Fortunately, the light nights mean I can keep working for longer, and it won’t take much to spruce up the few rooms that need attention.’ He was about to add that the last time he had seen Grace she was up to her neck in curtain fabric, when the door at the end of the room clanged open. He held up an arm to alert Ned and stop him from what he was doing.

  Flora stood in the doorway, cautiously peering inside. Amos had made it very clear that the milking shed was now effectively a building site and should be respected as such. He waved to attract her attention once he was certain that Ned was not about to send another ceiling tile crashing to the floor. She walked forward, picking her way over the debris until she was standing close enough that they would hear her. Both men began to climb from their ladders.

  ‘That looks amazing,’ she said, gazing up, right to the top of the building where the original rafters could just be seen. ‘I can’t believe we didn’t know all that was there. It seems criminal to have hidden it away.’

  ‘But it made the building more cost-effective,’ said Amos. ‘Easier to heat, light and keep clean; but I agree, now that there are going to be people in here and not cows, this is a much better option.’

  She smiled at Ned who, like Amos, was covered in dust. ‘Although, I bet you’d have argued that the cows would have much preferred the building the way it’s going to be rather than the old one.’

  Ned grinned back. ‘Cows like nice things too,’ he said.

  Flora rolled her eyes. ‘Anyway, I popped over because I’ve just noticed there’s a message on the pad in the kitchen for you, Amos, and I wasn’t sure how urgent it was. A lady has rung called Maria, and she asked if you could call her back.’

  Amos had been expecting her to get in touch. He turned to Ned. ‘It’s not urgent, but would you mind if I took care of this now?’

  ‘You don’t even need to ask, Amos. Of course it’s all right.’

  Amos added his thanks and followed Flora back across to the main house.

  ‘Is everything okay?’ she asked when they were halfway across the yard.

  It was natural that everyone was curious, Amos knew that. It was always the same, the longer he stayed, the better people got to know him and the more they wanted to know. It was one of the reasons he moved on, better to be safe than sorry. He had already mentioned Maria to Grace and had thought that would be the end of any explanation he’d need to give, but then he’d been really careless and broken his phone and he’d had no other alternative but to call Maria and let her know.

  ‘It’s fine, thanks, but I hope you don’t mind my giving Maria the farm’s number? Hannah said it was okay for me to call her.’

  Flora shook her head. ‘Of course not. Amos, you can use the phone any time you need.’

  ‘I don’t normally need to but Maria’s a friend from back home who just checks in with me every now and again, or if there’s a problem. She normally rings my mobile but I’m afraid that came a cropper under a brick so, until I get a new one, it would be reassuring if I knew she could call here if she needed to.’ />
  They had reached the back door and Flora waved Amos inside. ‘The phone is in the hallway, just help yourself. I came in to make some drinks actually, would you like one?’

  ‘A glass of water would be lovely, thank you.’

  He would have preferred to make his call in private, or perhaps even to have shut the kitchen door, but he didn’t wish to draw attention to his conversation. Besides, he didn’t suppose that Flora would listen in for one minute. He dialled the number and waited for it to connect.

  ‘And how’s my favourite keeper of the flame?’

  ‘Amos!’ He could hear the smile in Maria’s voice from the other end of the line, but knew it would almost immediately be replaced by anxiety. ‘Is everything okay?’

  He was quick to reassure her. ‘Nothing to worry about, I’m just checking in. But I went and dropped a brick on my mobile phone so it’s rather useless at the moment.’

  ‘Ah, I did wonder when I saw you’d called me from a landline. Not like you at all.’ The line went quiet for a moment and Amos knew exactly what she was going to say next. Maria didn’t miss a thing. ‘And in Shropshire too…’

  Amos smiled. ‘Maria, don’t pretend. We both know you’ve googled the address, or the phone number, or both, and that therefore you know exactly where I am.’

  ‘Oh, but you’re so close, Amos. When are you coming home? It will be so good to see you.’

  ‘Well, I’m on my way back, Maria, this was going to be my last stop before home.’

  ‘But?’

  ‘Things have altered a little from when I first got here and I think I could be a bit longer now.’

  Another pause. ‘And?’

  Amos wasn’t quite sure what to say. ‘And I’m not sure that’s a good thing…’ He almost whispered it, hoping that Flora was far enough away in the kitchen so that she wouldn’t hear him.

  ‘Why would it not be a good thing? Besides… Since when have you ever given me any indication of how long you were going to be in one place or another… What’s going on, Amos?’