Land Girls: The Homecoming
Page 32
He took a while to reply. “What about our marriage?”
“Like I said, I’ve put you through more pain and suffering than any husband has a right to put up with.”
“We did say ‘for better and for worse’,” Henry said, with an uncomfortable smile.
“It’s all been for worse, though, ain’t it?” Connie said. “I love you. You’re a sweet, lovely man and I hoped we’d have a long time together, until we were old and toothless. But we’re different and I know you wanted me to change, and I wanted you to change. But maybe that’s not the way it should be. Maybe I’m not the one who can make you happy. Maybe I was never made for your world.”
“So I’ll go back to Helmstead? Alone?” He seemed shocked, which Connie found odd. Surely he’d been thinking about this during all those endless silences and his refusals to talk about their future. Or maybe he’d never expected to have to confront it head on in this way; the awkwardness of confrontation.
“Tell Mrs Gulliver and the rest that they were right. Tell them I was no good,” Connie answered. She guessed that his lack of argument was answer in itself. Perhaps a man as gentle as Henry Jameson could never bring himself to categorically break something. She would have to do it. She kissed his cheek, looked sadly at his sweet face. This was goodbye. “Goodbye Henry.” Connie turned and walked away.
“Wait,” Henry called. Connie waited, not daring to turn. Would this be some sort of tirade to say good riddance? “So what if we’re different? All this has rather put that into perspective, don’t you think? It’s all not that important.”
Connie turned. This sounded like the end of all the petty squabbles they’d had before Vince had turned up and the problems got much bigger. “I guess it’s not. It don’t matter if we have our different ways.”
But then her heart sank as he continued: “The bigger problem was that this made me realise I didn’t know you; that I couldn’t trust you after Danny and Vince turned up. How many more would come? That’s what I was worried about.”
“I told you, there’s no more. But I understand. I’ve put you through too much, Henry.”
“But I trust you now.” The words froze Connie to the spot.
She looked into Henry’s eyes as he continued: “And I may not ever know you, not everything about you, but I know one thing that I didn’t before. That I can trust you. You came back for me. You never gave up. You saved me.”
“Well, I love you, don’t I?”
“And I know you love me above anything else.”
“I do, yeah.”
He put out his hand. “And I love you. So will you come back with me?”
Connie’s face broke into the biggest grin of relief. “I’ll have to think about it. I still won’t be able to make a decent cup of tea, though.”
“It really doesn’t –” He never finished the sentence, as impulsively, Connie Carter pushed her husband into a doorway and planted a kiss on his lips. Usually Henry’s reserved nature would make him embarrassed by such public displays of affection. But not today. Not after all they had been through together. Today, he responded straight away, with no hesitation, and he pulled her into the doorway with him. Surprised by his abandon, Connie felt his hands clawing through her long hair.
“Oh Henry!”
They kissed passionately. Somewhere in the distance, an air-raid siren went off.
Acknowledgements
It all started with a photograph – an elderly woman standing on her friend’s wheelchair to peer over a garden wall. They had gone back to see the rectory where they had been stationed in the Women’s Land Army during the war. They obviously hadn’t managed to gain entry to the building but didn’t let a detail like that stop them. That image of those indomitable women captured the essence of the TV series I wanted to create. I hoped that Land Girls would honour those amazing women – all eighty thousand of them – who toiled in unfamiliar fields to ensure that Britain wouldn’t starve during the Second World War. The TV series would also allow me to write intense human stories of courage, love and loss on the Home Front and explore the day-to-day lives of these resourceful, strong women. And now, I’m delighted that I have a chance to continue those stories, for both those who are familiar with the TV series and those who are new to these characters.
I’d like to thank my wonderful family for giving me the time – and tea – to write this novel, and for their unstinting support. Thank you too to Charlotte Ledger and her talented team at Harper Impulse for believing in me and my ideas. Also, I’d like to thank the Land Girls cast and crew, Will Trotter, John Yorke and everyone at the BBC who brought the series to the screen – enabling me to create the lives and loves of Connie, Joyce, Iris, Esther, Nancy, Annie and Bea. I’d also like to thank my brilliant agent, Julia Wyatt, for her help and support. Thanks too to my grandmother, Annie Beatrice, and my mum, Annette, for being big parts of this story – and to Diane, Jill and Ewart. Finally, thank you to all the loyal viewers, for staying with us over three series. I hope you enjoy the book.
Coming soon from Roland Moore
[Cover – Land Girls book 2 to come]
Land Girls Book 2
About the Author
Roland Moore is the award-winning series creator and scriptwriter of the BBC1 period drama Land Girls. He’s delighted to be able to expand on that world in a new series of novels for HarperCollins.
His lovely wife is a great source of support and his son often comes up with helpful suggestions – even if they mostly involve laser beams and robots.
You can find out more about Roland on Twitter @RolandMooreTV or at www.rolandmoore.tv.
About HarperImpulse
HarperImpulse is an exciting new range of romance fiction brought to you from the women’s fiction team at HarperCollins. Our aim is to break new talent from debut authors and import the hottest trends from the US, bringing you the very best in romance. Whether that is through short reads for your mobile phone or epic sagas that span the generations we want to proudly publish romance fiction that gets everybody talking.
Romance readers, come and meet the team at our website www.harperimpulseromance.com, our Facebook page www.facebook.com/HarperImpulse or follow us @HarperImpulse!
Writers, we are simply looking for good stories! So, what are you waiting for? To submit, e-mail us at romance@harpercollins.co.uk.
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