‘A lot of “ifs”, of course.’ He smiled ruefully and broke the tension. They all began to talk at once but Rachel’s mind was travelling back through the years. Minnie Ferguson had taken her under her wing when she was eight years old, after the death of her mother. She had passed on many of her skills until her father had died when she was almost 16. It was then she had gone to live with the Maxwells. She shuddered, recalling Gertrude Maxwell’s bitter resentment at being forced to take her in. She remembered the day she had received the black-edged letter informing her of Minnie’s death, and the news that she had left her the vase.
‘Much good an old thing like that will do you!’ Mistress Maxwell had sneered. ‘A few sovereigns would have been more use.’ Rachel raised her eyes and met Ross’s down the length of the dining table. She knew he was recalling the bitter woman who had resented both of them and done her best to keep them apart. She came out of her reverie to hear Fiona speaking.
‘It’s time I was going home,’ she said, feeling the family might want to discuss the discovery of the vase without her.
‘I’ll give you a lift home,’ Nick offered.
Conan frowned at him. ‘I’ll take her. It’s time I was going anyway, and I expect you and Bridie have plenty to talk about – as usual.’ He pushed back his chair and as he passed Bridie he gave her a brotherly thump. ‘For goodness sake, send him home a bit more cheerful tonight. If that’s what being in love does to a man, I thank God I’m immune.’
‘Don’t you be so sure you are,’ Ross warned. ‘And give Nick and Bridie time to work out their own problems. Everybody gets them sometime or other.’
‘They do indeed,’ Mr Murray agreed with a sigh. ‘But the love of a good woman is one of the greatest gifts a man can have.’
‘Aye,’ Ross winked at Rachel, ‘I’ll agree to that anytime.’
Conan looked from his father to his mother, saw her pink cheeks and snorted. Surely his parents were too old to be flirting – and in public too.
‘If you’re ready, Fiona?’ His voice was more abrupt than he intended.
‘I’m sure Bridie will take me home if it’s a trouble to you,’ she said stiffly.
‘It’s not a trouble or I wouldn’t have offered. You said you were ready to leave, and so am I.’
‘Very well.’
‘He hasn’t changed since he was the bossy Head Boy on the school bus, has he?’ Bridie grinned.
‘No, not that I’ve noticed, anyway.’ Fiona stood up with a wry grimace for Bridie.
‘Are you sure you want a lift, Miss Sinclair?’
‘I shall be with you just as soon as I have thanked your parents and Mr Murray,’ Fiona told him calmly. ‘I’m sure even you wouldn’t wish me to forget my manners, Conan …’
‘Of course not,’ he muttered, aware of the amused glance which had passed between his parents, not to mention Nick’s knowing grin. Even young Ewan, who had been half-asleep, was regarding him curiously with his head on one side. He scowled and bid them all a general goodnight. As he passed Mr Murray, he stopped and shook the older man’s hand, thanked him for coming and wished him a safe journey home. There was genuine respect and sympathy in his gaze as their eyes met. There was no need for words. They were both remembering Mark, full of regrets that he was not with them tonight.
When he had left the room Mr Murray turned to Rachel.
‘Your son is a fine young man. You will be proud of his success one day, because that is what he means to be – a success in his own chosen field. Right now he seems to have a need to prove himself …’
‘Like father, like son,’ Rachel agreed.
‘Yes, maybe it is inherited, the yearning to do well. I know Mark had a great respect for Conan, as did the rest of the crew. They knew they could depend on him …’
Nick sat up straight, suddenly alert. Did Mr Murray think Conan was in some way responsible for Mark’s death? They might have their differences over the garage business, but Nick knew he would defend Conan to the last over anything to do with their time together in the RAF.
Mr Murray sighed and went on. ‘I knew after Bobby was killed that Mark cared less for his own life. They were identical twins, you know. They did everything together …’
‘Yes,’ Rachel said gently. She laid a comforting hand on his arm. ‘It would have been dreadful to lose one son, but to lose them both …’ She trembled at the thought. Mr Murray patted her hand.
‘We were not alone. War is a cruel thing and there were whole families wiped out. We must be thankful that we are alive and can live in a free country.’
Quietly Bridie pushed back her chair and gently took Ewan’s arm. He was almost asleep.
‘I’ll see him to bed,’ she nodded at her mother.
‘And I’ll read him a bedtime story,’ Nick volunteered, seizing the opportunity to spend a little of the evening alone with Bridie while their elders talked of times past.
Ewan no longer needed bedtime stories. He could read his own, but he was asleep almost before he tumbled into bed. Nick seized Bridie around her waist and drew her close as soon as they were alone together in the warm kitchen.
‘I can’t wait for us to be married, Bridie,’ he whispered into the soft hollow of her throat. ‘Soft as silk your skin is …’ He felt her trembling response. He knew she loved him almost as much as he loved her, but he was still afraid he might lose her. ‘Expect to get permission to build our house, I do, in a couple of weeks. Your father’s land it is now. I shall have to buy the ground from him.’ He felt Bridie stiffen slightly in his arms. ‘All this,’ he waved a hand towards the window and the farmyard beyond, ‘means so much to you, I know, bach. But us, together, alone … There’s all I want, see.’ His voice was tense, his dark eyes penetrating. ‘Not to share you with your family, not all the time. Can you understand that?’
‘Yes, oh yes, I do understand,’ Bridie whispered as his mouth claimed hers. Nick’s Welsh accent was always more pronounced when his emotions were involved. She could feel the passion in him, his desire as he moulded her body to his own. She leaned away from him, still in the circle of his arms.
‘We’ll set the date for our wedding, I promise, just as soon as you get all the approvals through, Nick …’
‘A date! You agree? Really mean it, do you, Bridie? My love …’ His kisses were gentler now. He knew the sacrifice she was making, giving up her home and the farm to live in a little house beside the garage. ‘Someday, somehow … I’ll make it up to you, my darling girl.’
Rachel did not sleep well that night. She was restless and her thoughts were on Mr Murray, the vase, and on Minnie Ferguson who had left it to her as a last treasured gift. She did not need the vase, or anything else to remind her of the old lady who had treated her with all the love and kindness of an adopted granddaughter. Minnie had taught her the skills of the house and the dairy until she was as competent at 16 as any woman. Inevitably her thoughts turned to Gertrude Maxwell, the woman who had treated both herself and Ross with such malice. She shuddered in the darkness, but eventually she drifted into sleep. Still tired when it was time to rise, her mind was clearer and, as she washed and dressed in the bathroom, she reached a decision, which she would tell no one except Mr Murray.
Chapter Six
IT WAS BRIDIE WHO drove Mr Murray to the station to catch the train south the following morning. When she returned, she told her mother she and Nick had decided to set a date for their wedding.
‘Nick is just waiting for all the agreements before he instructs Mr Niven to buy the plot of land. He’ll have to negotiate with Dad now he is the owner, I suppose? Unless the solicitor withheld the plot? Nick was supposed to have an option on it, I think.’
‘I don’t know,’ Rachel said absently.
‘Are you all right, Mum? You look very pale, tired too …’ Bridie frowned.
‘I’m fine. I slept badly last night. I-I think I might go into town this afternoon, if you’ll be around for Ewan getting home from school?’<
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‘Yes, of course. It would do you good to have a look around the shops. There’s a few of the new fashions coming in with the swirling skirts. They’ll be lovely for dancing.’
‘I think my days for swirling skirts and dancing are past,’ Rachel said, summoning a smile at Bridie’s enthusiasm. ‘We shall have to think about a wedding gown though, and bridesmaids, but we’ll wait for all that until you have fixed the date. I expect it will take at least six months to build a house.’
‘Nick was hoping they would do it in three months. We are just having a small house to begin with. We thought a September wedding, after the harvest is in.’
‘I see …’ Rachel’s anxiety returned, but she turned away and for once Bridie was preoccupied with her own thoughts. She seemed to alternate between excitement and desire, and a dreadful coldness in the pit of her stomach at the prospect of leaving Glens of Lochandee. Apart from her own love of the farm where she had been born, she had an uneasy feeling that she was letting down Alice Beattie, the woman who had been her benefactor and entrusted her with the care of her beloved land and animals.
Rachel had not told anyone she was going to see Mr Niven, but she had forgotten Fiona was working there two or three days every week now. They greeted each other in surprise.
After they had talked for a little while and Rachel had laid her tentative plans before the young solicitor she sighed. ‘There are so many “ifs” and time is short. I suppose you think I’m silly to try to interfere?’
‘Not at all, Mrs Maxwell. Your motives are beyond reproach – the health of your husband and the happiness of your daughter. As you say, much depends on the successful sale of the vase. I presume this Mr Murray is entirely trustworthy, if it does turn out to be as valuable as he suspects?’
‘Oh I’m sure he is.’
‘Then I shall do my best to co-operate if you let me have your instructions.’
‘Would you mind if I had a word with Miss Sinclair before I leave? You see, I don’t want my family to know about this visit until I’m sure the vase can raise enough money to carry out my plan, and I had forgotten Fiona would be here.’
‘That’s all right. I’ll ask her to come through. You will find her most discreet – I firmly believe she may prove a great asset to our business. She sees problems – and their possible solutions – very clearly, and she is an extremely intelligent young woman. Any time you wish to convey a message to me you may entrust it to Miss Sinclair if that is easier than coming into town.’
‘Thank you, I’ll remember that,’ Rachel smiled with relief. It was all so much easier than she had thought. If only …
Rachel was on the road for home but her mind was on Fiona Sinclair’s parting remark. She was not only an accountant; she had a fine understanding of human nature. If she was right in her opinion of Nick, and in her heart Rachel knew she was, then her comment was worth some thought. She decided to make a detour by the garage, though she knew it was unlikely she would find Nick alone there, or that he would have time to talk with her. The more she pondered the more she felt Fiona was right. It was imperative to have Nick’s opinion, and to have him on her side.
Nick was lying full length beneath a small truck when Rachel drew the car to a halt. She knew, by the disappointment on his face, that he had expected it would be Bridie when he recognised the Lochandee car, but he hid it quickly and smiled a welcome.
‘I’m sorry, Mrs Maxwell, you’ve just missed Conan. He was called out to a breakdown, so I don’t think he’ll be back for at least an hour.’
‘That’s all right, Nick. As a matter of fact it was you I wanted, but I can see you’re busy.’
‘Nothing I can’t put off for half an hour. The owner of the truck doesn’t need it until Saturday. I – er … I’d invite you into the flat, but …’ He flushed. ‘A bit of a mess it is …’
Rachel laughed aloud, a young pretty laugh, Nick thought, and his arms ached for Bridie. She was like her mother in many ways.
‘I can imagine the state of it with two young bachelors. This will do very well and you can keep an eye on the petrol pumps at the same time.’
Nick nodded and swept aside a pile of papers and dusters to make a seat for her. Rachel regarded him seriously.
‘I want to talk to you about the future, Nick. If, and I mean if, it can be arranged, how would you feel about moving into the house at Glens of Lochandee and paying a rent for it, instead of taking out a bank loan to build a house here?’ Nick’s face darkened instantly, his mouth tightened angrily and his dark eyes sparked with anger. Rachel felt her heart sink.
‘Bridie has put you up to this!’ He straightened as though he would walk out. ‘Too good to be true, it was! She would live here with me, she said, and set a wedding date. I knew …’
‘No! Wait. Nick, let me explain –’
‘You don’t need to.’ He spoke slowly and carefully now but his words were clipped with anger. ‘I know exactly how Bridie feels about leaving Glens of Lochandee, especially now she believes her father will spend his time at Nether Rullion. She did not need to be sending you. The whole affair we’ll be calling off now!’ Nick turned on his heel to walk away.
‘No, Nick!’ Rachel grabbed his arm in panic. ‘Bridie doesn’t know anything about this. I don’t want her to know. Nor her father, not yet. Please wait until you’ve heard what I have to say? What I would like to do … please?’
‘If Bridie doesn’t want me on my terms then she doesn’t love me enough to be my wife.’ Nick’s face was set and stubborn and Rachel knew Fiona had been right about him: he was vulnerable but he was proud and fiercely independent.
‘Listen to me, Nick, please. If you love Bridie at all, the least you can do is hear what I have to say. I’ve just been to see Mr Niven myself – not for your sake, or for Bridie’s. You two are young; you have all your lives before you. Of course you’ll have problems, but you’ll solve them because I know you do love each other. It’s my own husband I’m worried about. If you marry Bridie and take her away, there will be far too much for Ross to manage alone, especially now he has bought Nether Rullion. He’ll not rest until he has paid back the bank loan, and I know how frustrated he was as a tenant with an absentee landlord and no repairs done to drains or fences, not even a shed to store tools, even less house cattle or store grain. He’ll want to do everything at once, now that it’s his own property.’
‘So you want me to move in with you all?’ Nick said tightly, already shaking his head.
‘No. You heard what Mr Murray said about my vase? I thought about little else all night. This morning I made up my mind and I asked him to take it with him to get another opinion, and to sell it if he’s right. He seems convinced he is. The money from the sale would help to build a small house, but not for you and Bridie. It would be for Ross and me – Ewan too, of course. I would build it right in the middle of Nether Rullion, instead of here beside the garage …’
‘You’re serious?’ Nick stared at her incredulously. ‘Since yesterday evening? You have given it consideration …’
‘I have. A great deal, believe me, Nick. It kept me awake most of the night. I loved Minnie’s old vase, but I loved it for sentimental reasons. If it really is so valuable, I should be almost afraid to dust it. I packed it up carefully in one of the wooden boxes which the animal drenches come in. Mr Murray took it with him this morning. Bridie thought he was taking home a box of eggs.’ She laughed excitedly, but still a little nervous. ‘Think about it, Nick. Some day Ewan will farm Nether Rullion. It would need a house then, as well as buildings for animals. It makes sense to build a house there now, instead of you buying a site to build one here.’
‘I suppose it does from Bridie’s point of view,’ Nick said thoughtfully.
‘Not just Bridie,’ Rachel insisted. ‘Ross would be living on the spot at Nether Rullion, and I should be at his side, where I belong. That’s what I want, to be able to watch over him, have him come in for a rest and a cup of tea when he nee
ds one, a change of clothes when he gets caught in the rain. Giving a hand when he’s moving cattle. You know how he is …’
‘I do. A good wife you are, Mrs Maxwell.’ Nick’s face lightened in a reluctant smile. ‘A good mother you are too. Bridie …’
‘Yes, Bridie’s place would be at Glens of Lochandee, but the two of you would be alone together there. Alice Beattie left her share to Bridie and we know the dairy herd is safe in her hands. That is what she does best. She enjoys her animals.’
‘I know that very well …’
‘But you’ll be there to help her, Nick. The government insists we must carry on ploughing land and growing crops until Britain can feed her own people again. We can’t feed today’s population on yesterday’s farming methods. Bridie doesn’t like that side of things, but she understands and accepts it, as we all do. I know you would help her with the tractors and machinery, and maintaining them. Conan tells me you’re good with that sort of thing, and more patient with repairs than he is. But,’ Rachel bit her lip, ‘we shall have a huge burden of debt until we can pay off Nether Rullion. We can’t afford to let you and Bridie have Lochandee rent-free …’
‘Charity I would not accept! A rent we shall pay for Lochandee if you do build the house at Nether Rullion.’
‘You’re a good laddie, Nick. If we have any money to spare after the house is built I would like a hen house and a pigsty, and maybe a shed to rear a few calves. I’ve never been without animals around me. I’d be lost without anything. We’d need the eggs and a house cow for milk and a bit of butter …’
A slow smile creased Nick’s tanned face. Rachel saw his teeth, white and even, catch his lower lip, but his attractive grin would not be denied, and he shook his head.
‘If Bridie is like her mother I shall find myself doing her bidding without even noticing.’
‘Oh Nick! Am I so bad?’ Rachel said anxiously.
‘Of course not.’ Nick sobered. ‘In fact it sounds to me as though you are the one who will be making the sacrifices, selling your treasured vase, and leaving the Glens of Lochandee.’
The Legacy of Lochandee Page 6