by Heidi Swain
‘I know,’ she said, looking right at me. ‘I know it wasn’t you and I don’t want you for one second thinking that I think any different because I don’t. But I’ll tell you both something,’ she said sternly, looking between me and Jake, ‘I’m convinced someone opened that gate. They let my girl out and then closed it again and when I remember who it was, there’ll be hell to pay.’
‘Whatever do you mean?’ I gasped. ‘Are you saying someone was here?’
‘I’m fairly certain of it,’ she said, gently shaking her head, ‘even though it is all still such a muddle, but it’ll come back to me at some point. You mark my words.’
I was terrified by the implication of what Annie was suggesting, but my conviction that the gate had been shut tight when Jake and I left meant that her idea could very well be the only logical explanation.
Chapter 33
Jake’s hunch about Annie’s hydration was spot on and, as predicted, it wasn’t long before she was back to her old self in spirit if not quite in body. We had been taking things slowly, too slowly according to Annie, but her head was healing beautifully so it was worth putting up with her impatience and moaning. Just getting up and down the stairs and in and out of the garden took it out of her physically, but her mind and quick wit were both as sharp as ever, and although I was sorry that she still couldn’t get about as quickly or as independently as she liked, I was grateful for the ample opportunity it gave us to sit together and chat.
‘You know,’ she said to me one evening as I helped her into the bath, ‘I could get used to all this pampering.’
‘Yes,’ I said, arranging the bath pillow for her to rest her head on, ‘it has come to my attention that you are rather coming round to the idea.’
We looked at one another and smiled.
‘You’re a good girl,’ she said, ‘I don’t know what I would have done without you these last few days,’
‘And Jake,’ I added, not wanting to hog all the limelight.
‘Of course,’ she said, ‘but I can’t imagine he’d be so keen to wash my back. No, I mean it, Amber, if it wasn’t for your willingness to help out then I’d have been trundled off to a home somewhere by now.’ She shuddered at the thought. ‘And once they get you in one of those places there’s only one way out.’
‘Well,’ I said, keen to change the subject to something more cheerful, ‘we need you here, don’t we? There’s so much going on what with the Piggy Plan to organise and Jess and Henry’s wedding to prepare for that we need the whole Skylark team fighting fit. Everyone here has to pull their weight,’ I smiled, mimicking Annie’s own mantra.
‘Cheek!’ she laughed. ‘Are you warming my towel?’
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘of course. I haven’t forgotten yet, have I?’
‘No,’ said Annie, looking serious again, ‘as busy as you are, you don’t forget a thing whereas I’m struggling to remember lots of things right now.’
‘Be patient with yourself,’ I told her. ‘The consultant said it will all come back, but pushing yourself to remember won’t actually make any difference, will it?’
‘Well, there is one thing I remember,’ she said.
‘Oh,’ I said, wondering if the potential mystery visitor was about to be unmasked. ‘What’s that?’
‘Jake told me,’ she began, ‘when he was explaining how the Piggy Plan was coming along, that you had had an idea. He said that you told him you’d thought of another way to make the farm pay, but I haven’t heard mention of it since. I am right, aren’t I?’
‘Yes, you are,’ I said, feeling a little disappointed but wondering if now was the moment to broach the subject nonetheless. ‘I have thought of something but what with everything else that’s been going on I’ve kind of put it on the back burner.’
‘Well, come on,’ said Annie impatiently, ‘out with it. Only top this water up first, would you? It’s getting cool.’
Once the bath water was back up to a more comfortable temperature Annie again fixed me with a stare, not dissimilar, I realised, to the one favoured by her prized hen. Patricia, having decided she ruled the kitchen, the dogs and, if she could get away with it, both Jake and me, had been hastily reunited with the chicks and Mabel and Martha in the henhouse. She was still sulky about the demotion in her living quarters but slowly settling back to life as an ex-battery hen rather than a token human.
‘So,’ said Annie, ‘what have you been thinking about?’
I took a deep breath and braced myself for the potential rejection.
‘I’ve been thinking about Meadowview Cottage.’
‘Huh,’ huffed Annie.
‘And what a waste it is, just sitting there locked up going to wrack and ruin.’
‘You and me both,’ she said bitterly.
Well, that wasn’t the response I was expecting but then I hadn’t delivered the main part of my plan yet, had I?
‘I told Jake months ago that the place needed sorting,’ tutted Annie. ‘It isn’t right to have it sitting there like some sort of macabre time capsule. It hangs over us all like a shrine to a time that should be forgotten. I can’t bear to go anywhere near it.’
I hadn’t thought of it like that. I hadn’t thought about the possibility that Jake actually wanted it all kept as it was. It suddenly dawned on me that it might be a precious reminder of his relationship with Holly, before everything went wrong. I’d always assumed it had been left because he’d thrown the key in the river and then moved to London, but was that the real reason behind his reluctance to deal with it? It was madness that he had started a relationship with me and not cleared it out before he asked me to move here, and whatever sort of fool was I just to accept the situation and not demand that he got it sorted?
‘So you want it emptied as well then?’ Annie said. ‘I’m not surprised. It can’t be nice having his life with someone else set up down there.’
‘No,’ I said, a definite wobble in my voice, ‘now you mention it, it isn’t.’
‘You weren’t thinking of moving in there with Jake yourself, were you? I can’t see how that would make us any money. If anything it would cost us to be running two homes, but,’ she added with a sigh, ‘I understand if you want your privacy. It can’t be easy being stuck here with me.’
‘No,’ I said quickly, trying to dismiss all thoughts of the life Jake and Holly had led down at the cottage, ‘no, that’s not what I had in mind at all.’
I couldn’t possibly think of living there myself knowing that the place was already riddled with memories of another relationship, no matter how sour it had turned.
‘What then?’
‘I was thinking about redecorating it, if it needed it, giving it a bit of a makeover and setting it up as a holiday let.’
Annie opened her mouth to say something but I carried on talking, pretending I hadn’t noticed.
‘I know you don’t like the idea of people using the countryside like some gigantic playground, but the cottage and the setting are so pretty that I think you could easily earn more from it than if you were to put a tenant in it. Also, tourists are just coming round to the idea of what the Fens have to offer, so I think the timing would be perfect. It isn’t fair to the beautiful Fenland landscape to keep it under wraps and not spread the joy. We could at least give it a try for a year and see what it brings in.’
I reached for Annie’s towel. The water must have cooled again and I didn’t want her catching a chill on top of everything else. She let me help her out of the bath and sat on the toilet seat while I dried her feet and legs. We went through the whole routine without talking and I smiled to myself thinking how well we worked together. We could have been doing this for years rather than just a few days.
‘I think it sounds like a very good idea,’ she said at last as I carefully slipped her nightdress over her head.
‘Do you?’ I gasped, tangling her arms in the sleeves. ‘Do you really? I thought you’d hate it.’
‘In some ways I do,’ she admi
tted, pulling herself free, ‘but I know it’s time for a change and the cottage is private enough not to impact on the farm. I think I’ve reached the point where I would do anything to save this place and be able to pass it on to you and Jake. But I want you to be in charge of this idea, Amber. You came up with it and I know you’re more than capable of making it work. You leave the pigs to Jake and focus on bringing Meadowview Cottage back to life.’
Had Annie really said she wanted to pass Skylark Farm on to me as well as Jake? I flushed at the thought of living my life here forever and taking the place on as Jake’s partner in both business and life, rather than the role I had now as someone who was just trying it on to see how it fitted. Personally I already knew how it fitted – like a handmade glove, and the prospect of wearing it forever thrilled me deeply.
‘I suppose you’ll have to have her here when you empty the place,’ Annie said with a disgusted sniff, ‘what with so much of it belonging to her, but as you’re all friends now I suppose it won’t be quite so bad.’
‘I wouldn’t go quite that far,’ I said, tying Annie’s dressing gown and hanging her towel over the heated rail, ‘but yes, Holly will help clear the place. She’s already offered actually.’
I couldn’t help thinking of Jake and his apparent reluctance to sort the cottage out whereas Holly had already offered to get it done. Well, Annie had assigned me project manager of the cottage’s transformation, so he was just going to have get on with it whether he liked it or not.
Chapter 34
When we finally got down to it, Jake didn’t seem upset by the thought of emptying Meadowview Cottage at all. In fact, I was relieved to realise, he seemed rather keen on the idea. I gave myself a stern talking to as I watched him scroll through his phone for Holly’s mobile number and tried not to dwell on why he might have it.
‘Here it is,’ he said eventually, ‘and in case you were wondering, it’s a new number she asked Harriet to pass on so I could get in touch when we got round to emptying the cottage.’
I felt my face flush, embarrassed that my suspicious train of thought was so transparent.
‘I still can’t believe Annie’s agreed to the holiday let idea,’ he went on, shaking his head and pulling me into his arms. ‘You’ve got everyone wrapped around your little finger, haven’t you?’
‘I wouldn’t say that,’ I told him, deftly relieving him of his phone so I could transfer Holly’s number into my own, ‘but you’ve got yourself some serious competition now.’
‘What do you mean?’ he frowned.
‘Piggies versus mini-breaks,’ I smiled up at him. ‘Who do you reckon will make the most profit by the end of next year?’
‘That will probably depend on how much money you spend doing the place up, won’t it?’ he laughed, nodding at the piles of magazines I had spread across the table.
I didn’t tell him the magazines were purely for inspiration and that I was planning to make full use of the Wynbridge auction and various online bargain sites when it came to furnishing the place and making it look the part. If he thought he’d won the financial challenge before we’d even started then that was fine by me. I was already looking forward to presenting him with a healthy bottom line in a few months’ time.
‘Right,’ I said, kissing him quickly and pulling myself free, ‘let’s get this project up and running, shall we? I suggest a trip to The Mermaid to see Holly, and then we can meet up with Harriet, Jess and Henry afterwards. How does that sound?’
‘Do we really have to see her?’ he groaned, sounding more like a temper throwing toddler than a fully grown man.
‘Yes,’ I said, waving my phone in front of his face, ‘you might have a number for her but that doesn’t mean we can get a message to her, does it? You know as well as I do that the signal here is rubbish.’
‘So use the landline.’
‘Look,’ I said, sounding increasingly like the mother of the aforementioned toddler rather than the life partner, ‘we’re going to the pub, she’ll be there, we’ll set a date, end of.’
‘But what about Annie?’
‘Annie will be fine,’ said the lady herself as she made her slow way from the porch to her chair. ‘I’ve been telling Amber all week to arrange a night out for the pair of you. You haven’t left the farm since I came home from hospital and it’s high time you did.’
‘What do you think?’ I said to Jake, batting my lashes. ‘It’s been ages since we’ve seen everyone.’
‘Oh, go on then,’ he relented, ‘but only if you promise to behave yourself, Annie.’
‘That’ll be the day, dear boy,’ she laughed mischievously, ‘that’ll be the day!’
I couldn’t wait to see everyone again and have a good catch up. I was even looking forward to seeing Holly, much to Jake’s bemusement.
‘You must be crazy,’ he laughed when I told him as we set off to town, ‘not only are you the most understanding girlfriend in the world, you’re also the maddest!’
Maddest I could appreciate, but I wasn’t so sure what he meant about the understanding part.
‘What do you mean?’ I quizzed.
‘Well, this whole Holly scenario,’ he said, his eyes focused on the wet road ahead, ‘it wasn’t until Annie and I were talking about your plans for the cottage that it really sunk in about how it must all look to you, me keeping everything exactly as we left it, I mean.’
I shrugged, but didn’t say anything.
‘Annie said I’m lucky you’ve put up with it for all this time, but to be honest I hadn’t even thought about it like that. I’m sorry if it’s been upsetting you, Amber. The only reason it’s still all there is because I’m too lazy to break in and sort it out. It’s not as if I’ve been sneaking off and sitting amongst it all crying over the past, is it?’
I know it was silly, but it was a relief to hear him say it.
‘So,’ I sighed theatrically, making light of the situation now I knew the truth behind it, ‘you aren’t secretly hoping that you and Holly are going to get back together and pick up where you left off then? You aren’t planning to send me back to London and carry on living there again?’
‘No! Christ no!’ Jake shouted, swerving a little as he twisted round to look at me. ‘Oh bloody hell, Amber! Is that what you’ve been thinking?’
‘No,’ I said, laughing at his reaction, ‘of course not, but it was worth saying it just to see your face. Now, keep your eyes on the road, will you?’
‘Oh you sod,’ he breathed, clutching his chest and puffing out his cheeks until his face returned to its normal healthy colour. ‘So tell me, why exactly are you looking forward to seeing Holly?’
‘Well, for a couple of reasons, I guess,’ I told him. ‘Firstly, like I already explained, so we can set a date to get the cottage cleared. I’m hoping to have it emptied, decorated and furnished by the time the apples are ready to harvest.’
‘And I’m sure you will,’ Jake smiled. ‘I know how quickly things happen when you set your heart on them. Come October we’ll be toasting your success with a flagon of Skylark cider!’
‘Oh,’ I said cheerfully, ‘I like the sound of that.’
‘And what’s the other reason?’
‘I want to check she’s OK,’ I explained. ‘She turned up the morning after Annie’s accident looking decidedly peaky and sounding, well, a little odd actually.’
‘You never mentioned it before,’ said Jake. ‘What do you mean “odd”?’
‘I don’t know,’ I shrugged, ‘she just wasn’t her usual composed self.’
Holly’s appearance that morning had been playing on my mind but I hadn’t mentioned it to either Jake or Annie. There was just something about the entire visit that didn’t sit right with me but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was.
‘And,’ I said, picking up my phone and scrolling through the photo album, ‘I want to show her how good the dolly tubs look. I suppose it’s my way of saying no hard feelings and moving on from the May
Fair fiasco and I couldn’t just send them to her mobile because until a minute ago I didn’t know we had her number, and anyway the damn signal is too inconsistent! You know what, I’m seriously thinking of joining one of those militant “Wi-Fi for rural communities” action groups!’
As it was raining so hard Jake dropped me at the door of The Mermaid and went off to find a parking space in the market square. The pub was fairly quiet for once and I spotted Holly, poker straight on a bar stool, right away. She waved when she caught sight of me and I made my way over thinking she actually looked far more composed than the last time I saw her.
‘What a night!’ I laughed, addressing both her and Jim as I peeled off my coat and sprayed the pair of them with droplets of ice cold rain water. ‘Sorry,’ I said, ‘I was only in it for a few seconds and look at the state of me. Poor Jake’s gone to find a space. He’ll be soaked right through by the time he gets here.’
‘In that case,’ said Holly, ‘why don’t we get the drinks in and bag the sofa by the fire? I had thought it was ridiculous seeing you’d lit it in June, Jim, but now,’ she said, giving a little shudder, ‘I’m rather grateful for it.’
We ordered and paid for our drinks and I followed her to the sofa, taking in her skinny frame from behind. If she gained a few pounds she probably wouldn’t feel the cold was the first thought that sprang to mind, but in honour of goodwill and getting our relationship off to an amicable start I let it drift away without giving it a voice, and gratefully threw myself on the sofa in the cosiest nook the pub had to offer.
We had just finished admiring the photos of the dolly tubs when Jake came bursting through the door. His hair was plastered to his head and his shirt clung to him in all the right places. I couldn’t hold back the little sigh that escaped my lips. He looked so hot that I didn’t really want to dry him off next to the fire, but a quick glance at Holly who, given her glazed expression, was obviously thinking exactly the same thing, hastily changed my mind. I tucked my phone back in my pocket and reminded myself that perhaps I shouldn’t let my guard down too soon.