‘You do.’ He gave her a cheeky smile that melted her heart.
They carried on in silence and Felicity noticed that his elbow gently brushed against hers, sending shivers down her spine. She glanced ahead and could see Heartwood Cottage at the end of the lane, the light was still on in the teashop which meant her mum was up pottering around. She didn’t want this walk with Fergus to end, but each step she took, she knew Fergus would be turning around and going home very soon.
They stopped just under the street lamp only a stone’s throw away from her garden gate. ‘At least the storm seems to have passed,’ said Fergus.
‘Thankfully, but more rain is forecast for tomorrow,’ answered Felicity looking up at him as he looked back.
Her eyes flickered towards his perfect lips and she moved a step closer to him, until they were inches apart. She could smell his aftershave and the closeness to him made her pulse quicken. She leant up and Fergus placed a hand on her shoulder. He held her gaze and what she saw was a flicker of panic in Fergus’s eyes.
‘Flick, I can’t,’ he said and hesitated. ‘I’m sorry, I really can’t. It will only end in tears and pain.’
‘It won’t, I promise,’ she murmured, attempting again to lean forward but Fergus held her at arm’s length.
‘You’ve made promises before that you couldn’t keep and now I have Esme to think about.’ His voice was shaky.
Felicity felt close to tears as well as embarrassed at her mistake. She didn’t like the feeling of rejection at all.
Unsure what to say, she took a step backwards, away from Fergus.
‘I can’t have her world upset any more than it has been. We are both in a good place now.’
‘I understand,’ said Felicity, thinking of all those years she was hiding away in London from reality. ‘But I’m not looking to hurt anyone.’
‘It’s a chance I just can’t take, Flick,’ Fergus said softly as he broke free. ‘I really have to go.’
As Felicity stood and watched him walk away, her heart plummeted to a new low.
Chapter 18
It was just before 9 a.m. when Felicity’s iPad began to ring out. She’d got up at the crack of dawn, showered and eaten her breakfast, before nervously sitting in the living room watching the clock.
She imagined the council offices in the middle of town and could picture everyone sat around a huge table each with a glass of water and pen and paper poised in front of them. She had no idea how this meeting would pan out or even if she really needed to participate. Felicity had never been involved in anything like this before and she felt anxious as she accepted the Skype call.
‘Felicity, welcome,’ a voice boomed, and that’s when she saw Councillor Smith and what seemed like every other Tom, Dick and Harry sitting around the table. All eyes were on her. ‘Let me introduce you to everyone,’ continued Councillor Smith as he went round the table. Felicity nodded along, but by the end of the introductions she couldn’t remember anyone’s names except the councillor and Annie Boyd the Environmental Minister who looked extremely important at the head of the table.
Felicity sat back on the settee, tucked her feet underneath her and watched as Annie Boyd ordered the woman on her left to take the minutes before she kicked off the meeting. First, she began to talk about how the village had been cut off from the main town of Glensheil and how the army had dropped sandbags to minimise any further flooding. She then moved on to the best way to reconnect the village. Everyone began chipping in with costs and timings and Felicity felt like she was watching a fast-paced tennis match as the conversation batted back and forth across the table.
‘I just don’t think it’s feasible for a temporary bridge,’ a voice chipped in, ‘and how much will that cost?’
‘By my reckoning—’ a stern looking man shuffled some papers at the far end of the table ‘—in the region of two hundred and fifty thousand pounds … maybe more.’
Everyone was silent.
‘Our main priority in the short term is to transport food and medicine to the villagers, especially the vulnerable. Maybe we could set up boats to cross the river?’
‘Boats? We can’t load rowing boats with food,’ someone sniggered.
‘A temporary bridge will need to be erected … the Grade II listed bridge could take years to rebuild. A temporary bridge is really the only way forward.’
Annie Boyd shuffled some papers in front of her and shot a quick look around the table. ‘I deem the temporary bridge essential. The money needs to be found from somewhere.’
‘There aren’t enough funds in the pot.’ A worried man was now frantically looking down at a series of numbers on a spreadsheet.
‘How about…’ said Felicity, speaking for the first time.
All heads turned towards the screen.
‘Go on,’ encouraged Annie.
‘How about we look to raise the money?’
Felicity heard a stifled giggle and one councillor scoffed at Felicity’s suggestion, but she wasn’t deterred by his less than positive attitude.
‘We have a Facebook page. Maybe we could set up a fundraising page, asking for help?’
The stern-looking man that was sitting to the right of Annie now smirked. ‘There is no way on this earth that those kind of funds will be raised,’ the councillor said in a condescending tone.
‘Surely, it’s worth a go? Every little helps, doesn’t it?’ suggested Felicity.
Annie frowned towards him. ‘I think it’s a fantastic idea Felicity, and every little certainly does help.’ She gave her a warm encouraging smile.
‘We need to make the money available and I’m appointing you, Councillor Smith, to find it. Organise, implement and instruct the workers as a main priority.’
All Councillor Smith could do was nod and try his best to look enthusiastic.
‘I want daily updates. Keep me in the loop.’ And with that Annie stood up and gathered her papers in her arms before turning towards the camera. ‘You have my personal assurance we will not leave you and the village stranded for too long, Felicity.’
Felicity watched as Annie left the room and everyone else remained sitting around the table. Felicity was still looking at the screen and didn’t know whether to end the Skype call or wait until they did. They all began chatting amongst themselves in a rather disgruntled manner especially Counsellor Smith, who didn’t seem pleased at all. ‘How do you just magic up the funds or move money about to erect a temporary bridge that will cost the earth and serve no purpose in the future?’
‘A complete waste of money,’ another man agreed shouting over the table at him. ‘It would be easier to buy a fleet of dinghies and employ someone to keep ferrying them across the river.’
‘And who chooses to live up the side of a mountain anyway?’ spouted Councillor Smith. ‘And really, that villager thinking a Facebook campaign would help … absolutely deluded.’
Felicity felt her cheeks begin to burn and her blood boiled. She was livid. How dare he ridicule her in front of a room full of people. Who did he think he was? Immediately, she ended the Skype call. She didn’t want to listen to any more.
‘I’ll tell you who wants to live up a mountain … me!’ She shouted at the blank screen and tossed the iPad on to the table.
‘Who are you shouting at?’ asked Rona, appearing in the doorway of the kitchen. She’d been up at dawn beavering away in the kitchen of the tearoom. She’d set the places, laid out the cups and saucers and already there were huge pots of beef stew simmering on the stove.
‘Those councillors are up their own backsides,’ Felicity huffed and Rona cocked an eyebrow at her daughter. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked, sitting down on the arm of the settee.
‘I’ve just hung up from the Skype meeting. Annie Boyd told them to find the funds to build a temporary bridge. However, the local council weren’t as supportive as her.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘The suits were complaining that it would be cheaper to
set up boats across the river than to construct a temporary bridge and when I offered to try and raise funds they kind of ridiculed me.’
‘How much would we need?’
‘Probably in the region of two hundred and fifty thousand.’
Rona gave a low whistle. ‘They have a point.’
‘Mum…’
‘And how long will the original bridge take to repair and be up and running again?’
‘That could take years … maybe a couple of years, because it’s listed.’
Rona blew out a breath. ‘So what was the actual outcome?’
‘Annie Boyd said without a doubt we needed a temporary bridge erected and to keep her in the loop. She delegated the task to Councillor Smith who was far from pleased about being left to find the money to fund it. As soon as she left room he began moaning that it was a waste of money and ridiculing anyone who would choose to live in such a remote place up the side of a mountain. He was downright rude.’
‘And he forgot you were still watching?’
‘Yes … but I’ll show him,’ she said with sheer determination in her voice.
‘What are you going to do?’
‘I’m going to go viral.’
‘That sounds painful.’
Felicity smiled at her mum. ‘No, I’m going to make a video and upload it on to the Facebook page.’
‘And say what?’
Felicity was turning it over in her mind. ‘I’m not sure yet, but I’m going to show that councillor what I’m made of. How dare he scoff that we’d never raise that amount? The fact is we shouldn’t have to…’ She took a breath. ‘But he’s put goddamn fire in my belly.’
‘Councillor… what’s his name?’
‘Smith,’ said Felicity.
‘Doesn’t know what he’s let himself in for.’ Rona finished off her sentence before standing up and smoothing down her pinny. ‘But in the meantime, we need to prepare the food to feed the village.’
Felicity watched her mum return to the teashop and quickly picked up her phone and began to text Allie. ‘Are you on your way over yet?’
Within a matter of seconds her phone pinged. ‘On my way.’
‘Good, we are on a mission and you are my right-hand woman.’
‘Sounds ominous.’
Felicity was suddenly full of determination, and she wasn’t going to let some old councillor stop her. She was going to show him one way or another that the village of Heartcross was not to be laughed at!
Chapter 19
When Meredith and Allie came through the door of the teashop, Allie didn’t even have time to take her coat off before Felicity was ushering her through to the main cottage.
‘Don’t mind us,’ Rona shouted after her daughter. ‘We’ll carry on with the food preparation.’ Even though Felicity knew her mother was only half-joking, Felicity wanted to tell Allie about her idea.
‘Why are you acting all cloak and dagger?’ asked Allie with intrigue, throwing her coat over the back of the settee.
Felicity updated her about the meeting and Councillor Smith’s reluctance.
‘He wasn’t very encouraging towards the idea of us raising money towards the bridge.’
‘And what might those efforts be?’ asked an alarmed Allie, wondering what she’d managed to rope herself into.
‘I’m not actually sure. But I’ve set up a fundraising page on Facebook and thought about creating a video with owners of some of the local businesses with a few heartfelt comments to connect us back with the outside world, asking people to donate funds.’
‘And that’s your plan?’ replied Allie, not looking at all convinced.
The pair of them stared at each other for a moment.
Felicity took a second. ‘You know what, you are absolutely right,’ said Felicity, her mind in an absolute whirl. ‘I need more.’
‘I know that look from old, what are you thinking?’ urged Allie.
Felicity didn’t look Allie in the eye as she continued to go through possible ideas.
‘Come on, spill.’ She swiped her arm playfully, and Felicity took a deep breath. ‘What are the two things that people say you should never work with?’
Allie screwed up her face. ‘Children and animals.’
‘You’ve got it!’ Felicity clapped her hands together like an excited child as a look of puzzlement appeared on Allie’s face.
‘Come on, let’s get back to the kitchen,’ insisted Felicity, with a big smile on her face.
‘Is that all you’re going to say?’
‘For now!’ Felicity linked her arm through Allie’s and led her back into the teashop.
Meredith and Rona were standing side by side stirring the huge pots of stew and singing along to the radio. The tables were laid with cutlery, and teapots stood in the middle of every table ready to be poured. Rona looked down at her watch and right on cue the bell above the door tinkled as the first sitting began to file through the door. The children were excited as their mothers led them to the tables at the far end of the tearoom decorated with the colourful tablecloths. From the look on their faces they thought they were attending a birthday party. Felicity was relieved to see Finn and Esme walk through the door alongside Jessica. For the last few minutes Felicity had had a plan hatching in her mind, but she wasn’t quite sure whether she was going to be able to implement it today.
As soon as everyone was settled, Felicity and Allie began to serve up bowls of the stew. The second the food was served the room fell silent and everyone began to eat. The first sitting was a success and the four of them gave each other a secret high five behind the counter.
‘We have thirty minutes to wash these bowls and cutlery and turn it around for the next sitting,’ said Rona.
‘How many sittings altogether?’ queried Allie.
‘Five … I think … then we have two hours to produce the next meal and do it all again.’
‘I feel like I’m a part of MasterChef, or the Great British Bake Off. Will I get the Rona Simons handshake?’ teased Felicity.
‘The what?’ Rona asked in puzzlement.
‘Great British Bake Off. When the baking is out of this world you get the Paul Hollywood handshake … to say you’ve smashed it.’
‘Oh, I see,’ replied Rona, still none the wiser.
Jessica stood up from the table and brought Finn and Esme’s plates over to the counter.
‘All finished and delicious. Thank you. But Esme needs the toilet,’ said Jessica.
‘I’ll take her through to the cottage,’ insisted Felicity, knowing full well that the teashop ladies’ room was spotlessly clean and in full working order but she seized the opportunity to put her plan into action. Taking Esme by the hand, Felicity led her through the cottage and showed her the way to the bathroom then waited for her in the living room. When Esme reappeared, she gave Felicity a beam. ‘I like you,’ Esme said out of the blue, taking Felicity completely by surprise. ‘You have a nice face.’
Felicity felt a surge of warmth through her body and bent down in front of Esme, taking hold of her hands. ‘I like you too, Esme.’
‘I heard Jessica say you’re going to re-build the bridge,’ Esme said, and Felicity chuckled.
‘Not quite re-build it by myself, but I’m hoping to raise some money to help with the cost of re-building it.’
‘How are you going to do that?’ asked Esme.
‘Well, I’m thinking of making a short video asking for people to donate money.’
‘I hope they give plenty of money,’ said Esme, ‘because until the bridge is fixed Grandma is all on her own in the hospital. Uncle Drew said he was going to get his old rowing boat and row us across to the other side.’
‘That sounds like a lot of fun.’
‘Are you pair okay in there?’ Felicity heard her mum shout from the teashop.
‘Yes, all’s good. We’ll be through in a minute.’
Felicity took the mobile phone out of her pocket and placed it on the coffee tabl
e.
‘Do you want to help me?’
Esme’s face lit up. ‘With the video?’
‘Yes, with the video.’
Esme let out a tiny squeal.
‘We need a sign to hold up,’ instructed Felicity.
‘I’m good at drawing and colouring.’
Felicity directed her eyes towards the dresser. ‘In the bottom over there, there’s some old card and pens.’
Esme skipped over to the dresser and opened the door, grabbing a piece of white card and a box of pens.
Felicity began to draw a bridge alongside huge letters: SAVE HEARTCROSS – DONATE NOW.
‘What do you think?’ enthused Felicity, opening the box of coloured pens and passing one to Esme.
‘I love it,’ she answered, busily colouring in the letters.
When they finished, Esme looked pleased with herself.
‘Will you record me from my phone,’ asked Felicity, ‘while I make a short video?’
‘Can I be in the video too?’ Esme’s pleading eyes locked with Felicity’s. ‘Pleeease.’
‘I don’t see why not. Let me set the phone up over here and we can sit there.’
Felicity set the timer on the phone and when she turned around Esme was already sitting upright on the settee, proudly clutching the poster. Felicity slipped into the space next to her. ‘I’ll talk and you hold the poster,’ Felicity said and Esme nodded her understanding.
As the phone beeped Felicity stared towards it and began to talk.
‘As you have all heard, the bridge between Glensheil and Heartcross collapsed yesterday, leaving our tiny village completely cut off. The Grade II listed bridge could take many years to repair and the Environmental Minister has deemed a temporary bridge essential, but it comes at a cost. Soon the food supplies in our tiny village will run out so we need your help. Please, please donate and help us raise funds to erect a new temporary bridge.’ Felicity looked down at Esme who held the poster up high. ‘Save Heartcross,’ she shouted. ‘And please donate as I need the new bridge to visit my grandma who is in hospital in Glensheil. She will have no visitors until the bridge is up and will be really sad. Save Heartcross!’ Esme chanted once more before Felicity switched off the recording.
Love Heart Lane Page 17