Escape to the Country (11 page)

"Are you all right up there?" Jayne called.

"Fine, just coming down."

She explained about her phone call with Rachel. "I used to think
she didn't like me, but we've put that behind us and I'm sure she
won't let it influence her investigation."

"Actually it might. She'll probably be extra thorough to make
sure she's not seen to be biased against you."

"Maybe. So, what's the plan for this morning?"

"I'm digging a trench for the runner beans. It's hard work that
would be easier with two."

"All right, you've talked me into it."

Jayne dug the trench as Leah fetched barrow loads of compost to fill
it up again. Then Jayne heaped the excavated soil back on top.

"It looks like a grave for someone very tall," Leah said.

"Hmm, anyone particular you want to bury in here, then?"

"If Adam had been here when I spoke to him this morning, I'd
have been quite tempted to push him in, I have to admit."

"You go get him, I'll whack him with the spade," Jayne
offered.

"Jayne! I just meant push him and chuck compost at him. I was
really annoyed, but it's probably my fault. I seem to have been
jumping to the wrong conclusions a lot lately."

"If he annoyed you, I expect the fault was his."

"I don't know..."

"Anyway, we have more important matters to worry about. What
shall we have for lunch?"

They decided on a plate of cheesy-hammy-eggies accompanied with a
green salad. Leah didn't like to admit she didn't know what a
cheesy-hammy-eggy was, but guessed there was a clue or three in the
name.

"I'll pick some salad, shall I?" she suggested.

Leah thought Jayne was right about Adam being to blame for annoying
her earlier, but she felt she should give him the benefit of the
doubt and rang his mobile to see if an apology could return them to
more friendly terms.

"Leah, didn't I say not to ring me at work?" he snapped.

"Isn't this your lunch break?"

"Yes," he answered, reluctantly.

"So it's not in work's time nor on the premises - unless you're
still at your desk trying to clear my name?"

"Exactly and I'll do it much better without interruptions."

He'd do it better without people around him ordering cappuccinos and
panninis too, but Leah didn't mention that.

Adam was lying to her but she didn't know why. He seemed even more
irritable than usual whilst Rachel, a colleague who'd never liked her
much was full of enthusiasm at the thought of clearing Leah's name.
It was almost as though Adam wanted her to be in trouble - perhaps as
an excuse to break up with her. Fine with her. Now she was sure where
she stood with him and could try to move on from the relationship.
She thought she might be able to think of someone who could help her
with that.

As she gathered rocket and mizuna leaves, Leah felt strangely
relieved. Jayne noticed a change in her when Leah brought in the
salad to wash.

"Been thinking things through?"

"Sort of. I called Adam again. I'm beginning to wonder what I
ever saw in him."

"You OK?" Jayne asked.

"Yeah. I think so."

Jayne continued to look thoughtful. Then she brightened, held up a
finger to suggest she'd thought of something clever and said, "Plenty
more turnips in the field."

"Nice, I've always wanted a dirty boyfriend with orange flesh,
purple skin and green hair."

"You're thinking of swedes."

"An enigmatic blond? Now you're talking!"

Both women giggled together as they finished preparing the meal.
Silly schoolgirl humour had cheered Leah much more than sympathy
would have done.

Cheesy-hammy-eggies were Jayne's version of croque monsieur; cheese
and ham sandwiches, dipped in a mixture of eggs, mustard and
seasoning, then fried until crisp and golden on the outside. As Leah
cut into hers, the gooey melted cheese oozed onto her plate. The rich
snack contrasted wonderfully with the tangy plain salad and helped
Leah feel better still.

She decided to concentrate on something positive and thought about
what to wear to Chantelle's party. She could never hope to compete
with the hostess of course, especially if she wore one of her own
creations. Leah had heard of Chantelle Miller the designer but hadn't
realised she was Jayne's old school friend.

When they went food shopping that afternoon, Leah leafed through a
couple of copies of celebrity worshipping magazines and sure enough,
many of the catwalk frocks were Chantelle's creations. Her thoughts
of clothes were temporarily forgotten though when Jayne began filling
the trolley. She didn't seem to buy anything Leah recognised as food.

"Right, what do we need?" Jayne asked.

"Cakes and biscuits, obviously."

Jayne selected flour, cocoa and sugar in place of the chocolate cake
Leah would have opted for. She bought golden syrup and rolled oats
rather than a pack of flapjack squares.

"That steak pie you gave me the first day I was here was
delicious."

"I'll make another, there'll be enough flour left over for
that."

"Do you buy butter, or make it?"

"I made a batch soon after Rosemary calved, as she had so much
milk then. It's hard work and only worth doing if you're making a
lot, so I do the biggest batch I can and freeze it. It's nearly all
gone now though."

Considering how much the two of them ate, Jayne didn't seem to have
bought much.

"Jayne, I meant what I said about paying my way. If you want
more stuff..." Leah trailed off when she saw Jayne laughing.

"Don't worry, lovey. I won't starve you. We've got meat, milk,
eggs and plenty of vegetables from the farm, so really I don't need
to buy that much."

"Even so, I'd like to pay towards my keep."

"All right. Pay me something if it makes you feel more
comfortable, but not too much or I'll be the one who's not happy."

Leah smiled. She knew Jayne kept a jug containing a small amount of
'emergency cash' on the sideboard. She'd put her housekeeping
contribution in that to save them both any embarrassment.

Once they'd got home, put the shopping away and had a cup of tea and
piece of cake, Leah had another go at milking Rosemary. Jayne got her
started, then left her to get as much milk as she could before her
arms ached.

The rhythmic action of squeezing and releasing the cows teats was
quite soothing and Leah found her mind wandering from the task, to
the forthcoming party. In particular, she thought about the only
other person she knew would be on the guest list; Duncan. She needed
to find a way to let him know her return to London wasn't going to be
happening soon. She also needed to make a good impression so that
he'd welcome that news.

Leah thought something plain and simple might be best both for her
and for Jayne. That way they wouldn't get it spectacularly wrong.
She'd learnt the hard way that dressing to impress rarely worked. All
she had to do was convince Jayne that more clothes shopping was a
good idea.

When she took in the strained milk she asked Jayne if there was
anything special they had to do the following day.

"It's Chantelle's party. You hadn't forgotten?"

"I meant in the day beforehand. Other than the usual milking and
feeding, I mean."

"No, we're pretty much caught up with everything."

"Good, then I'd like a bit of retail therapy. I want to buy
dresses. One for each of us for Chantelle's party."

Jayne shook her head. "I don't need a new dress."

"I never said you needed one, just that I was going to buy you
one."

"Well, I don't..."

"Oh please. I want to forget all about rotten Adam and have fun
and you did say Duncan was invited?"

"Yes, he's going all right."

Leah could see her plan was working. "I want to look really
nice, but I'll feel silly if I'm all dressed up and you don't have a
new dress."

"Hmm, doesn't look like I've got a choice, does it?" Jayne
said. She didn't look as annoyed as her words suggested.

"None at all."

Jayne picked out a simple white shift dress for Leah.

"You'd look stunning in that."

Leah tried it on. Stunning was an exaggeration, but she thought it
suited her much better than the super stylish clothes Adam had
thought were appropriate. So often she'd walked into a function and
seen someone slimmer and more confident in the same outfit.

Jayne's own choice, when pressed to try something on, was similar,
but longer and black. It suited her very well.

"I'll take both," Leah told the assistant and she'd paid
before Jayne got back into her own clothes and was able to raise any
objection.

Jayne did the evening milking whilst Leah shut up the chickens and
had a quick bath. She guessed correctly that she'd need longer to do
her hair and make up than Jayne would want to spend on hers.

They both wore silk scarves made by Chantelle. Leah's was grey and
purple which brought out the blue of her eyes. Jayne's was a soft
green to contrast with her red hair.

It was surprising how much alike the two women looked, despite the
differences in their age and lifestyles. Jayne had always worked
hard, only leaving the farm to go to college and even then she'd
studied agriculture.

Leah, on the other hand had it easy. Her father was a diplomat, so
Leah had attended an expensive English boarding school and spent her
holidays with her parents in various exotic locations, or in
Winkleigh Marsh with her grandparents and Jayne.

Seeing Jayne's eyes sparkle at the prospect of the party made Leah
realise how strained she'd looked over the last few days. Now she
looked so young and happy.

"We look pretty good, I think?" Jayne said as they admired
themselves in the long mirror.

"We do. The fresh air and exercise have done me a world of good.
You'd already said I don't look plain and fat anymore, now I don't
even feel it."

"I should hope not! You never were plain or fat, even when you
had those braces you were beautiful. Who on earth told you
different?"

"No one," Leah said truthfully. He'd never actually said
it, but somehow Adam had made her feel that way.

"Hmm. You can talk to me, you know."

"Yes, I do know." Leah hugged Jayne. "I reckon we
could tell each other anything."

"Of course we could, lovey."

"So what is it that the doctor told you to take the spring out
your step?"

Jayne gasped, then grinned. "How did you manoeuvre me into that,
you crafty cow?"

"I used your own techniques against you. Now spill."

"All right, I am worried about my health. And you're right, I
should talk about it. Not now though, eh? The taxi will be here any
minute."

"Well..."

"Come on, lovey. We'll talk about it tomorrow and you can be
properly sympathetic, but we'll enjoy the party first."

"All right."

Jayne hugged her again. "Thanks, lovey. I expect I've been
getting myself into a state over nothing. I feel better just to know
I've got you to share this with. I knew I had, I just didn't like to
say because... well, tomorrow?"

Leah had been at the party for thirty seconds before realising she'd
been right about their clothing. There were plenty of beautiful, but
stick thin, women in dresses that obviously cost more than Leah
earned in a month. They didn't look particularly comfortable. There
were also other people, some of whom Leah recognised as being local,
who were dressed as though they were there to have a good time.
Glancing round, Leah could see that the party was designed for fun,
not for a good write up in Hello! or to make other people's efforts
at entertainment look inferior.

The drinks, which were Elderflower champagne, local beer and fruit
cup, were packed into cages and lowered into the icy cold mill water.
In the courtyard garden a hog roast was set up. The fire from that
warmed the outside space. Real fires were also lit inside the mill.
The height of the room and the curved wooden beams gave the
appearance of a cosy cathedral. The decorations were huge tubs of
greenery and twigs with coloured bark. Higher up were draped lengths
of printed silk. These were mostly of the same soft green as Jayne's
scarf, or in the mauves and greys of Leah's so the women felt they
fitted in perfectly.

There were huge glass dishes of classy salads, a huge chocolate cake
and a mountain of fresh fruit.

The music was provided by a series of live bands and singers. Leah
recognised many of the songs from the radio and television. It took
her a while to realise the singers were familiar too and the
entertainers weren't simply covering the songs of famous artists.

The first part of the evening was taken up with looking round
Chantelle's interesting home, being introduced to numerous people -
both local and famous, and with eating. Duncan greeted her more
enthusiastically than she'd expected after she'd turned down his
offer of a drink. It was good to know he wasn't the sort to hold a
grudge and could be friendly with her even if she wasn't offering
anything else. She wasted no time in trying to explain she'd been
abrupt before because she'd just come out of a relationship with
someone in London. If she was a little clumsy about working that into
the conversation, it didn't seem to bother Duncan.

"I don't suppose you'll be single long, so I'd better move fast.
Can I fetch you a drink?"

He returned with a glass of the aromatic sparkling wine, but was soon
claimed by an elderly lady. She seemed confused but there was no
denying her intention of speaking to him. He shrugged.

"Excuse me, Leah. I'd better give in gracefully." He led
the lady away to a quiet corner.

Duncan reappeared at her side at frequent intervals, each time
bringing her another glass of the elderflower drink and each time
being dragged away again after just a few words. Leah was a little
disappointed not to chat to him for longer but she couldn't complain
she was short of company. There were plenty of other people wanting
to chat and flirt with her and Jayne. Jim was the only one who got
much of a chance. Dressed in a smart shirt and trousers instead of
dusty overalls he looked quite respectable. That didn't make him
behave any better than he had done at the feed mill though.