Escape to the Country (18 page)

"Go and have a nap if you like."

"No, I won't sleep tonight if I do. I'll just have a really
early night."

"In that case, I might go out, if you don't mind being left on
your own?"

"Not if it's Duncan taking you out, I don't."

Leah confessed to feeling a bit tired herself when she rang Duncan.

"How about a quiet drink then? Or I could come round and see
you, just chat."

"That sounds nice."

When Jayne heard of that plan, she made up another pot of her herb
tea before she went to bed. "Just pour on the hot water, lovey."

Leah and Duncan cuddled on the sofa in front of the fire with
Tarragon sprawled over their feet. It felt so good to relax against
him and talk about nothing in particular. She was happy just to be
with him and didn't feel the need to listen to music or try to
impress him or be entertained. Any doubts that he might be bored soon
vanished.

He whispered, "This is nice, just being with you."

She kissed his cheek. "Yes, cosy." She sighed contentedly,
imagining what it would feel like to snuggle up in bed with Duncan
after a hard day farming.

"Would you like some more of Jayne's herb tea, or a coffee or
something?"

"Will it take long to make the tea?"

"As long as it takes the kettle to boil."

"I'll have that then, but don't put too much water in. I don't
want you away from my side for too long."

Leah didn't want to be away from him for long either. Her left side
felt cold when she moved away from Duncan. She didn't even want to
think about him going home at the end of the evening.

She refilled the pot and carried it back in.

Leah allowed her fingers to brush against his as she handed him his
drink, then she put hers on the table and wriggled as close to him as
she could without actually sitting in his lap.

"What is this stuff for, do you know?" he asked.

"For?"

"Yes. Didn't you say she usually make teas for a particular
purpose? Curing colds, or to help you sleep or whatever."

"That's true. I don't know about this one. Maybe it's a relaxing
one? I do feel very relaxed." To prove her point, she put her
arms round him and rested her head against his chest. She could hear
his heart thudding.

He gave her a squeeze. "That's good." He stroked her hair.

"What about you? Are you relaxed?"

"I wouldn't say that exactly, but I'm happy to be here with
you."

Either the tea, hard work, the warm fire, or her contentment meant
Leah fell asleep. She woke with a start.

"Sorry, " Duncan whispered. "I didn't mean to wake
you, but my arm was going numb."

After a second she realised where she was. "What time is it?"

"Late. I think I should go."

"Oh." Even to her that sounded as pitiful as a child who'd
just had his favourite teddy taken away.

Duncan gave a low chuckle. "Going to be able to get up those
stairs on your own, or shall I carry you?"

She was tempted to say she needed help, but just managed to stop
herself in time.

His kiss goodnight made her wish she hadn't shown such self
restraint.

"Leah, I've got to go away for a couple of days. I'm not sure
exactly how long for. Can I ring and let you know and take you to
dinner as soon as I'm back?"

"OK. Don't be gone too long. I don't want to be away from your
side..." She was too sleepy to continue, but he hugged her as
though he understood and promised to be back soon.

The following morning as she cooked breakfast, Leah asked about the
tea.

"I told you, lavender and violets and..."

"Yes, but what is it for?"

"Er, to drink?"

"Jayne, tell me!"

Jayne fetched a notebook, leafed through it and handed it to Leah.

She scanned down the page, noting the ingredients were just as Jayne
had said. Then she saw the name of the recipe. 'Herb tea - Love
Potion'.

"Jayne!"

"Careful lovey, you don't want to burn the eggs."

Leah rescued the breakfast and served it. "It can't work, can
it? A love potion?"

Jayne shrugged. "Possibly not, but it can't do any harm."

"No? You and Jim both drank a couple of cups the other day."

"Well there you go then."

Leah wasn't sure if she was being reassured the herbal brew had no
effect, or that Jayne was suggesting it worked.

"Talking of Jim, I've invited him to lunch on Sunday."

"OK, I'll make myself scarce."

"No, don't do that!"

"I don't mind, honestly."

"I do. I like Jim, but I'm not sure if I want to be more than
friends."

"OK, I understand." That sounded just the way Leah had
kidded herself she felt about Duncan. She now knew she wanted a lot
more than friendship from him and decided it was time to prove to
herself that she could adapt to life away from London.

Leah threw herself into farm work more enthusiastically than ever. It
was she, directed by Jayne, who collected the orphan lambs from Home
Farm. It was a little disappointing not to see Duncan, but as she
enjoyed demonstrating her competence to him, it was probably just as
well he didn't see her become a gooey mess at the sight of the cute
little creatures. She soon had them settled into their new
accommodation and it seemed they grew bigger by the hour.

The other tasks seemed much easier than when she'd first started,
because Leah was now so much stronger and fitter than she'd been in
London. She felt emotionally stronger and more confident too, no
longer needing the approval of Adam or anyone else before she made a
decision. Perhaps if she'd felt that way at the start of her
relationship with him, things would have been much better between
them. Often Adam had little choice but to do as he wanted, because
Leah hadn't been assertive enough to make her own wishes known. She
wouldn't make that mistake with Duncan.

A lorry pulled into the yard and Leah went to see what the driver
wanted.

"I'm Dave, I've come for the pigs, love," he explained.

"Oh, yes of course. I'll get Jayne."

Leah had known the oldest pen of pigs were due to go to slaughter
that day, but had deliberately put the thought from her mind. She had
a feeling she wouldn't be wanting bacon for breakfast in the morning.

The pigs walked up into the lorry with no trouble, which just made
Leah feel worse.

"Doesn't it make you sad?" she asked once the lorry had
driven away. "When your animals go off to be turned into meat?"

"A bit, yes but I can't keep them all."

"No, of course not."

Jayne had a call that afternoon. She reacted as though the news were
good, then asked the caller to, "Hold on a second."

"It's Dave, the chap who took the pigs. A mate of his has some
little ones to sell and Dave said he'll keep them for me if I'm
interested. I was going to wait for a while before getting another
batch, but I think we could handle them now, couldn't we?"

As Jayne negotiated arrangements for getting the piglets, Leah
reflected on the 'we'. Obviously Jayne now thought of them as a team.
Leah would like to make that a reality.

She was pleased with how well she coped with life and work on the
farm. The lifestyle appealed to her and not just because it meant she
was near Duncan. Eventually Leah would have the money from her share
of the flat she'd bought with Adam. She could go into partnership
with Jayne. Maybe between them they'd have enough to buy Primrose
Cottage and the small farm. That should save loads on rent and would
mean Jayne no longer had to rely on Oliver Gilmore-Bunce. Leah made
the suggestion to Jayne.

"I'd love to have you here permanently, lovey, but you need to
think a bit more before deciding on a partnership. Even if we did
really well we wouldn't make a lot of money and the work never stops.
I know you're hard working and reliable, but at the moment it's all
still a novelty for you. We'd need to look carefully at the finances
too. Best not to rush into anything."

"You're right, of course, I haven't properly thought it out. I
will do, but you like the idea in theory?"

"I like the idea of you moving away from London and setting up
home down here very much."

"That's what I want. I've been wondering what to do about work.
I don't want to stay even if the company wants me back, which I'm not
sure it does. It seems pretty clear I'm not fully trusted and that
someone doesn't want me there. If I just hand in my notice before my
name is cleared it might look as though I'm admitting guilt. If they
don't hurry up and sort things out, I could claim compensation for
constructive dismissal, according to my legal advisor. Oh, it's all
such a mess, I just want out of it."

"They're still paying you, aren't they?"

"Yes."

"Then do nothing for now. They owe you that for not trusting you
and any money you save now will come in handy later."

Leah nodded. "Wouldn't it be great if we could buy this place?"

"We can't, lovey. G-B can't sell. A legal thing was set up by
his great grandfather which says Primrose Cottage and the surrounding
land can't be sold out of the Gilmore-Bunce family."

"Oh, that's a shame."

"Not really. Ownership wouldn't be so great. The rent doesn't
cover the repairs. Because it's a listed building it's very expensive
and takes ages, that's why things can't always be fixed straight
away."

That sounded like a con to Leah.

"Are you sure? You're paying more a month than a year's mortgage
on my flat in London. I know this is bigger, but prices are cheaper
here."

"I'd forgotten how good you are with the financial and computer
stuff. You must have seen the figures when you were helping me and
remembered."

"Yes. Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"You weren't, silly. If there was anything I didn't want you
seeing, I'd have said, but I don't have any secrets from you. There's
one little detail I think you missed though."

"What's that?" It couldn't have been a decimal point in the
wrong place, Leah didn't make mistakes like that.

"My rent is annual."

"Oh!"

That changed things. How had she made such a mistake? For a moment,
she worried the problem with Gilmore-Bunce's accounts could really
have been her fault. That wasn't possible though. Even if she had
made such a mistake, the money wouldn't have gone missing and the
error would soon have been noticed.

Leah sighed. Her stupid hatred of Oliver Gilmore-Bunce had become
such a habit she'd simply expected to see he was overcharging Jayne
and so had misread the figures to back up her prejudice. He simply
wasn't such a bad landlord as she'd originally thought. Maybe she was
going soft now she'd escaped from The City, but she was having a
tough time remembering how much she'd hated him. Her past life just
didn't seem important anymore.

"So did you miss me?" Duncan asked once they'd ordered
their food.

"Why, have you been away?" She knew she was wasting her
time trying to play it cool, because the way she'd thrown herself
into his arms when he'd arrived at Primrose Cottage had given her
away completely.

His gentle laugh confirmed that. He was even better looking when he
laughed. The few laughter lines around his eyes showed he laughed a
lot and also hinted he'd still be a handsome man in the years to
come.

It had been a shock to see Duncan all dressed up in a suit, but he'd
explained he had to pass by on his way home and couldn't wait to see
her. For a second, seeing his formal clothing, Leah was reminded of
Adam. He'd always looked good in a suit. Duncan did too, but then
he'd probably look good in anything. Adam always looked half naked
and uncomfortable without a tie and jacket. Half naked would probably
be another good look for Duncan.

Leah gave herself a mental shake and remembered she had other things
to think about, such as how to drop casually into the conversation
that she was considering making her move from London permanent. As
Jayne had suggested she should, Leah thought hard about her future
and what she wanted to do. She realised a lot depended on how her
relationship with Duncan developed. The future she dreamed of
included having him by her side. He seemed keen now, but she'd told
him her visit to Winkleigh Marsh was only temporary. Would he lose
interest if she became a permanent fixture?

"Penny for them?" Duncan said.

"Oh, I was just thinking..." she blushed. It wouldn't
exactly be casual to say she was wondering what he'd wear to their
wedding. Even less subtle to mention she'd been daydreaming about
feeding orphan lambs with children who looked just like him and
called her Mummy. "Um, about families."

"You planning to introduce me to your parents?"

She grinned. Perhaps his thoughts weren't so different from hers.

"They're living in New Zealand at the moment. Dad's a diplomat
so he's away more than he's in England. They're hoping to come and
stay with Jayne for a few weeks in the summer. I'll be happy to
introduce you then." That was easy, she'd effortlessly showed
she intended to still be there in the summer and still be seeing him.

"I look forward to it."

"What about yours? Are you going to introduce me to them?"
Maybe that wasn't casual enough, there was a worried look on his
face.

"I don't know. Dad's not at all well and Mum... We'll see shall
we?"

She reached over and squeezed his hand. "I'm so sorry. Is that
where you've been, visiting them?"

He nodded, the worried look deepened. Leah couldn't think how to
comfort him, but after a moment he gave an answering squeeze and a
small smile.

"I did mention you actually. Dad asked if you were as pretty as
May. She'd have been your gran wouldn't she?"

"That's right."

Their food arrived at that moment, meaning Leah couldn't find out how
he'd answered his dad's question without it seeming she was fishing
for compliments. Appropriately enough, the meal was beautiful. Even
in London she'd not seen food better presented. Her warm camembert
tart on its bed of salad would have been attractive even without the
redcurrant sauce drizzled into heart shapes around the edge of the
plate. It was almost too pretty to eat. Almost.