Page 3 of The House at Hope Corner
Flora had no real sense of time passing but, after a while, she became aware that the scudding clouds above her had grown darker and, looking around for Brodie, realised that the dog was no longer following her. The wild hedgerows had yielded some interesting finds and she had moved from one spot to the next without thinking. She was in the middle of the field now, her feet damp and cold, her hair tangled. With a sigh she glanced at her watch and began to retrace her steps. Well over an hour had gone by.
By now the house was quite some distance from her, but ten minutes’ determined walking brought her back into the more formal gardens where she spied Brodie lying patiently on the patio. He got to his feet when he saw her, giving a half-hearted wag of his tail, but she could tell by the way he moved that he’d had enough of being outside.
‘What’s the matter, boy?’ she asked. ‘Are your old bones protesting, eh?’ She bent down to run her fingers through his fur. ‘Come on then, back in the warm for you.’ He trotted by her side as she let them both back in through the door, sitting wearily in the scullery while she stopped to take off her coat and hang it up. She had one hand on the kitchen door when she suddenly stopped, her smile freezing on her face; she could hear the chatter of voices inside.
Before she could work out whose, Brodie nosed open the door and, as it swung inwards, the voices ceased abruptly, leaving an awkward silence. Seated at the kitchen table were Ned’s mother and father, Ned himself and, beside him, a blonde woman Flora had never seen before.
‘Goodness, Flora,’ said Hannah, putting down her fork with a clatter and getting to her feet. ‘We wondered if you’d run away. Wherever have you been?’
Chapter Two
‘Come and sit down while I get your breakfast,’ continued Hannah. ‘And you haven’t met Caroline yet, have you? Ned can introduce you…’
Flora stared helplessly at Ned as he struggled to stand, but his chair leg caught on the tiled floor and, after a few seconds, he gave it a shove which caused a hideous screeching noise to reverberate around the room. He rolled his eyes.
‘Yes, come and sit down, Flora. This is Caroline, from the farm next door. She’s a friend… of the family.’
The woman got smoothly to her feet and came around the table to meet Flora, her hand extended in greeting.
‘Oh, I’ve heard so much about you!’ She laughed. ‘Well, not that much actually under the circumstances, but you’re here now. Come and tell us everything about yourself. Hannah was just saying how nice it will be to get to know you properly.’
Flora took her hand and returned the smile, a slight frown hovering around the edges of her eyes. Underwhatcircumstances?Shehadn’t heard a thing about Caroline – was she supposed to have? And although her greeting was friendly, Flora wasn’t quite sure how to react to this assured-looking blonde who was wearing skin-tight cream jodhpurs and a pale pink shirt. Her hand went to her head, pulling her hat from it as she wondered what kind of stateherhair was in.
Flora faltered, unsure what to do next, and looked at Ned for reassurance, relieved to see he was now smiling, his mad freckles stretched taut across his face. He moved forward to stand beside Caroline and took Flora’s arm, guiding her to the table.
‘There you go,’ he said, pulling out a chair for her. She took her seat slowly, thinking how she would have much preferred to sit next to Ned instead of at the head of table where she felt exposed, but Caroline had already resumed her place in front of a hearty plate of food. Flora plucked at her jumper, suddenly feeling a flush of heat, heart sinking when she saw what Caroline was eating.
‘Here you are,’ said Hannah, returning to the table. ‘Still warm, so no harm done.’ She put a heaped plate of food in front of her and Flora stared at it in horror. She swallowed. Three thick strips of fatty bacon were stacked beside two sausages, a fried egg and a large mushroom on top of two slices of toast. Flora’s stomach heaved as she spied a slice of black pudding hiding beneath the blanket of egg and she gave a weak smile.
‘Is everything okay, Flora?’
She looked up at Caroline’s smiling face, with her perfect blonde hair falling in glossy waves halfway down her shoulders.
‘Yes… It’s just…’ She swallowed again and turned to her future mother-in-law. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said. ‘I didn’t think to mention it before, I wasn’t expecting this, you see, but…’ She gestured towards her plate. ‘I’m a, a vegetarian…’
A strange noise that sounded suspiciously like a strangled snort came from Ned’s direction. He coughed.
‘Oh, Ned… you could have said! Honestly…’ Hannah tutted loudly, throwing her son an exasperated look. ‘The poor girl…’
Ned clapped a hand over his mouth, obviously trying to stop himself from laughing, and he ducked as Hannah sought to clip the back of his head in passing. He threw up his hands.
‘I didn’t know, okay?’ He grinned.
Flora stared at Caroline, whose mouth was also twitching. It really wasn’t funny. Flora felt mortified.
Her plate was whipped away at high speed and carried to the sink, much to Ned’s father’s alarm.
‘Hey, wait a minute. Don’t let it go to waste, I’ll have her sausage…’
Hannah clucked her tongue, looking at Fraser fondly. ‘What are you like?’ she said, returning to the table and handing him Flora’s food.
‘How could you not know something like that, Ned?’ she added. ‘You’re marrying the girl for goodness’ sake.’ She shook her head at him and then smiled at Flora. ‘I do apologise for my son’s lack of communication,’ she said. ‘Honestly, he’s that daft at times. Now then, dear, what can I get you instead?’
Flora shook her head. ‘No, honestly, I’m fine… I––’ She stopped as her eyes flicked to the cake tin on the counter… which was no longer there. Nor was her plate, or her knife, or the glass she had poured juice into and drunk, leaving it empty on the side.
‘Perhaps I could just have a cup of tea?’
‘I can do you a kipper?’
