Page 6 of The House at Hope Corner
‘Oh yes,’ lied Flora. ‘All the time.’
‘Good. Well, I start it off first thing, once Fraser and Ned have gone out, and then I leave it to prove as I’m preparing breakfast. That way, I can pop it into the oven to cook as I’m washing up and it’s ready in time for lunch. The soup doesn’t take long either. Although, we might have to rethink certain things, as you’re vegetarian.’
‘Yes, I’m sorry about that. I hope it doesn’t make things awkward.’
Hannah regarded her over the top of her glasses. ‘So you don’t eat meatat all…? Not even chicken?’ She didn’t wait for a reply, which was fortunate, because Flora really wasn’t sure what she would have said.
‘Right, well, we have a bit of time now before we need to prepare the soup, so why don’t I take you upstairs and I can show you where I’ve put all your clothes…’
* * *
‘Honestly, Ned, it was awful…’
Flora was lying flat on her back, spread-eagled across the bed. ‘And my feet are killing me!’ She sighed dramatically.
Around her, on the floor, on the bed, hanging over the back of a chair – but mostly on the floor – were all her clothes. Flora had flung them there in a fury about an hour ago but now hadn’t the energy or the inclination to pick them up.
It was ten o’clock at night and she hadn’t long been ‘released’ from Hannah’s day-long course on how to run the house. It was well meant, she knew that, but that hadn’t stopped her jaw beginning to ache furiously from faking a smile with each new chore added to her list.
She took a deep breath. It wasn’t that bad, was it? She was tired and being melodramatic and, she admitted to herself, suffering from a huge amount of irritation that the day she had planned out for herself had fallen so spectacularly by the wayside, but she was already beginning to feel suffocated by Hannah’s ferocious domesticity. Breakfast was bad enough, but finding out that, while she had been having such a lovely time out in the fields, Hannah had not only unpacked her suitcases but put awayallher clothes, had rather set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
Ned, who had just emerged from the shower, leaned over and kissed the end of her nose, his tousled red hair curling around the nape of his neck. Flora would have loved to twine the ends in her fingers and then let them take a walk south, but Ned’s parents were sleeping just down the hallway and, well, she was very ticklish and Ned knew just where to tickle her…
He propped himself up on his arm. ‘So, come on then,’ he said. ‘What was so awful?’
Flora gave him a wayward glance. ‘Well breakfast for starters, I mean, how embarrassing was that? It didn’t even occur to me that you wouldn’t know I was a vegetarian. It looked like we were on a blind date or something.’
But Ned just grinned. ‘I thought it was hysterical, actually. Did you see Mum’s face? I thought she was going to faint.’
‘Ned, it’s not funny! She probably hates me even more now. You’re farmers for goodness’ sake, what kind of daughter-in-law am I going to be if I don’t eat meat?’
‘Do you want to eat meat?’
Flora shuddered. ‘No… And I’m not going to, but that’s not the point.’
Ned watched her for a minute, his pale grey eyes roaming her face. ‘It is, you know. It’s exactly the point. Because you’re absolutely perfect just as you are, and don’t let anyone say otherwise. More importantly, don’t you dare change… I’d go off you if you did… And besides, Mum doesn’t hate you…’
He was trying to cheer her up, but the day had been too wearing to give in just like that.
‘She does… I stick out like a sore thumb here. She’s so organised and I only have to look at stuff and it makes a mess. She’s a domestic goddess who can cook nineteen different types of pastry without having to look up the recipe, and I had to lie about making bread, which I’ve never done in my life, but don’t you dare tell her… and… and…’ She lifted one leg off the bed. ‘The whole day was just a very long list of all the things that Hannah does, at which I am spectacularly useless, but which are all vital to the smooth and efficient running of the household. In fact, I think that might have been a direct quote.’
‘I don’t believe my mother called you spectacularly useless…’
Flora slapped his arm. ‘Not that! The smooth and efficient running bit…’
Ned was smiling but he was also watching her closely. He tilted his head to one side. ‘There is another way of looking at it…’ he said.
Flora raised her eyebrows.
‘I think my mum is finding it quite difficult too. She’s been looking after Dad and the farm for thirty-odd years, and then of course me once I came along. She’s never done anything else, and although this is quite a tight-knit community and she knows pretty much everyone, she doesn’t have many proper friends… I think she’s every bit as nervous as you are, and just as desperate to make a good impression.’
Flora stared at him. She hadn’t really thought about what it must be like for Hannah to have a stranger land in her domain but Ned’s words made perfect sense. She was the proverbial cuckoo in the nest and, even though Flora had no intention of usurping Hannah’s role in the household, her future mother-in-law could well be feeling incredibly threatened.
She bit her lip. ‘So, how am I going to fit in?’
‘By just being you, and very soon everyone will love you anyway, just the way I do. What’s not to love, Flora? You’re funny, kind, beautiful, talented… but more than anything, you have this spark inside of you that, even when you don’t realise it, comes tumbling out. You never take anything at face value, you challenge perceptions, are brave and adventurous, quirky, non-conformist, and…’
Flora held the back of her hand up to her brow in a mock swoon. ‘Oh, don’t stop…’ she giggled.
