Page 64 of The House at Hope Corner
‘Right,’ replied Fraser, blowing out a puff of air from his lips. ‘Well, that’s me done then, well and truly. Now before we go back, there’s just one more thing I need to tell you.’
Flora braced herself.
‘Because while you’ve been very patient watching me shuffle about the garden like an old man twice my age, I’m aware that there was a lot more to your conversation with Ned earlier than just this place. Now, I don’t profess to find talking about emotions all that easy, and I’m also very aware that this is a private matter between the two of you, but I couldn’t let you go today without saying this…’ He shifted his weight a little, supporting himself on the fence post and waving away her concern.
‘I’ve loved Hannah since the minute I clapped eyes on her, and never stopped neither. I know she’s a fusspot and a martyr to the regimen of housekeeping, but she’s looked after me and loved me for more years than I should probably be able to remember. Despite the fact that most people think she rules the place, she has never tried to influence what I think, and more than that she’s the one who always gave me the courage to be the person I wanted to be. People are like flowers, Flora, they are every shade of every colour, and some colours you will like and others you won’t. Love is about acceptance, about knowing who a person is, the good and the bad, and loving them anyway. Not in spite of it, but because of it.
‘Life’s too short to be with someone who doesn’t set you free, Flora. You need someone who doesn’t seek to change you but is happy for you to be anything you want to be just as long as they can be by your side whilst you’re doing it. Someone who makes you feel more alive than anyone else. So, you need to ask yourself if Ned does that for you. If he doesn’t, then you already have your answer, but if he does, then do whatever you have to do to keep him. Don’t let him go just because he’s an idiot, Flora. We’re all capable of that. Love makes idiots of us all…’
Chapter Twenty-Three
And so the next day dawned and Flora stayed. She and Ned were courteous and civil with one another and, after he had left to milk the cows, despite the earliness of the hour, she was summoned by Fraser to accompany him on another walk. And all the while they walked, she tried not to think about the look on Ned’s face, or the way his hair curled around the nape of his neck, or the way his legs had a habit of walking on ahead of him before his body was quite ready.
Back inside the house, Fraser bid Hannah to make a large pot of tea and then the three of them sat at the kitchen table, an expectant air settling between them.
‘Right you are then, lass. I reckon you had better tell us what this is all about, and if I were you I’d start at the beginning and not stop until you get to the end.’
And so, fixed with Fraser’s fierce stare, Flora did just that. And when she was done, she went on to tell them about her ideas for the farm and all the information she had found. Fraser may have been surprised by her ideas, Hannah certainly was, but neither laughed and, bit by bit, Fraser began to ask questions. And then more followed, and Flora found she had answers to them all. By the time she had finished talking, over two hours later, Fraser’s face was split wide with a smile.
‘Aye, lass,’ he said. ‘I reckon that might do it.’
Nearing lunchtime, Flora returned from the garden, her arms laden with bunches of daffodils, to find that Fraser had called a family meeting. Or at least that’s what it looked like. Three solemn faces met her as she walked into the kitchen, stopping her in her tracks.
Fraser patted the chair beside his.
‘Come and sit down, Flora,’ he said. ‘You look worn out.’
She gave a wan smile. ‘I should put these in water,’ she replied; the last thing she wanted to do was sit down.
‘Will they die in the next twenty minutes if you don’t?’
She paused. Fraser was getting altogether too good at reading her.
‘It’s just that I’ve been having a good long think about the things you said this morning and it struck me that now might be a good time to discuss this with all of us, as a family. Now that Ned’s here,’ he added, as if Flora couldn’t already see him.
‘But you don’t need me here to do that,’ countered Flora.
‘No,’ said Fraser slowly. ‘I don’t…’ He broke off, looking her straight in the eye. ‘Or do I…? Because this is the part I’m having real problems with, Flora. You see, youarea part of this family, and if anyone needed any more proof of that then they just have to think about your ideas on how to save the farm, or they can just watch you leave, and I can explain what I think we should do…’ He smiled.
‘You’re leaving?’ Ned’s startled retort was loud in the quiet room. He got to his feet.
Flora shot Fraser a glance. ‘Well, I…’ The truth was that she hadn’t really decided yet and was just about to say so when, to her surprise, Fraser got to his feet as well, pulling himself up by the table.
‘Sit down, Ned,’ he said. His voice wasn’t loud but Ned dropped to his seat as if he’d been shot, his face a mixture of shock and sheepish indignation.
‘I should think so too,’ he added. ‘I’m not sure how you can possibly act surprised when you’ve not even asked her to stay, have you?’ He gently lowered himself back into his own chair before turning to look at Flora. ‘You too, lass. Come on, sit down.’
Flora did as she was asked, laying the yellow blooms on the table.
‘And in case you were wondering,’ continued Fraser, his voice shot through with the effort that standing had cost him. ‘You’re right to feel ashamed, Ned, but that’s the kind of stupid thing that happens when you’re in love and can’t think straight. Besides, this isn’t about laying the blame at anyone’s door, for anything… I asked Flora to stay, in fact, I practically begged her to and I don’t mind admitting it. We’ve all been guilty of stupidity and a certain… blindness to circumstance – well, all except Flora. Which is why I really don’t want to dwell on how we’ve behaved in the past; it’s the future that will count.’ He shifted slightly in his chair. ‘Besides, I don’t have the breath for it.’
He held a palm to his chest and cleared his throat. ‘Now, before I ask Flora to say what she needs to, I’d just like to make it clear that I do know everything about this whole sorry mess we’ve got ourselves into, and I do meaneverything… So if you’ve any notion about trying to deny any part of it, Ned, saveyourbreath.’
Ned’s eyes were fixed front and centre although Flora could see the effort it required to keep them that way. Even so, he still managed to look incredibly guilty. Hannah, on the other hand, stared first at Ned and then at Fraser as if she had never seen them before. She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again.
Flora didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Fraser was by far the frailest in the room – stringing several sentences together was leaving him panting – and yet if he had asked any of them to do one hundred star jumps, stark naked, they would have. Even Brodie was sitting to attention.
Fraser jerked his thumb at Flora.
