Page 29 of The Beekeeper's Cottage
‘But no one mentioned anything about bees.’
‘Didn’t they?’ asked Amos, scratching his head. ‘Oh… well, yes, there’s bees all right, hundreds of ’em, thousands probably. Three huge hives… they’re normally all right, but it’s a busy time of year for ’em and tempers get a bit frayed, plus of course they’re due to swarm any day now.’
Evan took a step backwards.
‘I’ll go,’ said Amos. ‘I’m sure it will be fine… You best wait here.’ Amos moved off cautiously. ‘It’s all right, ladies,’ he said softly. ‘It’s only old Amos… Just passing through, no need to get your knickers in a twist.’
He waited until he knew he was out of sight and then leaned up against a tree trunk for a moment, his shoulders silently heaving with laughter. He turned his face to the sky and listened to the birdsong, aware that therewasa gentle hum in the background, but if anything it sounded even happier than it had the day before. A good five minutes passed before he even contemplated returning to where they had been standing before.
He approached Evan, wiping imaginary sweat from his brow. ‘Lord, that was a mite scary for a minute,’ he said. ‘But it’s okay… I think we’ll be safe to go down now. We had a good chat, and I explained what you was here for and that they weren’t to have a problem with you. They usually do listen.’
Evan stared at him. ‘You talked to the bees? Really?’
Amos stared right back. ‘Aye, well what else do you do?’ He paused, looking Evan up and down. ‘Oh, I get it,’ he said. ‘You think I’m just some old country bumpkin who’s a bit soft in the head, don’t you? Well, I might be, but I know a thing or two about bees, Mr Porter, and one thing I do know is that you tread very carefully around angry bees. I’ve seen what they can do…’ He left his sentence unfinished and stood his ground.
Evan shuffled his feet. ‘Perhaps if I show you how the camera works you could take one or two shots for me. It’s really quite simple.’
Amos sniffed and peered at the instrument as if it were on fire. ‘No, I don’t reckon so,’ he replied. ‘I’m not good with things like that.’ And then he softened his expression. ‘Come on, lad, I’ll take you down,’ he said in resigned fashion. ‘It’ll be all right, I’m sure.’ He took a couple of paces forward. ‘Just stay on my right-hand side until I tell you,’ he added.
And in that fashion, with arms held wide to the sides forming a ‘protective’ barrier, Amos shepherded Evan down the slope and past the bees, stopping every now and again to listen before waving him on. After they were well clear of the hives, Amos cautiously lowered his arms and gestured at the view.
‘Right, best take your pictures, and then we’ll get back,’ he said, letting Evan know in no uncertain terms that the bees could only be held at bay for so long.
With one ear cocked for the sound of an approaching swarm, Evan did just that, firing off several photos before practically running back up the slope.
Amos walked across the lawns with him.
‘There now, that weren’t so bad, was it?’ He smiled. ‘And worth it for the view, I reckon. There’s not a finer spot around here.’ He shielded his eyes from the sun and gazed around the garden. ‘Well, I dunno about Missus Maynard, but it’s going to fair break my heart leaving this place an’ all…’
Evan fiddled with his camera, trying to replace the lens cap.
‘Indeed… Well, I think that’s all I need for now. I had best get back and make a start on the details. The sooner they’re done the sooner we can offer this beautiful house for sale.’
Just like that, thought Amos. He knew that Evan had a job to do, but if Amos had felt any remorse for the show he had just put on over the last half hour or so, it departed pretty quickly. The agent clearly felt no compassion for Grace’s circumstances. Too busy thinking about his commission most likely.
Amos nodded sadly. ‘Aye, I suppose you must,’ he replied. ‘I’ll see you off.’
‘There’s really no need, I can find my own way.’
‘I’m sure you can but, like I said before, a promise is a promise. I promised Missus Maynard that I’d be here for when you came, and in my book that means both greeting youandseeing you off the premises.’ He held the agent’s look and they walked back to Evan’s car in silence.
Just before climbing in, Evan consulted his clipboard once more, checking the detail on the page.
‘Just one more thing before I go, Mr Fry… I don’t seem to have a note of who will be showing prospective purchasers around. I’m not really at liberty to discuss it with you, but perhaps you could pass on a message to Mrs Maynard and tell her that with properties such as these we recommend that someone from our office attends.’ He plucked a business card from the top of the clipboard and handed it to Amos. ‘If Mrs Maynard could call me to discuss it, I’d be very appreciative.’
Amos stared at the card. ‘Well, I’ll tell her… but I can’t rightly see her wanting to show folks around, can you? Probably best if I do it for her, I reckon, save her from fretting, but I’ll certainly pass on your message, Mr Porter.’ Amos gave him his best cooperative smile.
Evan got in the car and drove off without saying another word.
10
‘You saidwhat?’ said Grace, waving her hand. ‘Oh no, don’t tell me, don’t make me laugh any more, ithurts…’
They were sitting on the patio just beyond Grace’s kitchen, enjoying a cup of coffee in the evening sun. Grace had spent most of the last ten minutes bent double with laughter as she listened to Amos regale her with the events of the afternoon.
‘Oh, Amos, you’re a genius,’ she said, wiping the moisture from underneath her eyes. ‘I just wish I had been there to see it in person. I can’t get the image of the estate agent out of my head, creeping gingerly past the beehives with you trying to shepherd the bees out of his way. As if you could.’
‘His face was a picture,’ agreed Amos. ‘I’m really not sure what he thought was going to happen, but his imagination was certainly working overtime.’ He reached forward to pick up his coffee cup and took a sip. ‘Whether any of it will have made any difference, I have no idea, but it was worth a try.’
