Page 32 of The Beekeeper's Cottage
Flora waved the moment she saw Grace walking towards them.
‘Can you go and fish Amos out for me please?’ she asked, as soon as Grace was close enough to speak to. ‘He’s round the back of the cottage. I’ve tried to get him to stop working and come and have some lunch but he’s said he’ll only be five minutes about twenty times now.’
Grace grinned and nodded, walking further on down the yard past the table and chairs on the triangle of green. She could hear the rhythmic tapping of a hammer as she drew nearer. Disappearing around to the rear of the low building, she found Amos hard at work, easing out the mortar from between the old brick joints.
She waved her hands. ‘Lunch!’ she shouted.
He pulled down the mask that was partially covering his face. ‘Hello, Grace.’ He smiled. ‘Just give me five minutes.’
‘Uh oh, no you won’t,’ replied Grace. ‘I’ve been told to fetch you now.’ She could see the desire on his face to finish the bit he was working on, but he shrugged easily enough.
‘In that case, I’ll pop and have a quick wash. Food doesn’t taste so good when it’s covered in a layer of brick dust. I’ve discovered that the hard way.’ He put his tools down and followed Grace back around to the front of the building.
‘And how are you today?’ he asked. ‘Did you sleep well?’
The question surprised her, but then she realised that Amos didn’t actually know the answer to his question, it was just her that felt as if he had somehow been with her the whole time she had slept. The thought brought an immediate blush to her cheeks and she kept her head turned away slightly so that he wouldn’t see.
‘I was very lazy,’ she replied. ‘I’m normally up with the lark, but this morning I slept in until almost ten. I don’t think I’ve done that since I was a teenager.’
‘Well, other than missing an exceptionally beautiful dawn, I don’t think it will have done you any harm at all,’ he replied. ‘You must have a lot on your mind just now. Sleep doesn’t always come easily at such times.’
‘No,’ replied Grace, thinking of his peaceful face asheslept. ‘Well, I think plans are afoot,’ she added, drawing them away from what felt like a strangely intimate discussion. ‘I can see you’re very busy, but I hadn’t forgotten I promised you a beekeeping lesson, so perhaps when we’ve heard what Flora has to say, we could fix up a time?’
They were standing by the cottage door. ‘I’d like that,’ said Amos simply, indicating that he should go inside. ‘I’ll catch you up, Grace,’ he added. ‘I won’t be a minute.’
Grace made her way back to the others, taking a seat next to Hannah who was busy passing around dishes of salad amid a hubbub of conversation.
‘Amos is on his way,’ she reported.
‘Good,’ said Ned. ‘Because if you’ve seen the number of things to do that Flora has on her list, he’ll need feeding up – the poor man is going to be busy for the next seven years…’
‘Oi!’ replied Flora indignantly, slapping his arm playfully. She turned towards Grace. ‘I’ve been trying to come up with some ideas for the best way to utilise the milking shed, which is why I’m really keen to hear what you might have in mind for your place. It strikes me that there could be a lot of crossover between what we’d like to accomplish here and what you might like to develop for your own business.’
Grace laid her notebook on the table. ‘A joint venture?’ she asked.
‘Possibly,’ replied Flora. ‘Joint use of the space, almost certainly.’
‘I phoned my solicitor this morning,’ said Grace. ‘And I’ll know more when I meet with him on Tuesday but, as the house is in Paul’s name, I have no automatic right to stay there. To do so may well be down to his “generosity” because otherwise any settlement I receive will be based on the value of his assets, which may mean they have to be liquified…’
‘Oh, Grace…’ Flora’s face fell.
‘However… what he did say is that if I could show I had the means to support myself and could therefore refuse ongoing maintenance, this would put me in a better position.’ Grace lifted her chin. ‘So, as far as I’m concerned, that’s what we’re going to do.’ She opened her notebook. ‘I’ve made a list too,’ she added.
‘I’ll pour us some drinks,’ said Hannah. ‘All this thinking is thirsty work.’
Amos joined them minutes later and, once they were settled, Ned cleared his throat.
‘So we already know that you want to open a guest house, Grace, with the potential for those staying to also learn some skills, perhaps in beekeeping, gardening, cookery and the like. And Flora can add floristry to that list obviously. So I guess the question is whether you have the space and facilities to do that from your house or whether some of it can take place here, alongside what Flora has in mind. The latter would certainly be more cost-effective.’
Grace pulled a face. ‘My worry with all of this is that although I like the idea of running courses, I really don’t think I’d be any good at it; working out the structure of what to teach, how to deliver it, that kind of thing. So I’m wondering whether it should be much more of a retreat-based experience rather than a learning environment. A bit more easy come, easy go. I don’t think I’m cut out for lecturing.’
Flora giggled. ‘You and me both. Can you imaginemetrying to talk to a room full of people? It would disintegrate into a farce within a matter of minutes. What I would like to do, however, is open up this place to the public. I said from the start that I’d love if people could come and choose their own flowers for their events, be it weddings or otherwise. And to have a pick-your-own section too, where people could just buy what they want, when they want.’ She shot a glance at Ned. ‘On top of that, I’d really like to run a few short courses; like making seasonal flower garlands for example, or some ideas for table decorations. But nothing longer than a few hours and with no more than just a handful of people.’
Amos nodded. ‘You could even replicate some of your interior-design ideas, Grace. Like the wall-hanging you have at home or some of the smaller ones you’ve used to decorate the shop.’
Grace turned to look at Amos. ‘I didn’t think you knew about those. How did you know I’d made them?’ she asked.
Amos merely grinned. ‘You did, didn’t you?’
