Page 26 of The Beekeeper's Cottage
‘Oh, go on with you,’ she replied, smiling fondly. ‘Anyway, lunch is almost ready and the cake is for dessert, so come and sit down everyone.’
‘May I help?’ asked Amos, reluctant to take a seat before anyone else.
‘Thank you. If you pop into the pantry through there, you’ll find a fresh loaf and a dish of strawberries, I’ll get the rest from the fridge. Perhaps you could see to the cutlery, Flora dear?’
Moments later when they were all settled, Hannah cleared her throat. ‘Now then, Grace. You must tell us all what’s happened.’
‘Mum!’ admonished Ned. ‘Grace might not even want to talk about it just now.’
‘Don’t be silly, dear, of course she does; we’re her oldest friends. Besides, if we don’t know what’s going on, how can we possibly help?’
Amos looked up from his seat beside Fraser at the end of the table but Grace was smiling, no doubt used to Hannah’s forthright manner.
‘There’s not much to tell, actually,’ replied Grace. ‘As I’ve already told the others, an estate agent is coming this afternoon to take further details of the house and it will be going on the market. I haven’t heard from Paul since he left, but I assume that if he had wanted to cancel the agent’s visit he could have done.’
‘But what about the information you were sending to his boss?’ asked Flora. ‘Doesn’t Paul realise what that could do to his career?’
‘Actually, I’ve already had a visit from Paul’s boss. He arrived about ten this morning and must have driven like a maniac to get here so early. But Dominic was only checking on his investment, seeing how far I was prepared to push things or whether I had sent the information to anyone outside of the network. Paul is the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg and Dominic is not about to do anything which will damage that, not unless there’s a real threat to the organisation.’
‘So, Paul’s going to get off scot-free?’ argued Ned. ‘I don’t believe it, that’s insane. It’s criminal. It’s—’
‘Only what I expected,’ replied Grace evenly. ‘I won’t take the information any further because I have no wish to sully myself with it. But, I have left it with Dominic. He is now its gatekeeper and I have made it very clear that I don’t want to lose the house.’
Ned frowned. ‘But Grace, that’s giving him carte blanche to ignore it.’
‘That’s one way of looking at it, but I like to think that what I’m doing is giving Dominic the opportunity to be the better person. To do what’s right given what happened, even to try and make amends…’ She stopped and thought for a few seconds. ‘Your mum and dad both know this, but Dominic made a pass at me a couple of years ago. He’d had far too much to drink and I sent him packing with his tail between his legs. This morning was the first time I’ve seen him since that night, but before that he and I always got on well and I think, underneath his brash and somewhat vain exterior, there is a good man trying to get out from under the spell that showbiz has cast on him. I’d like to give him the chance to find out.’
‘And if he doesn’t?’ said Ned. ‘You could lose the house, Grace.’
‘I could lose it anyway.’
‘Grace and decorum,’ said Amos quietly.
Grace stared at him. ‘Say that again?’
Amos looked up, startled at her tone, and repeated the phrase.
‘That’s what my mother used to say,’ Grace replied. ‘All the time.’ She laid an absent-minded hand across her heart. ‘Goodness, I haven’t heard that in years. Grace and decorum in all things.’
‘Wise words,’ said Amos, a soft smile spreading over his face at the wistful note to her voice.
‘Yes,’ said Grace slowly. ‘Yes they are…’ Her brown eyes held his until he was aware of only the sound of his heart beating.
The clatter of a knife broke the moment and Grace laughed. ‘Crikey, that was a bit of a trip down memory lane. Sorry…’ She looked around as if to orientate herself. ‘What was I saying?’
‘About the house… and Dominic,’ prompted Flora.
‘Oh yes. Well he could choose to do absolutely nothing, but he did say he would do what he could to get Paul to change his mind about selling, and I do believe he will. Whether Paul takes any notice of course is another matter.’ She brightened her expression. ‘But, it’s done now, and I will simply have to wait and see, and in the meantime…’
Flora leaned forward.
‘Provided I do get to keep the house of course… I think I would like to open a guest house. I used to enjoy looking after everyone when I hosted the weekends for Paul, but his hateful behaviour ruined it. With him gone, I thought I might just manage it again.’
Flora clasped her hands together in excitement. ‘Oh, I knew it,’ she exclaimed. ‘I think that’s a wonderful idea, Grace, and you’ll be absolutely brilliant at it.’
Grace beamed at her response. ‘Thank you. It’s what you said about the house that helped me make up my mind,’ she said. ‘I know how living there makesmefeel and so I thought that if it does that for me it might be the same for other people too. How lovely to be able to offer that feeling to anyone who wants it.’ She broke off to pull a face. ‘They’d have to pay for it of course, I’m not that altruistic… But I also tried to think of things that might make what I’m offering a bit different from everyone else and so I wondered whether offering guests the chance to learn about beekeeping might work, or gardening.’ She looked directly at Flora. ‘Even floristry…’
Flora could barely contain herself. ‘And if we had somewhere here on the farm that we could turn into a practical space for people to learn those things, practise them as well, in a relaxed setting, offering refreshments maybe…’
