Page 72 of A Year at Appleyard Farm
‘So who have we got?’ she asked. ‘Although I should apologise in advance because I’ll probably forget half your names in the next five minutes.’
‘Okay, so we have Callum, my brother,’ Peter began, ‘followed by Luke and Josh, twins obviously. Jennie, who’s Josh’s girlfriend, Lucy her friend, and Ollie. I can vouch for them all except Ollie, who’s a drunken reprobate most of the time, but has promised to be on his best behaviour today.’
Willow had a feeling he was joking, but she wasn’t entirely sure. She smiled, a little nervously. ‘Right, well…have you all had breakfast?’ A chorus of affirmation followed.
‘And they’ve all got plenty to drink, snacks to eat and are smothered in factor 50.’
‘Peter, what would I do without you?’
Willow downed the rest of her tea as fast as possible and snatched an apple from the bowl on the table. ‘Right, do you want to follow me, and we’ll get going? I’ll explain what I need once we’re outside, and then you can decide what you want to do.’
In the end, it was an easy decision. Peter declared that he was a strawberry man. It was what he knew, and he could help the others if they got stuck. He picked his ‘team’ of Callum, Ollie and Luke, leaving Josh, Jennie and Lucy to stay with Willow. After a few moments of discussion, Peter led his crew away, and Willow watched him stride out into the field with pride. She and her strawberries were in safe hands.
She led the others around to the side of the house and one of the long low barns that stood there. At the moment, it was mainly used for storage of outdoor equipment, but Willow had other plans for it long term. Inside it was dark and still, a warm musty smell rushing through the opened door, dust motes spilling out into the sunshine. Inside, she quickly found what she was looking for and brought the special hods over for everyone to see.
‘I bought these a while ago from a market selling old farm equipment,’ Willow explained. ‘They’re actually for picking apples, but perfect for all sorts of things.’ She showed them the large bucket made from canvas and reinforced with metal strips. A wide canvas strap was attached at each side. ‘You wear them across your body. They’re surprisingly comfortable, and you get both hands free for picking, plus you don’t have to keep bending down. I’ve only got two, though, so we’ll have to share.’
‘No problem,’ said Josh. ‘Jennie and I can share.’
‘Great! I’ll wear the other one, and let’s get going, shall we? The elderflower’s only in the next-door field, so it’s not far.’
She stopped when they got to the hedgerow, and turned to face the group. ‘I’m just going to point this out,’ she started, ‘because it’s not as daft as it sounds, and definitely not ’cause I think you’re all thick.’ She held a frond of creamy white flowers in her hand. ‘So this is cow parsley.’ She then reached overhead to pluck another head of flowers from the bush above her. ‘While this, on the other hand, is elderflower, and they are actually pretty similar.’ She shook the head of elderflowers. ‘And whereas this one makes a gorgeous fresh tasting drink, cow parsley tastes revolting. It also looks very similar to Hemlock which if you’re unlucky enough to eat will kill you.’
She smiled reassuringly at Lucy who was beginning to look a little nervous. ‘Fortunately, although the flowers look quite similar, the leaves on the elderflower are quite different…look.’ She showed them the rounded leaves on the bush above her. ‘So I know you’ll all be fine, and since I like nothing more than to tease my husband who once picked a fine crop of both for me, I’m counting on you three not to let me down.’ She grinned. ‘We’re also only going to pick half the flowers on each bush. That way we leave the other half to turn into beautiful elderberries come the autumn.’
‘Are those the tiny purple berries that people make into wine?’ asked Jennie. ‘My grandad used to give it to us at Christmas. It was revolting.’
Willow laughed. ‘I think they’ve had rather a bad press as far as homemade wine goes, but I make them into a cordial which is gorgeous, and a pretty fearsome liqueur too. Has you under the table in a matter of minutes if you’re not used to it.’
By the time Willow even thought to check her watch again, nearly three hours had passed amid much happy chatter, laughter and the odd Taylor Swift song belted out from Jennie’s iPod. Above her the sun continued to beam down on them as the skylark’s distinctive call filled the air, and cabbage white butterflies danced to find their dinner. There was nowhere finer to be on a summer’s day, and if this was work, Willow hoped she could do it forever. She’d lost count of the number of times the hods had been emptied into the plastic sacks she’d also brought along, and now half a dozen were full and ready to take back to the house.
She motioned for everyone to join her, taking off her hat, and shielding her eyes from the sun.
‘Look at this lot, amazing!’ she exclaimed. ‘Thank you all so much. You’ve all worked so hard.’
She was met with three happy faces.
‘Why don’t we take these back to the house, and I can get you all some lunch? I made a special treat for pudding.’
The two girls exchanged grins. ‘I’ve really enjoyed this morning, Willow,’ said Lucy. ‘I didn’t think it would be half as much fun as it has been, and it’s so beautiful here.’
Willow smiled to herself. Lucy who at first had been a little shy, and quieter than the other two, had soon relaxed in the fragrant air, with the sun warming her limbs and the light breeze ruffling her hair. Willow had seen it so many times before, but the magic of the countryside never lost its potency. She gave a slight shiver, acknowledging the dark clouds that hovered just out of sight, but she pushed them away. That was a battle for another day.
Having sent Josh out to fetch Peter and the other lads, she and Lucy poured out some drinks, while Jennie laid the table. It was simple food, but once it covered the table, the comments were full of appreciation. A fresh cob loaf stood in the centre, surrounded by a wedge of strong cheese, ripe tomatoes – the size of small apples – and a dish of plum chutney which glowed pinky-red in the sunlight. A huge strawberry Pavlova sat waiting to one side, a jug of fresh cream beside it. Mouths watered, plates were heaped, and bellies were filled. It was the perfect end to a perfect morning.
Willow looked up at the big clock that hung on the wall behind the table and then back down at the sea of contented faces. There were still a couple of hours to go before the children got home from school.
‘Right then, who’d like to pick some gooseberries this afternoon?’
It wasn’t unusual for Jude to get home from work late when he was away from the office. The clients who bought the huge estates his company sold were wealthy and liked to be wined and dined as part of the deal. Sometimes, they just liked to talk, about their holidays or their yachts, their art collection or the shares they’d just sold for a couple of million. Jude would do whatever it took to get the business, but he always let Willow know when he was going to be delayed. Always.
She hadn’t even realised how late it was until her stomach gave a huge gurgle. Lovely though it had been, lunch was a distant memory, and now the girls were already in bed, and the quick half hour she had planned checking the elderflowers over before dinner had turned into nearly an hour.
With a sigh, she covered her precious crop and went back through to the kitchen. Her mobile phone still lay on the table, and she checked it again. The last message she had received from Jude was at six thirty, saying he would be home in about an hour. Whilst in reality this meant it would be nearer eight before he got in, it was now nearly nine. She opened the Aga’s warming drawer and peered at the lasagne. It was now or never.
By the time she had finished her food, a curl of unease was working its way up her spine. This was not like Jude at all, and all her calls to his mobile had gone straight to his answerphone. She didn’t know what to do. This had never happened before, and there was no one she could contact. He worked alone day to day, and although his father was a partner in the business, he would have no more idea about Jude’s whereabouts than she did. Besides which, she would rather wait, alone and anxious, before she called that man. She drew up her legs on the kitchen chair, wrapping her arms around them. She would wait until ten o’clock, and then she was calling the police.
The room was fully dark when the sweep of headlights hit the wall opposite her. It was three minutes to ten. Willow let out a breath and rose stiffly from the chair, one leg refusing to work after being bent in the same position for so long. She resisted the urge to fly down the hallway. Whatever had detained Jude would not be helped by her ranting at him like a hysterical fishwife, but it would take all her acting powers to remain calm and reasoned.
