Page 63 of A Scottish Love Story
‘That is a surprise. You were always a good judge of people, son. So, young man, I do hope you will be very happy here.’
‘Both Tommy and Roxie have a good word of him, so that means a lot,’ Ciaran told her. ‘I could see while he was in the milking parlour how natural he is around cows. I am very hopeful.’
‘Isn’t it time to eat now?’ Donald asked with a cheeky grin. ‘I haven’t been out for a posh lunch like our birthday girl and I’m famished.’
They all trooped through to the dining room.
Roxie gasped. ‘Oh, my goodness! What a huge spread you have made, Amy. I feel terrible that...’
‘No, no, lassie. I’m not responsible for all of it. I mainly made the salads and cold meats. Anne has brought the pizzas and sausage rolls; Jenny brought quiches and the birthday cake; theyboth made a sweet as well. Now, draw in your chairs and pile up your plates.’
Everyone tucked in and there was chatter and laughter, with Harry and Maggie being drawn into the conversations.
‘It has been such a happy evening,’ Jenny said with a sigh when she heard baby Peter begin to stir. ‘It’s a pity you don’t have a birthday every week, Roxie, but I’m afraid it’s time we went home now before this young man lets you all hear how loud he can shout for his food.’
‘Like his daddy, then.’ Ciaran grinned, giving Donald a poke in the ribs.
‘The next big celebration will be your wedding, old boy. I, and several others, can’t wait to get our own back for all the cheek you’ve given us.’
Ciaran looked at Roxie. ‘Maybe we should dash to the registrar’s, Roxie, and thwart them all?’
‘I think you will survive.’ Roxie smiled serenely. ‘I expect you have had your fun at their expense in the past.’
Anne wanted to help tidy up the dining room, but Roxie insisted she had done enough already and she would do it after having such a lazy day. Maggie eagerly offered to help, so Amy made a box of food for Anne to take home. There was certainly plenty left.
Ciaran had already told his mother that his guests were staying another night so that he could show them around the farm, the cottage where Harry would live, and the district.
‘I think you should come here for your lunch tomorrow to help us eat everything up,’ Amy said. ‘In fact, you could drop Maggie off here to chat with us while you men go your own way. I’m sure Roxie and Maggie have plenty of news to catch up on.’
‘All right, we’ll do that, if you make the lunch a bit later for once, maybe one o’clock. Then we will all go out for a meal at thelocal hotel in Thornielee in the evening. It will let Harry see we are quite civilised.’
‘Oh, yes, that is a good idea,’ Amy said. She smiled at Harry. ‘It is not a very big town, but we have an excellent butcher and a good baker. In fact, you can get most of what you will need, but there are several supermarkets further away in Dumfries. Can you cook at all, young man?’
‘Oh, yes. I enjoy cooking meat and vegetables, pasta and rice — savoury meals. That is why I don’t want to stay with a landlady. I cooked for my mum, but she didn’t have much appetite,’ Harry said soberly. ‘I can’t bake like Beth and Roxie do, but I manage for myself. When Mum became very ill, I learned to organise my time, and the food, as she used to do.’
‘I think you will do very well, then. I hope you will be happy here once Ciaran has improved the cottage. It is needing to be lived in again. Houses get forlorn and deteriorate when they’re empty.’
‘I asked Jenny for the phone number of the firm they used to clean their house before they moved in,’ Ciaran said.
Amy nodded in agreement. ‘Oh, yes, she said they were very efficient. They brought a whole team of people and cleaned it all in a day. It was a three-storey Victorian house, so the cottage will be child’s play in comparison.’
* * *
Both Tommy and Harry enjoyed looking round the farm. Tommy was especially interested in the arable side and he discussed his own plans with Ciaran. Harry was immensely grateful to his former boss for including him in this visit and he felt very lucky that Ciaran was willing to give him a month’s trial. He was confident that settling in a new area would not be a problem for him, once he had bought a small car to get around,and especially when he had seen the cottage, which would give him his own space and freedom.
‘This is very similar to the way my mother’s cottage used to be when I was young. It was part of the estate where my father worked. Everything was sold off when the owner died in 1980. He had no wife or family. Dad had used all their savings to buy it.’
‘He did well then,’ Tommy said.
‘That was just before I was born,’ Harry added. ‘I know my father made a lot of improvements over time, but he was a good joiner. I remember he made the washhouse and coal shed into a proper kitchen.’
‘He was obviously a thrifty man,’ Ciaran said. ‘And that’s a good quality to have.’
‘Yes, they were both thrifty. Mum had saved every penny I sent her from my wages since I started working.’ He shook his head in distress. ‘I’d hoped she would have a few comforts for herself. Anyway, I used it to make things easier during her last year. I made a shower room downstairs and put in central heating.’
‘You’re a good lad, Harry,’ Tommy said sincerely.
‘The present condition of this cottage doesn’t put you off coming, then?’ Ciaran asked.
