On a beautiful morning like this with puffs of white cloud marching over Striding Edge, she knew this was the best place in the world to be. She did indeed have a future, here at Broombank. No matter what pain and hurt Jack and Kath had caused her in their youthful carelessness, she could overcome it. She might, one day, even find someone to share it with her.
‘Were you wanting a permanent job?’ Meg asked Tam, and waited, stomach muscles clenched, for his response.
Tam stopped scraping grass from the mower long enough to glance up at Meg. The harvest was in, not as good as it might have been because of the drought at just the wrong time, but at least there would be oats and hay for the stock this winter. It had crossed his mind that it was time to move on, but hadn’t yet fixed on a date. He continued steadily with his task. ‘I don’t generally make permanent arrangements. I come and go when I choose.’
Meg sat on a stone wall, smoothing the yellow lichen with her fingers, trying to organise her thoughts so that she might find the most persuasive words. She needed Tam to stay. He was a good worker, and strong. There was no denying she needed some muscle about the place. She’d little hope of carrying out her plan without some form of male assistance, much as she might balk at the idea. And labour was hard to come by just now. Besides all of that, she trusted him and that counted for a great deal these days.
She also liked him, rather a lot, although Meg didn’t care to consider at this stage quite what an effect his presence in the house made upon her. Enough to say that he was cheerful, kind and friendly. Good for morale, as the government posters would say. And she really didn’t want him to leave.
Meg cleared her throat. ‘I wouldn’t normally push you for a decision, only it’s been such a hard year, one way and another, and I have to make plans, d’you see, to survive.’ Then in case this wasn’t quite positive enough, she added, ‘I mean to do well, but I’m not so stupid I don’t realise I need help.’
Now the teasing laughter was back in his eyes. ‘Well, isn’t that something for the proud Meg Turner to admit she needs help?’
Meg felt her mouth twitch at the corners. It was going to be all right, she just knew it. ‘I might even be able to pay you soon. Though not much, I’m afraid.’
‘That’d make a welcome change, to be sure. This is to be your way of coping then, is it? Your personal battle.’
‘Don’t tease me, I’m serious.’ Meg blinked rapidly. ‘I can’t bear to think of Charlie being taught to fight in the skies. I can’t do anything to help him, or any of the others up there. But I can do my bit here for the war effort. This is my place. My home. My way of life.’
Meg dipped her head, not wanting him to see her vulnerability. ‘I miss Lanky, badly. He knew everything there was to know about sheep farming, and about Broombank. His family has worked this land for generations. I owe it to him not to give up. I have to make a go of it because if I don’t it will be as if I’d flung his generosity back in his face, and that would be terrible. I look at my Luckpenny every night and remember his faith in me.
‘He couldn’t go on because he was too ill, but he thought I could. He handed his good fortune on to me. Lanky believed in me, you see so I must believe in myself. No one else ever has.’
She lifted her face to his and Tam quite forgot he was supposed to be cleaning and oiling the mower, preparatory to putting it away for the winter. ‘I believe in you.’ Where had those words come from? Tam was astonished that they’d popped out of his mouth without even a thought. ‘I believe you can do anything you want to do. But if you’re serious about making a go of this place there’ll be no room for sentiment.’
‘I realise that.’
‘Farming is a hard business. Are you tough enough?’
Her lips curved into a smile, tremulous, sensual, beguiling, and a sudden need raged through him, leaving his hands shaking so that he felt obliged to put down the oil can he was holding and pay excessive attention to wiping them on an old rag.
‘I don’t know, but I’m learning. How can anyone know if they are up to a job until they try? I want to try. Besides how I feel about Lanky leaving me Broombank, I have Effie to think about, and now Melissa, but also I want - need - to do this for myself. I’ve always felt the desire to be independent, to prove myself. This is my opportunity and I mustn’t give up just because life is tough.’
‘There’ll be no medals at the end of it.’
‘I know that.’ She smiled. ‘Grinding hard work in all weathers with little cash in hand. What I want to know is, does it bother you?’
‘Bother me?’
‘Working for a woman?’
Tam fought his thoughts back into order. He’d never worked for a woman before, let alone one as entrancing as this one. But if he was to stay, and there were worse places to spend the war, this relationship must be strictly business. Meg Turner might look homely enough at first glance, childlike almost with her hair all tied up with string and herself dressed in scruffy overalls much of the time. But a second glance, a smile from those lovely lips, and a man could forget his manners in a moment. ‘So long as you realise I’m as independent as yourself.’
‘I realise that.’
A long pause, then, ‘We could start by getting rid of these damn rabbits, not to mention the foxes. Since the hunt has been called up, the place is overrun with them.’
Meg laughed, her heart soaring. ‘We could sell the rabbits for two or three shillings a brace on Kendal market.’
‘Three shillings?’ Tam grinned at her. ‘Then I’ll clean the gun next. If we get enough it’ll help pay next quarter’s rent.’
Suddenly excited, Meg knelt on the grass beside him. It had been decided. He would stay. ‘I mean to fatten more turkeys for this Christmas. I’m taking orders already. I’ve nearly paid Will Davies for those two cows and then I’ll buy one or two more. The Co-op will take the extra milk off me, or I could get a hand-buggy and take it round myself. It’ll give a regular income till I’ve time to build up the flock.’
Tam was watching her face, wondering how it was he hadn’t noticed before how beautiful she was. He’d seen her as a young girl playing at farming, content to ride out life in the quietness of her own home in an unquestionably safe area. But there was much more to Meg Turner than that. She was exciting, ambitious, beguiling. Very likely passionate. He blanked that thought from his mind. It wouldn’t be wise to consider taking his employer to bed, tempting as it might be.
‘So? Are you with me?’
‘I’m with you,’ he said, without even a pause. Meg smiled her thanks, openly, and with delight in her grey eyes. Tam knew then he would stay with Meg Turner for the entire war. Longer, were she to ask.
Also by Freda Lightfoot as ebooks
Storm Clouds Over Broombank
Second in the Luckpenny Series
9780956607317
Meg Turner is at last doing the job she loves. But life as a sheep farmer -unusual for a woman even in war time - proves tougher at times than she expected. With her loyalties divided she fears losing the one man she truly loves should he decide to go roving again. And dare she allow herself to love baby Lissa when her mother may return to claim her at any time? Kath is facing new challenges in the WAAF, but can she ever get over the guilt of leaving her child behind?
Wishing Water
Third in the Luckpenny Series
ISBN 9780956607324
Lissa Turner seems to have everything a girl could ever hope for: she’s pretty and intelligent, has warm and devoted parents and a beautiful home in the Lake District. But despite her good fortune, Lissa is not happy, for her real mother abandoned her while she was still a baby, and her feelings of confusion and vulnerability have persisted. As soon as she is old enough she takes up a job in Carreckwater, a lively village in the heart of Lakeland. She makes many friends but is wary of close relationships. Secretly Lissa wants nothing more than to be loved and cherished, but her lack of faith in herself launches her into a disastrous marriage
with sinister consequences...
Larkrigg Fell
Fourth in the Luckpenny Series
9780956607331
The Brandon twins are unalike in every way except in their love of their home, Larkrigg Hall. Beth is the romantic one with dreams of an idyllic life in rural Lakeland. Sarah is willing to take risks to achieve the life style she craves. But jealousy and greed mar their uncertain relationship so that when tragedy strikes both sisters are forced to come to terms with a very different situation. Sarah goes off to Italy, Beth loses the man she loves and launches into an unplanned marriage. Facing emotional turmoil and financial ruin, Beth must learn to fight for, or lose, the things that matter most to her.
Historical sagas
Lakeland Lily
The Bobbin Girls
The Favourite Child
Kitty Little
For All Our Tomorrows
Gracie’s Sin
Daisy’s Secret
Ruby McBride
Dancing on Deansgate
The Luckpenny Series:
Luckpenny Land
Storm Clouds Over Broombank
Wishing Water
Larkrigg Fell
Poorhouse Lane Series
The Girl from Poorhouse Lane
The Child from Nowhere
The Woman from Heartbreak House
Champion Street Market Series
Putting On The Style
Fools Fall In Love
That'll Be The Day
Candy Kisses
Who’s Sorry Now
Lonely Teardrops
Historical Romances
Madeiran Legacy
Whispering Shadows
Rhapsody Creek
Proud Alliance
Outrageous Fortune
Contemporary
Trapped
Short Stories
A Sackful of Stories
Available in print and ebook
Historical sagas
House of Angels
Angels at War
The Promise
My Lady Deceiver
Biographical Historicals
Hostage Queen
Reluctant Queen
The Queen and the Courtesan
The Duchess of Drury Lane
About Freda Lightfoot
Born in Lancashire, Freda Lightfoot has been a teacher and bookseller. She lived for a number of years in the Lake District and in a mad moment tried her hand at the ‘good life’, kept sheep and hens, various orphaned cats and dogs, built drystone walls, planted a small wood and even learned how to make jam. She has now given up her thermals to build a house in an olive grove in Spain, where she produces her own olive oil and sits in the sun on the rare occasions when she isn’t writing. She’s published 40 novels including many bestselling family sagas and historical novels. To find out more about, visit her website and sign up for her new title alert, or join her on Facebook and Twitter where she loves to chat with readers.
http://www.fredalightfoot.co.uk/
http://www.fredalightfoot.blogspot.com/
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Goodreads
If you find any faults with this ebook please do contact the author so that it can be put right for future readers. mailto:[email protected]
Luckpenny Land Page 31
