Hartley's Grange

by Nicole Hurley-Moore

  Lily wondered if it could have belonged to her ancestor, the first Violet Beckett. The setting could be late Victorian, which would put it at the right time period. It would be wonderful to prove that it had once belonged to the family legend, but unless the brooch came with a little note saying I belong to Violet or there was an old photograph of the woman wearing it, there wasn’t much hope of knowing.

  Once, long ago, the Becketts had been the founding family in this area when one of Lily’s ancestors discovered gold. The family’s fortunes rose, and as the town developed, they owned a big slice of it. That is until at its peak, tragedy struck when the Becketts’ eldest daughter – the first Violet Beckett – was swept away into churning winter floodwaters. In deference to the family and the lost girl, the town renamed itself Violet Falls in her honour.

  The original Violet had always been a ghostly figure haunting Lily’s childhood. Their grandfather, Silas Beckett, had been a hard man. He’d spent their formative years lecturing them on their illustrious family history and the weight the Beckett name once carried in Violet Falls. He’d also ground into them that all McKellans were a crafty lot of beggars who could never be trusted, and the Hartleys weren’t much better purely by association – according to Grandad, they always backed the McKellans and were thick as thieves. Lily had learnt to tune out her grandfather’s drawn-out family rants; none of it really mattered to her.

  But Lily had to admit there was something about standing in the silent attic of the family shop and holding onto a trinket that could have been the first Violet’s. All of a sudden, it made the woman more tangible. Instead of the vague ghostly image of a faceless girl who perished in the falls of Landoc Creek, all of a sudden she appeared to have substance.

  ***

  Flynn frowned as he knocked on the door for the second time. Where the hell was she? Johnno had mentioned when he’d run into him at the café that she was still at the shop, so why wasn’t she answering the door?

  He swapped the cardboard container that held two of the Hummingbird Café’s large coffees to his left hand so he could turn the doorknob.

  ‘Lily? Lily, are you there? It’s Flynn,’ he called out as he walked into the building.

  He waited by the back door but all was silent. Flynn wandered through the rooms looking for any sign of her. It wasn’t until he stood by the stairs that he thought he heard a scrape of a noise from upstairs.

  Flynn took the stairs two at a time until he reached the first floor. After poking around the empty rooms for a minute, he spied the open door and the steps that led to the attic.

  He walked up the staircase and was about halfway when he saw Lily. She was sitting on the floor beneath the window staring at something in her hand. A shaft of light illuminated her dark hair and there was almost a glow around her.

  ‘Lily?’

  Her head jerked up and for an instant she looked startled.

  Flynn walked up a couple more steps. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I did knock and call out but I guess you didn’t hear me.’

  Lily gave him what looked like an embarrassed smile as she shook her head.

  ‘I brought you this,’ he said as he walked over and handed her the cup. ‘I saw Johnno in the café and figured you could use a coffee around now.’

  Lily stood up and took the drink. ‘Oh, thanks.’

  Flynn gave a shrug with his wide shoulder. ‘It’s nothing. It’s a cold day and I was in the café … you know.’ Why the hell did he feel so uncomfortable all of a sudden? He stared down at her. Stop looking at the freckles … stop looking at the freckles. He glanced at her eyes and for a moment was lost in their golden chocolate orbs – damn, that was even worse.

  ‘Well, thanks anyway – it’s really nice of you. So what are you doing in town?’ She gave him a smile and perched on the corner of an old desk.

  He stood opposite her, drew in a breath and tried to centre himself. ‘I was just picking up a few things then wondered if you might need a hand sorting this place out.’

  Lily looked at him for a second and blinked. ‘Really? You want to help me?’

  ‘Sure. It looks as if you have a big job here. That is if you want me to?’

  ‘Um …’

  ‘Hey, it’s no big deal. I just thought I could help you lug some of this junk out of here.’

  She kept looking at him. Had he grown an extra head or something?

  ‘Actually, that would be great. Thanks, Flynn, I’d appreciate a hand.’

  He let go the breath he’d been holding. Bloody hell, what was the matter with him? ‘Alright, just tell me what you want me to do.’

  Half an hour later, Flynn was taking another overstuffed garbage bag of rubbish downstairs to the courtyard when he heard a female voice and the distinctive click of heels across the old wooden floor. He paused at the bottom of the stairs as the familiar voice of Charlotte Somerville carried through the shop.

  What was she doing here?

  His first instinct was to turn around and head back up to Lily. But then he’d be just a bloody coward. He’d purposely avoided Charlotte since she had ended it. Oh well, they were bound to bump into each other eventually.

  He hoisted the bag up on his shoulder and made his way to the back door. In the kitchenette, Charlotte had cornered Johnno.

  ‘So do you think you could come around and check it out?’

  Johnno nodded. ‘Sure, I’ll drop by after I finish up here – about quarter to six, I reckon.’

  ‘That’ll be great, I appreciate it.’ Charlotte turned her head and saw Flynn by the door. ‘Oh hi. I didn’t expect to see you here.’

  ‘Hi, Charlotte. What are you up to?’

  ‘Oh, I’ve got a leak by the back door – the rain has made the wood swell or something. Anyway, I’m having trouble opening and closing it, so I dropped around to beg Johnno to come and have a look.’ She glanced back at Johnno and flashed him a smile.

  ‘Right. Hope you get it sorted,’ Flynn said and went to walk away, but her voice called him back.

  ‘So, why are you here?’

  Flynn gave a shrug. ‘Just helping out.’

  ‘Since when do you do that?’

  ‘Since now. See you around,’ Flynn said with a parting nod as he headed for the skip bin out the back.

  Chapter 10

  Flynn stretched his back and let out a loud sigh. He’d just finished digging the last damn post hole, which was a good thing too as it would have to be one of his all time least favourite jobs to do. A large branch had fallen off the nearby gumtree and pretty much destroyed the old gate on the boundary fence of the bottom paddock. All he had to do now was sink the post and throw in some concrete. Young Ben, Mac’s farmhand, was going to swing by in the afternoon to help him hang the gate.

  This wasn’t how he’d planned to spend his Saturday morning but what could he do? It had started just after dawn when he’d got a phone call from one of his neighbours saying they had just seen a handful of Flynn’s sheep hightailing down the road. It had taken him a couple of hours but he had finally wrangled the runaways back onto his property.

  It had taken him almost as long to clear away the branch. He’d cut it up in a few sections and then wrapped a chain around the pieces and dragged them out of the way with his ute. The gate had been totalled, and Flynn wasn’t really surprised as it had been there for the past thirty-odd years.

  When he’d rung the local farm suppliers, he’d been lucky that they had a braced gate in stock that would fit. It all depended how you defined ‘lucky’ he guessed. So far the branch had cost him the morning, around three hundred dollars for the gate and hours of mucking about with runaway sheep and the bloody post hole digger.

  He’d planned to have a quiet day, just doing a few chores, watching the game over at Mac’s and maybe swinging by and seeing Lily. But none of that was going to happen now. Maybe he’d have better luck next week. He could never say that farming was boring – you never knew what it was going to throw at
you next.

  Flynn dropped the posthole digger on the ground and let out a slow breath.

  Damn it, maybe he’d just make some time. Young Ben probably wouldn’t show his face until after the game anyway. Perhaps Flynn could carve out an hour or so and just drop by Lily’s place to see what she was up to.

  Besides, it wasn’t as if his endless list of jobs wouldn’t still be here waiting for him when he got back. Everyone needed to stop every now and then to smell the roses – even him. What harm would it do if he just took off for a little while? Anyway he reckoned after the morning he’d had, he deserved it.

  Without another thought, he walked towards the house. He needed to get cleaned up before he headed back into town.

  ***

  ‘Lily! You up there?’ Flynn called out as he strode up the attic stairs. ‘I knocked, but the back door was wide open.’

  ‘Yes. I think Johnno and his crew have just gone to grab a couple more sheets of plasterboard,’ Lily called back. ‘Anyway, I’m in here, Flynn. I’ve discovered a forgotten hidey hole.’

  He walked across the bare wooden floor and towards her voice. Behind a stack of boxes, bags and the odd bit of furniture, a small door stood ajar.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘Of course I am. Look what I’ve found!’ Lily’s voice floated out from the dark recess. ‘Someone had painted over the door, which makes no sense at all. I’ve spent an hour scraping off fifty million layers of paint and prising the damn thing open.’

  Flynn stood in the doorway and peered into the gloomy cupboard. It was long and narrow and ran all the way to the exterior wall. It was decorated – or maybe the better word would have been festooned – with enough cobwebs to make even Miss Havisham proud. He frowned into the tight dark space and coughed as the dust tickled the back of his throat.

  Lily gave him a bright smile. ‘I was hoping for treasure but there doesn’t seem to be anything here. But check this out,’ Lily said as she took another step towards the back wall of the cupboard. ‘Look, it’s a tiny little window that someone had painted over as well. It’s as if they were trying to hide that this even exists.’

  ‘Yeah, well maybe they had a reason. Best come out of there before you go through the floor,’ he said as he held out his hand.

  ‘Oh, I think the floorboards seem firm enough.’ Lily started walking towards him when her foot caught on a broken board. With a surprised gasp, she started to tumble.

  Flynn dashed forward, trying to catch her before she hit the floor, but as he moved he bumped the door and it banged shut behind him. As his arms tightened around Lily the dark crowded in on him. He sucked in a breath and held onto her tightly.

  ‘Thanks,’ she said in a muffled voice, her face against his chest.

  But Flynn barely heard her. For a second he scrunched his eyes shut and repeated the safe words over and over again in his head.

  There’s nothing there. There’s nothing there.

  He tried to ignore the wave of panic that threatened to break over him. He blew out a breath and then inhaled. There’s nothing in the dark … except Lily.

  ‘Hey, Flynn – are you alright?’

  He shook off the clammy cold feeling as best he could. ‘Yeah, I just get a bit claustrophobic sometimes, ever since I was a kid.’

  Lily rubbed her hand over his back in a gesture of comfort. ‘Why don’t I get the door and then we can get out of here.’

  She moved out of his arms and Flynn felt the loss of her warmth. In the darkness he could hear her fiddling with the old doorknob. He focused on his breathing and tried as hard as he could not to remember childhood fears. A shiver ran down his spine as he imagined a faint scratching from somewhere behind him.

  ‘Um, sorry, but it seems to be stuck,’ Lily said.

  Of course it was.

  Flynn reached out in the darkness and ran his hands over her shoulders. ‘Here, let me have a go.’

  She brushed against him as they changed positions. Lily was soft and warm; her spiced floral scent wound around him and kept the terrors at bay.

  Flynn waggled the doorknob but it wouldn’t turn. There was only one thing he could do, unless they wanted to stay trapped until someone found them. He put his shoulder to the door and gave it a hard shove. After a moment of resistance the door flew open. He went to stand back to let Lily go first but felt her hand on the small of his back.

  ‘You go ahead,’ she said as she gently pushed him forward.

  He didn’t need to be asked twice. He stepped out of the darkness and into the attic, into the light. Flynn reached behind and pulled her with him.

  She squeezed his hand. ‘Are you okay? I think you look a bit pale.’

  ‘Nah, I’m alright. I just get claustrophobic every now and then, sorry.’

  ‘There’s nothing to be sorry about. We all fear something, Flynn. You should see me around clowns.’

  ‘Clowns?’

  ‘Hell, yes, damn creepy things. I guess I was about four or five when my parents hired a clown for Violet’s birthday party. I was terrified and spent the whole party crying under a table. I refused to come out until he was gone.’

  ‘Clowns, huh? Aren’t they meant to be fun?’

  ‘Oh yeah, it’s all fun until they pull out a knife and try to cut out your heart,’ Lily said with a delicate shudder. ‘They hide their faces, so you never really know what they’re thinking.’

  ‘Right, so clowns are out.’

  ‘Absolutely. So what about the claustrophobia?’

  ‘I just got stuck in a cupboard when I was a little tacker,’ Flynn said as he shrugged his shoulders.

  Lily looked down and was surprised to notice she was still holding his hand. Quickly she let go. ‘It’s funny how things that happened to us when we were little can still have an effect.’

  ‘Yeah, I suppose. Listen, I could do with another coffee – want to go and get one with me?’

  Lily looked up and gave him a bright smile. ‘Sure, it sounds like a plan.’

  ***

  ‘So how is everything with you? Haven’t caught up in a while,’ Mac said as he pushed the pizza box over to Flynn.

  ‘Yeah, it’s all good. Thought I’d get an early start. I’ve been busy clearing some of the scrub away from the top fence and making sure I’ve got decent firebreaks. You?’ Flynn said as he reached down and snagged a piece of pizza.

  ‘Pretty much the same. They reckon this summer is going to be a bastard as far as bushfires go.’

  ‘Let’s just hope they’re wrong. I’ve got a lot of sheep up in the top paddock, and I don’t know if the top dam will be enough for a hot summer.’

  ‘How many have you got up there now?’ Mac asked.

  ‘About a couple of hundred. I think I’ll move them down near the house – there’s more shade there and that dam has never once dried up.’

  ‘Good idea. Do you need a hand?’

  ‘Maybe,’ Flynn conceded.

  ‘I’ll swing by with young Ben first thing in the morning, if you like.’

  Ben Jamison was Mac’s farmhand. What had started as a part-time job had turned into something more and the kid was now a near-permanent fixture at McKellan’s Run. After escaping his abusive father, Ben idolised Mac as a cross between a father and a big brother and now lived above the stables. As far as Flynn knew, Ben hadn’t been near his father in months.

  ‘Hey, that would be great – appreciate it.’

  ‘No worries.’

  ‘So how’s the family?’ Flynn said with a grin. ‘And why are you hanging out with me instead of your girls?’

  ‘Hey, sometimes a man just needs beer, pizza and a movie.’

  ‘Uh-huh.’ Flynn took a sip of his beer.

  ‘And it may have something to do with the fact that Violet, Holly and Mum are over with Lily talking about wedding dresses. I love her, but I just can’t do the girly dress talk,’ Mac said as he shrugged. ‘I try to pay attention but my eyes glaze over.’

  ‘So I�
�m the backup plan – that hurts, Mac, it really does,’ Flynn said with a sigh and a sad shake of his head.

  ‘You’re an idiot,’ Mac said with a laugh. ‘So what are we watching tonight?’

  ‘Well, we can go with zombies, action with explosions and car chases, or a drag your soul to hell horror – your call.’

  ‘My vote is for the drag your soul to hell horror.’

  ‘Okay, but I would just like to point out you’ll be the one driving home down dark and lonely bush tracks, not me.’ Flynn got up from the couch and grabbed the movie. ‘Speaking of creepy things, I managed to get myself trapped in an old cupboard the other day.’

  Mac straightened in his seat and put down his beer. ‘How?’

  ‘At Lily’s shop. She’d found this old storage space in the attic. It had been painted shut but she opened it. Anyway, I was talking to her in the doorway and she stumbled on something. So when I went to catch her, I knocked the door and the damn thing swung shut on us.’

  ‘Hell. Did you freak out? Because you’re allowed to, you know.’

  ‘Nah, I was alright. Everything closed in for a second but it was okay. The door was just a bit jammed and we were out of there pretty quick,’ Flynn said as he put the DVD in the player. He walked back to the couch and scooped up the remote before he sat back down.

  ‘I’m glad to hear it. So you were okay with it?’

  ‘I suppose. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather not get stuck in another bloody closet again – even if it is with Lily Beckett,’ Flynn said with a grin.