It was not until later that night, when she was alone in bed in the darkness, that Bridie remember the unspoken doubts which returned to overshadow one of the happiest afternoons she could recall.
Rachel faced a dilemma of her own when Ross returned from seeing the Brigadier’s solicitor.
‘When I think of all the time and work we’ve put into getting the land into good heart only to see it sold when our lease expires in 18 months,’ he said despondently. ‘If the buildings were repaired it would be as good a farm as Lochandee.’ He shook his head in disbelief. He knew the Brigadier’s daughter and her family were settled in Canada but it had never occurred to him that she would sever all links with the old country. ‘We shall have to reduce our cattle numbers when we lose the tenancy, and we shall have a lot less land for grain and potatoes.’
Rachel understood Ross’s disappointment and dismay. She knew he had hoped the tenancy would continue indefinitely. They had both hoped Ewan would farm the land one day and by then they might have been able to buy it. As always they found comfort in each other’s arms. Later, lying wakeful in the darkness, Ross knew he still loved Rachel as much as he had when they were young. She could still make him feel attractive and virile. He was 46 but he didn’t feel old tonight – he felt restless and full of energy. He could hear the sound of Rachel’s steady breathing and he knew she was asleep. He crept out of bed and down to the kitchen.
More than two hours later, his head still buzzing with figures and calculations he crept back into bed. Rachel stirred but she did not waken and he resolved not to worry her until he had consulted Jacob Niven, the elderly solicitor, who had advised and helped him when he bought Glens of Lochandee in the face of every conceivable obstacle.
After Mrs Sinclair’s funeral Bridie helped Fiona hand round the refreshments they had provided between them. One by one the few remaining mourners took their leave and Bridie helped Fiona clear the dining room. Only Conan remained in the large, silent house, waiting to escort her home.
‘I ought to be getting back to the garage,’ he said. ‘Are you nearly ready, Bridie?’
‘I-I’d like to talk for a wee while, Bridie, if you’re not in a rush?’ Fiona looked up at Conan, her face pale but composed. He couldn’t begin to guess the effort that control had cost her. ‘I’ll drive Bridie home if you want to go.’ It was clear she didn’t care whether he stayed or not, Conan thought. Fiona was the only female, young or old, who could ruffle him so easily. ‘You see,’ she said, ‘I-I’ve made up my mind to sell this house and buy a smaller one, and I need some advice about solicitors and things …’
‘Then of course I’ll stay.’ It had been a morning funeral and it was only midday. Bridie wondered whether Conan really needed to rush away so soon. She felt irritated with him. ‘For goodness sake, Conan, sit down a minute. You know as much about the local solicitors as I do. Dad uses the Nivens from Lockerbie. Old Mr Niven is almost retired now, but Dad seems to get on all right with his son. Didn’t he help you buy the land for the garage and get a licence to build your flat and the shed for repairs, Conan?’
‘Yes. Yes, Niven’s all right,’ Conan said absently, his eyes moving around the large room. ‘It’s seems a lovely big house. Are you sure you should make such a decision so soon? I mean, aren’t people supposed to wait …?’
‘Everyone says don’t rush into things,’ Fiona grimaced. ‘I’ve given exactly that advice myself to clients, but …’ she shuddered. ‘I hardly ever lived here. I’ve no childhood memories, only recent sad ones. It’s far too big. Mum bought it thinking it was a good investment. I suppose it was really, but I just know I could never, never make it my home. So the sooner I can move out, the better I shall feel … I think.’
‘Oh well, if it’s what you want.’ Conan’s mouth tightened.
‘If you’re serious about buying a smaller house, Fiona, and if you really do mean to settle down here in the country, then there is a nice house to sell in the village of Lochandee,’ Bridie said. ‘It’s not far from Beth’s.’
‘I thought the cottage near Beth’s was to rent,’ Conan said.
‘Oh, there is that one too. I’d forgotten about that. But if you want to buy a house, Fiona, the one that is to sell was built by the Mackenzies who live in the big house on the hill on the other side of the loch. It was built just before the war started for Mr Mackenzie’s mother. She died a month ago. It has a bathroom and a lovely little kitchen, as well as two front rooms and two bedrooms. At the back the garden goes right down to the burn. It’s lovely.’
‘Oh, any house with a bathroom is heavenly to hear Bridie talk,’ Conan teased. ‘She’s obsessed with bathrooms since Dad built one at Glens of Lochandee.’
‘Well, I notice you enjoy using it too, big brother, but you never clean the bath afterwards. Besides, I was just reading the other day – only 46 per cent of houses have bathrooms – so it’s a luxury you should appreciate. And Fiona’s used to having one, aren’t you, Fiona?’
‘Yes. I don’t think I would like to go back to filling and emptying the tin bath in front of the fire.’
‘Oh, of course not.’
Bridie glared at her brother. Was he agreeing or was he mocking? He raised an eyebrow at her.
‘You go if you want, Conan, and leave us to our talk,’ she said irritably.
‘All right, I’ll do that.’ He stood up, but he hesitated, looking down at Fiona and the smooth sweep of fair hair which so often hid her expression. ‘If you need two strong men and a lorry to move your furniture you can rely on Nick and me …’ he offered.
Fiona looked up startled. She stared at Conan.
‘I do believe you mean that, and I would be truly grateful. I scarcely know where to begin. Mum has … had so much furniture. Some of it came from her grandparents and she never threw anything out. The drawers and cupboards are full of linen and china. I shall have to dispose of most of it, when I move to a smaller place.’
‘Maybe the new owners would want to buy some of it?’ Bridie suggested.
‘Yes, it would be better not to get rid of anything until you sell the house. Besides, some of the things may be antiques. Nick and I used to have a friend – you remember Mark, don’t you, Bridie? He was killed during the war.’
‘Yes, but …’
‘His father knows all about furniture. He restores antiques for lots of the gentry. Nick and I always get a card from Mark’s parents at Christmas. I’m sure Mr Murray would give you his opinion on anything which may be valuable. He does travel up and down the country quite a bit. He told us a lot of family treasures were destroyed during the bombing and those who still have money are always on the lookout for replacements. He says some of the Americans have got a taste for English furniture too since they were over here during the war.’
‘I didn’t know that. What do you think, Fiona? Would you like Mr Murray to have a look?’
‘Well, not if he had to come specially. I doubt if there is anything of real value and there are some things I’d like to keep for sentimental reasons …’
‘Shall I ask if he has any plans to come up to Penrith? I know he has friends there,’ Conan said. ‘It wouldn’t be all that much farther and I’m sure Mum would put him up for a night, don’t you think, Bridie?’
‘Of course, she would be happy to help. It sounds worth asking anyway. What do you think, Fiona? Will you leave it to Conan to get in touch? That wouldn’t stop you going ahead and seeing the solicitor and setting things in motion, if you’re sure it’s what you want?’
‘Yes, all right, thank you, Conan.’ Fiona looked at him with her wide grey eyes. ‘I’d be grateful for your help, if you wouldn’t mind.’
‘No problem,’ Conan nodded. ‘I’ll write tonight.’ He wondered why he always felt so defensive in Fiona Sinclair’s company. Even now, when she was supposed to be vulnerable and full of grief, she was cool and in control, her manners as impeccable as ever. Why should that irritate him?
Chapter Four
ANOTHER WEEK HAD PASSED before Fiona was able to arrange an appointment with Jordon Niven. He was younger than she had expected to be in business on his own, but then she recalled his father had built up the firm and he was merely taking over. She wondered how he would have done on his own merits. The thought made her wary and on her guard.
‘Is there something in the air down at Lochandee?’ he asked. ‘You’re the third client I’ve had in a fortnight. But I understand you want to sell, as well as buy?’
‘Yes, that’s correct. The Maxwells from the Glens of Lochandee recommended you to act for me.’
‘I see … At this rate Mr Maxwell will be asking me for commission. Now, if you could give me some details first, Miss Sinclair …’
‘I have a full description written out ready for you.’ Fiona took an envelope from her leather bag and handed it to him. He raised his eyebrows in surprise at the neatly typed sheet of paper and the detailed descriptions and sizes.
‘How very efficient. Are you sure you need a lawyer?’
‘Yes, I’m an accountant, not a legal expert.’
‘You’re an accountant!’ He eyed her with sharp interest. ‘Where are you working now, if you don’t mind my asking?’
‘I’m not. I resigned from my post because I wanted to be with my mother …’ She bit her lip, striving for the composure she valued above all else, especially in male company. ‘She did not live as long as the doctors had expected so …’
‘So now you regret your decision?’
‘Not at all. I shall not return to the city – at least not for some time. I was a company accountant latterly.’ She told him the name of her firm. This time, his eyebrows almost disappeared into his thatch of black hair. He asked her some pertinent questions about her work and she knew he was well acquainted with the type of businesses she had dealt with.
‘I have a couple of friends who are accountants. One of them is in Glasgow. We were at university together. I did think of studying accountancy myself but Dad persuaded me to become a lawyer, so that I could take over the family firm. I’ve no regrets really, though sometimes I could do with an accountant to deal with death duties and some of the estate matters. Now that the government has introduced Pay As You Earn taxes for employees, I foresee it being only the thin end of the wedge. I reckon most businesses will need an accountant to advise them before many more years have passed.’
‘Yes, I am considering setting up a small accountancy business, once I have bought another house and settled in.’
‘Surely you will find life very tame down here? I mean after the cut and thrust of the city financiers?’
‘If you mean more peaceful, then that is something I would welcome right now. If I change my mind later I may go back to the city – perhaps to Edinburgh.’
‘I see …’ Jordon Niven looked at her thoughtfully, his fingers pressed together in a peak, elbows resting on his desk. ‘I wonder …’ Then he shook his head, reminding himself that his father still had a final say in matters affecting the firm. ‘Anyway, I think it will be a fairly simple matter to procure the house you have in mind,’ he said more briskly. ‘I’ll contact the solicitor concerned and obtain more details regarding the price and so forth.’
‘Oh I know what price they are asking. I have just sold my flat so I could afford to buy it right away if necessary. I thought you might try offering a little less first? I believe their price seems reasonable though and I wouldn’t like to miss it. I have friends in the village of Lochandee.’
‘Very well, I will follow your instructions. Now, regarding the sale of your own property – I may have a client who would be interested, a family looking for a large house in the country. They would prefer some ground with it, though. I will make enquiries. Can I contact you if they wish to look quite soon? I know they would like to get fixed up. They will not quibble unduly over the price provided the property is what they are looking for.’
A little while later, Fiona left the solicitor’s office feeling more satisfied and settled in her mind than she had for some time. If only she could rid herself of the feeling of guilt.
Nick had also been busy with appointments. The manager of his bank had agreed to arrange a loan – just enough to buy a plot of land and build a modest house. Privately, he was impressed by Nick’s caution and his plans to extend only when he could afford it, but he had insisted he must take out insurance to cover the loan, especially as he was self-employed and his own capital was tied up in the business. Nick agreed to return when his solicitor had negotiated the purchase of enough land to build on, and when he had completed his enquiries regarding planning permission and a licence to obtain building materials.
Ross had not fared so well with his own negotiations. His need was for a much larger loan if he was to have any chance of buying Nether Rullion. Some of the stumbling blocks were the grounds and the small mansion in which Brigadier Jamieson had lived, and which had been empty since he emigrated to Canada. Although the house was far too large for an ordinary family, the Brigadier’s solicitor was intent on protecting his client’s interests, and his own. He knew there would be little demand for such a large house on its own, so he insisted that the farm and house must be sold together.
‘The Mansion House is just a white elephant to people such as us,’ Ross repeated while Rachel went on ironing at the kitchen table and doing her best to console him.
‘Perhaps it’s for the best, Ross. It looks as though Nick is going ahead with buying a plot of land to build a house for Bridie. Even if she comes back to Lochandee to work, she’ll not be here all the time, and if they get a family … We shall miss her help badly.’
‘Maybe you’re right,’ Ross sighed. ‘Anyway I shall have to see Mr Niven again and tell him to withdraw my offer. I’ll wait until after Christmas now though.’
‘Yes, you do that, dear. Speaking of Christmas, do you think Ewan will be very disappointed when he gets a piano accordion instead of a bicycle? He really had set his heart on a bike and Lucy is getting one.’
‘Well, he’ll just have to wait. Harry said it wouldn’t be ready until his birthday if we wanted a second-hand boy’s bike. That’s only four weeks away.’
‘Yes, I suppose so,’ Rachel sighed. ‘Things seem to be scarcer than ever since the war ended.’
‘Everything is being exported to get the balance of payments down. War is a costly business.’
‘Mmm, I suppose this is what they mean when they say “Britain can make anything, but Britons can’t buy anything.” Don’t you think?’
‘Possibly, but Ewan likes to have his own way. It will not do him any harm to see Lucy can have some things first. He’s getting a bit bossy with her, but she’s beginning to stand up to him. I do believe she has as much fire in her as he has.’
‘I know. I heard Conan telling her not to give in to him. Of course, he adores both of the children really.’
Ewan was bitterly disappointed when he didn’t get a bike for Christmas and he barely looked at the small piano accordion, which Ross had managed to buy second-hand from a man he had met while playing the fiddle at one of the village dances. He was frequently in demand for his own musical skills and he hoped Ewan would enjoy learning to play an instrument. So far, Bridie was the only one who had inherited any of his own musical talents, but they had been unable to afford an instrument and music lessons when she was younger. As it was, she was often in demand to sing at the local concerts and she seemed content. Sometimes Nick and Bridie accompanied him to the dances and performed as a duet. Ross liked Nick and he was happy to welcome him as a son-in-law, but he did not relish the day when Bridie would leave Lochandee. She knew every one of the cows and calves, by name and breed, better than he did himself these days. It was her life. Ross sighed. It didn’t matter how much a man tried to plan, things didn’t always go the way he wanted.
It was the end of the second week in January when Fiona phoned to ask if Bridie could meet her that evening.
&
nbsp; ‘I have three bits of news to tell you,’ she said mysteriously.
‘Good news, I hope?’ Bridie prompted.
‘One very good, one disappointing, and one I’m not sure about.’
‘Och, you’re a tease, Fiona,’ Bridie laughed. ‘I’ll see you as soon as the milking is over this evening.’
It transpired that Fiona had been successful in buying the house which Bridie herself had recommended and she was delighted at the prospect of moving into Lochandee village as soon as possible.
‘The disappointment is that the people who came to see this house think it’s too small, with not enough ground.’
‘Too small! Whatever do they want? A mansion for goodness sake!’
‘I don’t know,’ Fiona shrugged, ‘but Mr Niven is going to advertise it now – which brings me to my other bit of news. He has offered me work for two days a week. It’ll be nothing like I was doing, and nothing like the money, but I’m thinking of accepting. He says he has various clients who ask for advice or help with their accounts and there is the death duties side of things. It would make a change for me and he says if I build it up to more clients it will be up to me whether or not I take them on. Do you know him, Bridie?’
‘No, but Dad does, and he has great respect for both young Mr Niven and his father. He has an appointment with them this week, but I’m afraid they’ll not get any business this time. Nether Rullion land, plus the big house and the parkland, are too big an undertaking for us and the Brigadier’s solicitor refuses to sell them separately, in case he gets left with the house. Besides … I don’t know how Dad would manage everything at both farms when I move away from Glens of Lochandee.’
‘Has Nick bought the land then?’
‘Not yet, but he can get a bank loan for it. Mr Niven advised him to wait until he knew he could get permission to build and a licence for materials. He didn’t think there would be a problem but he’s looking into it.’
The Legacy of Lochandee Page 4
