Escape to the Country

by Patsy Collins

  "Good job too. Wouldn't get anywhere if we were to hang around waiting for you women to make up your minds, would we, my boy?"

  "No Dad, we wouldn't. But let me me make my own proposal, eh?"

  "All right, but do it soon."

  "Yes, Dad."

  Fortunately a trolley laden with tea and cakes was brought in at that moment. After that, the conversation became more normal

  "Sorry about Dad," Duncan said as they left the nursing home and headed back for Winkleigh Marsh.

  "Don't be, I liked him. Both of them."

  "Good, they liked you too. If they don't like people they're just very very polite. It's really quite scary."

  "They didn't scare me."

  "And what about the things Dad was suggesting?"

  "That didn't scare me either."

  "No?"

  "I'm not agreeing too anything, but if you were to ask me properly sometime then I probably wouldn't scream and run away."

  Chapter 14

  Jayne had to wait to greet Leah as Tarragon got there first. She gave her a hug, then said, "Well, get changed, you can't clean out the pigs in that lot."

  Leah gave a mock salute, collected her case and strode towards Primrose Cottage. Duncan picked up her remaining bags, but Jayne grabbed his arm to stop him following. Leah didn't have long to speculate about what Jayne was telling him as he soon caught up with Leah.

  "Fancy going out for a drink tonight?"

  "I do, but not for too long. I rather suspect Jayne's going to want to interrogate me and it's been quite an emotional couple of days."

  He hugged her close. "Of course. I'm just being selfish. You talk to Jayne and sort yourself out and I'll leave off pestering you until tomorrow. I promise not to come calling before it's light."

  "I do like you an awful lot," she told him.

  "I'm rather counting on that." He kissed her in a way that proved he liked her an awful lot too.

  Leah got changed and found Jayne at the pigsty.

  "Aaaw, they're adorable!"

  "They are. I've already started wondering if I should keep one to breed from."

  "Definitely!"

  "Maybe. Depends if I'll have any help cleaning them out."

  "You will."

  As the two women fed the orphan lambs and gave all the animals fresh bedding, Leah started briefing Jayne on all that had happened since Adam took her away from Winkleigh Marsh.

  "He took it OK, you dumping him?"

  "Yes, I'd worried he might get nasty, but he was fine. He brought me a coffee before he went to work this morning and said there was no rush for me to move all my stuff out. He hopes I'll change my mind, but if not then he's going to sell the flat as there would be too many memories."

  "Trying to make you feel guilty?"

  "No, I don't think so. He thinks me coming down here is just a fad and I'll be back as soon as I can go back to work."

  "What about Jim's offer?"

  "I'll go in and see what's involved, but I can't start working there until my name has been cleared and I've officially left Prophet Margin."

  "Now to the important bit. What about Duncan?"

  "You'll have to ply me with cowslip wine to get me to talk."

  Jayne did just that after their supper. Leah admitted she wanted to spend the rest of her life living on a farm with Duncan.

  "I'm pretty sure that's what he wants too," Jayne said. She refilled their glasses.

  "Yes and his parents."

  "You've met them? Then you know..."

  "About his dad?"

  "Yes."

  "He was fine when I saw him. In remission they said and there's a good chance he'll stay like that for quite a while." Leah told Jayne about the visit and everything Duncan's dad had said.

  The warmth of the fire and the effects of the wine soon had both women yawning and they agreed an early night would be a good idea.

  "Leah, wake up!" Jayne shook her.

  She must be dreaming. She hadn't set her alarm, but even if she'd slept late, Jayne wouldn't be yelling at her.

  "Leah, you've got to get up! Come on!" Jayne dragged the quilt off Leah and pulled at her arm.

  "Milk your own cow."

  "There's a fire, get up!"

  Leah pulled on clothes at random and raced down the stairs after Jayne.

  The barn was blazing and the cows were bellowing in fear. She could hear the dog barking and the lambs and pigs were all making a horrible racket.

  "Where's Tarragon?"

  "I shut him in the pick-up. He was hysterical and would have panicked the other animals. Let's get the cows first, we can put them in a field, they'll be OK."

  They let the terrified cattle out just in time. The heat was intense and burning straw was falling dangerously close to their bedding.

  "What next?"

  "We need pens or something to put the rest in. God Leah, we can't let them burn."

  "We won't, we won't. How about gates? Could we make a pen from them for the lambs?"

  "Yes, that would work."

  They dragged gates from their hinges and carried them a safe distance from the flames. Once they were lashed together, they carried the lambs two at a time into the pen.

  "The chicken will be OK, the flames are going the other way, but I'm worried about the piglets. I just don't see how we can make them a pen in time."

  "Shall we just let them out? They might get hurt if they just run away, but there chances would be better than if they're caught in the fire."

  "All right, I suppose so."

  They ran to the pigsty. The wall was already hot.

  "The chicken run, that would hold them," Jayne said. "It's not ideal, but we'll try that."

  "OK. Jayne, did you call the fire brigade?"

  Jayne sagged as though she'd been hit. "No."

  "I'll do it." Leah, wishing she hadn't lost her habit of carrying her mobile at all times, turned and ran toward the house.

  "No." Jayne pulled her arm. "Look."

  Leah looked where Jayne pointed. A burning telegraph pole crashed down towards the cottage, blocking her route.

  "You're not going in there," Jayne said.

  "We need help."

  "Take the pick-up. I'll move the pigs."

  Leah drove as fast as she dared over the fields to Home Farm. In her panic, she'd forgotten the dog. Poor Tarragon cowered on the floor in front of the passenger seat. He knew there was something terribly wrong and must think his banishment to the pick-up meant he was getting the blame.

  "It's OK, boy," she tried to reassure him. That didn't seem to help, but when she added, "I'm glad you're with me," he thumped his tail. That was probably because what she said that time was true and it made her voice sound more reassuring.

  Twice Leah stopped to open gates which she didn't close. Once she crashed through a post and rail fence. She doubted even G-B would put the inconvenience of cows in the wrong field and broken timber above the safety of Jayne's animals and Primrose Cottage.

  She blasted the horn as she drove into the yard, then hammered on Mr Gilmore-Bunce's door. Tarragon accompanied her, sticking closer than if he'd been on a lead. Leah tried to call out that there was a fire, but first her voice, then her legs failed her. She slumped against the door frame.

  "Leah?" It was Duncan, wearing just jeans and pulling on a shirt.

  "Duncan, thank God!"

  "Leah, what is it?" He pulled her into his arms and stroked her matted, smoky hair.

  She wanted the stay in his arms and let him comfort her, but there wasn't time.

  "Jayne's barn's on fire and we can't get in the house to call for help."

  "Go in, the phone is first on the left. Call the fire brigade, then come out into the yard. Better leave Tarragon here."

  Duncan had the pick-up turned round when she came out. She jumped in next to him. He drove back at even greater speed than Leah had used to get there.

  "I've grabbed the pump from the inspection pit, so we'll be
able to do something before the fire brigade get there. Here, take my phone and call Phil for me."

  Leah searched his contacts for a Phil and held the phone for Duncan to speak.

  "There's a fire at Primrose Cottage. Meet me there, but first call Jake and get him to stand by the main road and direct the fire brigade down the lane."

  Duncan followed the tracks Leah had made in the damp ground, making no comments about the damage and open gates.

  At Jayne's cottage Duncan got the women to lug a hose to the stream while he connected his pump to a generator he'd brought. They hosed down the side of Primrose Cottage.

  The fire brigade soon arrived, followed promptly by Phil and Jake. Those two men helped Duncan and the women make a better pen for the lambs and provide them with bedding. They also put straw down for the piglets and carted in a water trough.

  By the time they'd finished, the fire brigade had the blaze under control.

  An officer said, "We'll stay 'til we're sure there's no chance of it re-igniting. Your house seems fine, but I don't want you going back in there tonight. Is there anyone you can go to?"

  "Yes," Duncan said. "They'll come to Home Farm."

  "Good, we'll be back in the morning to do an assessment, but I expect you'll be able to return then."

  Duncan guided the shocked women to the pick-up. "I'll just give the fire brigade our contact details."

  He drove them at a sensible speed back to Home Farm. Exhausted, Leah and Jayne collapsed into the double bed Duncan offered them.

  Leah awoke in a strange bed, aware of someone next to her and the smell of smoke. She couldn't move her legs, but she could hear a woman crying; Jayne. That meant the events of last night weren't just an awful dream.

  "Shh, shh. We got all the animals out," Leah said, hugging Jayne.

  The weight on Leah's legs moved as Tarragon scrambled up to lick his mistress's face.

  "Did we? I don't remember. I panicked."

  "Yes, but while you were panicking, you were saving them. All of them."

  "Leah? Jayne?" Duncan whispered through the door.

  "We're awake," Leah replied.

  He came in, carrying an armful of clothes. "These are Mum's, she'd want you to have them. I've made some tea, I'll bring that up, then leave you in peace."

  Duncan returned with a tray loaded with tea, toast and biscuits. "Bathroom is just next door. Please help yourself to anything you want."

  "Thanks," Jayne whispered.

  "Yes, thank you, Duncan." Leah wanted to know why he had been sleeping at Oliver Gilmore-Bunce's house, but couldn't bring herself to say anything. She'd jumped to enough conclusions about G-B already.

  After a shower and breakfast, the women both felt much better, even in their borrowed clothes.

  "Jayne, doesn't it seem odd to you that Duncan was sleeping here last night?"

  "No. Where would you expect him to sleep?"

  "I, well..." She'd imagined herself sleeping with him, but never considered where that might be. "He lives in? OK that makes sense, but surely his mother can't live here too?" She indicated the clothes Duncan had given them.

  "I thought you... You'd best ask him, I think."

  "I will."

  She didn't get the chance for quite some time. Jayne and Duncan discussed plans for getting food and bedding for her animals as he drove them back to Primrose Cottage. When they got there, Jim had arrived. He hugged Jayne, then Leah.

  Poor man looked as though he'd been crying. He told them he'd heard about the fire and drove straight over. "There was no one here and you didn't answer your phone."

  "Oh, Jim. I'm so sorry you were worried. We're fine, look."

  Jim stared at Jayne then glanced at Leah before nodding his head.

  "The animals too. Everyone's safe," Jayne assured him.

  Together, the four of them heard the fire officer's assessment. They learned the barn and the cattle and sheep pens were unsafe and would have to be demolished after a further investigation was carried out to find the cause of the fire. All the hay and straw was ruined, plus a lot of equipment and the thatch on the cottage needed replacing.

  "It did anyway," Jayne told him. "It's safe to go in though, is it?"

  "Yes, the damage to the house is just superficial."

  They thanked him.

  "And thank you, Duncan," Jayne said. "I'm going to see if I can salvage anything to feed the lambs with. Your men dragged out a lot of stuff from the barn so I think I'll be lucky. Duncan, Leah wants to know why you're living at Home Farm."

  "Ah. Yes."

  Jayne called Tarragon, grabbed Jim's hand and left them.

  "I expect there's a simple explanation?" Leah asked hopefully. Almost any explanation would have satisfied her as long as it meant she could fall into his arms and have him hold her tight for a long time.

  "There is. I'm Oliver Gilmore-Bunce."

  "Who? What?"

  "Oliver Duncan Alan Gilmore-Bunce, to be precise."

  "You can't be."

  "Yes I can. I'm named after my dad, Oliver Thomas Cyril Gilmore-Bunce. All the men in the family have been called Oliver, so we use one of our middle names. Home Farm is my home. I took over the business when Dad got ill."

  "You are Oliver Gilmore-Bunce?" He couldn't be. Leah could feel her body shaking and her nails digging painfully into her palms, but she couldn't do anything to stop it. All those things she'd said about him. How could he have made such a fool of her? "I thought you cared about me, perhaps even loved me and that we had a future together and instead you've been lying to me the whole time."

  "Lying? About what?"

  "Your name. You said you were Duncan."

  "And so I am. I usually only give my full name on tax returns, but if I'd realised I'd ever be accused of misleading you, I'd have given the full ten syllable version while you sank deeper into the mud." He sounded as angry as she felt.

  He had a point, but he must have known she'd thought he and G-B were two separate people. Of course he did, he'd let her rant about the awful things G-B had done and never once even tried to tell her the truth. He was a manipulative and deceitful as she'd always thought him.

  "You said... you let me think... Adam wanted to marry me and I said no because I thought... " Her sobs prevented her saying more. She couldn't think of anything except that Duncan had lied and because of that she'd told him she hated him. That made her a bigger liar than he was.

  "I do care, Leah. I love you, I want to marry you and..." He tried to put his arms around her, but she pushed him away.

  "Don't touch me."

  "Leah please."

  "If you love someone you don't lie to them."

  "I didn't, I just..."

  "Go, just go." She pushed past him and ran for the safety of Primrose Cottage.

  He'd have to walk home, but she didn't care. She slammed the door, sank against it and sobbed. Eventually she heard her phone ringing. She scrambled to find it and flipped it open. It was Rachel calling. Another sob escaped her. She'd hoped it would be Duncan and he'd somehow found something to say that would make everything all right.

  The phone kept ringing, so she answered.

  "Leah, I've got great news. Adam Ferrand has been arrested!"

  Chapter 15

  "In what way can that possibly be good news?" Leah demanded.

  "He's the one who stole the client's money. You're in the clear, Leah. You can come back to Prophet Margin anytime you want."

  "Adam stole the money and framed me?"

  "Well, it's not quite as simple as that. He didn't actually steal anything. Well technically I suppose he did, but not for himself. He made some bad investments for his clients, then tried to cover it up by moving money around. Apparently, he kept hoping to make enough to replace what he'd moved and cover his tracks and it would probably have worked if Mr Gilmore-Bunce hadn't needed the money for his father's medical care."

  Poor Duncan, already worried about his father, he'd discovered the company
he's trusted with his money had defrauded him.

  Rachel continued, "Adam said he hadn't meant to implicate you, but he'd needed to use another account and had got lucky and guessed your passwords. He knew you were completely honest, so didn't think anyone would ever seriously consider you guilty. I think he was telling the truth. He seemed genuinely upset about the problems he'd caused you and worried about what you'd think."

  She was glad now their relationship had been kept secret or she might have been implicated in the fraud. Not that it really mattered, she realised. As she had no intention of returning to Prophet Margin it didn't matter what they thought. She had thought she cared what Duncan thought, but now she didn't know.

  "Are you OK?" Rachel asked.

  "Not really. This is a bit of a shock."

  "Yes, it must be."

  "Thanks for letting me know, Rachel and for all you've done."

  "No problem. You'll be getting all this officially in a day or so. Just thought you'd like to know as soon as possible."

  They agreed to talk then, after Leah had a chance to think about the news. She couldn't think though, not about anything positive. Everything she'd wanted was lost to her. She couldn't even cry, just sat on the floor staring into space and feeling numb.

  After a while she felt something wet on her hand. It was Tarragon gently nudging her.

  "Good boy, you never lie to me, do you?" She wrapped her body around his. The dog lay placid as though sharing her pain.

  "Leah?" Jayne said from the doorway. "Can I come in?"

  "Of course."

  Jayne came closer.

  "What am I going to do?" Leah sobbed.

  "About what, lovey?" She lowered herself onto the floor next to Leah and took her hand.

  "Everything. It's all gone wrong. I wanted Duncan but now I hate him and he hates me. I thought I wanted to marry Adam, but when he proposed I didn't want to anymore and... Oh you don't know. It was him, he stole the money. Sort of."

  "Adam? And blamed you? That ba... But he did care about you, I saw that. How could he do it?"

  "I don't know. It's complicated. He made a mistake and then I suppose he just got caught up in things. He never could admit if he was wrong."