It had been a relief to make the final payment to the bank at the end of July and clear the bank loan.
‘I was determined to start our life together without any debts hanging over us,’ he told Megan. ‘If you change your mind and want to keep on teaching after this year,’ he said earnestly, ‘I shall understand Meggie and we can sell two of the sows to make less work.’
‘I’m sure I shall not change my mind,’ Megan said firmly. ‘I can’t tell you how much I’m dreading the thought of being away at school all day and leaving you here on your own.’
‘I shall not be on my own. Joe will be here,’ Steven grinned.
‘You know very well what I mean!’ Megan said, her green eyes sparkling. ‘You’ll surely not be creeping up on Joe to steel a kiss…?’
Steven threw back his head and laughed. ‘I think he might run away if I did that. Seriously Megan, I am going to miss you but I know it’s the sensible thing to finish off your teaching qualification. At least you will get the school holidays. It’s a pity you’ll have a two mile cycle ride to catch the bus at the main road.’
‘It would have been worse if I’d been forty miles away and we’d had to wait another year to be married,’ Megan reminded him. Steven drew her to him and his arms tightened around her slender waist. He bent to kiss her ear and her neck, and then her lips. ‘I don’t think I could have waited so long,’ he said gruffly. ‘As it is we shall have to be careful not to make any mistakes and get a baby before you’re ready. You’re such a temptation, sweetheart.’
‘I know,’ Megan said breathlessly. ‘At least we shall not have to pay for a nurse and all that sort of thing now that the government have brought in free health care for everybody. Mother says some women really needed to see a doctor but if they couldn’t afford to pay they risked their own lives as well as that of the baby.’
‘Well we shall never take that risk, whether we have to pay or not,’ Steven assured her firmly. ‘I realise now how dreadful it must have been for people like my mother and my father to lose the love of their lives after so short a time.’ He kissed her passionately. ‘Let’s not even think about it.’
As the days grew shorter and colder, Steven worried about Megan cycling to the main road to wait for the bus. He knew she was a lot tougher than she looked but he loved her to distraction. It was Jimmy Kerr who came up with a solution. The firm of Bradleys had a garage as well as the agricultural engineering side and an iron mongers shop.
‘They have a decent second hand car for sale. You wouldn’t get much for your motor bike but you could trade it in.’
‘I’ll think about it,’ Steven said. He hadn’t planned to buy a car for a long while.
‘They have a little van to sell as well,’ Jimmy said. ‘That would be more useful and it’s cheaper but it depends whether Megan would want to be seen driving a van to school.’
Megan was insistent that her bicycle was perfectly adequate but ten days later she was drenched after cycling home in a thunderstorm and Steven decided they must have the van.
‘What use would the money be if you got ill, Meggie? And I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.’
So Megan was often seen driving to and from work in her wee van and she frequently found herself bringing messages for one or other of the smallholders. She loved teaching her class of six and seven year olds and her head mistress was kind and understanding, a willing listener to any anxieties she might have, but she was constantly aware of all the help the other small holders’ wives gave their husbands and she longed to help Steven and work at his side. Some days when he was working late she went to work before he came in for breakfast and she only saw him when they ate their evening meal together; even then Joe was always there. They never seemed to have time alone together when they could indulge in idle chatter or gentle flirting. They were beginning to feel the strain.
One evening in May, Steven had been sowing turnips all day and he was hot and tired and they still had the cows to milk. Jimmy Kerr called in at the house as Megan was making their evening meal.
‘I know Steven and Joe are busy with the turnips but they must be nearly finished. I wondered whether they would come out with me for a drink tonight?’
‘I could ask them,’ Megan said, her heart sinking. When did Steven ever have time for an evening of leisure in her company these days, or if he did, it always seemed to be when she had lessons to prepare for the following day. They were both too conscientious about their work. She looked at Jimmy. ‘Is it some sort of celebration?’
‘Well, sort of.’ He gave her a shy smile. ‘I’ve been promoted and it just happens to be my birthday as well.’
‘Congratulations, Jimmy,’ Megan said warmly. ‘Why don’t you pop into the byre and tell Steven your news. I’m sure he’ll be delighted for you and he can tell you if he’s free tonight.’
So it was that Steven and Joe joined some of Jimmy’s friends from work for a night of revelry. Megan was in bed and half asleep by the time they came home, singing merrily and rather drunk. It was the first time she had seen Steven intoxicated. He didn’t seem the least bit tired as he sat on the edge of the bed and gently stroked her face while singing a popular love song to her. Eventually he stripped off his clothes, tossing them around the room in gay abandon, totally unlike his usual self. He rolled into bed beside her and proceeded to make wild and passionate love. His happiness and carefree state were infectious and neither of them remembered the hateful little packages which Steven kept in the bedside cupboard.
Steven was worse for wear the following morning and both he and Joe slept through their alarms. Megan had a struggle to waken them. She brewed a large pot of strong tea and persuaded them to drink it. Eventually they crawled to the byre to get on with the milking. She knew they were both feeling wretched and they were running late if the milk was to be cooled and into the churns in time for the milk lorry to collect it. She decided to milk some of the cows herself. They couldn’t afford to miss the lorry. Consequently she was late for work herself. She knew that would be a black mark against her in whatever reports her headmistress had to write about her at the end of her year.
She needed to discuss her situation with Steven. He had insisted she should save the money she earned and put it in a separate bank account to be kept for a rainy day, or to buy herself something she needed, but they couldn’t go on like this indefinitely. Although she enjoyed teaching she also wanted to be at home so they could work side by side, she wanted to help Steven build up his little farm. She knew it was his ambition to move to a larger farm some day when they had enough stock and more machinery and enough income to afford a bigger rent.
As things turned out the decision was made for her. By the end of June, she knew she was expecting a child. She also knew it was not what Steven had planned or intended and she was nervous about telling him.
She waited until she knew Joe would be out at the pictures for the evening but before she had chance to say anything Steven had a suggestion of his own. ‘It’s a lovely evening,’ he said as she cleared away the dishes after their meal. ‘It’s Friday too. Do you feel like a walk, Meggie? It seems ages since we had time to go for a stroll and a chat.’
‘I’d love to come.’ She responded eagerly, pleased to see the old Steven she knew and loved. As they walked beside the river they both remembered the night of the flood.
‘Shall we sit for a while beneath the willow tree?’ Steven suggested. ‘It’s hard to believe the water ever came over the banks when you see it now.’ Megan shuddered at the memory and he drew her close. She leaned her head against his shoulder. ‘I love you so much, Megan. I never seem to get the time, or the opportunity, to tell you these days. Perhaps I shouldn’t have invited Joe to lodge in the house with us. It makes extra work for you and I know how busy you are.’
‘He’s no trouble really, and you couldn’t have managed everything without help, especially when I’ve been working.’
‘I suppose you’re r
ight.’ He ran his fingers up and down her bare arm. ‘But it’s good to be on our own for once.’
‘Yes, it’s lovely.’ She sighed happily. ‘It will soon be the summer holidays and the end of my year’s teaching practice.’
‘I know. You enjoy teaching your young pupils, don’t you, Meggie?’
‘I do, but Steven, I’d enjoy working beside you every day even more.’
‘Would you? Do you mean that, Meggie? Teaching must be so much easier. I didn’t think you would want to give it up now you’ve started and when I see how much you enjoy it.’
‘I’d give it up any day so long as I know you want me here beside you.’
‘Oh Meggie, you must know how much I miss you when you’re away all day, but I know that’s selfish of me, especially when you’re so good at your work and so interested in what you do.’
‘It would be even better being beside you and having children of our own.’ She sat up and looked into his face. ‘What would you say to us having a baby, Steven?’
‘It would be wonderful, our very own child and you at home all day looking after her instead of being at school.’
‘It might be a “him”, a wee boy, just like you,’ Megan said softly.
‘Maybe we could have one of each then?’
‘Starting now?’
‘You mean right here and now? Underneath the willow tree?’
‘Of course.’ She laughed up at him, her green eyes sparkling.
‘Oh you wanton woman, Megan Caraford, I love you more than I can say.’
It was quite a while before they sat up and Megan confessed.
‘We’re already expecting our first child, Steven,’ she said softly.
‘We are?’ He looked startled. ‘However could that happen?’ Megan began to laugh. ‘How do you suppose such things happen?’
‘B-but you know what I mean… I- I thought… Are you sure, Megan? Do you feel all right?’
‘Yes, and yes, so don’t start fussing. My mother carried on helping with the milking almost until Sam and I were born. Are you pleased?’
‘Am I pleased indeed! I’m the luckiest man on earth.’ He drew her into his arms and kissed her tenderly.
If you enjoyed Coming Home you might be interested in A Question of Love by Gwen Kirkwood, also published by Endeavour Press.
Extract from A Question of Love by Gwen Kirkwood
One
`Never underestimate an intelligent woman who is in a position of authority.’ Euan Kennedy recalled his mother’s advice, `especially if she has the respect of her colleagues. Such a woman has to be twice as worthy as a man to have achieved her position. She will not be the sort of bimbo who succumbs to your charming smile, my boy. It might not be good for your ego but it would teach you a lesson. Indeed I hope you do meet such a woman one day,’ she had added with a gleam in her eye, which he might have described as malevolent if she had not been his ever loving mother.
Did he need a lesson? Had success gone to his head? Surely not. Yet he couldn’t deny he was irked by Roseanne Fairfax and he was beginning to wonder whether she was the type his mother had had in mind. Certainly all the staff seemed to like and respect her. But he was not about to turn his back on a challenge.
`Whew!’ Euan Kennedy whistled in surprise as his gaze travelled over the computer screen at end of his first week at Kershaw & Company. `So Uncle Simon’s P.A. is not the Miss Perfection he believes,’ he muttered to himself, ‘in spite of the aloof, touch-me-not persona she presents.’ He had a strong suspicion Miss Fairfax did not trust him with the firm’s computer systems, but on what grounds he had no idea. Especially considering he had built up a successful IT business of his own from scratch. His eyes returned to the computer screen and he stifled a spontaneous bark of laughter, but a chuckle still rumbled deep in his chest when he glanced through the glass partition at Roseanne Fairfax in the adjoining office. He appreciated the dry wit evident in her email. Maybe time spent at his uncle's business premises would not be so dull after all. He never could resist a challenge and Miss Fairfax’s icy demeanour had already proved resistant to his usual brand of masculine charm, not to mention the fact that she refuted his right to take over his uncle’s office.
It had not taken him long to realize she was popular with all the staff, from the factory foreman to the administration staff in the office. He had envied the beaming smile she gave the middle-aged door keeper when she arrived in the mornings. They all spoke of her with warmth and respect and he would have had to be blind not to notice she was damned attractive.
`Not everything is as it seems though,’ he murmured to himself as he re-read the email she had written. Uncle Simon’s Miss Perfect was not without a bit of humour, he admitted, even if it was at his expense – at least this time. His mouth firmed as he resolved to get his own back. Euan knew without conceit that he was reasonably good looking. He was intelligent and he had worked hard and used his abilities, as the success of his business had proved. Above all he was not used to being ignored, especially by women, young, old, ugly or attractive. He was both irked and intrigued by the indifference Miss Fairfax had displayed towards him since he arrived.
He had volunteered to install the new computer system in the offices of his uncle’s meat processing plant during Simon Kershaw’s absence but he usually left the checking and tweaking to one of his subordinates. The job had been a spur of the moment assignment to occupy him while he was here so there was nothing for it but to attend to any final adjustments to the program himself. He always knew exactly what was required, whenever he undertook a new program but on this occasion he didn’t exactly have a free rein. For the first time in his life he was not sure why he had changed his plans at the last minute.
He had made careful arrangements so that he could be away from his company for three months while he visited his mother in Australia. It had been a shock to him when he learned she had undergone a major operation without telling him and he was relieved to hear she was making an excellent recovery. Apparently the news had also been a shock to Uncle Simon because he had also made plans to visit his only sister while she was recuperating. There was no doubt her brother’s proposed visit had been a pleasant surprise which his mother was eagerly anticipating. There seemed no point in both of them visiting at the same time so Euan had decided to break his journey to Australia and visit Scotland instead, allowing his uncle and mother time alone together to catch up.
So here he was at Kershaw & Company, his Uncle Simon’s meat processing plant in Scotland while the boss himself was on the other side of the world. Euan’s eyes gleamed with devilish amusement as he re-read the email which had never been intended for his eyes.
In her own office Roseanne muttered in irritation and wondered why she felt so restless. Why was she so aware of the man across the passage? She had been left in sole charge of Kershaw & Company scores of times while Mr K went off on his meat buying trips. Why should it be any different this time? And why should she be so on edge? During her holidays from university she had wanted to earn some money so at various times she had worked in almost every part of the factory. She had got to know the staff and the different systems. She understood the routines, how the processing and packaging plants operated, and why certain things had to be done to comply with health and safety and hygiene regulations. The experience had proved invaluable, even though her mother had irritably declared at the time that it bore no relation to her degree in accountancy.
She had known Simon Kershaw since she was a child. He had been like an adopted uncle when she was young. They got on well together. When she finished at university he had confessed that keeping records and accounts was not his strong suite, especially now the company was beginning to expand, so he had offered her a permanent position in charge of the office staff and the accounts at Kershaw & Co. She had accepted. On several occasions she had proved herself more than capable of dealing with problems and she could handle the administration of the business blindfolded �
� well almost. Perhaps it would be better if she was blindfolded then she wouldn’t be so conscious of Mr K’s nephew now occupying the boss’s office right next to hers; she wouldn’t see his long legs taking the stairs two at a time to Mr K’s spacious flat above the offices either. What right did Euan Kennedy have to come here out of the blue and assume so much authority? She felt he was taking over her space, as well as his uncle's. She had an uneasy premonition he might take her over completely if she was not careful.
No! She thumped the desk. She didn’t allow anyone to interfere with her work, though plenty had tried. The trouble was Mr K had never travelled half way round the world before, nor been away for as long as three whole months. He had been genuinely upset when he heard the news that his only sister had undergone a serious operation without telling him. Although they kept in touch regularly it was years since they had seen each other and her illness had filled him with consternation and jolted him into action, hence the trip to Australia.
‘You see, lassie,’ he had explained, `Aileen is all the family I have. She’s had a serious operation and it’s made me realise neither of us will be here forever and I ought to go and see her.’ He had given Roseanne his boyish smile. `I might even give some of your ideas a try if I see their electronic machines in action over there.’
`I’ll believe that when I see it!’ She had grinned at him. They both knew he hated changes and he avoided anything to do with computers if he could. She hadn’t dared suggest any changes down at Ashburn, the organic farm they owned between them, thanks to her Grandfather Fairfax. One step at a time, was her motto when leading Mr K into the modern world of technology.
`Aileen has a son,` he had said, `but I havena seen him since he was a wee laddie. He's built up a business developing computerised machinery. He travels all over the world. I’ll give him a ring and let him know I’m going to visit his mother. If I meet him there I might invite him to come over to Scotland for a visit. He could give us his advice on modernising some of the processing plant when I return. It’s time I got to know the boy.’
Coming Home Page 24
