Love Heart Lane

by Christie Barlow

  ‘Don’t worry about that, it’s forgotten.’

  Felicity left the shed seeing Alfie in a new light. Maybe his overzealous personality was a front, but he seemed caring and genuine enough and Felicity was pleased she’d approached him for help with the bridge.

  She glanced at her watch and hurried back towards the teashop. Hamish had already dropped off the food for the day and now the village shop was closed until further notice. She could see her mum and Allie busying themselves in the kitchen. Felicity pushed open the door and took her coat off and safely tucked away the bank details Alfie had given her behind the counter.

  ‘How did it go?’ asked Rona, stirring the huge pans of soup of the stove.

  ‘Pretty well, Alfie’s jumped at the chance and is confident he’s got just the right men for the job. So, it’s all systems go.’

  Meredith suddenly popped her head around the door from the cottage. ‘I thought I heard your voice,’ she said to Felicity. ‘I was taking a quick break, but I think you all should come and see this.’

  They quickly followed Meredith into the living room where the TV was switched on and there was Aidy Redfern interviewing Aggie from her hospital bed.

  ‘At least she’s got some colour back in her cheeks,’ said Rona, perching on the edge of the chair.

  Aidy had the microphone held near to Aggie’s mouth and was sat at the side of her bed.

  ‘Your granddaughter has been causing quite a stir on the internet, Mrs Campbell!’

  Aggie smiled. ‘I’m very proud of her and of course Felicity too. I believe the donations to build the temporary bridge are flooding in thanks to the video they made.’

  ‘How are you coping being away from your family?’

  ‘It’s a little difficult. When I first saw the news that the bridge had collapsed all that was going through my mind was when I would see them again.’

  ‘Hopefully, it won’t be too long before you are reunited with your family, but in the meantime you are in the best place to recuperate. Thank you for talking to us today Mrs Campbell. This is Aidy Redfern reporting for BBC Scotland.’

  ‘Look at Aggie getting in on the action,’ chuckled Rona. ‘Even though it must be awful stranded in the hospital all by herself, she’s definitely looking better.’

  ‘She is,’ replied Meredith, ‘but how are they going to get her home? How long will it take for the temporary bridge to be built?’

  ‘God only knows. Hopefully with Alfie, things can get moving along really quickly but I would still estimate maybe a few weeks,’ answered Felicity, standing up and switching the TV off.

  ‘Maybe it’s going to have to be Drew’s boat to ferry her across the river when the time comes.’

  ‘Talking of Drew…’ said Rona, taking out a picnic basket from underneath the counter and handing it over to Felicity.

  ‘What’s this?’

  ‘The lads can’t get down for lunch today and I promised Isla one of us would take them up a picnic basket full of food, save her bundling Angus in the pram … do you mind?’

  ‘Of course not,’ replied Felicity, placing it on the table while she slipped her coat back on. ‘I won’t be long.’

  Felicity made her way over to Foxglove Farm, feeling a little nervous. She hadn’t spoken to or seen Fergus since Esme was found and she was unsure how things stood between them, especially now Aggie was getting in the act on the TV. Would he be cross with his mum too?

  She ambled up the driveway but there wasn’t any sign of the boys out in the fields or in the barns. She knocked on the door and Isla opened it within seconds, looking relieved and taking the picnic basket from Felicity. Angus was strapped to her front in a baby sling, fast asleep.

  ‘You are a life saver, I’m exhausted with this little one. Luckily for me Finn has just fallen asleep which gives me a little time to try and eat my lunch in peace.’

  ‘No Esme today?’ Felicity asked.

  Isla shook her head. ‘Jessica’s looking after her. Are you coming in?’

  Felicity shook her head. ‘No, I’d best get back and help Mum dish up the food.’

  ‘Thanks for bringing this over.’

  ‘You’re welcome.’

  Felicity dug her hands in her pocket and strolled quickly back towards the teashop, a little disappointed that she hadn’t managed to see Fergus until, a little further on, she noticed him opening the door to his cottage and disappearing inside. Without thinking Felicity found her legs walking in that very direction and before she knew it she was knocking on his door.

  Within seconds the front door swung open and Fergus was standing there. ‘What are you doing here?’ he said sullenly, looking like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

  Felicity really didn’t know what she was doing there but thought quickly on her feet. ‘I’ve just taken your lunch up to the farm.’

  ‘Thank you,’ he said, but still looked distracted. Clearly he wasn’t in the mood for making conversation. He looked like he was about to close the door on her.

  ‘You don’t seem your usual self,’ Felicity pushed on. She might have been stating the obvious, but she needed to get to the bottom of why he was so upset about the video. She was sure there was more to it than he was telling her.

  ‘And how would you know what my usual self is?’ He turned away from her but left the door open and Felicity took this as her cue to follow him.

  The cottage with its low ceilings and traditional fittings had always felt homely to Felicity and she relaxed slightly as she followed Fergus into the living room. He seemed agitated, and she watched as he quickly walked over to the corner of the room to a simple desk and closed the lid of his laptop. Immediately, she got the impression there was something to hide, something he didn’t want her to see.

  ‘How’s Aggie?’ asked Felicity. ‘Have you spoken to her recently?’

  ‘Apparently, she made her TV debut this morning,’ he answered, not sounding the least bit impressed. ‘Is there anything in particular you wanted, Flick?’ he asked, staring at Felicity.

  ‘No,’ she answered. ‘I was just seeing how you are.’

  Despite her best efforts to be friendly, Fergus wasn’t having any of it.

  ‘I’m fine, I just need to nip to the bathroom and get back up to the farm.’

  He left the living room and Felicity heard the bathroom door click open at the top of the stairs. She took a swift glance back towards the laptop and without giving it a second thought, she opened it. A webpage was open, and Felicity cast a glance over the screen. She felt puzzled. Why was Fergus googling DNA testing?

  Hearing the chain flush and feeling guilty for snooping, she quickly closed the lid again and made her way to the front door.

  ‘I’ll be off!’ she shouted up the stairs, and before Fergus could answer she hurried out of the cottage and back towards the teashop, thoughts whizzing through her brain.

  Chapter 25

  When Felicity arrived back at the teashop, the room was already full with the first sitting of villagers spooning their homemade soup from their bowls. She scanned the room and spotted Jessica and Esme sitting in the corner. The second Esme saw Felicity she scraped back her chair and came running over, flinging her arms wide around her waist.

  ‘Now there’s a welcome,’ smiled Felicity. ‘How are you today?’

  ‘I’ve been into school this morning and helped Jessica tidy up the stationery cupboard.’

  ‘Sounds like fun.’

  ‘And I picked some books from the school library that we are going to read this afternoon.’

  ‘Perks of the job,’ said Jessica, now standing behind Esme.

  ‘Baking books,’ added Esme. ‘I want to be a baker like Mummy and own my own teashop, just like this one.’

  ‘And I’m sure you will,’ said Felicity, loving the little girl’s enthusiasm. ‘One day, we can have a look at my grandma’s secret recipe book and bake something out of there.’

  ‘Promise?’ Esme’s wide eye
s looked up at Felicity.

  ‘I promise.’

  Esme gave out a little squeal. ‘I’ll need my own apron, I can’t be a baker without my own apron.’

  Felicity bent down in front of Esme. ‘Do you see that old dresser?’ She nodded to the far corner of the teashop. ‘If you go into the left-hand drawer, in there will be my old apron from when I was a little girl. You can borrow that for a while.’

  ‘Can I?’

  ‘Of course, you can’t be a baker without an apron.’

  Excitedly, Esme skipped off towards the dresser and pulled out the drawer. Felicity and Jessica watched as she rummaged inside and found the old apron. She hurriedly put the loop over her head and tied it around her waist. ‘Ta-dah!’ Esme grinned. ‘I am now a proper baker.’

  ‘Why don’t we go and have a look through those books?’ suggested Jessica, beaming at Esme’s enthusiasm.

  Esme nodded before turning and hugging Felicity so hard she nearly toppled backwards. ‘And I’ll look forward to hearing all about those recipes.’

  As a content Esme skipped out of the teashop, a pristine-looking Alfie sauntered in through the door. His hair was combed and parted, his shoes were polished, and he was dressed in a navy-blue suit, which completely took Felicity by surprise.

  ‘You look very smart,’ said Felicity, doing a double take.

  ‘Thank you, I’m just going to grab a bite to eat before I set to work on rounding up the architect and engineers for the temporary bridge by a virtual meeting, but have you seen the donation page today?’

  Felicity hadn’t checked since last night, but she knew the donations had continued to rise rapidly. Everyone had been so kind and the response was overwhelming. In the last twenty-four hours over another fifty thousand had been donated from corporate companies all over the world. Quickly checking on her phone she was astonished.

  ‘If we receive another fifty thousand, we’ll have raised the funds needed for the temporary bridge,’ she shouted towards the teashop kitchen. ‘How is that even possible?’

  ‘What?… That’s amazing, absolutely amazing! We knew you came back to the village for a reason, Felicity!’ chuckled Meredith. ‘But now get serving!’ She thrust two bowls into Felicity’s hands.

  As she hurried to serve the hungry villagers, something caught Felicity’s eye. There was Fergus hurrying up Love Heart Lane again. He looked anxious and Felicity knew that look of worry from old. He was up to something, especially if he wasn’t up at the farm. She eyed him as he disappeared back inside the cottage. Something was telling her to go and speak to him again, but she knew he wouldn’t welcome her interference and she couldn’t disappear from the teashop until everyone had been fed and watered.

  Alfie was on his phone and making notes on his pad; he caught her eye and smiled.

  ‘Your phone is about to explode,’ remarked Allie, who was filling up the teapots. ‘You are certainly in demand.’

  Felicity hummed her way over to the counter and swiped the screen of her phone. ‘Five missed calls from Aidy Redfern, the news reporter.’

  ‘Ring him back?’ suggested Rona, who was busy mopping up a spilt drink.

  Felicity hit his number and waited patiently for him to answer.

  ‘Felicity! How are you feeling right now?’ His voice was jovial.

  Felicity had no clue how she was meant to be feeling but judging by the sound of his voice she was missing something.

  ‘We’ve launched a boat from Glensheil and the news team want to come and interview you, as soon as … now in fact,’ he said, completely taking Felicity by surprise.

  ‘Why?’ she asked, completely perplexed.

  ‘The donations! You, Felicity Simons, have single-handedly raised over two hundred and fifty thousand pounds in a matter of days. How does that make you feel?’

  Felicity was absolutely flabbergasted; she’d only checked the donations a matter of minutes ago. ‘Really? We’ve hit the target already?’

  ‘You have, we’ve noticed in the last half an hour or so that a donation for over fifty thousand pounds has landed on the page.’

  ‘What! That’s amazing … who?’

  ‘We don’t know, it’s an anonymous donation, we hoped you might know?’ replied Aidy.

  Felicity could feel a goofy grin spread right across her face before she let out a squeal. Everyone in the teashop turned and stared towards her as Felicity began jumping up and down like an excited child at Christmas.

  ‘Heartcross must be so proud of you Felicity. It is all down to you and the video you posted. Would Esme be available to be interviewed with you?’

  Felicity knew that was more than likely going to be a no, especially with the way Fergus had reacted to the whole thing, ‘I’m not sure, I’ll have to check with her dad.’

  ‘That will be very much appreciated, we will be with you hopefully very soon. Where shall we meet you?’ he asked.

  ‘Bonnie’s Teashop on Love Heart Lane.’

  When Felicity hung up, her mum, Meredith and Allie gathered around her. Felicity was feeling proud; her actions had raised the funds for the temporary bridge to reconnect them with the town of Glensheil which meant the construction could begin immediately.

  ‘What’s going on?’ asked Rona, wiping her brow with a tea towel.

  ‘You are not going to believe this. There’s been a secret donation given, taking us up to our target of over two hundred and fifty pounds… Alfie did you hear me?’

  Alfie looked up. ‘What’s going on? You look like the cat that’s got the cream.’

  ‘We’ve just hit our target!’

  ‘You’re kidding me?’ he said, flicking straight to his phone then exhaling. ‘That is amazing.’

  ‘Who would donate that much money?’ asked Allie.

  Felicity shrugged. ‘No idea, an anonymous donation apparently. I can’t believe we finally have enough money!’ Felicity’s heart swelled with pride and happiness. ‘Our community is going to get their temporary bridge.’

  ‘It’s wonderful news, you must be so proud of yourself.’ Alfie stood up and hushed all the villagers in the teashop who looked in his direction. ‘Felicity has gone and done it. She’s raised the funds for the temporary bridge.’ Alfie grinned towards her and began clapping. The villagers followed suit and burst into rapturous applause.

  Felicity felt overwhelmed, ‘Thank you, thank you … I’ll update the Facebook page and let the whole community know.’ She turned towards her mum. ‘Aidy Redfern has launched a boat across the river along with the news team and he’s coming to interview me now.’ Felicity took a tentative look towards the mirror on the wall in the teashop. ‘I’ll need to brush my hair and at least put a little make-up on.’

  ‘You look fine,’ smiled Rona, ignoring Felicity’s vanity.

  ‘And they want to interview Esme too,’ said Felicity, not knowing what to do about that.

  ‘All you can do is ask Fergus,’ said Allie. ‘He might have mellowed a little?’

  ‘I thought I saw him going into the cottage, I’ll go and ask him before they arrive,’ said Felicity, using that as an excuse to go and see Fergus once more.

  Outside, the sky was grey and heavy. It looked like it was going to rain any second as Felicity strolled down the lane towards the cottage. In her heart she knew exactly what Fergus would say about Esme being interviewed but she wanted an excuse to go and see what he was up to and thanks to Aidy Redfern, she had the perfect one.

  Feeling apprehensive she knocked on the cottage door and waited. She could hear no sound or movement, so she knocked again. Felicity was certain that Fergus was still inside. Taking the plunge, she twisted the knob of the front door and immediately it clicked opened. Feeling like an intruder, but curious, she stepped into the hallway.

  ‘Fergus, are you here?’ she said softly, pushing open the living room door. The curtains were drawn and the lighting was low. It all seemed very strange for the time of day.

  Fergus was there, sitting on the sett
ee, and it looked like he’d been crying. By the side of him was a stack of photos and the small cardboard box.

  ‘What are you doing here … again?’

  Without being invited Felicity sat down on the chair opposite. He raised his eyebrows then looked away from her stare and began to place the photos back inside the box.

  ‘What have you there?’ she asked, sensing the strange tension in the air.

  ‘Nothing,’ he answered, ‘and you didn’t answer me, what are you doing here?’

  She took a deep breath and knew this wasn’t the right time to say anything but she went ahead anyway. ‘We’ve raised the total amount of money for the temporary bridge to go ahead and the news reporter was wondering if he could interview myself and Esme. They are actually arriving by boat from Glensheil any minute now.’ She slowed down her words towards the end of the sentence because she noticed Fergus’s face turn a deep beetroot colour.

  Without warning, he banged his fist down on to the settee sending the cardboard box into the air, then he straightened up his body to catch his breath.

  ‘No!’ he spat. ‘You should never have put Esme on there in the first place without my permission. It’s just what I didn’t need.’

  Felicity didn’t have a clue why he was behaving this way, but she took this opportunity to try and understand him better. ‘Fergus, you are acting very strange. What’s going on? You can trust me, you know.’

  ‘Trust you? Don’t make me laugh … I did trust you and you were the one who left me after we’d made plans to stay together for the rest of our lives.’ He exhaled sharply then rubbed a hand over his face, trying to calm his outburst.

  ‘The video … it was only for fundraising purposes … to raise awareness. There was no harm done.’

  ‘You have no idea about the harm it could have done, or still might do.’

  Felicity narrowed her eyes at him. ‘What are you hiding?’ she asked, holding his gaze.

  ‘You need to mind your own business. You’ve come back here, potentially opening up a right can of worms.’

  For a moment silence hung in the air.