‘What’s done is done. We can’t change it,’ reassured Felicity.
‘Let’s just sit tight and see what happens,’ added Martha. ‘Surely, if there are no living relatives other than the sons who are inside, then the herd would need to be re-homed somewhere anyway?’
‘But that crook has got away with our money,’ Isla wailed, holding her head in her hands. It was all such a mess!
‘And we can’t change that,’ said Martha. ‘Obviously, you can report it to the police, give a description, but my guess is that man’s name isn’t even David. What more can we do?’
‘Absolutely nothing at the minute except sit tight and see what happens,’ suggested Rory.
‘Come on, let’s get you and the boys home.’ Martha had slipped her coat on and drained the dregs of gin from her glass.
Isla nodded. ‘I’m so sorry, Meredith, look at all this trouble you and Rona have gone to, and I’ve put a dampener on everything.’ Isla felt distraught.
‘You get yourself home and talk to Drew and don’t worry about this lot,’ Meredith glanced around the pub at the rest of the villagers who were still busy enjoying themselves.
On the way home Martha clutched Finn’s hand while Isla gripped the pram. Martha knew the Kerr family from old and had divulged to Isla that as far back as she could remember James Kerr had always been an alcoholic, often swigging from a bottle before breakfast. His wife Gracie had moved away from Scotland many years ago. The rumours were, she’d been fighting a losing battle trying to keep her boys on the right side of the law and had decided enough was enough – for her own sanity, she’d left.
‘Originally Gracie wasn’t from around these parts, if my memory serves me right … Cumbria, I think,’ said Martha as they turned off Love Heart Lane towards Foxglove Farm. ‘I remember having a drink with her many moons ago and she told me she was from a family of lawyers. She said her parents invested a lot of money in that farm. In the end, I think it was her family who said enough was enough and shipped her out of there to safety. Of course, it might just be village gossip but there’s no smoke without fire.’
And whilst Drew had spent every waking moment mirroring his own father working the land, learning to care for the animals and grow produce to make a living, the Kerr brothers had turned their backs on the same farming lifestyle and had instead chosen the life of crime.
Isla felt down in the dumps. Drew was a good farmer, hardworking, and now look what she’d done. She’d brought trouble to their door. ‘Gran, I’m dreading facing Drew,’ Isla’s voice faltered.
‘You pair really need to talk. It’s no good bottling everything up.’
Isla nodded as she put the key in the door. The farmhouse was in complete darkness, but Drew’s shoes were planted in the hallway. He must have taken himself off to bed.
‘Come on Finn, I’ll tuck you in,’ said Martha, taking control. ‘You get the wee one to bed, his eyes are closing.’
Isla nodded and planted a kiss on the top of Finn’s head ‘Thank you.’
She grabbed Angus’s PJs that were warming on the Aga and, wearily climbing the stairs with her arms wrapped around the baby, she tiptoed into the bedroom, noticing immediately that Drew wasn’t asleep in bed as she had imagined. Feeling deflated, she changed Angus’s nappy and tucked him in the cot before stepping quietly along the landing towards the spare room at the far end of the farmhouse. The door was slightly ajar as Isla took a deep breath and peered into the room. She could see Drew nestled under the covers, a bottle of whisky and an empty glass abandoned on the bedside table. Hearing his breathing, she knew he was asleep as she silently crept into the room and set the alarm on the clock for his early wake-up call.
Feeling empty inside, she checked on Finn and kissed him goodnight before getting changed for bed and crawling under the duvet alone.
Even though she was exhausted Isla knew she wasn’t going to fall asleep anytime soon. Her head was swirling round and round. The distance between her and Drew seemed to be growing further and further. It felt as though everything was spiralling out of control. Isla thought back to when the bridge had collapsed, cutting the whole village off from civilisation. Everyone had pulled together and despite the disaster, spirits in the village had remained high. Drew and Fergus had been fantastic, distributing eggs, managing food drops to the other farms and houses, and Drew had been a major coordinator, helping the community get back on its feet.
He’d been under pressure then, and money had been tight for them, but they’d got through it. As much as Isla tried to think of a trigger for a change in his behaviour, she couldn’t. She just didn’t understand it. There’d been a time when they’d talk about everything and anything, but whatever was going on in Drew’s head, he was pushing them further apart. But Isla knew she needed to accept some responsibility for this row. Buying the alpacas had been a terrible idea and it was going to cost them. Drew’s reaction was understandable, of course he was furious, but this didn’t explain why he had stopped talking to her about other stuff.
Sleeping in the spare room had escalating things to another level. How did they come back from this? Was that it now? Every time they had a disagreement, was this going to be the norm? They’d made a pact on their wedding night never to go to bed on an argument, and Isla lay there for a moment toying with the idea of waking Drew up, apologising for being so impulsive and buying the alpacas without consulting him, but what was it going to achieve now … another row? Everyone was tired and tempers were frayed. She’d wait until the morning when things would hopefully seem better, but the way she was feeling, she couldn’t even convince herself that was true. She wept silently so no-one could hear her.
Chapter 10
Isla woke up to the sound of Angus gurgling next to her in the cot. It was 7 a.m. and she could hear the wind rustling through the trees and the rain pelting against the window. The weather was so unpredictable at this time of year and Isla knew milking the cows in this torrential downpour wouldn’t help Drew’s mood in the slightest. She reached over to the bedside cabinet to grab the mug of tea that Drew always made for her and stopped in her tracks … there was no drink waiting for her today.
Every morning without fail Drew left her a drink before he headed out to milk the cows. Usually it was barely warm by the time she’d woken, but the thought had been there every morning of their married life … until now.
Scooping up a wriggling Angus, she changed him before heading downstairs to see Finn bashing the top of his boiled egg with a spoon while Martha was busying herself emptying the dishwasher.
‘You look like you haven’t slept a wink,’ said Martha as she turned to face Isla.
Isla risked a tentative look in the mirror; her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, her skin looked mottled and she looked downright exhausted.
‘Probably because I haven’t slept a wink.’
Martha gave Isla a sympathetic look, ‘Today is another day.’
‘Have you seen Drew this morning?’
Martha nodded, ‘He nipped back about ten minutes ago to fill up their flasks and change his overalls. He was already soaked from the rain.’
Isla stood in front of the Belfast sink and looked out of the window. It was bleak outside to say the least and she felt as tired as the dreary-looking landscape.
The wind rattled the windows, the trees bowed and creaked and through the torrential rain, Isla spotted Fergus, his head bent low, hurrying towards the farmhouse.
The door to the boot room swung open and Fergus shouted, ‘Isla!’
‘Is everything okay?’
Fergus wiped the raindrops from his nose. ‘You need to call Rory.’
‘Rory? Why, what’s the matter?’
‘I’m not sure, but one of the alpacas doesn’t look well. You need to give him a call to be on the safe side.’
‘Has Drew taken a look?’
‘Yes, that’s why I’m here. He said to ring Rory.’
‘Has his mood improved any?’ ask
ed Isla, already knowing the answer from the lack of drink on her bedside table.
‘He’s worried, Isla. He’s now paying for vet’s visits for stolen alpacas.’
Isla nodded; the extra cost of a vet’s visit didn’t help the situation in the slightest. ‘But we don’t actually know if that’s the herd that has gone missing from Clover Farm.’
‘I think Paddy Power odds would be a dead cert. I best get back to work … ring Rory,’ Fergus insisted before yanking his hood back over his head and disappearing into the pouring rain.
‘Weather warnings again,’ remarked Martha, switching off the TV. ‘A storm is on its way.’
‘It’s already a stormy start to my day. I need to ring Rory. Apparently one of the alpacas isn’t looking too sprightly. Drew said he thought they were going to be riddled with disease.’
‘Don’t be daft, if they are James Kerr’s herd Rory’s father looked after them, so they’ll be in tip-top condition.’
‘But they aren’t insured. We all know calling out the vet can be costly. This will be just another thing Drew will hold against me.’
‘You and I both know Drew would never leave an animal to suffer.’
‘Yes, you’re right,’ Isla sighed and flicked the kettle on before strapping Angus into his bouncy chair.
‘Do you need a bottle for this wee one?’ asked Martha, smiling down at Angus who was attempting to chew his fist like it was going out of fashion.
‘Perfect, thanks.’
‘I take it you didn’t sleep well because you had things on your mind?’
‘Sums it up. Finn, if you’ve finished your breakfast go and clean your teeth.
Without question, Finn scraped his chair back and chugged off making noises like a steam train as he hurtled up the stairs.
As soon as he was out of sight Isla turned towards her gran. ‘Drew slept in the spare room last night. We haven’t spoken about what’s going on, because he refuses to even be in the same room as me.’
Martha stopped in her tracks, and her eyes widened.
‘And for the first time in all our married life he didn’t make me my morning cuppa.’ Isla exhaled and slumped on to the chair. ‘What am I going to do, Gran?’
‘I know this is none of my business but what exactly are you arguing over?’
Isla thought for a second. ‘I really have no idea … Do you think …’ She paused. ‘Gran, do you think Drew might be having an affair?’
Martha laughed, ‘Don’t be ridiculous. He’s working all hours at the farm and falls into bed early every night. He only goes to the local pub where everyone knows who he is … and in this village you would know about it before he’d thought about it.’
‘I suppose.’
Last night Isla had barely slept a wink with worrying about the state of her marriage, and when she finally did drift off, it only felt like five minutes later when she woke up. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she felt exhausted, with all sorts of scenarios swirling around in her head as to why Drew’s moods had slumped so low, especially towards her. As far as she could see, nothing had really changed for her, she was still managing the house and the children … she just didn’t understand why Drew was so angry and upset with her.
‘You pair need to talk, and I mean properly talk. Get it out in the open, whatever it is that’s bothering him.’
‘I can’t make him tell me. Lambing season is nearly here and I know he stresses about that, but never like this … and now, to make things worse, I’ve thrown away thousands on a herd that wasn’t for sale in the first place.’
‘He’ll come round. That wasn’t your fault.’
Isla sipped her tea. ‘Buying the alpacas is my fault. We used to talk about everything and anything, and now it feels like we are ships passing in the night.’
‘Couples get stuck in a rut. Children come first, and you and Drew need to remember you are more than just a mum and dad. Set some time aside for just the pair of you. Sometimes you need to be Drew and Isla too.’
Isla knew she and Drew had fallen into a mundane routine, but sometimes life got the better of you and you forgot how to have fun with each other. Sex with Drew used to be wild but now only happened on the rarest occasion, and hardly at all since Angus had been born. Maybe she had neglected Drew and their relationship of late, but didn’t that work both ways? She knew he was tired from all the hard, manual labour he put in all day every day, but she was tired too from looking after the kids and the house. When had they stopped looking after each other?
Isla sighed as she dialled Rory’s number. She was too tired to think about this now. ‘Rory, it’s Isla,’ she said as he picked up his phone.
Isla explained that one of the alpacas looked under the weather and Rory confirmed he’d be there in the next ten minutes.
‘Rory’s on his way. I’ve just caught him before he goes out on his rounds. I’ll just nip and change into my overalls … have you seen my waterproofs?’
Martha nodded, ‘Hanging up in the boot room.’
‘Are you okay to keep an eye on the boys?’
‘Of course I am! That’s what great-grannies are for, isn’t it?’ She gave Isla a loving smile. ‘I’ll get Finn ready for school. Everything will be okay, you know.’
Isla crossed her fingers above her head as she disappeared upstairs.
When Martha had first arrived in the village Isla had her doubts about her staying with them, but not anymore. In the last few days she knew she would have struggled without her being around. At times, Isla felt isolated and unimportant and the loneliness of being a housewife and a full-time mum took its toll. But now with Martha around Isla had company, adult company. Martha was worth her weight in gold.
Isla saw Rory’s car driving towards the farmhouse. The rain was still lashing down as she pulled on her waterproofs and thrust her feet inside her wellington boots and stepped outside. Rory parked the car and hurried towards her clutching his black bag. ‘Poorly alpaca, you say?’
‘Apparently so, I haven’t been out to check yet, but Fergus said she didn’t look too sprightly.’
Rory closely followed Isla as she pushed open the wooden gate and traipsed across the muddy field. ‘And here was me thinking spring was on its way,’ joked Rory, noticing the chocolate-fleeced alpaca that was shielding itself from the rain under the Shetland ponies’ shelter.
‘Do you think this is James Kerr’s herd, Rory?’
‘Unfortunately, yes Isla, I do. I’m sorry.’
Feeling guilt-ridden, Isla exhaled, knowing Drew had every right to be mad at her. ‘I should have talked it over with Drew first.’
‘What’s done is done,’ he said, bending down at the side of the alpaca while Isla hovered over him. ‘These rustlers are chancers and usually get away with fleecing innocent folk … no pun intended.’
Rory listened to the alpaca’s heart rate through his stethoscope and took her temperature before checking over her mouth and ears.
Isla watched as Rory ran his hand down her spine and across her stomach. He tried to lift the alpaca to her feet but almost immediately her legs bent underneath her, and she was lying down once more.
‘I think she’s going to have to come in for a scan. She feels a little swollen. But my dad knows this herd inside and out, he’ll be the best one to look her over.’
‘A scan?’ replied Isla, struggling to keep hold of her hood as the wind attempted to knock her off her feet once more.
‘Yes, just to be on the safe side. It could be something or nothing, but first we need to get her inside. Have you got an empty stable?’
‘Yes, of course.’
‘Can you go and lay some fresh hay and maybe rig up a heat lamp, if you can? I’ll get Drew and Fergus to help me move her.’
Isla nodded and quickly headed in the direction of the stable.
Ten minutes later, Isla finished setting up the heat lamps and dashed towards the cupboard in the storage area as she heard the tyres of the Land Rover crunch outsid
e and the clanking of the old ramshackle trailer.
‘I’m just grabbing some towels to dry off the alpaca’s wet fleece. Third stable on the right is set up,’ shouted Isla down the galley way.
Fergus and Rory carefully manoeuvred the alpaca into the stable and gently laid her down on the fresh hay. Juggling a pile of towels, Isla stopped dead in her tracks as Drew’s voice carried down the block. ‘Are you serious?’
She strained to listen. Drew’s voice seemed heated.
‘I’m afraid so. The Kerr brothers are about to be released from jail,’ admitted Rory.
‘Oh shit,’ Isla muttered under her breath as she plucked up the courage to walk towards them.
‘Did you hear that?’ Drew’s eyes were blazing as Isla locked eyes with him.
‘I did,’ she answered. ‘But what does that actually mean for us?’
‘What does this mean? I’ll tell you what it means …’
Rory touched Drew’s arm, ‘Steady on, mate.’
‘Sorry, sorry,’ said Drew, realising he’d gone a little too far.
‘It depends on what happens to Clover Farm and Clover Cottage. Are the properties left to the brothers in the will? Will they want them? Will they want to live around these parts again? It’s anyone’s guess,’ answered Rory, taking control of the situation.
‘And can you really see the Kerr brothers wanting to rear alpacas?’ added Fergus.
‘I can, actually. Obviously, not to rear them … they’ll probably sell them, as they are actually theirs to sell. Which means we … in fact you … may as well have thrown my money down the drain,’ Drew replied.
Anger engulfed Isla, and her blood was boiling. How dare he speak to her that way in front of their friends?
She retaliated, ‘Actually, last time I checked it was our money, and stop talking to me like I’m a five-year-old.’ Thankfully her voice was steady even though inside she was shaking with anger. If Drew said one more word she would explode.
Isla turned towards Rory, ‘She looks settled. I’ll dry her off with these towels and let me know what time the scan is on Monday.’
Foxglove Farm Page 8
