Clara made a mental note to take Tassie to the cottage as soon as possible.
‘A great oak?’ she asked as she drove along the road, the sunshine lighting up the countryside so it looked as though it was a postcard.
Tassie was still chatting. ‘In olden times oak trees were thought to be magic. I remember my mother saying that some of the gypsy women would put acorns under their pillow if they wanted to have a baby.’
‘Acorns under your pillow would be uncomfortable.’ Clara laughed. ‘I have to go to the library and then we can do what we like,’ said Clara to Tassie as she found a park at the front of the library building.
Tassie smiled. ‘I don’t mind what we do. I haven’t left Merryknowe for three years, so just seeing everything is marvellous.’
Three years without leaving the village was ridiculous, Clara thought as she wound down the windows of the car. Three years since Henry and Pansy had been apart. Three years since Naomi died. So much was happening all at once and Clara wondered why it was all happening now but she couldn’t explain it and didn’t want to try. It just felt right. She glanced at Pansy in the rear-view mirror.
Tassie was clutching her handbag on her lap and happily staring out the window as though everything was new to her eye.
Tassie’s loneliness would be the next thing she dealt with after Rachel. Goodness, whoever said that life in Merryknowe would be boring was very wrong indeed. Clara came for a slow life and ended up being busier than ever and she wouldn’t have changed it for the world.
32
After Clara and Pansy left on their adventure, Henry felt lost without them.
Their breakfast had been as cheery and chatty as ever, but there was a new energy in the cottage between him and Clara.
They stood close at the counter when they made tea, and sometimes, when she leaned across him, he felt the softness of her breast against his arm and he thought he might die of desire.
Was she teasing him? He wasn’t sure but God, he wanted her. He ached for her. All night he had lain in the room next to her, wondering if she was thinking about him.
Now she was gone with his daughter and he looked around the cottage. He wanted it to be everything she and her mum had dreamed of and more.
Getting in the truck he headed out past Merryknowe and into the deep country until he found the turn-off and drove up a country lane and there was the white farmhouse. He parked the truck and walked up to the gate with a sign that said.
Please shut the gate as the chickens like to explore and the foxes like it when they do.
He smiled and shut the gate behind him as a woman came out and waved at him.
‘Hi, Henry, I haven’t seen you in forever.’
‘Hi, Julia, yes it’s been ages,’ he said as she walked up and embraced him for a long time.
Julia had been one of the palliative care nurses who cared for Naomi. She was there through the long nights and there at the end and had stayed in touch with Henry through emails over the years.
Since she had retired, she had started breeding chickens and ducks and had made a name for herself for breeding high-quality birds and all the necessary items for the chickens and ducks.
‘How is Pansy?’ asked Julia, after they hugged.
‘Hilarious, never-ending energy, so like Naomi and so much herself if that makes sense.’
‘I think of you two often. I wished there was a better ending for you all.’
Henry shrugged. ‘It has been tough but things are getting better, or maybe they’re just different.’
‘So, have you finally settled down and found a place and want some birds?’ Julia asked as they wandered towards the enclosure where the sound of the chickens grew louder. ‘Naomi and I often talked about the chickens she wanted. I am glad you’re doing it.’
‘It’s for a friend – she really wants some chickens. She’s just bought a place in Merryknowe,’ he said.
He felt Julia’s eyes on him and he knew he was turning red. Would she think less of him if she knew his feelings for Clara?
Always intuitive, as most palliative care nurses are, she touched his arm.
‘I am glad, Henry, you deserve a second chance. Naomi didn’t want you to be alone your whole life.’
‘Didn’t she?’ Henry was surprised. ‘She never mentioned it to me.’
‘It is quite common. She knew it was incurable and she knew she was close to the end but she was also very stubborn and didn’t want to admit it.’
‘You are so right about that,’ said Henry, scuffing the ground with his boot.
‘But she said she hoped you would find love again, because she thought you were very good at being married, and not everyone is. She said you like showing people love through actions.’
Henry shook his head. ‘I wish she had told me this.’
‘Would it have made a difference?’ Julia asked.
Henry looked out across the fields and felt the breeze on his face and he scratched his beard. ‘I don’t know, but I am glad I know now.’
‘When we are ready we find out what we need to know,’ Julia answered and then clapped her hands. ‘Now let’s get your girl some birds.’
He didn’t explain about Clara. He didn’t need to explain her to anyone; he just wanted to make her happy and he knew this would make her more than happy.
Two hours later, Henry was back at the cottage with six hens, which were in a box, and he had started assembling the chicken coop.
It was shaped like a small castle, complete with a tower. Usually Henry would have made something for the chickens but he knew the designs from
