hope of it surviving. Anyway, I cut off the root, planted it, watered it, and hoped for the best.”
He pointed to the spot. “For months it lay dormant out here, with no sigh of life, and I thought we’d lost it for sure. But the other day, I checked on it, and lo and behold, even though it’s the wrong time of year, I found that new shoot. At first, I thought it might belong to another plant – a weed that had got in or something, but when I investigated further, it was definitely a shoot from the old root. It’s like a miracle, Sheelagh – the first in a long, long time. So, with tender loving care, and a helping of luck, it might yet climb the house again.”
Maddy found it very easy to be in his company even though she found it strange being addressed as “Sheelagh.” But it was imperative that she kept her identity a secret. “I’m sure the plant will flourish,” she told him.
Here was a big, able-bodied man, with work-soiled hands and an appetite for hard graft. And yet, somewhere in his makeup, he had this reservoir of tenderness and love… for his home, his son, his clown of a dog, and this ugly clump and its tiny newborn shoot, which against all odds, he had rescued from extinction.
“Come on then!” He was already moving her on. “You’re shivering. You’ve seen the house and the land, and now, you need to see your accommodation. Then we’ll go back in and have some supper.”
Maddy had wondered where she was to sleep, but hadn’t liked to ask. She had assumed that she’d be in one of the farmhouse bedrooms, but Brad hadn’t said anything, so she had bided her time.
The “accommodation” turned out to be a small house standing a short distance from the main property. It had two bedrooms, a pretty, if tiny, kitchen, and a fenced-off garden with a swing, and a lagoon of fruit trees. “This was my foreman’s house,” Brad explained. “I think you’d better spend tonight in the spare room at the house, if that’s all right, as I need to put the heating on for you and air the bedding.”
“Have you no staff at all now?” Maddy asked.
“Well yes, there’s John. He keeps the machinery in tiptop condition. Then there’s Liz, who comes in every morning to milk the cows and collect the eggs. Oh yes, then there’s old Malcolm, who earns a bit of money, pottering about the gardens here. And of course, there’s Timmo, the shepherd. I can work from dawn to dusk, and go for nights on end without sleep, but no man is able to tend three or four hundred sheep, without help of sorts.”
He took a moment to assess his situation. “I still haven’t replaced my foreman though. Tom was a good man. I’ll be hard pressed to find one like him.” Bringing his gaze to bear on Maddy, he went on, “His wife Joan took care of young Robin when he wasn’t at school, and did all my paperwork. She also cooked, cleaned, and generally kept me sane.” He studied Maddy’s reaction. “Do you think you could pick up where she left off, Sheelagh?”
“If she could manage the work,” Maddy said stoutly, “then I don’t see why it should be too much for me.”
Brad gave a long sigh of relief. “You’re a woman after my own heart.” He put the heating on in the small house, flicked on the fridge and gave her a grin. “I hope you’ll be very happy here. And now, let’s go back to the warm and have a pot of tea.”
Back in the kitchen of the main house, Maddy followed Brad’s every move as he put some sausages under the grill, chopped up some cold boiled potatoes to fry, and laid the table. Without asking, she fetched out other things they would need, and found the mugs, sugar and milk for the tea. The smallest of smiles drifted over her face as she thought how absolutely normal and genuinely friendly Brad was; unlike any other man she had known, apart from Jack. Unfortunately, living the life of a club singer had not often afforded her the company of men like Brad.
They had tea, they enjoyed their meal, and they chatted further about farming and general topics, and now the conversation shifted to a more personal level. “Do you have family, Sheelagh?” Brad asked.
Maddy thought of Ellen and Grandfather Bob, and of her own son, Michael, and her heart was wrenched with pain. “No.” Her answer was quick and decisive. “No family.” Even now she was afraid to confide in anyone; even this man, whom she instinctively trusted.
When she saw how taken aback he seemed by her curt answer, she quickly assured him, “Sorry. It’s just that my parents both died, and I am an only child. It’s okay, though. It’s not uncommon.”
He gave a long, sorry sigh. “Forgive me. It was a clumsy question.”
Her smile put him at ease. “Don’t worry about it.”
He glanced at the bag she had brought with her. “If you need to collect anything from your previous place, I’ll take you there. Just say the word.”
Pointing to the holdall, she laughed, rather sadly. “That’s it. My whole life is in that bag.” Including my precious photos of little Michael and Ellen, she thought. And of myself, in another life. She sorely missed the singing; the crowds and the applause. It was as though she had dreamed it all, and now the dream was over.
He said not a word. Instead he looked long and hard at her, wondering what a personable young woman like Sheelagh Parson was doing traveling the country with just one bag, and such a desperate need for work and lodgings that she would go with a stranger, like himself.
“I’m glad we found each other,” he said quietly. “I need someone like you, and you obviously need a roof over your head…” When it seemed she might reply, he stopped her with a gesture. “No, Sheelagh. Don’t say anything. Just remember, you have work, and a home here, for as long as you want.”
That said, his dark eyes smiled down mischievously. “Mind you, if our Donald catches you slacking, he’ll have you out on your ear before you know what time of day it is!”
Eighteen
It was ten o’clock the next morning, and Maddy had nearly finished cleaning the farmhouse kitchen. She had started at eight, after an early breakfast with Brad, and now only had the floor to wash. The place gleamed – it had been a pleasure to put this lovely room to rights. February sun streamed in through the windows as she filled a metal pail with hot water and began to rummage in the cupboard under the sink for some Flash, a scrubbing brush and some J- cloths.
Just then, she heard a loud rat-tat at the front door, and as Brad had left to go on his rounds of the farm, she wiped her sweating face with the hem of the old pinnie she was wearing and went to open it.
A tall woman stood there, with a hand on the shoulder of one of two young boys. One, the image of Brad, looked surprised to see her. “Hello,” he said. “Where’s Dad?”
“He’s in the yard,” Maddy told him, then added, “Do come in, everyone. My name is Sheelagh Parson, and I have come to work for Mr. Fielding. You must be Robin,” she said to the lad, “and this must be your friend Dave and his mother. How do you do?”
The woman gave her a curious but not unfriendly glance, introduced herself as Susan Wright, and walked inside with the boys. An excited Donald came rushing in, barking and jumping up at them, and the lads made a big fuss of him, much to the women’s amusement.
Robin turned to Maddy and said, “Sheelagh, next week I’ll be eight! His cheeky freckled face, which had been thoroughly licked, was flushed with pride.
“Well!” Smiling, she said, “I think that’s wonderful. Are you having a party?”
“I don’t know – I haven’t asked my dad yet. I hope he remembers to get me a birthday cake.”
Maddy’s heart went out to him. “We’ll have to see about that, won’t we? And now, why don’t I put the kettle on? Would you like a cup of tea, Mrs. Wright?”
“Oh, call me Sue. And yes, I’d love a cup of tea. These two have fair worn me out this morning. We’ve already been swimming but it’s made no difference to their energy. I’ll be glad when half-term is over and they go back to school!”
The boys were making for the back door. “Bye!” called Robin. “Dave and me are going round the fields with Donald. Back soon!” On hearing his name, Donald was leaping up and down at the back door, yapping loudly and his tail going fifteen to the dozen.
“Just hark at that racket.” Sue was a woman in her early forties; she had the kind of smile that puts you at ease straight off. “And those two will no doubt be up to all kinds of mischievous tricks.”
“Such as what?” asked Brad, coming in through the back scullery and taking off his boots. His ready smile betrayed a father’s pleasure in the antics of his only son.
“You might ask!” Sue declared. “One minute they’re off climbing every tree in sight, and the next they’re sat on the edge of the brook – with their feet in that freezing water and their trousers wet to the knees.” She rolled her eyes to heaven. “They’re like a couple of jack-in-the-boxes – I can’t keep up with them.”
“Would a cup of tea help?” Brad asked, but the kettle was already coming to the boil.
“Sheelagh is already making us one,” Sue said, then added wickedly, “I hope there’s a chocolate digestive to go with it – although I know you keep them well- hidden.”
Brad made a startled face. “Shame on you, Sue! When have I ever hidden away the chocolate biscuits?”
She gave Maddy an aside wink. “Only every time you see me coming.”
“Well, they’ve all gone, so you’re out of luck,” Brad said, then burst out laughing.
Coming to sit alongside Maddy, Susan quietly addressed her but kept an eye on him. “He hides them in the oven. One of these days, he’ll switch the oven on, forget they’re there, and they’ll melt all over the place. And serve him jolly well right!”
Maddy laughed out loud. “I used to hide the biscuits too,” she admitted. “My friend Jack would eat all the cream ones and leave us with the soggy ginger-nuts and boring plain ones.”
“Tell us about your friend Jack.” Brad’s inquisitive voice brought her up sharp.
She searched for a way out, but there was none. What in God’s name had made her mention Jack? In one crazy, fleeting instant she had let her guard down.
Sensing her dilemma, Sue came to her rescue. “I thought you were making the tea?” she chided Brad with a warning glance. “My tongue feels like the back end of a saddle, and I’m sure Sheelagh here feels the same, after what she’s done to this kitchen. I haven’t seen it look like this since Joan went off to live by the sea. So, go on on with you! Chop! Chop! And
Realizing he had made a mistake in asking about Maddy’s friends, Brad set about making the tea, clattering around in the kitchen. “He didn’t mean to pry,” she explained quietly. “He’s a man, that’s all. And you know how they can put their big feet in it, even without trying.”
Brad poured the boiling water into a large teapot containing three tea bags, then went to wash his hands in the small cloakroom.
Maddy felt amazingly comfortable in this homely woman’s presence. Turning to her, she tried to explain. “It’s just that… well, Jack was like a brother to me. But that was another life – another time.” Yet never a day passed when she didn’t see him lying there in the gutter. Alice too, and both of them gone forever.
Sue put her hand on Maddy’s arm. “Brad really didn’t mean to intrude. But if he asks awkward questions again, just tell him to mind his own business.” She
