Escape to the Country (3 page)

Chapter 2

Leah awoke to hear a cock crow and assorted animals calling either to
each other, or for food. She groaned. She'd forgotten the peace of
the countryside, whilst real enough in the evenings, was a complete
myth at dawn. Still, she had slept right through the night which was
something of a novelty in recent months. She reached out an arm for
her phone. No messages and no missed calls. Of course not, it was too
early. Leah turned over and went back to sleep.

When she woke for the second time, the world outside her window was
again peaceful. Presumably Jayne was already up and had fed those
animals which had been making a fuss. Perhaps she'd better get up
too, lying awake thinking was something to avoid.

She groaned again as she got out of bed. Jayne's herbal bath oil had
done a good job last night, but it hadn't been able to entirely
prevent Leah's muscles stiffening over night. After a few stretches,
she felt a little better. Her aches and pains were the result of
unaccustomed work, not any actual injury. Although her hands looked
as though they'd never even heard of a manicure, the blisters were
now no more than faint red marks.

As she came out the bathroom, Leah heard Jayne moving about
downstairs. She checked her bedside clock so she'd know what time
Jayne was normally up and could avoid disturbing her normal routine.
It was just after ten-thirty. Leah quickly dressed and went
downstairs.

Jayne asked, "How do you like your eggs these days?"

"To be honest, it's so long since I've had a fried egg, I'm not
really sure."

Jayne cracked eggs into the pan, sizzled them lightly, then added one
to each plate already brimming with bacon, mushrooms, chipolatas,
tomatoes and large slices of something golden brown.

"I thought I'd missed breakfast," Leah said as she squirted
HP sauce onto her plate.

"I don't like it too early, so I feed the animals and milk
Rosemary first. I can relax and enjoy it that way."

"So it really is half ten?" Leah asked as she cut open one
of the crispy brown slices. She took an experimental nibble.

"Yes. I guess you slept well?"

Leah's mouth was now full of potato, fried until crisp in fresh
butter so instead of speaking, she nodded in agreement.

"Not been doing that much lately?"

"No, but... "

"It's all right, lovey, you needn't talk about it if you don't
want to."

"It's Adam. Things haven't been going too well." She
shrugged. "I suppose everyone goes through bad patches?"

"Of course they do. Now enjoy your breakfast."

The ache in her muscles convinced Leah she'd worked off everything
she'd eaten yesterday, so she blocked out all thought of calorie
counts and ate.

"I'll wash up, you go and give Adam a call. Maybe he'll have
some news by now."

"I keep trying. He doesn't answer."

"Use my house phone."

Leah obediently went into the hall and dialled Adam's number on
Jayne's old fashioned cream and green phone. She thought if Adam was
too busy to pick up when he saw her number flash up he was hardly
likely to answer one he didn't recognise. She was wrong.

"Oh, Leah, hi. Sorry I didn't reply to your message yesterday,
but things were crazy here and then the phone was flat. I don't think
it's holding a charge properly."

"Ah."

The phone on his desk was evidently working, but maybe there was a
good reason for him not having tried to contact her.

"So, everything all right with your aunt?" Adam asked.

"Yes. She's feeding me up and I've been helping with the sheep
and mending fences."

"Good, good. Sounds like she needs your help. Perhaps you should
stay there for a while?"

The idea was appealing. Her body had been worked hard, but her mind
and emotions had been granted some much needed rest. "Yes. I
feel less tense already. I did need a break, you were right. Maybe
you could join us for the weekend?"

"Leah, we've split up, remember?"

"Adam, no! That's what I said, in the heat of the moment, but
not what I meant. You must know that."

He hadn't liked it when she'd said that if he wasn't prepared to
offer some kind of commitment and emotional support, she'd be better
off without him. Perhaps that was because it was the first time she'd
really stuck up for herself.

"It would appear that I no longer know what you want, or perhaps
never had the ability to provide it."

"You do. I just wanted you to acknowledge our relationship
rather than acting as though you're ashamed of me and I didn't think
a pre-nup was exactly romantic and..." she broke off her
explanation when she realised he was talking over her.

"Of course, if you decide to come back to London in the near
future you can stay in the flat. We can make some arrangement."

"Arrangement? It's my home and of course I'll be back. I can
hardly commute to work from Winkleigh Marsh."

"Maybe you'll get a job nearer there."

"I have a job! It was all just a misunderstanding. They'll
realise that soon enough."

"Maybe if you were to pay in the missing money?"

"No way. That'd look as though I was guilty and anyway, you know
I don't have that amount of cash."

He didn't reply.

"You actually think I could have done it, don't you?"

She could hear sounds from his office in the background, but he still
didn't answer her.

"Adam?"

There was a click and the line went dead.

She replaced the handset with such force the hall table shook and a
pot of pens fell off.

Leah returned to the kitchen where she saw Tarragon hanging his head
and Jayne vigourously drying plates.

"You heard?" Leah asked.

Jayne nodded. "Some of it, yes."

"We rowed when he got back from work the day I was suspended. He
twisted round my words until I said I didn't think we had a future
together. I thought by now he'd realise it was just because I was
upset and angry, but he won't even discuss it."

"The rat! I never liked him."

"You've never even met him." Leah didn't have enough fight
left to put much indignation into her voice.

"No, but I don't like that he never came here. It makes me feel
like he's got something to hide. What sort of live-in boyfriend isn't
interested in meeting the family?"

Leah had no answer to that as it was a question she'd been pushing to
the back of her mind for quite a while.

"Oh, lovey. I'm sorry," Jayne said. "Don't take any
notice of a grumpy old spinster like me. What do I know? Things have
a way of sorting themselves out. You're too upset to think straight
now. We'll have a talk later and see what's to be done."

"Thanks, Jayne." Leah blew her nose.

"Come on now. Fresh air will do you good. We'll let the chickens
into their new run and see how they like it."

"Yes, OK. Will I need wellies?"

"No, we'll stay in the yard this morning."

Leah changed into her trainers; she'd probably be working harder than
she ever did in the gym. She'd only packed them because she didn't
want Adam to get the idea she'd be letting herself go while she was
away. His shocked face when she'd mentioned looking forward to the
roast dinners and desserts with lashings of creamy custard Jayne
would serve made her feel guilty even before she'd left, let alone
taken the first delicious bite.

"You'd better use some of this too, on those soft townie hands
of yours." She gave Leah a small pot of cream. "Put it on
before you go outside or get your hands wet. I use it all the time
and hadn't realised how well it works until I saw your hands."

Leah rubbed the greasy lotion into her chapped skin. It did feel as
though it would be an effective barrier to the cold, dirt and wet.

The chickens seemed rather shy to start with, despite Tarragon doing
his best to gently nudge them outside.

"Sit," Jayne commanded. "Give them time to get used to
the idea, you impatient hound, you."

Once the bravest couple of hens stuck their beaks out into the
sunshine, the rest followed. Soon they were all pecking at the fresh
grass and scratching in the dirt, abandoning the eggs for Jayne and
Leah to collect.

"This is easier than I remember," Leah said as she filled
her basket with warm eggs. "I used to have to fumble around
under the hens and some of them pecked."

"That's because your parents usually left you with us at Easter.
By then the chickens are going broody and want to sit on the eggs and
hatch them."

"Ah. I always thought you made me get the eggs from the meanest
ones, just to hear me squeal when they went for me."

"Might of done." Jayne gave a naughty grin.

"What? Ooooh you, you... You can wrestle your own sheep in
future."

"Talking of which, I've got a good job for you now."

"Sheep?"

"No, not quite."

"Not quite in what way? Crikey, it's not Llamas is it? Those
things scare me."

Jayne snorted with mischievous laughter. "I'd almost forgotten
about that!"

"Was that another of your plans to make me squeal?"

"Well..."

"You really were a meany. I was only seven!" Leah did her
best schoolgirl petulant pout.

"Yeah, it was a bit mean. Funny though and I swear I didn't know
they were quite so defensive of their kids. I didn't know your little
legs could go that fast either."

"Good thing for you they could. You'd have had a lot of
explaining to Granny May if I'd got squished." She folded her
arms and tried to look aggrieved, but soon smiled at Jayne's
amusement. "One day, I'll get my own back."

"I seem to remember you did at the time. Those frogs didn't do a
lot for my love life."

This time Leah giggled and Jayne tried to look miffed.

"So, what's this lovely job, then?" Leah asked.

"I thought we'd make a start preparing for the orphan lambs."

"That's really sad."

"The lambs?"

"Yes. They're lovely, but it's sad so many are still orphaned."

Jayne laughed. "I'd forgotten what a townie you are! They're not
really orphaned, you chump. They're taken from mothers, who have
three or four lambs, to give the others a better chance."

"Oh!" She did feel a bit daft for never having learned
that, especially as the thought of their dead mothers had so upset
her as a child.

They swept the pens, clearing cobwebs and dust. Then sterilised the
bottles and buckets that would be used to feed the lambs.

"I used to love feeding the lambs when I came down here as a
kid," Leah said. "They're so cute the way their little
bodies waggle when they suck at the bottles and how they skip about
and jump off the bales and things."

Jayne giggled. "You were obsessed! I remember if we couldn't
find you we went straight to the lamb pen. You used to curl up in a
ball and let the lambs jump on you."

"Ah, you remember that? I wish I was staying long enough to do
it again. Not the climbing frame bit perhaps, but feeding them."

"You'd be more than welcome, lovey, but they're not coming for a
few weeks. The trouble with your job will be sorted by then, won't
it?"

"Yes," Leah said. If it was going to be sorted at all, it
shouldn't take long. Her other problems would take longer, but hiding
away in the country wouldn't solve them.

"You can come down anyway though, for the weekend or something.
There won't be any... Oh."

"Won't be anything to stop me? I don't know."

"Oh don't worry yourself. You've had a shock over this money
stuff, that's why you and Adam have rowed. It'll sort itself out soon
enough if that's what you want."

Jayne was right, Leah had suffered a shock. Right now, she wasn't
entirely sure what she did want.

"Right, let's see about some lunch," Jayne said.

Leah didn't think she could possibly be hungry after her cooked
breakfast, but the smell of leek and potato soup proved her wrong.
The soup was followed by the rice pudding Jayne had put into the Aga
after breakfast.

"What would you like to do this afternoon? Anything in
particular?" Jayne asked, as they washed up.

"I hadn't really thought..."

"Well, you know I'm always busy. You're welcome to tag along
with me as much as you like and I'll have plenty you can help with,
but feel free to go off and do your own thing whenever you like."

"Great thanks. What's your next job?" Leah asked as she
wiped the rice pudding dish.

"Cleaning out the pigs."

"Thought you had a dishy young man to help with that?"

"No sorry. I made him up." Jayne pulled off her rubber
gloves and draped them over the tap.

"I rather thought you had. Maybe I'll give the pigs a miss
today. I'm not quite ready for them yet. I'll just have a walk round,
see what I remember."

"Would you like Tarragon for company?"

The dog seemed to know he was under discussion and turned his head to
look at Leah. She was sure he was doing his best to give a winning
smile.

"Will he be OK with me?"

"Yes, he's taken to you. In any case, he's good on the lead and
if he knows you've got a pocket full of treats he'll never be too far
away."

"I won't be long."

"Take as long as you like. I expect you could do with a chance
to think and hopefully the walk will bring back some happy memories
too."

No making her feel guilty? No of course not; Jayne wasn't like that.
She wouldn't be sulking when Leah came back either. To be fair to
Adam he probably made his plans for evenings out and weekends away
with the hope of pleasing her and often she'd been delighted with the
interesting places he'd taken her. He never reacted well if she
didn't immediately go along with all his suggestions though. It was a
pleasant change to be able to say and do what she liked without
fearing a frosty reaction.