Page 58 of The House at Hope Corner
‘Yes, but we won’t need to do both, will we?’ she said, wondering what Ned was thinking.
He frowned. ‘Won’t we? Why?’
Her stomach began to twist with unease. ‘Because we’ll be running a flower farm, Ned…’ Oh God… The penny dropped and she realised with horror that he had completely misunderstood her. ‘Ned, this isn’t a business to run alongside the dairy farming. It’s instead of it…’
‘What?’ She could see the light dawning on his face, his body straightening in shock, drawing away from her. ‘You mean… We’d need to sell the cows, not milk them any more?’ He swallowed. ‘No! No way, Flora. We can’t do that. Jesus, what were youthinking?’
A flicker of anger began to curl around Flora’s heart at Ned’s flat rejection. What did he think she meant? And for goodness’ sake, the least he could do was hear her out, but his mouth was set.
‘Well, thanks, Ned. I thought I was thinking of a way that could get the farm out of debt, or have you forgotten about that?’
‘No, of course I haven’t,’ he flashed back. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. But I didn’t think you meant for us to give up the family business…’ He broke off, inhaling. ‘It’s a shock, that’s all.’
Flora tried to soften her own words. ‘I realise that, Ned, but I’ve done the sums and the only way you can repay the debt to Caroline’s father quickly is to sell the land.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Can we please leave Caroline out of this for a minute? It’s got nothing to do with her.’
‘Ned, it’s goteverythingto do with her. You owe her father forty thousand pounds and you told me that what he wanted was our land. So let him have it, we don’t need it all.’
‘No.’
Flora shook her head. ‘Then what else do you suggest?’ She was becoming more and more exasperated by the minute. ‘Sell the land, and clear the debt, Ned. It’s quite simple. Put an end to this once and for all.’
Ned opened his mouth, and then closed it again, anguish flooding his face. He gave a small groan. And then he shut his eyes tight, his jaw clenching. When he opened them again, he looked at Flora, just for a second, before turning his gaze away.
‘It’s not that simple,’ he said quietly.
Flora felt her stomach turn to ice. ‘Why not?’ she said slowly. ‘Ned… Why is it not that simple?’
‘Because Caroline… Oh Christ…’
But Flora knew what was coming next, somehow it couldn’t be anything else. ‘So Caroline’s father lends you the money, hoping that what he’ll end up with is a prime chunk of land. Which just leaves Caroline, Ned. What could possibly be in it for her…?’ Breathing suddenly felt like she was trying to draw in lungfuls of treacle. She gulped. ‘Are you…?’ A stinging rush of tears. ‘Are you having an affair?’
‘God, no!’ Ned’s face contorted with emotion. ‘I would never—’
Flora scrambled to her feet, her thoughts darting in all directions. ‘Then what, Ned?’ She so desperately wanted to believe him.
She watched him closely for a moment, holding his look, until his gaze flickered and he looked away. His eyes closed again and he swallowed, his lips parted as he sucked in breath.
‘Me,’ he said, so quietly it was scarcely more than a sigh. And then he opened his eyes. ‘She wants me.’
He held her look this time, eyes wide open, like a rabbit caught in the headlights. He had no idea how to make any of this right, and was pleading for her help. Did that make it better? Or worse…?
She had no idea what to say next. And neither did he.
They looked at one another for a moment, suddenly strangers.
‘And is she going to get you?’ Flora asked, her fingernails digging into the palm of her hands.
‘No!’ The reply was instantaneous, Ned’s voice harsh, his eyes wild and scared, pleading with her to believe him. She wanted to, but there was something else, some other thought nudging the edge of her mind that she couldn’t yet translate.
‘You have to believe me, Flora,’ Ned finally managed. ‘I’m not good with words,’ he continued. ‘But this place is all I’ve ever known. I love how I know every inch of the land around here, the way the sun catches the hill in the morning, which patch of grass always gets the first frost, and how sweet the cows’ breath smells in the springtime. I can’t lose this place, Flora, and I thought at one time I’d do anything to keep the farm…’ He rubbed a hand over his eyes. ‘Only now I’ve found out that sometimes the price is simply too high. I don’t want Caroline, I never have, not even when we…’
Flora raised her eyebrows. ‘Even when wewhat, Ned? Gotengaged?’
His hands were lifeless in his lap and he stared at them now, swallowing hard before he could speak. ‘I wanted to tell you, Flora. But it all went wrong, right from your very first day, when you came into the kitchen and found Caroline there. It was so awkward, I couldn’t say anything at the time and, apart from that, I was worried whatCarolinewould say. Then Mum upset you and it was such a tough couple of days I didn’t want to make things any worse. After that, with Dad so poorly, I couldn’t seem to find the right time to tell you and later on, well, it just would have looked suspicious.’ He looked up at her. ‘I should have told you, I realise that, but…’ He hung his head. ‘I’m sorry, Flora. Something else I made a complete hash of.’
She thought back to Grace’s words of the day before. What Ned had said certainly seemed to ring true.
