Page 68 of The House at Hope Corner
‘Oh, masses of stuff,’ admitted Flora. ‘But I’ve made a start, and maybe that’s all we need? I thought we might do the rest, together…’
Ned grinned and threw his hands up in the air. ‘Flora Dunbar, you are completely and utterly bonkers, and although I know there should be umpteen blooming reasons why this is such a crazy idea we shouldn’t even contemplate doing it, for the life of me I can’t think what they are. I am an idiot, but I do love you, Flora, even though I’ve behaved appallingly badly.’
He lowered his head, aware of a sudden prickling in the room.
But Flora wasn’t the only one who had learnt a lot over the last few days. ‘You might be an idiot, but you’remyidiot,’ she said as she leant forward to claim another kiss, a much longer and slower kiss this time.
‘Ahem.’ Fraser cleared his throat.
Hannah flapped her hand at him. ‘Oh, go on with you, don’t stop them. I think it’s lovely.’
‘I didn’t say it wasn’t lovely,’ replied Fraser. ‘But all this excitement’s not good for my heart.’
And whereas once Hannah would have fussed or looked alarmed, now she merely smiled. ‘Well, your heart had better get used to it, Fraser,’ she said. ‘I think there’s going to be a lot of it around…’
Flora beamed at her. ‘Oh, yes, especially once we get around to planning thewedding,’ she said. ‘Although I think we might have the wedding flowers covered, don’t you…?’ She broke off, blushing a little. ‘I’ve been thinking about it, Hannah, and I know we haven’t had a chance to speak about it yet, Ned, but there’s nothing I’d like more than to have the wedding here. Would that still be all right?’
Hannah’s hands clasped together in delight. ‘Oh, I’m going to need such a big notebook,’ she said, thrilled.
‘That’s settled then,’ said Ned firmly, and then he turned so that he was looking straight at her. ‘There is just one more thing,’ he said. ‘I just want you to know why I didn’t marry Caroline. It’s important to me that you know why, Flora, because Caroline has never cared about the farm, not like you do. She’s seen it as her birthright, something she’s entitled to, not something that has to be earned. I’ve never seen her tip her head to the wind to feel it dance around her like you do, or stop in her tracks, her breath taken away by the sun lighting up the fields. And if we married this place would have ceased to exist, swallowed by the desire to own things, to accumulate wealth and then sit back on one’s laurels, enjoying the rewards. I don’t want that. I want to have earned what I have, to know when enough is enough. When I’m old and grey I’ll retire knowing that I have lived a life of integrity and truth beside the woman I love.’
‘Well said, lad, well said,’ muttered Fraser, sniffing a little.
Ned gave Flora a look out of the corner of his eye. ‘Of course I didn’t fancy her either…’
‘Ouch…’
‘And that’s why things have been so wonderful since you’ve come. You want to be a part of things here, a proper part, by doing whatever it takes. Farming’s a hard life, but it’s a good life, and I can see that you understand that. And what you’ve done for us here is more proof of that than I will ever need.’
Hannah cleared her throat, already looking to get things organised. ‘There will need to be economies of course,’ she said. ‘We’ll need to grow more of our own vegetables, and meat is far too expensive and really not all that good for you. And I know we will be busy and so things will need to be less… rigid than they have been. I might even concede to buy the bread from the shop in future.’
‘Oh, no,’ said Flora, blushing a deep red as a sheepish expression crossed her face. ‘Would now be a good time to confess that I actually like making bread! Apart from being incredibly satisfying to make, and making me feel like a proper domestic goddess, it tastes so much better than anything you can buy in the shops.’
Hannah laughed. An honest-to-goodness gale of laughter that rang out around the kitchen.
‘Never mind that,’ said Ned. ‘What are we going to call ourselves… Hope Farm Flowers…? That’s a bit boring…’
‘Ah, no, Flora’s come up with something much better than that, haven’t you, lass?’ said Fraser. ‘Go on, tell ’em what it is…’
Flora grinned. Her conversation with Ned of several weeks ago when he had first mentioned the place where the farm stood had stuck in her memory. It was perfect for all sorts of reasons.
‘Well, it’s just a suggestion, but it seemed fitting somehow. I don’t mind though; we can call it something else if you want.’
Ned rolled his eyes. ‘For God’s sake, woman, spit it out. What are we going to be called?’
‘I was thinking… Hope Blooms, you know on account of where we are, Hope Corner?’
There was a glint in Ned’s eye. ‘Aye, I know where we are right enough…’ He looked out the window before turning back and pulling her to him.
‘Aye, Hope Blooms,’ he said, smiling. ‘Indeed it does…’
Epilogue
‘Is everything all right, dear?’ asked Hannah, coming across the garden.
Flora turned. ‘Yes, fine. But I seem to have lost Ned for a minute.’ She grinned. ‘Although I probably ought not to admit that…’
Hannah tutted, shaking her head in amusement. ‘Don’t worry, he hasn’t gone far, I just saw him heading over to the house,’ she replied. ‘He said he needed to check on something.’
