Hope at Holly Cottage (25 page)

Anna was glad she had already put the tray down or she might have dropped it. Jack appeared not the least embarrassed, but
she
was! The last time she had seen a man’s bare torso had been – well, not even
then
, as Gilbert had had his wicked way without either of them removing any clothing other than the necessary. No, the only time Anna had seen half-dressed males had been at the Tinside Lido in Plymouth, or at Tavistock’s open-air pool at the top of Bannawell Street when she and Carrie had taken the toddlers there for their first experience of swimming earlier that summer.

Anna gulped, but as she tried to conceal her embarrassment, was aware of a pleasant tingle of excitement curling within her. She had sworn she would never be drawn to another man, not after the way Gilbert had deceived her. And yet Dr Edwin Franfield, William and Deborah’s son, had
struck a chord in her heart just for one fleeting second. She had learnt that he was engaged – and now, of course, had been married just the previous weekend – and she had never thought any more about the question of the opposite sex ever entering her life again.

Now, though, inexplicably, her heart flipped over in her chest. Jack was of average height and, despite his almost overlean build, was broad of shoulder. Surprisingly, he wasn’t at all bony, but his upper arms and shoulders – as much as she could see of them as he hadn’t removed his shirt completely – were finely muscled. From his strenuous work as a gardener, she assumed. There was a tan mark around the back of his neck, below his slightly overlong hair, ending in a deep V on his chest which was covered in a scattering of fine hair.

She was jolted out of her astonishment at her own feelings by Jack leaning forward for the cotton wool and bottle of witch hazel.

‘You’d better let me do that,’ she said, amazing herself again. ‘I’m so sorry, Jack, but I split the skin, right on your shoulder blade. You won’t be able to see, and if you get witch hazel in it, it’ll sting like crazy. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if it doesn’t need a stitch or two. Perhaps you’d better pop down to William’s surgery. It’ll be opening soon. That’s Dr Franfield. We’ve seen so much of him lately, what with Jeffery and everything,’ – meaning Queenie, but she would maybe tell him about that later – ‘that we’re on Christian name terms now.’

‘That’s the most important thing. Jeffery, I mean. How is the poor devil?’

‘Holding his own, thank God,’ Anna replied, relieved to
have something else to talk about as she dabbed the witch hazel over Jack’s reddening skin. ‘They say he’ll make a full recovery, but it’ll take months.’

‘Well, that’s why I’m here to help.’

‘It’s really good of you. Not many brothers would give up their job and their entire way of life to help out their sister.’

‘You flatter me. But I was due for a change. I didn’t really have any sort of life outside the estate. I even lived in a room over the stables. It was all quite old-fashioned, really. I had my meals provided, so what else did I need? I hardly ever went off the estate except maybe to visit local nurseries.’

‘Really? Did you never have any social life of your own? A girlfriend?’
An attractive chap like you
, she added in her head.

Jack’s face seemed to close down. ‘No,’ he answered brusquely, and Anna felt the ease that was coming between them disappear again. ‘Well,’ he said, swallowing down his cup of tea. ‘If you tell me where I’ll find this doctor, I’d better get down there.’

‘Go down into the town centre,’ Anna directed him, feeling oddly disappointed, ‘over the other side of the square and turn right. Go down there and it’s a hundred yards or so down on the right. There are some terraces of big Victorian villas opposite the park. It’s one of those. You can’t miss it. There’s a sign saying “Surgery” by the gate.’

Jack glanced at her with a dark frown. ‘Sssurgery,’ he repeated, hanging onto the initial ‘s’. ‘Right. I’ll see you later.’

He unfolded himself from the deckchair and disappeared into the house. Anna felt all at odds with herself. She may have made a terrible mess of her first meeting with Carrie’s brother, but she wasn’t too sure about
him
, either!

Carrie let herself in the front door, weary but relieved that at the sanatorium they were pleased with Jeffery’s progress. The aroma of cooking greeted her. Having Anna there was a godsend. How on earth she would have managed to visit Jeffery if she hadn’t been able to leave Polly with Anna, she really didn’t know.

As she turned into the hallway, she nearly tripped over a large rucksack and a holdall on the floor. What the blazes …? But before she had time to ponder further, the figure of a man appeared in the kitchen doorway and her heart leapt as she realised who it was.

‘Jack! I thought you couldn’t get away for another few weeks?’ She hugged him tightly and then frowned since, as they drew apart, she noticed him stifle a wince. ‘What’s the matter, Jack?’

‘Oh, your friend and I had a minor contretemps when I arrived. She thought I was a burglar and hit me with a frying pan.’

‘What!’

‘I can’t tell you how dreadful I feel about it,’ Anna said as she poked her head around the kitchen door. ‘I had to send him down to William to have a couple of stitches put in.’

‘Oh, dear.’ But when Carrie glanced back at Jack, he was smiling.

‘I’m sure I’ll live. More importantly, how’s Jeffery?’

Carrie tipped her head optimistically. ‘Well, he’s already improving. But it’s going to be a long job.’

‘Well, I’m here to help. And I’ll come with you to the sanatorium next time you go, if that’s OK.’

‘Oh, yes! It’s such a tedious journey, I’d be really glad of the company. And I know Jeffery would love to see you.’

‘Sorry to butt in,’ Anna interrupted them, ‘but I think we should get the children off to bed. I took them to the park this afternoon so they didn’t get their nap and they’re both exhausted. Then we can have our meal in peace.’

‘Good idea. Oh, hello, Polly, love!’ Carrie smiled as her little daughter came out into the hall and clamped herself around her mother’s legs. ‘Say night-night to everyone.’

‘Come on, Charlie, bedtime for you, too, my lad.’

‘Jack,’ Charlie declared decisively, and grabbed hold of Jack’s hand.

Anna felt her face redden. ‘Oh, dear. Would you mind? Would you read him a story, otherwise he’ll never settle down.’

Oddly, she saw Jack and Carrie exchange wary glances, but then Jack answered evasively, ‘I’m not much good at reading stories, but I can make one up for him.’

‘Even better!’ Anna laughed as Charlie pulled Jack towards the stairs. ‘But doesn’t Mummy get a kiss, too?’

Twenty minutes later, the three adults were sitting outside as it seemed a pity to waste such a pleasant evening indoors. Despite the occasional train that rumbled past on the embankment at the bottom of the garden, it was like relaxing in a tranquil oasis, since all three had had a long, tiring day in one way or another. But the garden was showing signs of neglect. The warm weather combined with the recent rain had encouraged everything to grow – including the weeds!

Jack had obviously been thinking the same thing. ‘I’ll mow the lawn in the morning,’ he offered. ‘And the beds need some attention. And those roses need deadheading.
Belles de Crécy,
aren’t they? Very fragrant. I love purple roses. Such a subtle colour, don’t you think?’

A flutter of breath caught at the back of Anna’s throat. She had always thought of the bruises her father had inflicted on her mum as purple roses. But Jack was right. The blooms on the two rose bushes in Carrie’s garden were very beautiful.

‘Always the gardener!’ Carrie chuckled. ‘I remember when we were little, you used to take me round the garden, and you’d get quite cross when I couldn’t remember all the names of the plants you kept telling me.’

‘You should’ve written them down for her,’ Anna suggested. ‘I always find things like that easier to remember when I see them written down.’

‘Ah.’ Carrie’s eyes darted across at Jack for a second, and then she dug her fork into her shepherd’s pie again. ‘So, what are you going to do now you’re here, Jack? You’ll need a job, won’t you?’

‘I’ve got one.’ Jack surprised them both with his announcement. ‘At least for one morning a week, so it’s a
start. But I’ve got quite a lot of savings to tide me over.’

‘So … what’s this job, then?’ Carrie asked, nonplussed. ‘You’ve only been here for a few hours and you’ve got one already.’

‘Ah, well, I have Anna to thank for that. When I went down to the doctor, I explained who I was. First thing he did was give me some sort of TB test if I’m going to be visiting the sanatorium. Then we got chatting as he saw to my shoulder. When he learnt I’m a gardener, he said he could do with somebody one morning a week. And he’s going to ask around and see if he can find other customers for me as well.’

‘Oh, that’s super. Well done!’

‘Well, if I can build up a reasonable clientele, it’ll keep me going. I’ll need to earn a bit of cash if I’ve got to find somewhere to live.’

‘Somewhere to live?’ Carrie echoed. ‘But you’re going to live
here
.’

‘And where am I going to sleep? The couch is fine for a night or two, but I don’t fancy it on a permanent basis.’

‘Oh, I won’t hear of that!’ Carrie protested. ‘No. I’ll move Polly in with me. That chair in her room opens into a bed, so you won’t have to sleep on the floor or anything. It’s just that I wasn’t expecting you for a few weeks yet. Anna was looking for somewhere to live, you see, and with Jeffery … But didn’t you get my letter explaining that Anna and Charlie were here?’

‘Well, yes, I did get a letter from you. But I didn’t … read it.’

‘I should be the one to move out,’ Anna broke in, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. ‘It isn’t fair on—’

‘No. I’m quite happy to have Polly in with me. I want
you
both
here. But, Jack, you should have sent a telegram or something.’

‘I did think of it, but I thought it would be a nice surprise for you if I just turned up.’ And then, flashing his eyes across at Anna, he added wryly, ‘I didn’t realise I’d get such a hostile reception.’

Anna wanted to curl up and die. Did he have to rub it in? Surely she’d apologised enough!

‘Well, it was your own fault for not getting someone to read my letter for you. Really, Jack—’

Carrie stopped in mid sentence and gave a short gasp. Anna blinked in astonishment, wondering if she had heard right, and glanced up to see Jack turn his head away. Then she saw Carrie swallow.

‘I’m sorry, Jack. I didn’t mean to let it slip. But Anna will need to know. Jack can’t read or write, you see, Anna. He’s what they call word blind.’

Anna’s eyebrows arched. She was astounded and yet intrigued at the same time. And she must play this right. She didn’t want to give Jack any more reason to deride her if they were going to be living in the same house! ‘Good Lord,’ she said guardedly. ‘I’ve never heard of that.’

‘It’s not that he’s stupid or anything. Far from it. It’s a sort of medical condition. People are only just starting to recognise it.’

‘So how …?’ Anna questioned, becoming genuinely interested.

‘They thought at school I was just lazy,’ Jack explained, his eyes lowered towards his empty plate. ‘No one could understand it. I could do anything orally, but when it came to anything on paper, it was useless. Mum and
Dad were so good about it. And Mum tried so hard to help me, but … When I look at a page, I just see a great jumble of shapes, and try as I may, I just can’t make any sense of it.’

‘Gosh, that must make life so hard for you.’

‘Unbelievably at times.’ But then he looked up, his eyes narrowed almost as if he was judging her reaction. ‘It wasn’t until my National Service medical that it was diagnosed. It was a relief at long last to be told it wasn’t my fault. But … it still makes me feel such a fool.’

‘Well, I have to say I’m amazed. But now that I know, well … And while we’re making confessions, you know I’m not really widowed? I was never married in the first place.’

Jack’s eyes didn’t leave her face. ‘Yes. Carrie told me when you were in the kitchen. Does that make us equal, then?’

‘Equal? No, not at all.
You’ve
done nothing to be ashamed of, but I really was a complete and utter fool. And a real hussy in some people’s view.’

‘You don’t strike me as anything of the sort.’ Jack held her gaze in the most unnerving way. ‘Vulnerable, maybe. Carrie said you were deceived by some upper-class rotter. But … it’s nice to have someone be so understanding about my problem. Thank you.’

His deep-blue eyes, almost indigo in the twilight, continued to bore into hers and his mouth stretched into a tentative smile. Anna felt an unexpected warmth wrap itself around her. They had, most definitely, got off on the wrong foot but she couldn’t deny that she felt a confusing attraction towards Carrie’s handsome brother.

‘Better take these plates in and do the washing-up,’ Carrie
announced, getting to her feet. And, despite her agonising worry over Jeffery, there was a secret smile on her lips as she went indoors.

‘How did you get on, then?’

Anna glanced up as Jack came out into the garden. ‘I was about to ask you that,’ she smiled back. ‘Here, have my chair. We had sandwiches for lunch. I’ll bring yours out. Cup of tea?’

‘Just some water would be fine, thanks.’

Anna went into Carrie’s modern kitchen. She was feeling more relaxed in Jack’s company, yet at the same time, her heart thrilled with excitement whenever he smiled at her. It was a quiet, self-effacing smile, a little wary, perhaps. Endearing. Anna had to pull herself back. She had felt somewhat like this once before, and though Jack appeared a totally different character from Gilbert, she wasn’t going to be fooled twice! Nevertheless, she stopped to put some ice in his glass before taking his lunch outside.

‘William has some sort of nephew out on the moor somewhere near Princetown,’ Jack was saying to Carrie as she handed him the tray. ‘Oh, lovely, thank you. I’m starving. And ice, too. You’re spoiling me. Anyway, as I was saying, this nephew – well, he’s a very distant nephew, I believe – has recently opened his house as a hotel. It’s quite a mansion, apparently. Deborah was explaining to me that it dates back to the time when some well-to-do chap, Sir Thomas something-or-other, founded Princetown back in the eighteenth century. He had some madcap scheme to cultivate the moor up there, but, of course, he failed. But not before he’d persuaded some friends to join him, and this house – Fencott Place it’s called – was one of the results. Been in
William’s family – or rather this distant relative’s – since the 1870s.’

‘Well, that’s all very interesting,’ Carrie broke in, ‘but what’s that got to do with you?’

‘Mmm, I was coming to that,’ Jack mumbled as he chewed on a mouthful of sandwich. ‘William thinks they may well need a gardener.’

‘Really? Oh, that would be good.’

‘Well, hopefully. They only opened at Easter but they’re doing very well so far. The nephew and his wife run it between them, with just a friend of the wife’s from Princetown helping them. William and Deborah are going to see them on Sunday and they’ve asked me to go with them.’

‘Yes, they’re so kind, aren’t they, William and Deborah?’

‘Certainly are. They asked if you two would like to come, too, with the little ones, of course.’

‘Oh, that’ll be lovely,’ Carrie replied, her face brightening. ‘It’ll make a nice change.’

‘I can’t go, though. I’m working on Sunday until midday. What a pity. I’d have loved a trip out on the moor.’

Anna suppressed a rueful grimace. Her heart ached for the sense of peace the moor inspired in her, and she longed to feel part of its vast openness and dramatic landscape again. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to be cooped up in the back seat of William’s car with Jack, even if it wouldn’t be for very long. She felt bewildered and unnerved by Jack’s presence, and perhaps a little breathing space wouldn’t come amiss.

‘That’s all right,’ Jack seemed to delight in telling her. ‘William won’t be picking us up until one. So that’s settled, then.’

‘Oh. Right.’

Muddled emotions seemed to spin Anna round in circles. She had only known Jack a few days and already he had put her through a mangle. Her heart still strained with grief over Queenie, and now she was being dragged in different directions by Carrie’s brother, first the business over the frying pan, and now … He seemed a pleasant and amiable fellow, but hadn’t Gilbert? No! She wasn’t going to let herself be fooled again. She was here to support Carrie and make as good a life for her son as she could. And any male she met along the way would remain firmly on the sideline!