When the Heather Blooms (5 page)

Billy had been impatient to make her his wife. He wanted the reassurance of marriage, of knowing she belonged to him, but her boss had been furious when he heard their plans. She frowned, remembering Mr Whittaker's grim expression. There had been no congratulations or good wishes.

‘You haven't been here five minutes,' he growled. ‘There were several applicants I could have chosen for your job. You never wore a ring or mentioned you were engaged, let alone planning to marry so soon. You've just left college. I don't know why you bothered going, wasting your parents' money and taking a place from some other poor bugger.' Confronted with her boss's disapproval she had been assailed by guilt and doubts and he had gone on and on. ‘You knew it was a whole new laboratory set up that you were to organise and two assistants to train. It was part of our agreement. You promised …'

‘And I shall train them …' she began but he had banged out of the door in anger. That evening Billy had sensed that her joy had diminished. She told him about Mr Whittaker's outburst.

‘I did promise him. Perhaps we have been too hasty and wrapped up in ourselves,' she said, ‘and I wanted to prove to Mother I could have a career and be independent even if I was not a teacher as she had planned.'

‘Would she have expected you to put a teaching career before marriage?'

‘Mother and Father want all of us to be happy, but I wanted to prove I could have a worthwhile career. Do you think we should wait a while, Billy?'

‘No! No, no, a thousand times no!' Even now Libby's cheeks felt hot, but she had to smile as she recalled his reaction, the way he had picked her up and kissed her with mounting desire. ‘I can't wait a year to make you my wife.' She returned his kisses with equal fervour and she had known she wanted Billy more than anything in the world.

‘I don't want to wait,' she whispered, ‘but in my heart I know Mr Whittaker was justified in being angry. I was so pleased and proud when he offered me the job, and it is a challenge I enjoy.'

‘You could promise to stay on for a year after we're married. Lots of married women keep on working since the war. That would give you time to train the other girls and keep the right side of old Whittaker. We don't want to offend the old boy. The milk from Home Farm and Langmune goes to his creamery. We don't want him rejecting it.'

‘I don't think he'd be spiteful. Wouldn't you mind me being away all day? How would you manage?'

‘Of course I would miss you.' Billy hugged her, ‘but it would be better than waiting a year to make you my wife. So long as I have you beside me at night I'm willing to compromise through the day, for a year anyway. Julie Dunlop will be glad to carry on helping in the house, if you don't mind having someone else in your kitchen?'

Mr Whittaker had been placated and their wedding had gone ahead. Libby had no regrets. She loved Billy but life had not been as smooth as they had expected. Recently Libby felt it was impossible to please everybody.

‘Shall we dance?' Billy said, bringing her attention back to their surroundings.

‘What's troubling you?' she asked.

‘I want to go home and take you to bed and make passionate love all night.' His answer was swift and full of desire; Libby knew it was the truth but she heard the underlying anger and frustration which had been part of their loving recently. It was vital she should not become pregnant and Billy bitterly resented being responsible.

‘June and Steve will be leaving soon and then we can go home. It would look bad if we left before the bride and groom.'

‘I suppose so,' he agreed grudgingly. ‘We may as well make the best of it.' Billy was a good dancer and he drew her close, his breath stirring the tendrils of hair on her forehead. ‘I do love you Libby. I know it's crazy but I hate to see you close to any other man, even your good Doctor Ritchie.'

‘He's not my good doctor. As a matter of fact he was asking about Mother. He wants me to persuade her to see a health visitor and have a check-up. It's not my place to tell my own mother what to do. Anyway he's getting a woman doctor for his assistant.'

‘Is he now? That's interesting. Maybe you'll agree to see her then?'

‘Maybe,' Libby flushed. Why did they have to keep returning to the one subject she hated discussing.  

Chapter Four

‘Peter must be eager to come to visit us,' Andrew grinned as he and Victoria waited at the little Lockerbie Station, ‘if the school holidays started only yesterday.'

‘If his letters are anything to go by he can't wait to see everything. I hope he'll not be disappointed.'

‘I suppose the farm will be a novelty. Even the village will be different after living in the city.'

‘Yes, I think he'll be surprised how friendly people are, especially those who knew Mark and notice the resemblance. I do wish Doctor Grantly had lived to meet him.' She sighed. ‘Catriona would never expect things to turn out like this of course.'

‘No, she would not.' Andrew's mouth tightened. ‘It's a good thing she had the sense to get in touch. She almost left it too late. Here comes the train now.'

Peter was one of the first to alight and he almost ran to greet them. Victoria opened her arms and hugged him but he didn't seem to mind, unlike Fraser; he kept saying he had grown out of hugs, but he knew he was loved. He didn't need reassurance. As they drove home to Darlonachie Peter gazed from side to side, trying to take in everything at once.

‘I hope you've brought your old clothes,' Andrew chuckled. ‘Whatever else you do you'll get dirty.'

‘I've got a pair of Fraser's wellington boots for you,' Victoria told him, ‘and a couple of pairs of his old bib and brace overalls, although I do believe you're almost as tall as he is for all you're only sixteen.'

‘I'm seventeen now. I was seventeen in February.'

‘Of course,' Victoria was silent for a moment. ‘I didn't know when your birthday was, Peter, or I would have sent you a wee present.'

‘We never have birthday presents but Cathy made me a card. She loves to draw.'

‘I see. Lachie and Mimi have started their school holidays today. They can't wait to meet you.'

‘Mimi is Lachlan's cousin? But she's not my cousin, is that right?'

‘It is,' Andrew nodded. ‘Mimi is my brother's bairn. They live across the glen from Langmune, higher up than we are. It's a sheep farm. Their ewes lamb later than ours so they're busy lambing now. You'll find there's dozens of different kinds of farming, Peter. Willie, my brother, always preferred sheep to cows.'

‘Shall I be able to see them too?' he asked.

‘Aye, you will that. Willie likes company. He and our brother George, were inseparable when they were boys. George was killed during the war, like your father. Willie enjoys having young folk around him and Mary will make you welcome if you feed the pet lambs. They'll have one or two around.'

‘Don't let Mimi and Lachlan play too many tricks on you, Peter,' Victoria warned, ‘They're a pair of rascals. They'll pester you to join in their games. You'll have to be firm.'

‘Mimi had polio when she was five or six,' Andrew said. ‘She has a bit of a limp. Sometimes she has difficulty keeping up with Lachlan and he's not always very considerate.'

‘Mimi never seems to worry though,' Victoria said. ‘She always has a smile and she's the hardiest bairn I ever knew. She faces up to life with more courage than many a grown up. Libby thinks the world of her.'

‘I'm looking forward to meeting them all,' Peter said, his dark eyes shining in anticipation, ‘and I can't wait to see the animals and all the things you've described, Aunt Victoria. Even Father admits you write good letters. Dinah isn't a bit interested but Cathy is always impatient to hear what you have to tell us, and she insists on reading them again herself in case I've missed any bits out.' He grinned and Victoria could tell by his tone that he was fond of his younger sister. She already knew there was some constraint between him and Dinah. Even Catriona had said her elder daughter was like Deane Sterling. She wanted to be a doctor like him too. If they all read her letters it was a good job she had not mentioned the baby in any of them. She hadn't realised Doctor Sterling would censor them. She guessed he would disapprove of her having a baby at her age, and after a ten year gap. He wouldn't have allowed such things to happen in his well-ordered life but she couldn't imagine him ever being spontaneous or loving Catriona as Andrew loved her. 

‘Here we are,' Andrew said, drawing the car to a halt. Peter scrambled out and looked around; his brown eyes alight with interest.

‘The house is exactly as you described it Aunt Victoria; how strange.' He turned to look up at Andrew. ‘You must have been very brave to go in there to rescue someone when it was on fire,' he said. ‘I would have been scared of it falling on top of me.' Andrew looked at Victoria with raised brows.

‘Have you been telling tales of my youth?'

‘You were brave, and we're proud of you.'

‘I expect you'd do just the same, laddie, if someone you knew was in danger,' Andrew said to Peter. ‘Speaking of danger, don't let Lachie or Mimi persuade you to go near the old quarry. It's on the neighbouring farm but it's near the Langmune boundary. The edges are crumbling. If you fell in you'd be killed before you reached the bottom; even if you weren't you'd drown. Mr and Mrs Adamson bought Quarrybrae Farm last year and Lachie has become good friends with their son, Tom. We have warned him he must never go near the quarry.'

‘Right. I shall remember that, sir.'

‘Oh, don't call me sir, lad. It makes me feel like a schoolmaster.' Andrew grinned. ‘Is that how I sounded?'

‘Not when you grin like that it isn't,' Victoria smiled. ‘Call him Uncle Andrew, Peter. He is your uncle after all. He's not telling you what a naughty lad he was himself when he was young. The first time he ever came to Langmune he had climbed onto a ledge in the quarry to rescue a collie dog. It belonged to the farmer who lived here then, Mr Rennie.'

‘Fate took a hand in my life that day,' Andrew reminisced. ‘I was given my first job. I worked at Langmune for Fraser Rennie and I've been here ever since.'

‘I hope fate gives me a helping hand then,' Peter said. ‘My stepfather never gives up. He's convinced I shall be glad to get back to Edinburgh and he's expecting me to stay on at school another year and study to be a doctor.'

‘He may be right, laddie,' Andrew said. ‘A doctor is a worthwhile profession, but whatever the future holds I hope you'll enjoy staying with us during your Easter holidays. Always remember we're your family too and you'll be more than welcome to come whatever you decide to do.

‘Thank you, Uncle Andrew.' Peter beamed.

‘You look just like your father,' Andrew remarked, ‘when he first came to Darlonachie. He had a lively interest in everything.'

‘I shall take you round our childhood haunts, Peter,' Victoria promised, ‘although many of them have changed since the war. The Castle is too big and dilapidated to maintain. It's to be pulled down any day now, and the gardens are wild and neglected. They used to be beautiful.'

‘You will be careful if you go roaming over there, won't you, Victoria?' Andrew's eyes moved to the gentle swell of her stomach.

‘Of course I shall.' Victoria's cheeks flushed. She wondered what a seventeen-year-old boy would think to her having a baby. He probably regarded her as an old woman. She remembered how often she had cycled that distance without a thought, and Andrew had done it every morning and evening. ‘Maybe we'll drive down to the village and out the Castle road. We can walk from there. I'll show you where Mark stayed with the Grantlys too but there's new people living there now.'

Lachlan came running round the corner of the house and almost bumped into them. Mimi was a few yards behind him.

‘Hello, Mimi.' Victoria returned her young niece's beaming smile. ‘I didn't know you were coming over today. Had your Mum forgotten we were meeting Peter off the train? Come and say hello to him.' Mimi stepped forward, smiling shyly, holding out her hand. Peter took it and grinned down at her.

‘I'm very pleased to meet you, Mimi. I have a sister a wee bit bigger than you.'

‘You won't be pleased you've met her when you find out what a pest she is,' Lachlan teased, giving his closest ally a poke in the ribs.

‘And this cheeky wretch is Lachlan,' Andrew said, ‘and he's the real pest around here. Don't stand any nonsense from him, Peter.'

‘'lo, Peter,' Lachlan grinned but he didn't offer to shake hands. ‘Uncle Willie's here.' He announced. ‘Mimi came over with him.'

‘He gave me a piggyback over the burn on the big stepping stones,' Mimi said. ‘I told Daddy about your new lamp, Uncle Andrew. The one you used for the wee lambs when they were shivering. He wondered if we could borrow it,' she added as Willie came round the corner, deep in conversation with Fraser. More introductions were made. Fraser and Peter stared at each other in surprise, each seeing familiar dark brown eyes and even darker brows and hair, the same stubborn jaw and high cheek bones. They were both tall and slim. It was Mimi who remarked, ‘they look like brothers.'

‘They do, indeed,' Willie said, holding out his work-roughened hand and clasping Peter's in a firm grip. ‘Welcome to Darlonachie, laddie. I hear you want to know all about farming and the countryside. You're welcome to come over to High Bowie if you feel like it. Lachlan and Mimi will show you where we live.'

‘Thank you. Uncle Andrew says you have lambs. I'd like to see them,' Peter said, overwhelmed by the warmth which radiated from the little group. It was all so different to his family. Even when his mother was alive there hadn't been much laughter or teasing, and things were even more constrained now.

‘I don't know about you lot but I'm ready for my tea, and I'm sure Peter must be too,' Victoria declared. ‘Come inside, all of you. Mimi be an angel and help me set the table, will you?'

‘Oh goody. Have you got any strawberry jam left, Aunt Victoria?' she turned to Peter, her blue eyes sparkling. ‘It's the best strawberry jam in the whole world.' Then her small face became serious. ‘Our Grandpa has died though. There won't be anybody to grow the strawberries this year.' Over her head Willie, Andrew, and Victoria looked at each other. None of them had considered how much Joe Pringle's gardening skills were going to be missed, but Mimi was right.

‘We shall have to look after Grandfather's garden ourselves,' Fraser said. ‘Do you like gardening, Peter? You can come down to Gran's cottage and help me if you like. Grandpa often showed me what to do. He said Dad and Uncle Willie could only grow potatoes.' He grinned at them. ‘He said I'd have to tend his garden or there'd be no vegetables. He was always passing on his secrets.'

‘Mmm, it's strange that, Fraser,' Andrew nodded at his elder son. ‘I'd forgotten what a lot of time you spent following my father around when you were younger. You've always liked growing things more than looking after the cows. You must take after him. Libby was the one who knew all the animals by name. I thought she'd find it too tough but she enjoyed working with the cattle. I don't know why she doesn't give up that job of hers and help Billy.'  

‘Now Dad,' Fraser warned. ‘You said Doctor Sterling wanted to run Peter's life, but you're as bad.'

‘I am not.' Andrew frowned. He looked at Victoria. ‘Am I?'

‘I suppose it is the same sort of thing, dear,' Victoria said. ‘I wonder why we always think we know what's best for the next generation.'

‘Well I can give you two reasons why Libby is sticking in at her job at the creamery,' Willie said bluntly, ‘and if she was my lassie I'd be proud of her.'

‘And what are they, Willie, these reasons?' Andrew asked with a faint note of irritation. All the young folk seemed to confide in Willie, or maybe he paid more attention.

‘Well for one thing Victoria wanted her to have a career. She thought being a teacher was the best thing she could do for herself.'

‘I'm afraid I did,' Victoria admitted, glancing at Peter.

‘Aye, well she's proving she's got herself a responsible job, and she could have made a career if she needed one. The other thing is she promised that crotchety manager she would stay until the new laboratory was up and running efficiently, and until she's trained someone to take her place. You'd know that if you listened instead of lecturing, big brother.' Willie's grin took the sting out of his words. ‘Libby's not the kind to let anybody down if she can help it. Maybe she and Billy should have waited a while before they got married but they're in love. Anyway I reckon Billy needed Libby to be his wife. His needs are different to ours on account o' the past. We needed Victoria and Mary to work beside us because we were short o' money and labour was scarce during the war.'

‘Unpaid slaves, that's what we are,' Victoria chuckled.

‘Now I suppose I've put my foot in it,' Willie sighed, ‘but that's my spiel over.' It was true that Willie usually spent his time observing and considering, rather than talking.

‘Aye, you'd better shut up and eat up,' Andrew grinned. ‘Here, have a scone.'

‘Bet you didn't know you were coming to such a crazy house?' Fraser said in an aside to Peter.

‘It's wonderful. It makes me realise how serious we are in our house since Mother died, and even before that. My stepfather doesn't have much humour, I suppose.'

That first day at Langmune set the tone of Peter's Easter holiday and he offered a silent prayer to his mother for introducing him to the family he had not known he possessed. She had almost left it too late. He thanked God she had acted in time, even though it had meant friction and going against his stepfather.

***

Libby was home early and she hummed as she prepared Billy's favourite steak-and-kidney pie for dinner. She felt like dancing and skipping. Everything had been so much simpler than she had expected; Doctor Burns had been so gentle and understanding. She did a pirouette around the table as she laid out the cutlery and glasses and added two candles in their heavy silver candlesticks. When everything was ready she skipped upstairs to have a bath. She added some of the scented bath essence which one of her college friends had sent for Christmas. It was wonderful to lay back and relax.