Читать книгу Blood Brothers - Josephine Cox - Страница 9

CALLING AS SHE ran, Alice went like the wind over the rise and on down to the brook. ‘Frank!’ She could see him in the distance, but he was too far away to hear her.

Quickly she ran towards him, her feet hardly touching the ground as she sped along. ‘Frank! Joe’s here!’ Her cries were lost to the elements.

Reaching the brook, she tore off her shoes and, holding them one in each hand, splashed her way through the cool water. When the water deepened, she climbed out to run the rest of the way, quickly closing the distance between her and Frank.

‘Frank!’ Unaware of her approach, he was intent on trying to start the tractor.

‘Frank, Joe’s here!’ She continued to shout his name.

Suddenly Frank turned and saw her. He saw how the wind had whipped up the red in her cheeks and he saw how anxious she seemed. ‘Alice!’ He went at the run towards her. ‘Why are you here? What’s happened?’ When, breathless and soaked to the waist, she ran into his arms, he feared the worst. ‘Alice! What’s wrong?’ His concern heightened when she was unable to catch her breath and speak.

‘He’s here!’ Gasping, she laughed up at him. ‘I’ve been sent to fetch you!’

Holding her at arm’s length, Frank demanded, ‘Who’s here? Who sent you to fetch me?’

‘Nancy! Your mother!!’ Having taken a long, deep breath she laughed out loud. ‘Joe’s here! He arrived just now; Nancy said I was to come and get you.’

When Frank didn’t respond, Alice asked worriedly, ‘Aren’t you pleased? I though you wanted Joe for your best man. Wasn’t that why you tracked him down, so you could ask him?’

‘Well o’course!’ Reassuring her, Frank drew Alice to him. ‘There’s nobody more thrilled than me to have him home for the wedding.’ Though now he was actually here, Frank was not so sure.

Pushing Alice away he took note of her flushed face, and the manner in which her wet dress clung to every curve. He felt a surge of anger. ‘For God’s sake…look at you! You’re soaked to the skin!’ For some inexplicable reason he resented her excitement at Joe’s arrival.

Grabbing his coat from the tractor, he threw it roughly round her shoulders. ‘What’s the matter with you?’ he demanded. ‘What have I told you about going in the brook? Why didn’t you send Jimmy down to find me?’

‘I didn’t know where Jimmy was.’ Her spirit deflated by his surly attitude, Alice spoke quietly. ‘I haven’t seen him.’

Seeing how her smile had fallen away, Frank was quick to apologise. ‘Sorry, Alice…it’s just that I hoped to get this work finished, and now I’ve got trouble with the damned tractor.’

Alice shrugged. ‘It’s all right, I understand.’ All the same, she was surprised at his sudden mood change.

‘I sent Jimmy to the barn to see if he could start the old tractor and fetch it down,’ he explained. ‘Oh, I know the old banger’s about had its day, but if he can start it, we might just manage to get this job done.’ His voice hardened. ‘That was over an hour ago, and he’s still not back!’

He glanced about. ‘Where the hell is he? You know what? I’m beginning to think he’s not up to farm work. I swear if he doesn’t soon buck up his ideas, I’ll kick his lazy arse out of it! I gave him a warning a couple of days ago, when I found him asleep in the hedgerow, and now you say he can’t be found, eh? Well, this is the last straw!’

‘I didn’t say he can’t be found,’ Alice corrected him, ‘I said I hadn’t seen him.’

‘Same thing!’

Just then, from somewhere in the distance, they heard the sound of an engine spluttering and coughing. ‘Would you believe it!’ Frank stretched his neck to see. Pointing to the plume of dark smoke rising through the air, he laughed out loud. ‘Well, I’m damned! He managed to get her going!’

Alice wasn’t sure if the time was right to remind him, but she did anyway. ‘What about Joe? He’s come back like you asked him, and Nancy said for you to come home, because she’s making us all a bite to eat.’

‘I can’t leave now!’ He scowled. ‘Surely you can see that?’

‘So, what will I tell her?’

Frank grew impatient. ‘Tell her whatever you like.’ He started running towards the tractor. ‘Joe won’t mind,’ he shouted. ‘He’ll not be going anywhere.’

Throwing off his jacket, Alice ran after him, but having just dashed all the way there and with a wet skirt lapping round her legs, she could hardly keep up. ‘Can’t you get Jimmy to hold the fort for an hour?’ she called back.

Coming to a halt, Frank waited for her to catch up. ‘Get Jimmy to hold the fort…that idiot?’ He shook his head in disbelief. ‘Use your common sense! Just tell them I can’t come back right now. If we don’t get on, the tractor might stop and if that happens, we’re buggered!’

He gave her a dismissive kiss on the mouth, before running on up the hill. ‘Don’t push her too hard, you damned fool!’ she heard him yelling at Jimmy. ‘It’s been a while since she were started up!’

He waited for Jimmy to get alongside. ‘Took you long enough, didn’t it?’ Frank grumbled. ‘Get down from there!’

Jimmy climbed down. It was not a graceful thing to see, for Jimmy Slater was a man of slow habit. Thick-built, he was not the most intelligent man on earth, nor the prettiest.

With his hair receding from a high forehead, he had a long, thick pony-tail which hung partway down his back. His bottom lip was wet and drooping and his big lolloping eyes were unnerving if they caught you in their sights.

‘I never thought I’d get it started.’ Covered from head to toe in patches of grease and oil, Jimmy Slater looked a comical figure.

After saying hello to Jimmy, Alice took her leave. ‘I’m sure I don’t know what’s got into him,’ she muttered as she went. ‘I’ve never seen him in such a bad mood.’ But knowing how important it was to get the ploughing done, she put it out of her mind.

All the same, by the time she arrived at the farmhouse, Alice was unusually low in spirit. ‘He’s right about Jimmy though,’ she admitted as she came up the path. ‘He is a bit of a daydream at times. I don’t suppose you can blame Frank for not trusting him with the ploughing.’

She said the very same when Nancy asked where Frank was. ‘Frank will be along soon as he can.’ She relayed Frank’s message word for word.

Nancy was more concerned about Alice. ‘I don’t need to ask how you got soaked,’ she tutted. ‘Away upstairs and into some of my old dry clothes before you catch your death o’ cold!’

Alice apologised. ‘I got soaked because I went the quickest way, and I went the quickest way because I needed to find Frank,’ Alice explained.

‘You should never wade through the brook,’ Nancy warned. ‘There are sharp stones and bits of debris lying at the bottom. You could have hurt yourself.’

‘Leave the girl be!’ Tom chipped in. He thought there were times when Nancy could be a bit too sharp. ‘Alice is a grown woman, about to be wed for goodness’ sake. Don’t treat her like a naughty child.’

Having only Alice’s welfare at heart, Nancy was mortified. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, Alice. Sometimes I let my tongue run away with me.’

Alice gave her a hug, ‘It’s really nice that you worry about me,’ she said gently. ‘I’ll go and get changed.’

Out the corner of her eye she could see Joe standing by the window, a cup of steaming tea in his hand and a mischievous look on his face. When their eyes met, he gave a reassuring smile.

Returning the smile, Alice made her way towards the stairs.

A short while later Alice returned, washed and dried; her hair tied back in a ribbon, and looking fresh in a pale cream-coloured dress with floral collar and wide belt. ‘Oh, Alice! You look pretty as a picture! I remember that dress from when I was young.’ Nancy ushered her to the table. ‘Now then, I’ve made you a cup of honey and hot milk. You’re to drink it straight down and no arguments, ‘cause it’ll keep the chills away!’

Outside, Tom and Joe were deep in conversation. Settling Alice at the table, Nancy drew Alice’s gaze to where the two men were sitting under the beech tree. ‘Tom’s eager to know what our Joe’s been up to, and Joe needs to know that we’re all right.’

A look of pride lit her homely features. ‘Joe’s been a fine son to us,’ she confided. ‘Oh, it’s not to say our Frank isn’t also a good lad, because of course he is. Only they have a different way of dealing with things.’

Curious, Alice asked her, ‘How do you mean?’

Nancy had a heart full of love for both her sons, but she was careful in her reply. ‘They’re different in nature, that’s all,’ she answered cagily.

‘In what way?’ Alice asked curiously.

Nancy thought about that. ‘Well now, let me see.’ She parked herself in the chair opposite Alice. ‘They’re both hard-working, and they’ve each got their good points,’ she emphasised. ‘But y’see, Joe is more a thinker than Frank; although I’m not altogether sure his dad would agree. What I mean is that our Joe will examine a problem from all angles before he makes a decision, while Frank is more impatient and impulsive. He’ll only see what he wants to see. He’ll often dive in at the deep end without weighing up the consequences first.’

She laughed. ‘He was the same as a boy…put the fear of God in me at times, he did!’

Almost oblivious to Alice’s presence, she began to reminisce. ‘I recall when Tom had his new fork lift delivered. Joe was only a toddler, while Frank was coming up to his sixth birthday. I was in the kitchen and I’d put young Joe outside in the wooden playpen…lovely thing it was. His dad made it for him.’

She hesitated, her face drawn up in a deep frown. ‘When I wasn’t looking, Frank carried his brother to the truck and tied him on to the forks. ‘Course little Joe thought it was all a game. When I saw what had happened, I ran out. By the time I got there, Frank was already in the driving seat, trying to start the engine.’ She gave a great heavy sigh. ‘It nearly gave me a heart attack!’

Having learned a little about the mechanics on a farm, Alice was horrified. ‘If Frank had started the engine and the forks had gone up, Joe could have been badly injured!’ She knew that much.

Nancy agreed, though she had never seen it as a deliberately cruel prank, more as Frank’s little game to amuse his baby brother.

She said so now. ‘Of course, Frank didn’t realise that Joe could have been injured,’ she said. ‘But his father was horrified. He gave Frank a bit of a spanking and put him to bed.’

Nancy chuckled. ‘He went wild, kicking and yelling, and wanting to come down. But his father said he was to stay there until he realised that what he had done was dangerous. Later on Frank apologised, and nothing like that ever happened again. Like I say…Frank’s a fine man but as a boy, he did have a bit of a temper.’ She could have said more. Instead, she turned her mind to other things.

Taking hold of Alice’s hand, she wrapped her two hands around it. ‘You’ll be so good for him, Alice,’ she said quietly. ‘You have a calming nature, and I’ve never known anyone to be so kind of heart. Oh! and you have such spirit, for a little thing!’

She looked down into Alice’s remarkable dark-blue eyes and she was convinced that here was a young woman who would be a match for Frank; not in a bullish way, but with her quiet, loving nature.

‘I’m so glad he met you,’ she told Alice. ‘There’s no one else I’d rather see him spend his life with.’

Afraid she might have said too much, Nancy was quick to assure Alice. ‘Frank adores the ground you walk on, did you know that?’

‘Yes, I know that,’ Alice said. ‘And I think the world of him too.’

Relieved, Nancy went on. ‘He’ll make a fine husband, like he’s been a fine son. To tell the truth, me and his dad don’t know what we’d have done without him this past year, what with Joe having gone away so sudden.’

‘Joe’s back now though,’ Alice pointed out. ‘Maybe he won’t ever go away again.’

‘I’m glad he’s back,’ Nancy admitted. ‘But to be honest, I’m not altogether sure he’ll stay.’

‘Why’s that?’

‘Because Joe has the wanderlust.’ Nancy would have been overjoyed if Joe made up his mind to stay home, and she confided as much in Alice. ‘We can but hope though, eh?’

Alice nodded in heartfelt agreement. She had known Joe for only a few hours, yet she felt like she had known him all her life.

Having opened up old memories, Nancy continued to sing Frank’s praises. ‘You’ll never want for a roof over your head with Frank to look after you. He has the makings of a good husband.’

‘And will Joe make some woman a good husband?’ Alice wondered aloud.

Nancy was quick to assure her. ‘Either one of my sons would protect his woman with his life, but unlike Frank, I don’t reckon a roof over his head would be our Joe’s first consideration.’

‘Really?’ Somehow, Alice was not surprised.

‘Yes, really! Y’see, whereas Frank would need the security of four walls and a roof round him, our Joe would never see that as a priority. I reckon as long as he’s got the sky above, the land under his feet and the open road before him, he’ll be content enough.’

‘So, is that where he’s been this past year…on the open road?’

Nancy fell silent for a moment. ‘Who knows? Since he’s been back, he hasn’t had a lot to say for himself. Not to worry though, because he was always a quiet soul. I expect he’ll confide in us when he’s good and ready.’

Just then, Tom returned from the garden. ‘Our Joe’s gone to give Frank a helping hand,’ he informed them. ‘Since falling off my horse some time back, I find it difficult walking all that way across the fields. It takes an effort just going upstairs at night. But Frank will be glad of Joe’s help, I’m sure.’

Nancy nodded. ‘Me and Alice were about to get dinner on the table,’ she said. ‘So you’ve at least an hour before you’re needed. Why don’t you go and rest your gammy leg while you’ve got the chance?’

Tom didn’t need telling twice. ‘Good idea!’ Coming to the table, he collected his newspaper and went away.

Nancy groaned. ‘He spends more time with his precious four-legged nags than he does with me! I swear…if there was a fire and he had the chance to save one thing, it would be his blessed newspaper!’

Nattering to herself, she turned away and set about making the dinner.

Before she even got started, Alice was right beside her. ‘I’ll do the potatoes if you want?’ she told Nancy, and Nancy was only too pleased to be rid of the tedious task. ‘Good girl!’ she said. ‘You do that, while I make a start on the apple pie.’

Through the kitchen window she could see Joe disappearing over the headland. ‘I do hope he decides to stay,’ she murmured to herself, ‘I’ve missed him so.’

She had fully enjoyed her little chat with Alice, though she wondered if she had imparted a little too much. All the same, she had said nothing that should worry Alice. It was true! Frank did adore the ground Alice walked on, and according to what Alice had told her, she felt the very same towards Frank. It was a comforting thought.

All she wanted now was for her youngest son to stay with the family. Once Frank and Alice were wed, and moved out, this delightful farmhouse would be a lonely place; especially with Tom always hiding behind his blessed newspaper!

She looked out the window again. There was no sign of Joe at all now.

Joe took the long road, up the rise and down alongside the brook to the bottom field. He had no wish to soak himself by paddling through the brook. He thought of Alice and smiled. ‘No doubt Alice would have gone straight through the water.’

He saw himself in Alice; a free spirit. No one should ever shackle her, he thought. No one should ever deaden her spirit and break her heart, and most of all, no one should ever change what and who she was. That would be unforgiveable.

In his mind he went over the events of the past year. He thought of how his own spirit had been broken; though here and now, among the fields and trees with only the soothing sound of nature in his ears, at long last he was beginning to heal.

Pausing in his stride, he glanced up at the shifting skies. ‘You helped me,’ he murmured, as though to some unseen presence. ‘You helped me stay strong, when life became impossible.’

This past year there had been many bad times when he was close to despair. But day by day he had forced himself to look forward. He thought of his family, and especially Alice, and somehow, through those dark days and nights, he had managed to survive.

Thankfully it was over now, and this beautiful place where he had grown from boy to man, was slowly reaching out, to strengthen his faith, and purpose. Giving him the ability to rise above anything that life might test him with.

He rested a moment, up there at the top of the world. He felt such peace, and a sense of joy that he had not felt for a long time.

Back there, when he had sat with his father and talked of days gone by, Joe had come dangerously close to confiding in him. There was one moment of madness when he felt the need to open his heart and reveal the truth. But he couldn’t. It would have destroyed his father, who was a man of principle; a simple, uncomplicated man, who would never understand.

Joe was glad he had resisted the need to confide his secret, because to do that would be to relieve his own guilt, and that was no reason to hurt someone you loved.

As he rounded the spinney, he heard what sounded like a cry for help, and then angry shouting that grew louder as he came near. ‘Who the devil’s that!’ Taking off at the run, he came to a clearing where he saw Frank standing over someone or something on the ground. Holding what looked like a chain, he was lashing out like a madman. ‘Frank!’ He was horrified when he realised it was Jimmy on the ground, crouched on his knees with his two arms crossed over his head, while Frank swung the chain at him, again and again.

Horrified, Joe broke into a run. ‘Frank…what the hell d’you think you’re doing!’

Frank took no notice. Instead, he lashed out again and again, screaming and shouting like someone demented.

‘Stop it, Frank!’ Joe was almost on him. ‘DON’T BE A DAMNED FOOL! LAY OFF HIM, FRANK…FOR GOD’S SAKE LEAVE HIM BE!’

Launching himself at Frank, he threw him aside. ‘What’s wrong with you, have you gone mad?’

With difficulty he managed to keep his brother away while helping Jimmy up off the ground. Bloodied, and crying like a baby, Jimmy clung to Joe. ‘He went crazy…tried to kill me!’ When Frank made a threatening move towards him, Jimmy cowered away. ‘It weren’t my fault! Don’t let him get near me.’

Each time Frank made a move towards Jimmy, Joe came between them. ‘What’s this all about?’ he asked Jimmy. ‘You said it wasn’t your fault? What did you mean?’

‘I tried to mend it, but the chain came off in my hands. It weren’t my fault. The tractor’s old and knackered. It wants breaking for spares, that’s all it’s good for!’

With blood running down his arm and an open gash across his cheek, he was shaking, his eyes wide with terror. ‘It weren’t my fault,’ he kept saying. ‘It weren’t my fault.’

When Frank started towards him again, Joe took Jimmy out of his reach. Behind him Frank began pacing back and forwards like a trapped animal.

Relieved that Jimmy had managed to protect himself from serious injury, Joe told him worriedly, ‘You need to get those cuts seen to. I’ll help you. Just hang on a minute…I need to have a quick word with Frank.’

Jimmy shook his head. ‘I’m all right. I don’t need no help!’ He glanced nervously at Frank, who was now leaning forward on the tractor, thumping his clenched fists against the engine cover. ‘It’s him as needs help!’ Jimmy cursed. ‘Bloody lunatic, that’s what he is!’

‘Leave him to me,’ Joe calmly advised. ‘And listen, Jimmy, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t let Mum or Dad find out about this.’

Jimmy frowned. ‘Don’t worry! I’m not likely to go about telling everybody how I cowered on the ground while Frank Arnold gave me a thrashing!’

He cast a hateful glance towards Frank. ‘You should watch him, Joe! I’m sorry, I know he’s your brother an’ all, but…’ he dropped his voice to a whisper, ‘…sometimes, it’s like he’s not right in the head.’

Joe gave him a gentle but firm warning. ‘It’s not wise to say those things, Jimmy.’

Jimmy nodded. He had got the message.

Realising how things could easily kick off again, Joe told him, ‘If you’re sure you don’t need me, it might be best if you go now, and get that gash seen to.’ That was the one injury that worried him. The rest seemed superficial, but the gash was deep and long. ‘Look! I’d rather make sure you get back; if you’ll just wait on a minute, I need to have a quick word with Frank.’

He saw how Frank was deeply agitated.

He knew the signs.

‘Thanks all the same, but I’d rather go on my own.’ Jimmy ran his fingers along the gash. ‘Look! It’s already stopped bleeding.’

Joe conceded, ‘All right, but mind how you go. Oh, and it might be best if you stay away altogether, for now. I’ll come and find you when things have calmed down.’

‘What about me wages?’ Jimmy demanded. ‘I’m due a week’s wages? I can’t live without no money, can I?’

Joe turned to Frank. ‘He’s right! Give him his wages.’

Frank rounded on him, ‘LIKE HELL I WILL! JUST GET THE USELESS BASTARD OUT OF MY SIGHT, BEFORE I FINISH HIM OFF.’

Jimmy yelled back, ‘I TOLD YOU THE TRACTOR WERE FINISHED, BUT YOU WOULDN’T LISTEN!’

When Frank came at a run towards them, Joe gave Jimmy a shove. ‘Get out of here! I’ll see to your wages. Go on…go!’

As Jimmy went, half-limping, half-running, Frank’s angry voice followed him. ‘You’ll get no wages from me. You’re finished. D’you hear? If I clap eyes on you again, I’ll shoot you on sight!’

Once out of Frank’s reach, Jimmy gave as good as he got. ‘You’re a bloody lunatic, Frank Arnold! You want locking up!’

Frank retaliated with a warning blast from his shotgun, the shock of which sent the birds soaring from the trees. ‘See that? it’ll be you next time!’

Laughing out loud, Frank swung round to face his brother. ‘I bet that put the fear of God in him, eh?’

Joe wasn’t laughing. ‘You hurt him bad, Frank. If I hadn’t come along, you might even have finished him off. Is that what you planned, Frank. To kill him?’

Frank showed no remorse. ‘What the hell good is he, eh?’ he demanded. ‘He can never do a single thing right! He’s completely buggered the job.’

Joe studied his brother for a brief moment. He was no stranger to Frank’s rage. He had seen it many times before, when they were younger.

Beneath Joe’s steady gaze, Frank grew uncomfortable. ‘What the devil are you staring at?’

‘You.’ Joe was unmoved. ‘I’m staring at you, Frank. And I don’t like what I see.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘It means you should learn to control your temper, before it gets you in real trouble.’

Frank gave a loud laugh. ‘What. Like this y’mean?’ Raising the shotgun, he levelled it at his brother.

Joe stood firm. ‘I thought you might have got all the nastiness out of your system by now,’ he said quietly. ‘I can see I was wrong. If anything, you’re worse than you ever were.’

Keeping the shotgun level, Frank took a step closer. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about!’ He knew exactly what Joe was talking about, and it unnerved him.

‘I could shoot you here and now. I could say it was an accident…that you ran at me, and the gun just went off.’

Opening his arms, Joe invited. ‘Go on then, Frank. Shoot me. You can explain it any way you like to Mum and Dad, but in the end you’ll be found out. I could have told Mum years ago what you were like, but I didn’t, because you were my brother, and I loved you. I even kept quiet when you tried to drown me in the brook just because I accidentally dislodged your keep net. They never knew that. And they never will, at least not from me.’

‘They’d never believe you.’

‘Maybe not, but you and I know what you did, and one day, when you think they’re not looking and your temper gets the better of you…that’s when they’ll see you for what you really are.’

‘You’d better shut your mouth, Joe!’

Undeterred, Joe went on, ‘They might even begin to ask questions, about how when you were twelve, you took their beloved dog for a walk. You told them it ran off, but some time later they found it, clumsily buried in a shallow grave down the spinney. They said he must have disturbed intruders making for the big house, but I never believed that. I’ve always had my suspicions.’

Frank said nothing, but the guilt was written all over his face.

‘It was you, wasn’t it, Frank? Mum and Dad believed the story about the intruders. But they knew how jealous you were of that little dog, and it wouldn’t take much for them to realise what might have happened. Oh, and what about that girl from the village? She came to do the housework when Mum was laid up with a sprained ankle. What happened to the girl, Frank? Why was she there one minute, and gone the next?’

It was a question he had always wanted to ask, and now was the time. ‘What did you do to her, Frank? When I saw her in the village a week later, she wouldn’t even talk to me.’

His voice dropped to a whisper. ‘You frightened her, didn’t you, Frank? You must have done something really bad to make her run away like that.’

‘I didn’t do anything! She was a real scaredy cat, frightened of everything! I didn’t do anything to make her run away.’

‘Right. So, when you go back and tell everyone that you accidentally shot and killed me, what will you do when Jimmy finds the courage to tell it like it really was?’

He glanced towards the rise. ‘For all we know, he might even be up there…spying on us. In any case, if you killed me, there are bound to be questions: lots of difficult questions, Frank. So go on, shoot me. If that’s what you really want.’

Realising that for the moment Joe had him exactly where he wanted him, Frank slowly lowered the gun to his side. ‘You should be ashamed,’ he snarled. ‘You care nothing about Mum and Dad. First chance you got, you cleared off…left me to do all the work round this place. You took off without a single thought for anybody! A couple of months, that’s what you said when you left. If I hadn’t traced you to that pub, you might never have come back.’

‘That was clever of you…contacting the pubs.’

‘I always get what I want.’

‘So, why did you trace me, Frank?’

‘You already know why! I wanted you to be my best man.’

‘That’s not enough, Frank. I know you! Me being your best man is neither here nor there as far as you’re concerned. There must be another reason why you wanted me back.’

‘All right! There was, yes. I wanted you to see how I’ve changed; how I’ve found someone to love me. Most of all, I needed to show you how I’ve kept this place going without you.’

His face darkened. ‘You left me here to rot. You can’t even begin to know what it’s been like!’

Frantically pacing up and down with the gun by his side, he ran his two hands through his hair. ‘After Dad hurt his leg and couldn’t do it anymore, it was up to me. Hard, back-breaking work, seven days a week, through all the seasons, morning ‘til night, with no proper life of my own.’

His features softened. ‘Then, one day at the Bedford market, I met Alice. She liked me straight off, so we started going out, whenever I could snatch an hour here or an evening there. For the first time ever, I began to see what life could really be like, and now we’re getting wed. I wanted you to come back and be my best man, because I wanted you to see that I’ve got the best girl in the world.’

Throwing out his arms, he laughed crazily. ‘I got myself a life, Joe! So now you see, I’m no different from anybody else. I had to show you how it’s me and not you, who makes Mum and Dad proud. I’m able to knuckle down, keep the farm going, and soon I’ll be wed and then I’ll give them the grandchildren they’ve always wanted. I’ll be the man, Joe! That’s all I wanted you to know. I will be the man!’

Joe felt a surge of guilt. ‘I’m sorry I wasn’t here, Frank. You’ve done well.’ But he knew Frank too well to accept it was that simple.

He gave a long slow smile. ‘All the same, you’ll need to do more than be the man if you hope to convince me that you’ve changed.’

‘But I have changed!’

Joe knew different. ‘What do you think people would say if they’d seen you beating Jimmy?’

‘Oh, that’s very clever, Joe. Especially when it’s you that’s in the wrong, not me!’ Frank hit back. ‘Mum and Dad will never forgive you for staying away all this time. For months after you went Mum watched out the window, waiting for you to come home, but you never did! You’d rather be off round the country, enjoying yourself, without a second thought for any of us back here!’

He shook his fist. ‘They missed you, Joe! I missed you! Where were you, Joe? Why did you stay away for so long?’

Joe took a deep breath. ‘I thought about Mum and Dad; believe it or not, I even thought about you! I missed this place, and I missed my life here. I did think about all of you. Every single day.’

‘Liar! You must have known we were worried. You could have written!’

‘It wasn’t possible.’ Joe had his reasons.

‘How could it not be possible?’

Knowing the severity of what he was about to disclose, Joe took a moment to compose himself. ‘I was in prison, Frank. If I’d written, it would have been on prison notepaper and you would have known, and I didn’t want that.’

Joe’s admission hit Frank like a bolt from the blue. ‘Prison?’ He took a step back. ‘You were in prison?’ He was shocked to the core.

Joe quietly explained, ‘I was locked away for eight months, and that’s the reason I couldn’t contact you. The reason why I could not come home.’

The shock of Joe being in prison, had rendered Frank speechless. Joe, who would rather cut off his hand than commit a crime. Joe, who had never harmed anyone or stolen anything in his entire life. ‘I don’t believe it!’

Taking a moment to think it through, he gave a cynical laugh. ‘Oh, now I see it! You’re lying, aren’t you? You’re lying, to cover up the truth, that you didn’t give a sod about us!’

‘No, Frank.’ Joe looked him in the eye, ‘Only weeks after I left here, I got caught up in a fight down London way; a man was badly hurt. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, that’s all. The three culprits ran off and I was the one who got arrested. Nothing I said made any difference. They gave me eight months’ custodial sentence. I served the time and when I came out it was next to impossible to find work. I did odd jobs anywhere I could find, then I started working the pubs; the odd day here and there, for a pittance and a bed in the cellar.’

He told Frank, ‘One night I wandered into the Oak Tree pub and got talking to the landlord. He said his regular barman had to take a fortnight off, and asked me if I’d like to give it a go…that there was a room and regular meals going as part of the wage. So naturally I jumped at the chance. I’m glad I did, because I got your letter, and that was my way back.’

‘Oak Tree?’ Frank recognised the name of the pub. ‘That’s right! That’s where I traced you to.’

‘So that’s how it was, Frank. Through no fault of mine, I spent the best part of a year in prison, and that’s God’s honest truth!’

Instead of reacting with compassion, Frank took pleasure in taunting him, ‘Locked up in prison, eh? Joe Arnold…the man who values his freedom like no one else I know…can’t even sleep unless the window’s wide open.’

He laughed. ‘How did you survive, Joe…with four small walls closing in on you; hordes of convicts crushing your space. No open windows, or fresh air, and eyes watching you everywhere you went? I’ve heard how prison can cripple a spirit or send you crazy. Is that how it was, Joe? Has it sent you crazy?’

Joe remembered every minute of it, and though prison had not altogether crippled his soul, it had scarred him deeply. With Frank’s every vicious word the memories came flooding back; awful memories he would rather forget. And now for his own evil pleasure, Frank was bringing them alive in his mind. ‘Bastard!’

Frank didn’t see it coming. When Joe’s clenched fist set him reeling backwards, he lay on the ground for a moment, tenderly nursing his jaw. ‘Oh, so you did learn something in that place, eh?’

‘Oh, yes, I learned something. I learned that you had to look after yourself or go under, and I was not about to go under, Frank, not then, and not now.’

Laughing, Frank scrambled up. ‘If you think you’re a better man than I am, then you’re a bigger fool than I took you for,’ he snarled. ‘I mean…look at you…an ex-con! Joe Arnold, ever the good son…locked up in prison and surrounded by thugs and criminals.’

Nursing his jaw, he laughed insanely. ‘You know what, Joe…that’s the most useful piece of information I’ve had in a long time.’

Realising how Frank meant to use the information, Joe already regretted having divulged his secret.

‘Just think about it, Joe. If that got out, imagine how it would shame the family. Whatever would people say? It could even finish us if the customers went elsewhere for their hay and meat. Oh, and I can’t even imagine what it would do to Mum and Dad when I tell them.’

Joe was incensed. ‘Even you wouldn’t do a cruel thing like that!’

‘I would, if you forced my hand.’

‘You really are scum, aren’t you?’ He suspected what Frank had in mind, and he was right.

‘All I’m saying, Joe, is that there’s no need for any nastiness. All you have to do is forget the silly ideas you’ve got in your head about me; and I’ll keep my mouth shut about your scummy little secret.’

Disgusted, Joe turned away. Frank called after him, ‘I mean it! I won’t even have to shout it out loud. I’ll just whisper the word round the village…Joe Arnold’s just out of prison!’ That’s all I need to do, Joe! A little whisper in the right ear, and the gossips will do the rest.’

Ignoring his rantings and with a need to think, Joe made for the tractor, where he feverishly set to work. Behind him, Frank sat leisurely on a fallen tree trunk and smoked a cigarette. ‘You think it over,’ he told Joe confidently. ‘In the end though, you’ll see I’m right. If you want to save Mum and Dad a lot of grief, it’s the only way.’

Working like a man possessed, Joe had fitted the chain in no time. When the engine started, Frank shouted excitedly, ‘Oh, well done, Joe! I may be a better farmer than you, but you always were the better mechanic, I’ll give you that!’

Paying him no heed, Joe wiped his hands on the oil rag and began his way up the field. ‘Dammit! I should never have told him,’ he muttered angrily. ‘I should have known!’

‘It’s a deal then is it?’ Frank called after him. ‘Keep your mouth shut, and your secret will be safe enough with me!’

Joe gave no answer.

The truth was, he would never have risked hurting his parents by revealing what he knew about Frank’s evil doings. But Frank could not know that. Instead, Frank had judged Joe by his own standards by resorting to blackmail.

‘I was a fool for trusting you,’ Joe cursed himself. ‘You’ve got me where you want me, Frank, and it’s no more than I deserve.’

It was another harsh lesson he had learned.

‘What’s keeping them now?’ Nancy and Alice had the dinner almost ready, ‘Just the gravy to make and we can serve it up,’ she told Alice.

Alice placed the condiments in the centre of the table. ‘Do you want me to go and see where the boys are?’

‘You’ll do no such thing, my girl!’ Tom chided. ‘Another five minutes an’ it’ll be dark as nookers-knockers out there. You and Nancy take it easy, while I go and see if they’re on their way.’

He was gone no longer than five minutes before he was back. ‘Brrr!’ He kept his jacket on. ‘It’s blowing a bit chilly out there now.’

‘Well…’ Nancy wanted to know. ‘Did you see them?’

‘Nope. Though I’m certain they’ll be here soon.’

Sniffing the aroma of freshly cooked beef, he sighed. ‘Can’t we make a start? It’d be a shame to let the meat spoil.’

Nancy gave him one of her frosty looks. ‘A few more minutes, then we’ll see,’ she told him sternly.

He ambled back to his chair. ‘Yer always were a bossy woman,’ he muttered.

‘What was that?’ Nancy put her hands on her hips. ‘Are you calling me bossy?’

‘I am, and you are. So there!’

Smiling to herself, Nancy got back to her gravy. ‘You have to keep these men in their place,’ she told Alice, who was enjoying their harmless banter, ‘otherwise they’ll begin to think they’re in charge and that will never do.’

Tom continued to moan, ‘No consideration! There’s me famished, and them two messing about doing goodness knows what. No consideration at all…keeping us all waiting for our dinner like this.’

‘I’ll just pop out and see if they’re about,’ Alice suggested, and before anyone could stop her, she had her coat on and was out the kitchen door. ‘Don’t go no further than the gate!’ Nancy declared. ‘If there’s no sign of them we’ll sit down and start before the meal’s spoiled.’

Tom thanked her with a chuckle. ‘Good idea!’

Addressing Tom haughtily she assured him, ‘It’s not for your sake, matey. It’s for me and Alice.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘It means…I know how you get the wind on an empty stomach.’ She frowned, ‘…and that’s not a pleasant thing to witness!’

Having sat by the brook for an age, Joe was already on his way back. He had to check the falcon, so he made straight for the barn.

Once inside he lit the tilly lamp and carried it to the stable. ‘So, how are you, fella?’ Closing the stable door behind him, he then set about untying the straps that held the cage in position.

Outside, Alice was halfway along the path when she saw the light go on in the barn. ‘I expect that’s Joe!’ she realised. ‘He’ll be checking the falcon.’ Setting off at a run, she headed for the barn.

First she peeped through the window but when the strawstack hampered her view, she went softly to the door, where she slipped quietly inside.

Alice stayed in the shadows, quietly observing him as he lifted the bird out of the cage, all the while speaking tenderly to it, ‘Well now, you seem to have bucked up a bit. And look at this…you’re even trying to move your wing. Oh, yes! I reckon we’ll have you up and away in no time at all.’

Coming out of the shadows, Alice stepped forward. ‘Hello, Joe.’

‘Alice! I didn’t see you come in.’ Though he was very glad to see her.

‘Is he getting stronger?’ Alice peered at the bird, now fluttering in the palm of Joe’s hand. ‘He looks like he wants to get away.’ She thought the falcon was a magnificent thing, with his deep, bright eyes and feathers smooth as silk.

‘He knows his wing is healing,’ Joe said, ‘…so now he’s growing anxious to leave. Look.’ He gently worked the wing back and forth. ‘I don’t think it’s broken after all,’ he said, ‘…but he’s lost a feather or two, and the muscle is weakened. Seems to me he might have flown into a telegraph pole, or got caught up somewhere. Either way, he seems to have rallied a bit with having the rest, and by the look of it, he’s had a good drink from the container.’

Alice saw how tenderly Joe examined the bird, lifting and moving the wing and all the while talking softly to him.

‘Can I hold him?’

‘Keep the wing out straight,’ he reminded her. ‘The splint is not as tight as it was, what with him moving about.’

Carefully, he placed the falcon in her cupped hands. ‘Watch he doesn’t peck,’ he warned, ‘he’s getting a bit full of himself now he’s feeling better.’

He was amazed when straightaway the bird settled neatly into her hands, and calmly lay there. ‘You’ve worn him out,’ she smiled up at Joe, then concentrated on stroking the bird’s head with the tip of her finger. ‘Lovely thing, aren’t you?’ she murmured. ‘You want to be out there, don’t you…riding on the breeze and when it’s time to stop, you’ll be up there in the tall trees, observing everything from your lofty perch.’

After a moment or two, she returned him to Joe. ‘Best let him rest now, eh?’

When she placed the falcon into Joe’s grasp, her hands brushed his and Joe’s heart turned over. She was so close to him; he could smell the fragrance in her hair, and her skin was soft as silk. Alice was so lovely, all he wanted to do was take her into his arms and fold her to him.

With the longing came the guilt, ‘Did Mum send you to look for me?’ He thought it amazing, how he could sound so casual, when his head was spinning with excitement.

Alice nodded. ‘Dinner’s all ready. Your mother wondered where you and Frank had got to.’

‘We had to finish off,’ he told her. ‘I should think Frank will be along any minute.’

‘And what about you, Joe?’ she asked. ‘How long will you be?’

‘Not long. I’ll make sure the falcon’s settled first. It’ll only take a few minutes. You’d best go now though, or they’ll be wondering where you are.’

Alice stepped back. ‘See you in a few minutes then?’

She went out of the barn and along the path, where the only light to show her the way was the light from the farmhouse kitchen.

When she almost there, she heard footsteps behind her. A quick glance told her it was Frank. For some reason, she felt she couldn’t face him just yet. She needed time to herself…just a minute or two, and then she’d be all right.

Leaning into the shadows she let him pass without him suspecting that she was even there.

After he’d gone into the farmhouse, she held her hands out before her. They were trembling. ‘What’s wrong with me?’ she thought. Just now when she placed the falcon into Joe’s palms, the touch of his bare skin against hers had quickened her heart.

‘It was the bird,’ she told herself, ‘He’s so wild and beautiful. Yes! That’s what it was. Holding the falcon was exciting! How many people ever get to do that?’

Being there in the barn with Joe, and sharing the excitement of the falcon, had somehow unsettled her.

Suddenly the door was flung open and there was Frank. ‘Oh!’ Laughing, she fell into his arms. ‘Frank! Oh, I’m so glad you’re back,’ she said breathlessly. ‘We wondered where you were.’ She clung fast to him, almost as though she were fleeing from something.

‘Woa!’ Taken aback by the way she threw herself into his arms, Frank held her at arm’s length. ‘I was about to come looking for you. Mum said you’d gone to stand at the gate, so you must have been invisible when I came by just now.’

‘I was in the barn.’

‘In the barn? What were you doing in the barn?’ He smiled proudly. ‘Looking for me, were you?’

‘No, well yes…I mean, I was looking for you, but then I saw Joe go into the barn, and I asked him where you were and he said you should be back soon, and then I saw the falcon.’ When she realised she was gabbling, she took a breath. ‘Oh, Frank, the falcon is so beautiful!’

Frank noticed how excited she was, and he began to wonder. ‘Oh, yes, the falcon. I was told about that. So, is it doing all right, or what?’

‘Joe thinks he’s doing just fine,’ Alice informed him eagerly. ‘At first Joe thought his wing might be broken, but it’s only damaged. Anyway, Joe says he might be able to fly away soon.’

‘That’s good news. So! You were in the barn, were you? I’m surprised you didn’t see me go by.’ All he could think was that she had mentioned Joe’s name three times in less than a minute.

‘I expect I didn’t see you because I was holding the falcon, but then I gave it back to Joe and came to the house to see if you’d got here yet.’

Tickling her under the chin, Frank smiled broadly. ‘Well, I’m here, and you’re here, and it’s good that the bird is repairing.’ Deliberately holding his smile, he teased. ‘Though I’m not sure I like the idea of you being in the barn with a strange man.’ He emphasised the last two words by widening his eyes and pretending to frighten her.

Alice laughed. ‘Joe is not a strange man. He’s your brother.’ Again, she recalled how she was drawn to Joe on that first meeting.

Keeping up the pretence, Frank kissed her long and slow on the mouth. ‘You’re right. So he is!’

When he saw the light go out in the barn, he ushered her inside. ‘Come on. We’d best get back inside before Mum throws the entire dinner out the window!’ Keeping her extra close, he escorted her into the kitchen.

He had a great deal to think about, because now it seemed he had a new and unexpected worry. This growing friendship between Alice and Joe had to be nipped in the bud.

Already irritated by Alice’s obvious excitement, Frank vowed that if he ever suspected Joe of making a play for his future wife, it would be the last thing Joe ever did!

‘Oh, here you are at last!’ In the kitchen, Nancy was already dishing up the food. ‘Where’s our Joe?’ Stretching her neck, she looked towards the door.

‘He’ll be here in a minute,’ Alice volunteered. ‘He’s just bedding the falcon down for the night.’

‘How is the bird?’ Tom asked eagerly, still chomping at the bit for his evening meal.

Before Alice could answer, Frank chipped in. ‘Joe reckons it’s almost ready to take off.’

Tom was pleased about that. ‘Ah well, he always did have a way with stray creatures, did Joe.’

‘Off upstairs, Frank. You need to wash and change before dinner,’ Nancy ordered.

‘Oh, I was hoping to beg a cuppa before I go up and change.’

‘You’d best make it yourself, ‘cause me and Alice have the dinner to serve,’ Nancy reminded him. ‘Oh, and try not to get under our feet.’

Frank took offence at being ordered about like a little boy. Smiling to himself, he wondered what his parents would say if they knew Joe had been in prison. The very thought of it made him feel good.

While Frank got himself a mug of tea, Alice and Nancy went about setting the table.

Tom got his fingers rapped for picking at the peas, while Nancy saw to the gravy and juggled dishes of steaming, juicy vegetables, she assailed everyone with stories of Joe and his boyish escapades. ‘D’you recall the time Joe scampered up that huge old tree to rescue that ginger cat?’

She chuckled. ‘The cat jumped down and left Joe stranded. We had to get the big ladders out and help him down. As if that wasn’t enough, the very next morning he found a badger caught in a trap.’

Stealing a carrot, Tom picked up the story. ‘Ten year old he were, and would you believe he turned up here with the badger still in the damned trap! The badger’s leg was almost off, and it was half crazed.’

While Nancy checked there were enough places set at the table for Alice’s parents Tom went on, ‘I gave Joe a right talking to. I mean…as we all know, badgers are bad-tempered at the best of times, and this big divil was in terrible pain. Snapping and snarling like a mad dog it was. I don’t mind telling you, it’s a miracle he didn’t have Joe’s fingers off at the bone!’

Out the corner of her eye Nancy caught Tom dibbing into the peas. ‘Get your mucky fingers outta them peas!’ Catching him across the knuckles with the ladle, she gave him one of her frosty stares. It was enough to send him scurrying for his raggedy old newspaper again.

When the telephone rang right beside him he almost leaped out of his chair. ‘Noisy damned thing. I wish we’d never had it put in!’ Tom hated all things new.

‘Don’t be so miserable!’ Nancy chided. ‘It’s bad enough you made us wait till everyone else in the village had one, before you gave in. Anyway, you can’t deny it’s been handy.’

With the telephone still ringing and no one seeming prepared to answer it, Alice grabbed a tea towel and wiped her hands. ‘I’ll get it!’ she said, and was across the room in no time at all.

Snatching up the receiver, she said, ‘Hello? This is Brook Farm, who’s that please?’

She listened for a moment or two, quietly answering in between, ‘What’s happened? Yes, we’ve just got dinner on the table. Oh, I’m sorry. Tomorrow? I will, Father. Yes, if that’s what you want, all right, but what’s happened?’

There was another pause while she paid attention to what her father was telling her, then, ‘Oh, I see. Yes, all right. I’ll tell them, yes. No, they’ll understand I’m sure. Well, I don’t know, but don’t worry. I just hope everything’s all right when you get there. Give them my love. No, Father, it’s okay. Yes, I know. I expect so. Yes, I will. Bye then.’

As Alice replaced the receiver, Nancy was curious. ‘That was a strange conversation,’ she commented. ‘I take it that was your father?’

Even Nancy would never dream of addressing the dignified Ronald Jacobs as Alice’s dad. ‘So, what did he have to say then?’

‘I’m sorry, Nancy.’ Coming back to the table, she began taking up two of the place sets. ‘I’m really sorry,’ she said disheartened, ‘they said to give you their apologies but they won’t be able to come tonight after all.’

‘Oh, that’s a shame.’ In truth, having already once met Alice’s mother, she was greatly relieved. ‘A problem, is there?’

‘They’ve gone to Hampshire to see Uncle Larry. Apparently he needs to see them urgently.’

‘Oh, dear. I hope everything is all right.’

‘I expect it is really,’ Alice promised. ‘It’s Uncle Larry again. He’s not ill or anything, but it seems he and Aunt Sheila have had another of their awful rows. This time though, it’s more serious than before.’

‘Really?’ Nancy was curious.

Alice paused, before going on to explain, ‘They’re always having rows and fights…I remember one time when my parents were away on business and I was taken to stay with my aunt and uncle.’

She had never forgotten. ‘It was awful! I woke up and there was all this screaming and yelling, so I crept down and sat on the stairs and I saw them…going mad at each other they were. Then Aunt Sheila threw a shoe at my uncle and it knocked him clean out. She’s got this vicious temper, you see.’

Tom and Nancy were shocked. ‘I’m not sure you should be telling us all this, luv.’ Nancy had never heard the like.

Alice confided, ‘This time it sounds bad. Father didn’t go into too much detail, but from the little he said, I understand that they had a really bad fight, and Aunt Sheila packed her bags left. And now, Uncle Larry is in a bit of a state.’

After Nancy reassured her, Alice continued, ‘Father says it’s all gone a bit too far this time, and that it was all to do with Uncle Larry seeing another woman.’

‘Hmm!’ Nancy squared her shoulders. ‘If any man of mine played about with other women, I would never leave!’

‘Aw, you must really love me then?’ Tom teased.

‘Not that much,’ she retaliated. ‘Like I said…I wouldn’t leave, but you’d be out that door on the end o’ my toe!’ She gave Tom another derisory glance.

‘Don’t you look at me like that!’ Tom was indignant. ‘For one thing, I have never played about in my life, and for another, I’m a burnt-out, balding man with weak eyes and a gammy leg. Who in their right mind would want to be lumbered with me?’

‘Are you saying I’m not in my right mind, Tom Arnold?’ Nancy squared up for a fight.

Recognising the danger, Tom tried to make light of it. ‘Well, if the cap fits…an’ all that.’ He might have gone on, but with a well-aimed, wet tea towel landing over his mouth, he found it difficult to speak.

Snatching away the tea towel, Nancy wagged a finger at him. ‘The sad thing is, I’m stuck with you, whether I like it or not. As for your weak eyes that’s because you’re forever staring at the small print on the racing page.’ She gave Alice a cheeky wink.

‘Sorry, luv. You know full well, I wouldn’t swap you for the world.’

When Tom saw her quietly smiling, he reached over to hug her. ‘How could I not keep you,’ he chuckled. ‘You make the best apple pie a man could ever want.’

Alice thought they were a delight to watch.

She had never experienced such a family as this, and she told them so. ‘Mother is so fussy. Everything has to be in its place with every plate, cup and table cloth matching.’ She loved the way Nancy set out her table, with multi-coloured plates, old earthenware serving bowls and a blue table cloth, which she proudly confessed to making herself out of an old curtain. It was so perfect no one would ever have known.

This was a happy table, she thought. A real family.

The pleasure of sitting round a table with this family had proved to be a new experience to Alice. ‘We’re not allowed to even speak at meal times,’ she revealed, to everyone’s surprise, ‘let alone tease and laugh with each other.’

Frank joked, ‘What with that and your mad relatives, I didn’t realise what I was letting myself in for.’

Alice laughed at that.

Draining the last dregs of his tea, Frank placed the mug in the sink. ‘Why do we have to wait for Joe anyway?’

After the showdown with Joe he was not in the best of moods. ‘If he can’t get here like the rest of us, let’s just start without him. After all, if he wants to spend his time with that flearidden bird, that’s up to him. The rest of us don’t have to eat a cold dinner, do we, eh?’

Believing that to be unfair, Alice protested, ‘We can’t start without him, Frank. It’s his first night back. Besides, he’s bound to be here soon.’

Nancy agreed. ‘My sentiments exactly!’

‘Suit yourself then!’ Frank went off in a sulk.

When Nancy went to look out the window, Alice followed her. At first she didn’t say anything. Instead she just stood beside Nancy, stretching her neck to peer out the same window.

Being older and wiser, Nancy was well aware that Alice had something to disclose. Drawing her close in a hug, she asked quietly, ‘When I’ve got a worry on my mind I find it’s best to tell somebody, so what is it, child? Are you worried about your family, is that it?’

‘No, they always manage to sort themselves out.’ Alice assured her; though she had never really known what a proper, loving family was like, until Frank brought her home to this wonderful place.

Nancy persisted. ‘Out with it,’ she demanded. ‘What’s troubling you? Was it something your father said?’

Ashamed of the position her parents had put her in, Alice explained, ‘You’ve been so kind to me…letting me stay last night, and making me that lovely silk underskirt for my wedding dress.’

Nancy laughed. ‘That dress has been hanging in my wardrobe since the day I got married. When I offered to make you an underskirt out of the lining, I knew I would have to take it in by a mile, so it was just as well you stayed over.’

She regarded Alice’s slim figure against her own ample size. ‘Back then, when I was just a young kipper, I was never as tidybuilt as you are,’ she exclaimed. ‘Even after making you a long underskirt, there’s still enough of that material over to make a barrage balloon!’

Alice laughed. ‘That’s not true, I’m sure, but I really appreciate you making me that lovely underskirt.’

‘You’re very welcome, so now why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind?’ Nancy asked.

Alice told her, ‘Just now, when Father rang, he had a favour to ask.’

‘From me, or from you?’

‘From you.’

‘Well then, luv, I have a right to know what it is he’s asking, don’t you think?’

‘Yes, but I don’t like to say anything because you’ve already been so good to me.’

She went on, ‘It’s just that…he wondered if I could stay here again tonight, because my sister Pauline’s gone to stay with her friend in Bedford. I don’t want to ask her not to go, because I know it’s a special visit, so her friend can help her choose her bridesmaid shoes. It means though, that I’ll be in the house without my parents.’

Nancy was worried. ‘So your sister Pauline still hasn’t got her shoes? Dearie me! She’s left it a bit late, hasn’t she?’ Nancy thought she had never known such a disorganised wedding, and there were Alice’s parents supposed to be high-flying business people. Either they didn’t care enough about their youngest daughter’s wedding, or they had much higher priorities to manage.

Alice explained about the shoes. ‘Pauline and Mother have been arguing for days over who would choose them. In the end Pauline won. She always does, but there’s not much time left, so that’s why I can’t ask her to stay in the house with me tonight, instead of visiting her friend.’

Nancy put Alice’s concern to rest straight away. ‘Look here, child! You are about to become my daughter-in-law, and I couldn’t be more thrilled,’ she announced proudly. ‘My home is your home, and of course you’ll stay here, and that’s an end to it.’

Alice kissed her on the cheek. ‘It’s me that’s thrilled,’ she whispered, ‘’cause I’m about to have another mum…the best in the world!’ Nancy flushed with delight.

Just then Joe arrived. ‘Something smells good,’ he said rubbing his hands together.

‘Get your coat off and wash them mucky hands.’ Nancy could smell the oil from the tractor engine. ‘Your brother’s upstairs, so make sure the pair of you leave the bathroom as you found it!’

While the brothers were away, Nancy and Alice put the finishing touches to the table.

Alice thought she had never seen such an amazing spread. She felt proud of herself for having helped. Moreover, she had loved working in the kitchen with Nancy, because she taught her so much more than her mother had ever done.

The table was laden with a feast. There was a plump joint of best beef waiting to be sliced by Tom, and various dishes of steaming-hot vegetables. There were roast potatoes golden brown and dripping with meat juices; boiled potatoes dressed with butter and herbs; fresh green peas, carrots and light, fluffy cauliflower. The baby Yorkshire puddings were all soft and melting on the inside, while the outsides were brown and crispy.

A few minutes later everyone was round the table. Joe was about to start, when his mother caught his attention. ‘Not yet, son,’ she chided. ‘Have you forgotten your manners?’

Joe was shocked. ‘I forgot!’ He apologised with a sheepish grin. ‘Looks like I’ve been away too long, eh?’

Frank leapt at the opportunity to make a sly comment, ‘Shame on you, Joe.’ He gave him a knowing glance. ‘What kind of company have you been keeping? Don’t they say grace where you’ve been!’

Joe might have made some discreet retaliation, but unwittingly his father did it for him. ‘Enough of that, Frank.’ He gave his eldest son a stern look. ‘I seem to recall a few weeks back, someone else forgot to wait for grace, didn’t you, Frank?’

Reassuring Joe with an easy smile he admitted, ‘It’s not every family in the land gives thanks for what they’ve got, and that’s all right; but we’re farming stock, and throughout the generations it is something we care to do.’

He then checked to make sure everyone was ready, before folding his hands on the table.

It took only a moment for Tom to offer gratitude on all their behalfs. ‘We thank thee Lord for this plentiful food and the roof over our heads, and for bringing Joe home to us. Amen.’

Afterwards, when they were all tucking in, Nancy asked Alice, ‘So, what else did your father have to say, Alice luv?’

‘Just that I was to stay here tonight if that was all right with you, and go home tomorrow. I’m to look in my wardrobe at the things Mother bought. You recall I told you, she went out to buy my shoes and veil? Oh and I’m to look at page fourteen of the leaflet on the table, because she hopes I like the bouquet she’s chosen.’

‘What!’ Tom was astounded. ‘I always thought it was the bride’s prerogative to choose her bouquet?’ He stuffed a potato in his mouth and began chewing.

Nancy brought him up sharply. ‘Tom!’

‘What?’

‘It’s none of your business who chooses the bouquet, or anything else.’

‘I never said it was.’

‘Besides, how do you know it wasn’t Alice’s idea for her mother to choose her bouquet?’

‘It was not my idea,’ Alice offered, ‘but mother said if she was paying out a fortune on my wedding, she had every right to do some of the choosing.’ She gave a sad little smile. ‘To be honest though, I don’t think that’s why. I think it’s because she never had a white wedding of her own.’

‘Why was that?’ Frank was learning more about his future wife and family, with every passing day.

Alice explained, ‘She told me that she and Father decided not to spend money on fripperies, and that it would be far better to invest the money in their first restaurant.’

‘I think they did right,’ Frank declared. ‘After all, look how they’ve used that money. Three restaurants up to now, and all because they started that first one with money that could have been wasted on paying for a big, fancy wedding.’

While Alice pondered sadly on his remarks, Nancy said she would have much preferred a white wedding, ‘…with all the trimmings, like me and Tom had.’ She was quick to assure them, ‘It was nothing posh mind, but I had the loveliest dress and we paid for the choir to sing in church. We hired the village hall for the best party ever, with a pianist and a flautist and we danced all night long.’

Sighing wistfully, she reminded Tom, ‘It was the best day ever, wasn’t it, Tom?’

Tom readily agreed, but added, ‘To my mind, Alice’s parents did right. They made a first-class business decision. That’s why they now own three of the best eating places in the area.

‘My own story is not so straightforward. Y’see, my father once owned all the land adjacent to this farm-cottage, only he fell on hard times and had to sell a good part of it. Fortunately, he arranged to rent back some acres and the cottage…’

‘That’s enough now, Tom!’ Nancy often had to check him when he was being too forthright.

Joe had a pertinent question for Frank. ‘So, if it was you, and you had a choice, you’d really go without a white wedding, and invest the money in a business, would you?’

‘Too right I would!’ Frank was adamant.

‘In that case, I reckon it’s just as well that it’s the bride’s family who are paying for yours and Alice’s wedding.’

Frank nodded unashamedly. ‘That’s right. If it was coming out of my pocket, there’d be no fancy clothes, no big church do with a hundred people wanting to be fed and feted. Oh no! We’d be in and out of the registry office; a meal back at the house, then a few days looking about for a new and exciting enterprise.’

Glancing over at Alice, he smiled encouragingly. ‘You agree with me don’t you, eh? You and me, setting out on our first big adventure together?’

Alice gave him her best smile. ‘Sounds exciting,’ she said brightly, as though she actually agreed. But she did not agree. And as she looked up she caught Joe’s eyes. It was as if he could see right into her soul. She flushed slightly and looked away.

Unaware of the change in atmosphere, Frank went on glibly, ‘But it’s not my money, so now that my future in-laws have amassed their fortune they can splash it about all they like; if they want to give me and Alice the best wedding that money can buy that’s up to them!’

Across the table from Alice, Joe saw how Frank’s insensitive babble had dampened Alice’s bright and sunny nature. He wished there was something he could do to bring back her smile. But he couldn’t. That was Frank’s role in her life now.

With Frank’s embarrassing and thoughtless remarks out of the way, Nancy turned her mind elsewhere. ‘By the way, Joe?’

Joe looked up. ‘Yes?’

‘With Alice staying here again tonight, you’ll need to sleep on the sofa. Is that all right?’

‘Absolutely!’ He was just glad she wasn’t going home yet. ‘The sofa will be just fine.’

‘Good! That’s settled then.’

Marred only by Frank’s damning words about white weddings, the next hour proved to be the most pleasant Joe had spent in a long time. The meal was wholesome and delicious, and with the conversation focusing on local events in the farming calendar, he began to feel as though he had never been away.

Nancy had something to show them. ‘Now then, look at this, everyone!’ Grinning from ear to ear, she held up the leaflet. ‘I got this from the post office in Blackhill,’ she informed them. ‘It’s the information for the Spring barn-dance in the village hall.’

‘Give over, woman!’ Tom reminded her. ‘We’ve no time for dancing. You know as well as I do…Spring is a busy time on the farm, what with lambing an’ all. Besides, in case it’s slipped your mind, we’ve a wedding to go to!’

Nancy shook the leaflet in his face. ‘Ah, but the dance isn’t for another three weeks, and anyway it’s been carefully planned to work with the farming calendar,’ she added triumphantly. ‘We all know how much you hate these events, and how you make every excuse not to go dancing. Well, we’re all going, aren’t we, folks?’ She waved the leaflet in the air.

‘I would love to go,’ Alice said, excitedly.

‘Oh, well if Alice is going, then so am I.’ Frank did not want other men anywhere near her. Alice was a prize he meant to hang on to.

Joe, too, was all for it, though for different reasons. ‘Well, I’m raring to go!’ he told Nancy. ‘I haven’t been to a village dance in a long time, and now I’m really looking forward to it.’

‘Aha!’ Nancy was jubilant. ‘So there ye have it, Tom Arnold,’ she told him. ‘We’re all going and so are you. It’s either that, or you cook your own meals for the next six months.’

‘Have sense, woman!’ Tom groaned. ‘I’ve a gammy leg, in case you’ve forgotten!’

‘I have not forgotten,’ she answered. ‘But gammy leg or no gammy leg, you’d best get yourself to that village hall with the rest of us, and no argument. You can sit it out and sulk if yer afraid to join in, ‘cause it’ll make no difference to me.’

She gave him a shrivelling glance. ‘Besides, you’ve never once danced with me in public anyway, and only once in private, and that was on our wedding night when you were blind drunk and couldn’t care less who saw you.’

‘That’s not a nice thing to say.’

‘Mebbe not, but I don’t reckon it’s nice if you’re ashamed of dancing with your own wife in public.’

‘Don’t be daft, ‘course I’m not ashamed.’

‘Yes you are. I know it, you know it, and everybody in this village knows it.’

Tom actually had a flush of conscience. ‘All right then, Nancy Arnold. If it’s dancing yer want, it’s dancing you’ll get, but it’ll be your doing if this old leg gives up the ghost.’

Alice clapped her hands and gave him a kiss. ‘You’ll enjoy it,’ she promised.

Nancy’s face was wreathed in a broad, happy smile. ‘That’s settled then, husband.’ And flushing with pleasure, she laid the leaflet on the table.

When Joe picked it up, she told him with a twinkle in her eye, ‘I expect the girls will be swarming all over you. In fact it wouldn’t surprise me if you didn’t find yourself a really nice girlfriend. That Rosalind Thompson always had an eye for you, and she’s still not wed. Oh, she’s had a few men-friends but nothing’s ever come of it.’

Frank chipped in, ‘That’s because she only ever wants what she can get from them, then when their pockets are empty, she dumps them and moves on to the next victim. No wonder they call her the shark; given half a chance, she’ll eat you for breakfast and spit out the pips!’

Joe laughed. ‘She won’t be interested in me then,’ he quipped, ‘I’ve got nothing worth the taking.’

‘You said it, not me,’ Frank said spitefully. ‘Anyway, like I said, Rosalind Thompson doesn’t want a serious relationship.’

Tom spoke without thinking, ‘As I recall, didn’t you have a bit of a fling with her at one time?’

Frank laughed it off. ‘Not really. She might have wanted to get her claws into me, but I’m nobody’s fool. I soon told her where to get off.’ He smiled at Alice and was relieved when she smiled back.

He was furious with his father for mentioning the embarrassing fling he had had with that Thompson bitch.

Truth be told, it was Rosalind who unceremoniously dumped him, and not the other way round. He was heartbroken, until he found Alice Jacobs.

Frank had always been careful to make Alice believe she was the only one.

He had no intention of letting her find out that she was his consolation prize.

The conversation changed direction and continued over dinner, with Tom and Nancy having the occasional teasing dig at each other, and Alice thoroughly enoying their company.

Frank assailed them all with talk of his ambitions to have his very own farm, ‘…with a hundred acres of prime, crop-growing land; another fifty acres of pasture, and a stable filled with top quality horses straight from Ireland. I’ll build us a fine house and hire enough experienced men to run the place, while the two of us travel the world,’ he told Alice.

Joe was impressed at the scale of his brother’s ambitions; though he was naturally dubious. ‘So, how d’you intend funding this amazingly extravagant enterprise?’

Frank resented his question. ‘Why, from Alice’s parents of course.’

Alice was shocked. Like the others, she had no inkling that he was making such plans. ‘You mustn’t rely on my parents, Frank,’ she cautioned him gently.

‘Why not?’ Unlike the others, Frank was surprised and irritated by her remark.

‘You don’t know what they’re like where money’s concerned, or you would never have included them in your plans.’

She revealed a snippet of information. ‘The only person they ever helped was my sister Pauline. She was always naturally good at hairdressing, and she learned her trade well. When her employer was ready to sell up, he offered it to Pauline, and she asked Mother to buy it for her. You see, it was always Mother’s dream to own a hairdressing salon for the well-off. So she went along with Pauline’s business plan, and it was a huge success. There are five salons now, right across the county. Father is tied up with his own business, so it’s Pauline who oversees them. She works long and hard because she revels in it. But the deeds to each and every shop are all in Mother’s name.’

Worried, she glanced at the others. ‘I’m really sorry,’ she apologised, ‘but it’s best if Frank knows the way things are.’

‘So the hairdresser’s shops are all in your mother’s name, but what does that matter to us?’ Frank persisted, ‘I’m talking about a loan, a safe, secure loan for something I know inside out. I’m a mature man, tried and tested, and as far as I know, neither of your parents know the first thing about farming the land, or raising animals, or anything else that makes a farmer’s day. Now then, Alice my love, am I right, or am I not?’

Frank did not appreciate having his plans cruelly dashed, especially in front of everyone.

‘Yes, you’re right, of course you are,’ Alice answered kindly. ‘But you had your father to share the load, and I’m sure he taught you everything you know. The way my parents will see it, is they had no one to lead or teach them; they had to learn the ropes the hard way, on their own with little or no guidance. They’ll tell you how they had to make sacrifices in order to get their first business off the ground, and that they did it themselves without asking help from anyone.’

She gave a wry little smile. ‘When we were growing up, we heard it all, time and again. She lightly mimicked her mother. ‘“We did it all on our own, and you girls will have to do the same when the time comes!” They’ll expect you and me to do the same, Frank. To make our own way in life, the way they did.’

Frank still did not accept her explanation. ‘You’ve got it all wrong,’ he insisted. ‘They must approve of me or they wouldn’t have sanctioned our marriage; or be spending an absolute fortune on our wedding. Besides that, you’re their flesh and blood…their baby daughter. It goes without saying, they’ll want to see you living in the style to which you’re accustomed.’

Alice agreed. ‘I won’t deny they’re spending a fortune on our wedding, but that’s only because it will be a showcase for their friends, and you’re right, Frank…they will want to see us living in a fine big house with land. But they’ll expect us to work hard and provide it.’

Frank was open-mouthed with disbelief. ‘I’ll believe that when I hear it from them!’

Throughout this exchange, Tom and Nancy had remained quiet, listening but not wanting to interfere. But now Tom spoke his thoughts. ‘If you don’t mind me saying, Frank, I can understand what Alice is trying to tell you. And I have to say, I fully agree with her parents’ viewpoint. A man has to make his own way in this world. That way he remains his own man, not indebted to anyone. It’s the only way he can be proud of what he’s achieved.’

Frank strongly disagreed. ‘You don’t understand,’ he argued, ‘If I’m given a kick-start, then I’d be on my way and never ask again.’

Alice intervened. ‘Trust me, Frank. I know my parents. They’re just not those kind of people.’ She went on with quiet sincerity, ‘There’s just you and me, Frank. It’s up to us, and no one else.’

‘Well said!’ Nancy exclaimed. With every passing minute she was learning more about this quiet girl who Frank had chosen to spend his life with.

‘You’re wrong, all of you!’ Frank rounded on Alice. ‘When I mentioned my plans to your father, he seemed really interested. You’ll see! When we’re wed and I’m a part of the family, they’ll be falling over themselves to set us up with a business of our own.’

Seeing how agitated he was, Alice reluctantly conceded, ‘Perhaps it’s me that’s got it all wrong.’ Though she knew it was not.

Having remained silent throughout, Joe now added his contribution. ‘There’s something you appear to have forgotten,’ he reminded Frank. ‘If you’re so intent on building your empire, and so sure you’ll get the help you need, then you won’t be here for Dad. Have you thought of that?’

Frank assured him, ‘’Course I’ve thought of that. Unlike you, I would never let Dad down.

‘What I plan to do won’t happen overnight, Dad, not even with Alice’s parents helping me out. I’ll still be here with you for a good while yet. Meantime, Joe can learn the ropes inside out, and of course we’ll need to let go of Jimmy, because he’s a bloody liability! There are plenty of sensible, hard-working blokes who would jump at his job.’

He congratulated himself, ‘So like I said, it will all work out in the end.’

Tom thought differently, but he wanted this particular conversation ended. ‘Course it will, son,’ he said jovially, ‘course it will.’ There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Later, when the time was right, he would have a heart to heart with Frank. Somewhere along the line, his eldest son had become too full of his own importance, and that would never do!

Nancy felt the same but kept her own counsel. She was disappointed to hear Frank talk that way in front of everyone. Such delicate issues should remain between a man and his partner, and no one else. At least not until it might be finalised and others needed to know.

Determined that the evening should be a success, she kept the conversation going on a lighter note, and soon everyone was in much better humour.

The apple pie was served and enjoyed, and the meal finished with a glass of homemade cider, and then it was time for Frank and Joe to check the animals and make sure the lambing-pens were secure. In the meantime, Alice and Nancy cleared the table, while Tom went to snooze on the sofa.

‘God help us, will you look at that?’ Nancy brought Alice’s attention to the round, pink belly bursting out of Tom’s shirt. In fond tones, she told Alice, ‘Fat belly or no fat belly, I wouldn’t change him for the world!’

They were taken by surprise when suddenly the middle button of Tom’s shirt flicked off and went skidding across the room and out of sight. ‘It was the apple pie that did it,’ Nancy screeched, and the two of them laughed until they ached. ‘It’ll take me a month o’ Sundays to find that button,’ Nancy tittered, dabbing her tears with the end of her pinnie.

When a short time later Frank and Joe returned and the wine was brought out, Tom awoke, complaining, ‘There’s a draught in ‘ere.’

‘That’s cause you’ve lost a button and there’s a bare patch on your belly,’ Nancy pointed out dryly; though she was aching to laugh out loud, and so was Alice. ‘It came at us a hundred miles an hour,’ she declared with a straight face, ‘you’re lucky it didn’t knock somebody’s eye out!’

Tom was having none of it. ‘If you’d sewed the damned thing on properly in the first place, it would never have worked itself loose!’

Nancy refused to take the blame. ‘It’s that big belly of yours!’ she retaliated. ‘You look like you’re eight months pregnant! Too much booze and apple pie, that’s what’s done it.’

Ignoring her, Tom filled everyone’s wine glass. ‘Here’s to us!’

Without further ado, they all toasted the forthcoming wedding. After that they sat and chatted, with another glass or three to warm the cockles. Tom was unusually merry, and Nancy was well on her way to being three sheets to the wind.

Apart from Frank’s embarrassing declaration, the evening had been a great success; though things had been learned and the true nature of certain people revealed.

Frank believed he was right and that Alice was wrong. Tom had seen a side to his eldest son that he did not particularly like, and Nancy had deliberately put it all out of her mind, because like Alice, she was already thinking ahead to the two most exciting events on her personal calendar. The wedding, and to a lesser degree, the barn-dance.

After washing up the dishes and feeling all the merrier with the wine, Nancy even did a little Irish jig to show Alice her favourite dance. ‘The nuns taught us at school.’ She put her arms stiff by her side. ‘You should never jiggle your arms about, because then all your energy goes into your arm movements, instead of down to your feet.’ And to prove her point she went skipping across the room, feet a tapping, and arms stretched down at her sides, stiff as two pokers.

Everyone clapped to Nancy’s fancy footwork, each with a happy smile on their face.

‘Give over, woman!’ Tom laughed, ‘You’re too old in the tooth to be prancing about like that. Keep it up and you’ll likely not be able to walk in the morning.’

‘You’re just jealous because you can’t do it!’ she teased.

‘I could if I tried,’ he argued with a grin, ‘only thing is, if the rest of my shirt buttons fly off, who knows what might happen!’

Nancy laughed. ‘We’d all have to dive for cover!’

Reverting to his original concern, Tom told her, ‘Whether you like it or not, Nancy Arnold, we’re not youngsters anymore. We’re a bit slower than we were, and far too old to be happy.’

‘Away with you, Tom Arnold!’ she chided. ‘You’re never too old to be happy. You’re only too old when you’re on your way to the knacker’s yard.’

To prove it, she hoisted her skirt and while staying in the same spot, she let her two feet loose on a fast and furious tapping of the Irish jig. ‘My old Irish grandfather taught me this one.’

Seeing Alice tapping her feet and clapping along, Nancy grabbed hold of Alice who soon got into the fast and furious rhythm; though both she and Nancy almost collapsed with exhaustion in no time at all. ‘That’s enough for now,’ Nancy clasped her chest. ‘I reckon you’re right, Tom,’ she told her husband, ‘I might be a bit too old for the tapping after all.’

In the meantime, having helped himself to a lion’s share of cider, Frank was feeling the worse for wear. ‘I’m off to bed.’ He gave Alice a sloppy kiss, before stumbling drunkenly up the stairs.

A few minutes later Tom followed, then Alice, and then Nancy. ‘Are you sure you’ll be all right on the sofa, son?’ Giving Joe the folded blanket and a pillow, she offered her cheek for a goodnight kiss. ‘It was good of you to give up your room for Alice.’

‘Don’t you worry about me, Mum,’ he smiled cheekily. ‘You’ve tired me out with watching all that dancing and tapping. Give it a few minutes and I’ll be out like a light. Go on…you get off to bed. You must be worn out with all that jigging about.’

Growing serious, Nancy lingered a moment before asking quietly, ‘Frank didn’t spoil your homecoming with the arguing, did he?’

Joe was quick to put her mind at rest. ‘Course not. Frank is Frank.’ He forced a smile. ‘Nothing changes in that respect.’

Nancy lingered nervously. ‘Sometimes I wonder about Frank,’ she confided in a whisper, ‘…he should never have spoken out like that, embarrassing Alice in front of everyone.’

Joe promised her, ‘I’m sure he didn’t mean to upset anyone, and I don’t think Alice was embarrassed; in fact I think she quietly gave him food for thought. So, don’t you worry. It’ll all be forgotten in the morning.’

Nancy gave a sigh of relief. ‘It’s so good to have you home, son.’ She then ambled her way across the room and on up the stairs to a well deserved good night’s rest.

Joe smiled when he heard her cussing herself as she went, ‘Whoops there, Nancy keep your balance! Hey! I reckon you’ve had a drop too much wine.’ She gave a hearty chuckle. ‘I reckon we all have. Dearie me! I expect we’ll suffer for it in the morning.’

‘You’re right, Mum!’ Muttering to himself, Joe pulled the blanket over his head. ‘I expect we will.’

After Nancy had gone, he lay awake, thinking about Alice.

He felt it his duty to be best man at his brother’s wedding. Once he’d made up his mind, he vowed that whatever else happened, he would keep his distance from Alice.

He promised himself to think only of her as his future sister-in-law, rather than the girl he had fallen head over heels in love with.

This evening though, when he saw how she had dealt with Frank’s boasting, in a firm but tactful manner, and afterwards her childish joy as she danced with his mother, he knew then, that he would always think of Alice as the girl who stole his heart.

He could see his life stretching before him, when Alice would always be there; his brother’s wife, and in time the mother of Frank’s children.

He made himself a heartfelt vow. ‘However hard it might be, I’ll stand beside him as best man. I’ll stay to see them married. Then I’ll be swiftly away to make something of my life.’

If he was to keep his sanity, what other choice did he have?