Chapter Twenty-Three
Brann
B rann drove around the lochside on Monday morning, heading for the boathouse. Harrison had rattled on nearly the whole way about a flat he was viewing later in the week with his girlfriend. Brann tried to listen and be cheerful about it. Because he was. His son was growing up, moving on with his life. God knows how that helped me at his age. Hopefully Harrison would never cite his parents as a negative influence in his life the way Brann had. He and Kristalee had done their best. They’d never be Mum and Dad of the year, but they’d tried and surely that had to count for something.
‘Is her ladyship likely to be in?’ Harrison asked as they pulled up in front of the boathouse. Brann’s mind had never been far from Ophelia since he’d left her on Saturday morning. Whatever happened today was likely to be nothing short of torture.
‘No idea,’ Brann said. ‘But we should stop calling her that and be nice.’
‘Look who’s talking.’ Harrison gave him a filthy stare. ‘I’ve heard you calling her worse to her face.’
‘Yeah, well.’ He pulled out his phone and saw a message from Ophelia.
OPHELIA C-B: Use your key to get in. I’m in Edinburgh today.
Convenient. And sensible. Probably for the best.
‘She’s not here,’ Brann said.
‘Is that her messaging you again, aye? Still going after a bit of rough, is she?’
‘Shut it and get moving.’ He unlocked the door and went in, forcing himself not to look at anything too closely, or remember what had happened there on Friday night.
‘We can probably get all the snagging finished in here today, maybe tomorrow, and then we can work on the garden fences the rest of the week. Hopefully, there won’t be a big freeze or anything.’
‘Ok,’ Harrison said. ‘Then are we done with this place?’
‘There’s a whole load of work here, but our current contract only covers this work. Unless they renew it quickly, I’m going to put us down for some other jobs up until Christmas.’
‘Good,’ Harrison said. ‘This place is doing my head in. Too many nobs hanging about.’
‘Yup.’ Way too many of them. People from a different world. A world Brann didn’t fit in, which meant he’d never have the one woman he really wanted. He needed to talk to her though, because if there was nothing else to do here, he wasn’t hanging around. Quickly, he thumbed out a message.
brANN: Hey. When we’re done with the snagging, we’ll do the fences, but after that, do you want to renew our contract and I’ll move on to the next thing on the list? I need to know soon, so I can arrange the guys for next week. Thanks.
He was already managing a couple of smaller jobs and had his contractors at other places, but much as his heart and soul wanted to be close to Ophelia, objectively it would be better if he wasn’t.
OPHELIA C-B: Apologies. I should have sorted that with you sooner. Do you have other jobs you can go to? It would make sense to finish at Glenvorneth for now as most of the other things on the list are outdoors and would be better done when there’s less chance of bad weather. If you don’t have other jobs, let me know and I’ll see what we can do. The cash flow situation isn’t much better than usual, though hopefully by spring it will be.
His heart sank. Did that mean by spring she’d be engaged to some rich guy who’d bail them out? If that was the case, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be the one carrying out the contract. How could he stand it? The torture of seeing her around with another man and having that man telling him what to do, lording it over him. Ugh. Made him sick.
brANN: Sensible plan to put the list on hold. I’ve got several other jobs I can do, so no worries there. Take care.
Stupid way to end the message really, because it was nothing like what he really wanted to say at all. But telling her he loved her would change nothing. He’d pretty much told her on Friday. He’d definitely shown her. Sadly, unlike the movies, love didn’t conquer all. Not in his world anyway.
OPHELIA C-B: Thank you. I’ll message Barbara and ask her to come up with your contract and sign off the work in case I’m not back before you’re done.
He read that to mean she wouldn’t be back. With a sigh, he strapped on his tool belt and worked through the short list of snagging, deliberately being in a different part of the house from Harrison. He didn’t want to talk.
Around midday, he was adding a missing piece of skirting board to the stairs when a knock sounded on the door. Expecting Barbara, he made to get up and answer, but the door swung open and Rupert strolled in clapping his hands.
‘Bally cold weather today.’ He glanced around. ‘Left the dogs in the car and they’re not pleased, but Ophelia would string me up if I made a mess of it. Stunning place. Meant to come up before, but you know how time runs away.’
‘Sure do,’ Brann said, still on his knees. He didn’t think Rupert worked, so god knew what he did with his time.
‘I’ve brought some contracts up. Barbara would have done it, but she’s got her nose in the books and I thought I really should see the place. Quite something, isn’t it? Very impressive.’
‘Yeah. It’s a cool place.’ Brann dusted off his hands and got to his feet, coming down the stairs to the hall.
‘Now, these contracts.’ Rupert pulled out a folio from under his arm. ‘Shall we take a look?’
‘Sure. In here?’ Brann suggested, opening the door to the kitchen area. Harrison was in the living area, so this would save him an encounter with one of ‘the nobs’.
‘I say, this is all very impressive.’ Rupert peered around. ‘You’re very good at this.’
‘Thanks. It wasn’t just me.’ He’d brought in extra workers to put this place together, helping his business to grow.
‘Ophelia has the grand ideas,’ Rupert said. ‘You have the practical skills.’
Brann frowned. Had Ophelia designed this place? He followed the plans but hadn’t asked where they came from. ‘Was this all her idea?’
‘Oh yes. All the designs were hers originally. She does this kind of thing for her business. I believe it’s quite successful, though it’s all over my head. Barbara got planning permission on this site and at the Factor’s House with Ophelia’s plans. The stables were her designs too. I assumed you knew that.’
‘She never said.’ Brann ran his fingers through his hair. Why hadn’t it occurred to him before? Even when she’d told him she was a designer and ran her own business? He’d assumed she came in at the end and put on the finishing touches. Not for a moment had he clocked the enormity of what she’d done. But it all made sense now. Her plans had been perfect, and he’d understood them just like he understood her. ‘If I’d known, I’d have thanked her. They were the easiest plans to follow I’ve ever had. I don’t think I had to ask for clarification once.’
Teamwork makes the dream work.
They were like two halves of one person. When they were together, they fitted perfectly and worked seamlessly. The annoyance and enmity rose from the tumult of knowing they weren’t allowed to be together.
Brann read the details on the contract, though he’d already signed it at the start. Rupert signed off the work and Brann added his name beneath it.
‘Barbara tells me you’re back in the spring to do more work.’
‘Possibly. Let me know as soon as you can. I’m a busy man and the calendar fills up fast.’
Rupert let out a huge sigh, and his lips flapped. ‘It all rather depends on money unfortunately. Which is something we’re a bit short on.’
‘Yeah. It’s never easy,’ Brann said through gritted teeth. The man had no idea what it was really like to have no money. ‘I suppose a lot of it went on this.’
‘This was all Ophelia’s own money. She’s done well for herself and she’s rather laid claim to the place.’
‘She paid all our wages for doing this?’
‘Yes. And bought all the parts. We just didn’t have the means.’
Brann’s jaw almost hit the floor. It must have cost thousands. No wonder she was laying claim to it. She owned it. Her family might be the so-called upper class, but they weren’t better than anyone. For all Rupert’s airs, he let his daughter pay for his upkeep while he did nothing but swan about spending the money he claimed not to have.
‘Well, I hope she’s happy here. She’s got a beautiful house now,’ Brann said.
‘She does. It’ll have to be let out to holidaymakers, of course. To make money, but she can enjoy it for a few months. We’re really hoping she’ll marry soon.’
‘Yeah?’ The reality of her predicament was even more repellent to Brann now. Even if she married a rich man, she wouldn’t benefit from his cash. Her father and his wife would be the ones living in luxury, while she settled for Mr whoever-he-was.
‘You don’t happen to know a Rafe Harrington, do you?’
‘Should I?’
‘Bit of an entrepreneur. Made a lot of money in the travel industry with some new approach. I don’t understand it all. But apparently, he’s a good match for Ophelia. Jacinta is trying to come up with an organic – her word – way to meet him. But he’s not easy to pin down. His father’s big in business too, but I’ve never met him and am not sure how to bring about a meeting without inviting him.’
‘Sorry, can’t help you.’ And he wouldn’t anyway. No way did he want any part in choosing some random man for Ophelia. Sure, he knew the Harringtons, though not this guy in particular, but his mouth was zipped.
‘Right. I’ll skedaddle and let you get on.’ Rupert reached the door, then turned back. ‘By the way, you don’t happen to have a Brian working for you, do you?’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘Very odd. Can’t get to the bottom of this one. We had a visitor at the weekend who told us he’d seen Ophelia at a dance with someone called Brian, who was also working here as a builder. She said she didn’t know any Brians, but the boy was so adamant.’
Brann silently counted to ten. With any luck when he finished, Rupert would leave. If Ophelia hadn’t blabbed that he was actually ‘Brian’, then he wouldn’t either. They’d been stupid to think that little episode wouldn’t find its way back to her family.
‘Righty-ho! I’ll be off.’
Brann closed the door on him and let out his breath. The sooner he was out of this place, the better. He couldn’t go yet though. The work had been signed off, but he wasn’t dishonest, and he wouldn’t go without finishing the fencing around the garden area.
A low mist hung around the lochan as he drove the post into the ground. Not the best weather to be doing this, but better than frozen ground. Once this was done, he was gone, and he might never see this place again.
November
By Friday afternoon, the fences were up, and Brann only had the gate to hang and the hinges to set. It was something he could do himself, so Harrison checked the posts, then went for a walk in the woods. Brann had no doubt as soon as he was out of earshot he’d be on his phone to his girlfriend. He’d been itching to get away all morning to call her. Oh, young love… If only he had the same luck.
The crisp late autumn breeze chased piles of leaves around the newly fenced-off garden area. Brann secured the latch on the gate, clicking it open and shut a few times to ensure it was working properly. A car pulled up and his eyes were drawn to it. Was it Ophelia? Perhaps she thought he’d be gone already. But he didn’t recognise the blue Freelander. Two women got out, both looked late fifties and one of them was vaguely familiar. Brann had worked for so many people in the town it was easy to forget some.
He dusted his hands together as the women approached.
‘Hi. Can I help you?’ he said, partly to draw attention to himself, as he wasn’t sure they’d seen him on their way to the front door.
The taller of the two women stepped forward with a smile. Her face reminded him of someone. She was well-dressed in a belted chocolate brown coat and boots, fitting perfectly with the style of people who usually hung around Glenvorneth. ‘Good afternoon. We’re here to see Ophelia. Is she in, do you know?’
Brann shook his head, a frown growing. ‘No, I think she’s away at the moment. She’s been in Edinburgh, I think.’
The woman nodded, glancing at a gold wristwatch. ‘She’s back from Edinburgh and she’s supposed to be meeting us. But we are a bit early.’
She was back. Brann needed to pack up and get the hell out. He didn’t want to be here when she arrived. Things were awkward enough already.
‘You’re Brann, aren’t you?’ the other woman said. ‘You fitted a kitchen for me last year.’
‘Yeah, that’s right. I recognised your face but couldn’t place it.’
‘You’re the builder who has been doing all the wonderful work here,’ the first woman said.
‘Well, I’m definitely the builder, but I’ll let other people decide how good the work is.’
She smiled and looked up at the boathouse. ‘Well, if this is anything to go by, I’d say it’s very good. And Ophelia spoke highly of you and believe me, that’s something, because she can be rather hard to please. Gets that from me, I reckon.’
‘Are you her mum?’ Brann raked up his hair. That explained who she reminded him of.
‘My apologies, I should have said. Yes, I’m Edith, Ophelia’s mother, and this is Nancy, my partner, who you’ve already met when you fitted her kitchen.’
Brann smiled, recalling what Ophelia had told her about her mother and how she’d been reluctant to be open. This must be quite a step for her, publicly declaring Nancy as her partner.
‘Well, I’m about to leave, but the door’s open. I usually lock up before I go, but I’m sure Ophelia wouldn’t mind you waiting inside where it’s warm.’
‘She might not want us to see until she’s ready to do the grand tour,’ Edith said.
‘Well, let me know what you want me to do. I can leave the door open if you’re going to be here.’ He had to find Harrison too.
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, fidgeting with his screwdriver.
‘We’ll let Ophelia do the big reveal,’ Edith said. ‘But maybe we could see the garden before it gets dark.’
‘Sure, take a look.’ Brann opened the gate. ‘There’s not much there yet.’ He lifted his tools out of the way and shoved them into the box. He needed to leave. Now. But where the hell was Harrison?