Chapter 2
As Lettie pushed her hands into the warm soapy water it occurred to her that she didn’t have the luxury of time. ‘Right,’ she said turning and leaning against the worktop as she addressed her brother. ‘Dad and Mum clearly aren’t willing to listen to me, so I need you to speak to Uncle Leonard and persuade him to have a chat with Dad about me taking over the running of the farm.’
Zac looked perplexed by her suggestion, though she couldn’t understand why. ‘What good do you think that’ll do?’ Zac asked scraping the remnants off the plates before lowering them into the sink.
‘Dad listens to his brother, and Uncle Leonard might listen to you if you suggest the idea to him. It would be awkward for him if I was to ask him direct. You need to try to get him to persuade Dad that he’s making a mistake, and if that doesn’t work, then try to get him to agree to give me a chance to run Hollyhock Farm and delay his purchase of it. I just need time.’
‘He’s hardly likely to do that though,’ her brother said throwing a clean tea towel at her. ‘I’ll wash; you can dry.’
Why was no one taking her suggestion seriously? She caught the tea towel and decided now wasn’t the time to argue with him, not when she wanted him to do something for her. It was like old times when they quibbled about who did what every evening after dinner.
‘Are you ready for our parents to sell this land?’ She folded her arms and waited for him to answer.
He shook his head slowly. ‘No, of course I’m not.’
‘Then we need to think of a way to stop them. Dad and Mum have obviously given this a lot of thought and their minds are made up. So, the only other option is for you to persuade Uncle Leonard not to buy the farmland and the business, and for him to at least try to get Dad to let me have a go at running the place. At least before he goes to any trouble to raise funds to buy it.’
Zac sighed heavily. ‘I wondered why they wanted you to come back rather than wait until we were both here at the same time in the summer.’
He had a point. As she waited for Zac to wash the first plate, Lettie thought how similar they both were with their light brown hair, blue eyes and spattering of freckles over their noses. People had occasionally assumed they were twins when they were children even though Zac was eighteen months younger than her. He was now twenty-four and her twenty-five. He rinsed the plate and put it onto the drainer for her to dry.
‘You don’t think you’ll be taking on too much by doing this though do you, Letts?’
‘What do you mean? I grew up here, Zac, like you.’
He turned to face her, unaware that soapy water was dripping from the scrubbing brush in his hand onto the tiled floor. ‘Yes, but both of us have only ever helped out during school holidays and the last time we did that must be at least five or six years ago. Dad’s done this for years and no doubt makes looking after the farm seem easy. Farming is all he’s ever known. Anyway, I thought you were into your career and had ambitions about rising through the ranks. Won’t you miss all that if you move back here?’
She understood his concern and explained what had happened the previous week. ‘You’re making a mess all over the floor.’ Lettie pointed at the small pool of water at his feet.
He grabbed a few sheets of kitchen roll and mopped it up, leaving her to consider his question. ‘That’s rough, Letts. I’m sorry they’re talking about letting you go. I know how excited you were to get that job.’
She had been very excited to move to London after graduating from university. It had been a dream come true initially to make friends in the vibrant city, topping it off by landing the job that she had thought of as perfect until Scott’s move to the company had turned everything sour, even their relationship.
‘I did love it initially,’ she admitted, ‘but things changed along with mine and Scott’s relationship, and to be honest with you I think that subconsciously I’ve been waiting for something to inspire me.’ She saw the look of astonishment on his face and smiled. ‘I’m aware it will be a massive life change, but ever since Scott and I broke up last summer, I haven’t found life in London quite so much fun, so now I’m beginning to think that it won’t be the end of the world leaving.’ She noticed him looking at her askance. ‘What?’
‘It’s not like you to let some bloke ruin the way you see things, Letts.’
He was right. ‘It wasn’t the break-up alone, more that by the time we broke up the magic of the place had faded slightly. I think I was caught up in the glamour of it all.’ She sighed. ‘Or probably I was working such long hours trying to prove to my boss that I was worthy of a promotion that I didn’t have much energy left for going out and socialising any more. I know looking after the farm will take up most of the hours in each day too, but I’m already used to that and at least I won’t have a commute here.’
She could tell he wasn’t convinced. ‘Maybe not, but you’re not used to doing such a manual job.’ He looked down at her feet. ‘Or working in wellies and overalls.’
Lettie laughed, grateful for the release in the tension. ‘True. But I’m sure I can find some glam ones.’
‘I wouldn’t suggest wearing them though, not if you want to be taken seriously.’
She slapped his shoulder lightly. ‘It was a joke, Zac.’
‘I know, Lettice.’ He laughed enjoying using the name she hated. And it wasn’t even her real name. ‘I don’t want to speak to Uncle Leonard about this,’ he moaned.
‘You’re closer to him than I am,’ she said. ‘After all, he is your godfather.’
‘You’re such a pain, do you know that?’ He began washing the next plate.
‘Will you speak to him for me, or not?’
‘Of course I will. If you’re willing to deal with all these nutty chickens, goats and whatever else Dad has taken on, and farming his precious crops, then I’m not going to stand in your way. I’ll pop round to see him a bit later, if you like. In the meantime, I think you need to tell Mum and Dad about your job, so they don’t feel so guilty about your offer to come here.’
Lettie groaned. ‘All right.’ She hoped she wasn’t underestimating what running this place meant. She knew how hectic life was on the farm between April and June when the Jersey Royals were harvested and how imperative it was to ensure no time was wasted taking the potatoes to the harbour to be loaded onto the boat for delivery to be sold on the mainland. There were other harvest periods too for the tomatoes, squash and beetroot her father grew in his large polytunnels. They would need to be cared for and harvested to then be sold to local shops and that was without having to milk the goats, collect the chicken eggs and look after the few cows they still had and the five alpacas.
‘Do you want to come with me?’
Should she? Would she have more chance persuading her uncle if she was there, or if her brother went alone? ‘I’m not sure.’ After another moment, she added, ‘I think you should talk to him first. Give him a heads-up about what I’m planning on doing. Then if you fail, I’ll go and see him.’
Zac narrowed his eyes and she could tell he had thought of something. ‘Go on,’ she said smiling. ‘What is it?’
‘Uncle Leonard is far less likely to turn down your suggestion if you’re there. He’s not a confrontational person and will probably feel mean saying no to your face.’
He had a point. ‘You could be right.’ She dried her hands and hung the towel on the Aga rail. ‘Come along then, let’s go.’ She didn’t add that her reason for hurrying was to speak to their uncle before she lost her courage.
‘You’re such a pain – do you know that?’
She did, but right now Lettie didn’t care all that much.
Zac smiled. ‘Poor Uncle Leonard – he has no idea what he’s about to deal with, does he?’
It didn’t take very long to cycle to their uncle’s farm as it neighboured their own. Lettie was relieved to find him working quietly and alone in one of his barns.
‘Mind if we join you?’ she asked as they walked into the cool space.
He looked up and beamed at them. ‘Well, this is a treat. When did you get back to the island?’ He jerked his head in Zac’s direction. ‘I thought you were away working somewhere, too.’
‘Me – yesterday,’ Lettie said feeling a little nervous now that her uncle was standing in front of her. ‘Zac had a job on the mainland for a few weeks but got back the day before.’
‘It’s good to see you both.’ He indicated the house. ‘Want to come in for a cool drink, or something?’
Lettie suddenly felt the urge to get her question out of the way, needing to find out his thoughts on the matter.
Zac must have noticed her nerves. ‘Lettie’s had an idea and wanted to ask a favour of you.’
Her heart pounded as her anxiety increased.
Uncle Leonard locked eyes with her. ‘I have a feeling I might know what this is about.’
‘You do?’ Did that mean she might not have any need of persuading him to change his mind?
‘You’ve discovered your father’s offered to sell me the farmland. Is that it?’
‘Yes.’ Lettie held her breath, waiting for him to speak again.
His smile slipped. ‘Aren’t you happy about it then?’
She looked at Zac for support but he seemed to be purposely not looking her way.
‘Go on,’ Zac said finally. ‘Spit it out.’
Lettie swallowed and cleared her throat. ‘I was hoping you’d agree to let me take over from Dad.’
Her uncle didn’t speak for over a minute and as she waited for him to say something, Lettie watched his expression change from one of surprise, to thoughtfulness, then something bordering on sadness.
‘Uncle Leonard?’ She hoped he hadn’t been offended by her suggestion. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’
‘Sorry, I’m a little taken aback – that’s all. Have you told your father you’re hoping to do this?’
She nodded. ‘Yes. I’m not sure he thinks I can do it though.’ There was no point in lying, especially when he would probably only ask her father anyway. ‘I suspect he thinks me wanting to is just a knee-jerk reaction to him telling us about wanting to sell.’
He stared at her silently for a moment. ‘But you believe you can?’
‘I do,’ she said not completely convinced she was right. She explained about her job in London, hoping that might help persuade him.
‘I don’t know what to say.’ He went over to a hay bale and sat down. ‘Look, Lettie. I would hate you to think I would ever get in the way of you keeping Hollyhock Farm in your family.’ It was a relief to hear him say so. ‘I understand how much that place means to you both, and to your parents.’ He sighed. ‘Like this place means to me and my family.’
‘Can I sense a but coming?’ Zac asked.
He nodded. ‘You’ve put me in a difficult position. I’ve been talking everything through with Auntie Sue and I know she’ll be disappointed if we weren’t to go ahead with the purchase.’
Lettie thought of her cousins.
He rubbed his chin. ‘If I’m honest I was hoping Damon might want to take on your Dad’s land when he comes back to the island. He’s the only one who’s ever shown any inclination,’ her uncle admitted. ‘He’s slowly working his way home now. I told him about my plans to diversify from our dairy herd and take on your father’s organic crops to see how it goes. I was hoping he could look after those, you see.’
‘Has he said he wants to do it?’ Zac asked, folding his arms. Their uncle shook his head looking sad. Zac sighed. ‘I can see how us asking this of you is really messing with your plans. And Dad’s. But Lettie is serious about wanting to give it a try. Would you agree to hold back on pressing ahead with plans to buy the land and consider giving her some time to try and prove she can do it?’
Lettie wasn’t sure whether she only wanted to be trusted with the work for a few months. She suspected her uncle was less impressed to realise they were hoping their father would make her tenure running the farm a permanent one. ‘I know we’re asking a lot, Uncle Leonard.’
‘You are but I understand why. I’d do the same as you if the circumstances were reversed. I’ve been trying to raise funds to buy your father’s land before Damon gets back, hoping to present him with a fait accompli.’
She swapped glances with her brother and wondered if Zac was thinking the same thing as her. ‘Are you certain Damon even wants to do this as his future career?’
Her uncle didn’t reply immediately, which told her all she wanted to know. Clearly Uncle Leonard was the one encouraging their cousin.
Zac turned to her. ‘We all know that you’ve never done much farm work before, so you don’t even really know whether you’ll be any good at this. You’d have a probationary period in any new job, so why not this one? Then, if you feel you love it and you make a good go of it, maybe Uncle Leonard here will be kind enough not to hold Dad to any prior agreement to sell and let you take it on, at least for a while so you can decide if you can or want to continue farming.’ He turned his attention to their uncle. ‘You’ve also only ever been a dairy farmer until now, so maybe the crop side of farming won’t be right for you.’
Lettie sensed her uncle starting to open up to Zac’s suggestion and if it persuaded her father and uncle to give her time to prove she had what it took to run the farm, then it would be worth it. ‘Zac’s right. How about you give me a chance to prove myself? What’s the harm of me trying it out for a while?’
‘When you put it like that, I suppose there’s no harm in you having a go, Lettie.’ He shrugged. ‘Fine. I’ll speak to Gareth and let him know that I’m happy to give you time to have a try. At least that way he will be able to take time away from the place with Lindy and you can see for yourself just how much hard work is involved.’ He stood and picked up the fork he had been using when they entered the barn. ‘And I won’t need to worry about finding the money just yet.’
‘Exactly.’ Zac gave Lettie a triumphant look, which she returned.
‘Thanks, Uncle Leonard.’ Lettie stepped forward and kissed his cheek. ‘I really appreciate you agreeing to this for me.’
‘Yes, well, I’m not sure I’m doing the right thing.’ He grinned. ‘I have a feeling I’m doing myself out of a good business deal, but we are family and you might not find this suits you once you try it. And I still have to speak to your father.’
‘Rather you than me,’ Zac said, his eyes twinkling with mischief. ‘He’s not going to listen to us about this, so we’re going to need you to persuade him that it’s a good idea.’
Lettie was astonished. How had she never known her brother was so persuasive before? He had obviously learnt a lot from dealing with stroppy musicians and their managers.
Leonard ruffled Zac’s hair like he always had done when he was small. ‘You, young Zac, are a force to be reckoned with – do you know that?’ He hugged Lettie. ‘And I’m proud of you for wanting to do this, Lettie. I know that secretly your dad must be too.’
‘Thank you,’ Lettie said, taken aback at his reaction.
‘Right then, I suppose we’d better break the news to your father that I won’t be taking over his business, at least not for the time being.’