8. Chapter Eight #4
“Maybe you should give him a chance and show him some support or something.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Family life rarely is, but he has so many people against him on his plans to bail out the hall. It would be nice if at least his brother supported him.” Mabel hesitated and then decided to keep going. “We all make mistakes, Freddy. Colin seems to be trying to learn from his and move on.”
“He asked me to look into making the home farm organic and a real supplier of all the fruit and veg for the house and village.”
“That sounds awesome.” Mabel started walking back up the slope toward the table.
“Yes, I’m really keen on getting it going.”
Freddy still sounded doubtful. Mabel wondered what Colin would have to do to convince his brother to trust him again.
“Will you join us for lunch?” Mabel asked.
“I’ve already eaten, but I’ll get myself a pint and come and sit with you.” Freddy paused. “You’re good for him, you know.”
“Maybe because I don’t judge him by his past?”
“It’s hard to let go of the past, especially when you grow up surrounded by it.” Freddy replied.
Mabel had no answer for that and smiled as they approached the table. “Look who I found in the creek.”
“I think you mean stream, but whatever.” Freddy grinned at his sister. “I hope you’ve got me an enormous birthday present, Flicka?”
“I… haven’t, I mean of course I have, but…” Felicity’s stricken gaze strayed to Mabel, who shook her head. “Don’t be silly, Freddy.”
“Anyone want another drink?” No one did so he sauntered off toward the pub, hands in his pockets.
Cheryl emerged from the kitchen door carrying a loaded tray. “Here you go, ladies. Eat up,” she said as she set it on the table.
“How delightful.” Lady Marcham eyed her plateful of gammon. “Did your father slaughter the pig himself?”
“I believe he did, your ladyship.” Cheryl finished dispersing the plates. “I’ll bring out some more napkins and the vinegar.”
After lunch, Freddy offered them all a ride back to the hall in his ancient Land Rover, and, they gratefully accepted, as the weather had turned cloudy.
Mabel sat in the back with an arm around Freddy’s two dogs and Felicity sat opposite her with Ping, Pong, and the parcel awkwardly balanced on her knees.
“Thank you for not giving me away to Freddy,” Felicity said over the noise of the engine.
“You’re welcome.” Mabel smiled. “I hate it when people spoil surprises, don’t you?”
“Eric was terrible at that,” Felicity mused. “He always loved being the centre of attention and would do anything to make sure he was.”
“Eric was your oldest brother, right?”
“Yes, but I didn’t mean to imply he wasn’t a nice person,” Felicity said hurriedly. “Just that he could be a little… inconsiderate at times.”
“How old was he when he died?”
“Nineteen. He’d gone off to Oxford and came home for the Christmas holidays.
He was drunk the entire time.” Felicity sighed.
“It was terrible. Our stepmother was never the same after he died. She blamed Colin, which was completely unfair.” Felicity abruptly stopped speaking.
“I’m sure Colin’s told you all about that, so I won’t bore you. ”
“Of course.” Mabel nodded like she knew everything. “It was definitely a tragedy.”
“And poor Colin got stuck in the role of heir apparent, which he never wanted. And Father was terribly hard on him, poor thing, which of course just made him rebel even more.”
Mabel nodded again. “I gather Colin did some stupid stuff.”
“Oh, yes, he did everything he could to deserve his reputation as the mad, bad, dangerous heir of Marcham Hall. At one point I was afraid that he would succeed in killing himself, but he managed to turn things around. I must say that I am terribly proud of him.”
Mabel reached forward to tap Felicity’s knee. “Please tell Colin that. He thinks you’re all against him and some support would make him feel awesome.”
“Do you think so?”
“Absolutely.”
Felicity’s nose crinkled up. “Because one doesn’t want to go around giving people a big head or anything.”
Mabel tried to puzzle out the meaning of that. “Do you mean like not feeding his ego too much?”
“Yes, exactly. We don’t believe in getting above ourselves in this country. It’s considered most unattractive.”
“I see.” Mabel avoided a lick on her cheek from Freddy’s sheepdog, Ben. “God help any of you if you feel proud of yourself or anything.”
“Yes, it’s just not done.”
Freddy pulled up in front of the hall. “Do you want me to run you back to the Dower House, Mabel?”
“No thanks.” Mabel attempted to disentangle herself from the two dogs. “I’m quite happy to walk.”
Freddy came around to open the passenger door of the Land Rover for his grandmother. “I’m coming in to leave my proposal for the home farm on Colin’s desk.”
“I can take it with me to the Dower House if you like?” Mabel offered.
“Nope, I love making Viz get behind that desk when I know he hates every second of it.”
For the first time Freddy sounded like he was joking rather than going for some passive-aggressive shit. Mabel could only approve of how hard Colin was working to regain his brother’s trust.