Chapter 10
The Eastercraig bike-hire shop only traded in bikes which could handle the steep hills surrounding the town. Skye, who had thought it might be nice to ditch the car while the weather held, had initially been disappointed that they hadn’t furnished her with a graceful Pashley or something similar. But climbing upwards out of town she realized they were on to something. More gears and bigger tyres were definitely better for the undulating Highland roads.
Chloe, who Paolo said was the friendliest person in town, if not the world, had invited them both over for supper, promising home-made pie. She had also texted Skye in advance to apologize for the state of Auchintraid.
And so it was with some trepidation that Skye bumped down the track towards the farm. Bear had made it sound like the project at Auchintraid was a nightmare too, and as she swerved the final potholes before getting into the yard, Skye could see why. The yard was cluttered with scaffolding poles, cement mixers, piles of bricks and random equipment Skye couldn’t identify.
‘You cycled?’ Chloe said, appearing at the door to the farmhouse in an apron, a dusting of flour in her hair. ‘I thought I was the only person mad enough to bike up here.’
‘My thighs are burning, but I imagine that’s a good thing,’ Skye called, as she propped the bike up against a wall. ‘I imagine you already know, but Paolo’s stuck at the surgery. Someone brought in a last-minute emergency case. He’ll be half an hour.’
‘Aye,’ said Chloe. ‘He sent me a text. Doesn’t matter. Angus is also somewhere up in the fields. I’ve tried to get him on the walkie-talkie, but he’s not picking up. We’ll probably be late eating. Hopefully you’re not starving.’
‘No. I’m fine. Thanks so much for inviting, me, Chloe. It’s really kind of you.’
Chloe gave a broad smile. ‘Not at all. And it’s nice to have a wee dinner party.’ She dropped her voice a little. ‘We haven’t had much chance lately. Fiona, Angus’s mum, has been so prickly over the building work. She was worried about the amount of mess it would be, and she’s been proved right. The yard’s a state, and there have been delays, so I get it, I do. But she’s very tetchy at the minute. Not her usual self. Anyway, she’s out tonight at her book group, so I thought it might be fun to host everyone while I can.’
Skye looked around the yard again.
‘What exactly’s being renovated? I’ve encountered your architect a few times, but he’s never said.’
Chloe bit her lip. ‘Bear? You’ve actually managed to chat to him? He doesn’t make small talk with me, that’s for sure.’ She sighed. ‘There are a couple of old buildings over there behind the barns. They’ve been derelict for ages. We’re going to turn them into holiday lets, super-lux ones. And a potential cottage for Fiona nearer the farmhouse, a kind of granny annex. Not that she’s going to be a granny any time soon.’
‘But that sounds great. What was the sigh for?’
‘It’s so much work. We got planning permission really quickly, which was fab, and then the builders had a job fall through and could fit us in earlier. But there were a lot of grumbles from people in the town. There was a rumour going round that we wanted to sell off loads of land to a developer. And then it turned out that structurally a lot of the buildings were in worse shape than everyone had thought. Making it a very long and more costly job.’
‘Often happens,’ Skye said sympathetically.
‘Come this way.’ Chloe motioned towards a corner of the yard. ‘I can show you.’
Skye followed Chloe round the back of a shabby barn, to collection of outbuildings. These ones were older, the stonework uneven, but Skye could see they had a folkish charm to them, with their small windows and low doors. Corrugated iron panels, which she presumed had once been roofing, had been removed and stacked up against a wall, as were the old doors and window frames. Despite everything Chloe had said, the potential was obvious.
‘You can see, it’s all underway. However the pace of work has been unsteady. Bear was sent up from Edinburgh to project manage. I think he’s an architect. Either way, he’s really quite moody. And I say that as Angus’s girlfriend — Angus being famously surly. I’ve tried to be nice to Bear but he really doesn’t want to talk.’
Remembering their conversation earlier in the week, Skye decided not to say anything. ‘Maybe he’s got other things on his mind.’
‘Perhaps, but I hate being on bad terms with anyone. He hardly says more than hello in the morning. He’ll talk to the builders if need be, but keeps to himself most of the time.’
It gave Skye a glow inside, like the warmth of a mouthful of hot chocolate, thinking that he had deigned to share a little part of himself with her.
‘Look. There he is,’ said Skye.
Bear strode into view, from somewhere around the back of one of the buildings. Today he was in mud-spattered indigo jeans, an oatmeal jumper, and a pair of filthy desert boots, hair sticking out at angles, as if he’d been running exasperated hands through it every other minute. He was still, however, rating at the ‘worth writing home about’ level on the looks scale. She made a note to text Houda about him, then firmly reminded herself she probably shouldn’t let her thoughts gallop off like that, given recent events.
‘Shite,’ whispered Chloe. ‘Do you reckon he heard me?’
‘No . . . no? No. Probably not.’
But Skye wasn’t certain, and her wavering probably hadn’t reassured Chloe either. Bear’s brow was knitted, and his expression barely changed as he noticed the two of them standing there.
‘I think he might have,’ Chloe whispered.
‘Maybe he’s a bit lonely,’ said Skye.
She remembered how he looked when he told her he felt as though he was upsetting the locals, and everyone up at the farm. And though he talked to the builders, it didn’t mean he was friends with any of them. Then here was Skye, who had barely been in town a week, already being welcomed for a meal at the farmhouse.
‘Och. Sod it,’ muttered Chloe, before calling out: ‘Bear? Will you join us for dinner? Paolo, who Skye’s staying with, is also coming.’
Skye was quietly delighted and realized she’d been hoping Chloe would ask him.
Bear raised his eyebrows in surprise. ‘Oh, thank you. You really don’t have to, though. I wouldn’t want to impose.’
‘Go on, Bear. It’d be lovely if you could,’ Chloe persisted.
Bear produced a brief smile. ‘If you’re sure, then, yes, please. Can I bring anything? Run to the shop and get some wine?’
‘Don’t worry. It’s all under control,’ said Chloe. She checked her watch. ‘Apart from needing to check on the pie. Have a look around the buildings, Skye. I don’t want you to see me in a flap.’
‘I don’t mind flapping. Can I help at all?’ Skye said. ‘I bet you’re a veritable Mary Berry in the kitchen anyway.’
Chloe’s cheeks went pink. ‘She’s one of my idols. But still. I’d rather you turned up to a perfectly laid table and didn’t see me sweating over the stove. Come back in ten?’
Chloe didn’t give Skye any chance to argue, and was already ducking back through the gap in the barns, leaving her alone with Bear.
She looked at him uncertainly. ‘Want to show me around?’
‘Was that your doing? The invitation, I mean. Are you taking pity on me?’ He narrowed his eyes at her.
Skye put her hands up. ‘No. Chloe’s taking pity on you. I didn’t even know you were here.’
‘I am an object of pity then? You’re not denying it.’ He looked ready to march up to the farmhouse to rescind his acceptance.
‘It was merely a matter of right place, right time. As for the pity stuff, the only person pitying you, is you. And self-pity isn’t a good look.’
Skye wondered for just a second whether she was being hypocritical but brushed it off. The time to wallow was well and truly over. Tomorrow she would make plans to fill the rest of the next few weeks. She’d find a cottage to rent on one of the Western Isles, spend the days walking and reading, and reflecting.
Whatever she did for those weeks, she was not going to waste them. She probably wouldn’t enjoy a month off again in her life until retirement. A bleak vision of herself keeling over at her desk at Tilling and Browne in forty years crossed her mind.
Skye stepped under a huge, grey stone lintel, through the gap where the door would eventually be. Inside, the room was strung with lights, cables running under her feet. A smell of damp pervaded, mossy, like a forest floor after rain.
‘Hey! Come out!’ Bear barked.
She jumped as he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back. ‘Why can’t I go in?’
‘Nobody goes in without one of these.’
Bear tilted his head towards a box of hard hats, and in return, Skye gestured to the pile of corrugated iron with a sweep of her arm.
‘There’s no roof,’ she pointed out.
‘Aye, but it’s a health and safety issue. It would be a real shame if you’d come up here for a nice supper and then got taken out by a chunk of falling masonry. I might get sued, and you’re a lawyer and all.’
Skye picked up one of the helmets and shoved it on her head. Bear reached in and did the same.
‘Suits you,’ he said, gesturing for her to go first. ‘Now you’re properly attired.’
Skye walked under the lintel again, this time, she studied the building more closely. Bits of grass and weeds grew out of the cracks in the stones, and the floor was soft underfoot. Above her, large timber beams sprung from the walls, meeting overhead, blue skies visible above.
‘How old is all this?’ she asked. ‘Some of it looks ancient.’
Bear smiled fully, the first time he had. It changed his face completely. Funny, the things that got some people going.
He put a hand on her shoulder and guided her to the middle of the room. ‘I’m glad you asked. The rest of the buildings we’re working on are a little younger. But this byre’s ancient indeed. It’s a cruck frame you’re seeing, where one large, curved tree is split in two to create a matching pair of timbers which carry the weight of the roof. You’d get several of them in one structure . . .’
He trailed off, and Skye looked at him expectantly. He’d been hitting his rhythm.
‘Why did you stop?’ she asked.
‘Vernacular architecture isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.’ Two dots of pink appeared on his cheeks, and his brows knitted together for a second.
‘It’s definitely yours,’ Skye said. ‘Come on. I want to hear more.’
‘I’ll give you the short version. These are rare, not many around. See, there are cruck holes in some of these stones for more timbers to go in’ — he pointed out gaps in the stonework — ‘but they will have rotted. You know, there’s an example of whale bones being used. Like I said, they had to hold the roof, which would be made of turf or thatch. It was a simple but effective way to build.’
‘And you say it’s called a cruck frame?’
‘Also known as a highland couple.’
‘Really? How romantic.’
He brightened again. ‘Yes. I think it is. Unfortunately, I’ve had to pause building work to let Historic Scotland know what I’ve found, so this one’s on hold, while we renovate the newer buildings. It’s a minor setback though, and it’s pretty exciting. I’m hoping I can adopt some traditional methods for building it. It’d be an interesting direction to take the project in.’ He looked down at his watch, frown returning once more. ‘We ought to head over, I think.’
He followed Skye out into the open. She dropped her hard hat back in the box and eyed the buildings around the yard again. Yes, she could definitely see the potential. She looked over to Bear who caught her eye.
‘It would be the perfect direction,’ she said.
She saw a smile flicker across his face. ‘Aye. I’ve got to have courage in my convictions, right. I’ll bring it up with Angus and his family.’
Through another gap in the buildings, the land rolled down towards the sea. Skye stopped in her tracks.
‘Two seconds,’ she said. ‘I want to see the view before we head over. Come with me?’
Together they walked through the gap, and the landscape opened-up around them. The sea glistened in the distance. Further up the hill to the right, towards a cluster of pine trees, a herd of cows grazed, a breeze rustling the gorse bushes that edged the fields.
‘It’ll be perfect when you finish,’ she said. ‘Picturesque location, buildings full of character. So much potential.’
‘Do you think so?’ There was a note of doubt in Bear’s voice.
‘Why wouldn’t it be?’
He didn’t reply immediately, and a frown appeared on his face. When he did answer, his tone had gone back to being as cool as it had been that night in the Anchor. ‘Maybe let’s not talk about it now.’
‘Sure.’ Skye stopped herself from probing further. Maybe it was to do with what he had said on the front yesterday about all the problems with the project. Or perhaps there was more that was bothering Bear than he was letting on.