Friends and family stayed away from the farm for a few days to allow Jill time to settle in at home, then it seemed they all came at once, for a little while. Bringing flowers, and any little luxury procured despite the rationing, each saying what they thought was best to cheer and encourage her, and being introduced to Kate if they had not already met her. Then they gathered with Emilia and Perry in their sitting room. Abbie, who was currently sketching and painting about the farm, was taking time off as the day was overcast. Jonny was there too.
‘Jill’s putting on a brave face but you can see how devastated she is, the poor love,’ Jonny’s father Tristan said grimly, fingering the ends of his neat moustache. He was cramped up in an armchair, having the Harvey trait of being far taller than average height, but unlike Jonny and Tom, he was thin and rangy. His black hair was sprinkled with silver, making him appear scholarly, and because he was astute and kind, people tended to seek his advice. Jonny wondered why he hadn’t spoken to his father about his restlessness and the vague feeling of bleakness he couldn’t shake off. Goodness knows, his father had prompted him often enough to.
‘The girl with her seems a nice little thing,’ Susan Harvey remarked. As she always did she glanced at her husband for his opinion. Tristan nodded and smiled at his wife, nearly thirty years his junior.
Their mutual adoration and passion was plain. Somehow this annoyed Jonny. When she’d become his father’s housekeeper Susan had been a struggling war widow, expecting little of life, with an eight-year-old daughter; his father had been comfortably easing into middle age. Then they’d fallen in love. They had fought against the differences in their age and background and had allowed themselves a new beginning. While he, himself, was… what? ‘A miserable coward clinging to your first intentions,’ a little voice of his own whispered inside his head. But what else was he to do? What could he do? What did he want to do? If only he knew. Perhaps if he stopped the feverish whirl of thought after thought the answer would be right in front of him.
‘Kate is devoted to Jill. It’s a relief having her here,’ Emilia said.
‘She’s a darling,’ Perry added fondly.
‘And quite fascinating. I’m trying to get her to agree to sit for me,’ Abbie said, picturing Kate in various costumes, arranged in dreamy places, like the bank of the stream. Her feet could be painted in as perfect and bare or in dainty slippers. ‘She’d be the ideal model for fairy queens or sprites.’
‘That’s a thought.’ Jonny was seeing Kate behind a camera lens, in her own clothes, just as she was – the epitome of unflawed maidenhood. Trouble was, she seemed overawed by him and he was sure it would prove a hard task to get her to pose for him. The others in the room assumed he was referring to Abbie’s remarks so didn’t question what he’d meant. Abbie caught his eye. She never failed to feed his base desires. She was an energetic lover, their bodies fitted together in fantastic union and they complemented each other’s adventurous spirit. He gave his brows a certain lift and she answered with a brief lowering of her lashes. She was eager for him too. As soon as they could get away to some secluded place they would make love for the rest of the day.
Another of the visitors was Elena Killigrew from nearby Ford House. Having had a surprise baby at the age of forty-six, fifteen months ago, and because she was perceptive and wouldn’t dream of upsetting a soul, she had inquired first if Jill would want to see her. Jill did, saying the quietly religious woman, who could be trusted to come up with just the right thing to say, was welcome.
‘I’m so glad Jill and Kate have each other,’ Elena said. ‘They’ve both had a major blow to come to terms with. Kate is content in her new home at the moment but I noticed the way Jill kept watching her. She knows that issues may well come up for Kate in the future. It’s hard to believe the girl’s family could just turn her out in such a heartless manner.’
‘There’s some right rotters in the world,’ Jonny observed. He wondered if he could get some good pictures of Kate unawares rather than approaching her directly and frightening her off. She’d be more natural that way.
The latest visitor to look in on Jill joined them – Mark Fuller, joint partner of the Killigrews in the local building business. When not at work he was rarely seen without his infant daughter, but he had, of course, not brought her with him today. ‘All right if I join you for a few minutes?’
‘You don’t have to ask, Mark. Come in.’ Emilia motioned for him to sit beside Abbie on one of the plush sofas. She had a large tea tray on the go and plenty of spare cups. After pouring the tea she asked Abbie to pass it to him.
‘Thank you, Miss Rothwell,’ Mark said. His mind was not on her but his daughter. ‘Did you say you had some homemade rose hip syrup for Jana, Emilia?’
‘I did. It’s in the kitchen. I’ll fetch it when you’re ready to go, which I hope won’t be soon. We don’t see nearly enough of you.’
‘No, old chap,’ Perry said. ‘When Jill’s up to it, we must arrange for you to have dinner with us. You and Jim too, Elena. And you, Abbie, if you’re still here.’
‘I’m not planning on leaving just yet,’ Abbie said, her eyes fixed on Mark. ‘Call me Abbie, everyone does,’ she told him. She wasn’t going anywhere until she found out more about this exciting individual. The instant he’d entered the room she’d instinctively perked up her posture, which had thrust out her curvy breasts, and her stomach had done a peculiar flip. With the tan of an outdoors man, Mark had little bulk to his physique and although he couldn’t be termed good-looking, he was sexy in an unconscious way, which added outrageously to his appeal. There was no animal invitation to women about him as there was with Jonny, nothing overtly beguiling, but he stirred her so much it was a hard task not to reach out and touch him. She edged along the button-back sofa for closer contact. He smelled of the wonderful fusion of subtle aftershave, exotic tobacco and sensuous man. He glanced at her and smiled; there was a velvety mesmeric quality to his light-brown eyes that drew her in even more. She was terrified that the raw pleasure of being near him would show in her face.
To keep her dignity she trawled over the ordinary things about him. In the course of her stay she had been told about him. He was a former lieutenant in the Royal Artillery, a surviving Far East prisoner of war. He’d still been recuperating from near starvation and the injuries received from brutal beatings, a scarecrow of a man, when he’d come down from Surrey to Hennaford to look up the orphan evacuees living with Tristan Harvey; a promise made to their dying father, a corporal. Medically discharged, he had started a new life in Hennaford. He and his wife had agreed to an amicable divorce, but unknown to him she had given birth to his daughter. Rather than giving the child up for adoption without telling Mark as she’d intended, she had brought the girl down to him. Mark had been delighted to take her. His daughter, it was stressed, was ‘his life’. Proof of this was a new batch of photographs he was passing round. A doting father, yes, but surely he had room for some female company?
‘I’d like to take a bash at a portrait of little Jana,’ Jonny said, feeling he could make a better job of it than Mark had with his photos. Mark had got the light wrong and the focus should be softer. ‘I quite enjoy wielding a camera.’
‘Take as many of my little princess as you like.’ Mark was pleased.
Jonny reached across from his chair and passed the photos to Abbie. She enthused over them, wrenching as much eye contact as she could from Mark. ‘She’s absolutely divine. You simply must let me paint her.’
‘That would be lovely,’ Mark said, pointing out Jana, of golden curly hair, toddling in the garden, eating a crust of bread, playing with the family dog, making a cute funny face, in her nightgown, with her nanny, and lots more, all of which held no real interest for Abbie.
‘Good. We must make a date of it.’
‘I’ll sort out when I’m free. I’d like to watch while you work.’ He couldn’t bear to miss out on one little moment of Jana’s development or a single important event in her life.
Jonny noticed how engrossed she was in the other man. He didn’t know whether to feel slighted, annoyed or unconcerned at being forgotten so quickly. He shrugged to himself. Abbie was a lovely woman, a good sort and soothing company, but that was as far as it went between them. Good luck to her if she thought she had met someone she really liked. He was suddenly keen to get back to his camera. He’d go home with his father and stepmother and take some up-to-date snaps of them and the children to take back to base with him.
There was another newcomer and he leaped up to greet her. ‘Louisa, darling! How wonderful that you’re here.’ He embraced his half-sister, clad in a feminine dress with a narrow waistline and matching bolero. Her light blonde hair sat in perfect curls on her shoulders under a discreet hat tipped jauntily to the side. She had waters of grace and exuded a gentle fragility, which inspired men of all ages to dance attendance on her. The other men had got to their feet out of politeness and were darting their sight all around her, as if checking she was entirely whole and not needing protection in some way.
‘How wonderful to find you all here,’ Louisa said, beaming around the room. ‘I was wondering if Jill’s up to a visit.’
‘She’s had quite a few visitors today but I’m sure she’ll be pleased to see you,’ Emilia replied. ‘All the support she’s getting will mean a lot to her.’
‘I’m so glad. I’ll pop along in a few minutes.’
She was introduced to Mark. ‘I’m pleased to meet you at last, Mrs Carlyon,’ he said, keeping hold of her hand for a moment after he had shaken it.
Louisa gazed at him. ‘Yes, indeed, Mr Fuller. It’s a pity we’ve kept missing each other. I’ve heard all about you and your little girl. I’d be most interested to meet her.’
‘I’ll make sure you do.’
Jonny saw the immediate rapport between them. He threw his eyes on Abbie. She seemed to be squaring up in her inner self, obviously seeing Louisa as a rival. She must be hating Louisa’s understated but exact grooming; she, until a minute ago, had been lounging like a tomboy, and she wore formless trousers, flat unpolished shoes and an old blouse, and had given little attention to her hair.
Everyone sat down, Louisa in the armchair Jonny had vacated, he on the piano stool close to her. While people considered what to say there was a brief silence. Elena broke it. ‘I must go soon, but while I think of it, Emilia, I’d like to mention the village play. The headmaster, Mr Patterson, has approached me with the idea of putting on something he’s written himself. It’s a different leaning on Robin Hood, with mythical creatures, dragons, and our own Cornish piskies and spriggans visiting Sherwood Forest. It’s time to drum up actors, backstage people and musicians.’ She looked around hopefully. ‘Anybody?’
Emilia and Elena jointly arranged nearly all the village events. Emilia began making mental lists. ‘I’ll get cracking on it. If we could get Jill involved it could be the very thing to take her mind off her loss.’
‘Tremore will provide a good contingent, as usual. Eh, darling?’ Tristan said.
‘I’m sure we will,’ Susan agreed. ‘I’ll run up some costumes but please don’t expect to see me on stage.’
‘Kate would make a perfect fairy princess or wood nymph, although I doubt she could be persuaded to act,’ Jonny remarked.
‘I could send off my work from here and stay on a bit longer, if that’s all right with you, Mrs Em, and help paint the scenery, if that would help,’ Abbie offered graciously, twinkling her brilliant green eyes at Mark. And lingering on him with a sweet, coy smile. He was too polite not to respond and she wanted him to see her in a different light. To see she could be as calmly devoted to all the womanly qualities as the damned Carlyon woman was. Abbie wasn’t afraid to fight for something she wanted in any way it took.
‘Of course it would. Thank you, Abbie. We’d be very glad to have a professional help out,’ Emilia replied.
‘I’m sure you could organize the carpentry, Mark,’ Abbie purred at him, edging that little bit closer to him again.
Louisa glanced at Abbie Rothwell and saw the possessive observation she had clamped on Mark. So the artist was taken with Mark too. Too? Was she taken with him herself? Having others on her mind these last few years, she had given up pursuing her own private life, but yes, she had been deeply attracted to Mark the instant she’d set eyes on him.
Abbie returned the glance with lips pressed into a smile that was not a smile, and Louisa read the silent signals and the smugness in them correctly. ‘Back off, I saw him first.’
Louisa retained her composure. Think I’m weak and helpless, do you, Abbie Rothwell? Too ladylike and sensitive to fight my corner and perhaps too prudish to know passion? You’d be surprised to learn I had a raging affair with Tom before Jill came on the scene.
Mark nodded in agreement to Abbie’s suggestion. His attention was only in one direction. ‘Will you be taking a hand in it, Mrs Carlyon?’
‘I don’t usually, but I definitely will this year, Mr Fuller.’ Louisa lowered her tone huskily, pouting her lips in a gesture of triumph at the woman beside him.
Everyone except Jonny was oblivious of the war that seemed to be about to break out in Amazon proportions.