‘Well,’ said Antony, raising his tumbler. ‘Here’s to you being very happy here.’
‘I’ll drink to that,’ said Fran, clinking her tumbler against his. ‘Now, do tuck in. I hope it’s not too spicy for you.’
When she had finished her first mouthful, she said quickly, before he could start questioning her, ‘You’re my neighbour, obviously. Tell me a bit about yourself. Is there a Mrs Antony Arlingham?’
He shook his head. ‘There was but our ways parted. It was for the best. We didn’t have children so it could have been worse.’ He looked at her and she noticed he had interesting eyes. They were hazel with a flash of gold in them and were unusual with his very dark hair. ‘What about you? Have you a husband and children?’
Fran raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m sure local gossip would have told you that I haven’t.’
‘I admit we do all know that you’re very young and single and come from London. No one expects you to last more than a month at the most.’
‘Oh really? We London girls are made of sugar, are we? We melt in the rain?’
‘In the rain and cold and snow, yes, you do melt.’ He looked at her and once again she noticed hisunusualeyes. ‘But before that, your track is going to be impassable without a four-wheel drive very soon.’
She wished she could say that she had one but she knew he knew exactly what sort of vehicle she drove. ‘I will need to change my car, I think.’ She took up another forkful of pasta to stop him saying anything else for just a minute.
‘This is really good,’ he said, sounding surprised.
She shrugged. ‘I’m a chef, it should be good.’ Inside she was pleased. ‘The wine is really nice, too.’
‘Among other things, I’m a wine importer, it should be good.’ He quirked his eyebrow back at her.
Fran took a breath. ‘Amy – Mrs Flowers – warned me about you. She said I shouldn’t have anything to do with you and that you were bad, through and through.’ Amy may not have gone quite this far but Fran felt she needed emphasis.
‘Mrs Flowers has got quite the wrong end of the stick about me and my intentions,’ Antony said, obviously glad to have moved on from small talk too.
‘Has she?’ Fran said this as if she doubted it. Amy was a frail old woman now but she hadn’t run a farm on her own for years without learning a thing or two, and if Amy suspected Antony’s motives she, Fran, would suspect them too.
‘Yes. She has very romantic notions about farming.’
‘Really?Yet she did it successfully for years and years.’
‘Did she? How successfully?’
Fran paused. She’d assumed Amy had been successful once, though she’d let things go recently.
Antony put down his fork. ‘I think you’ll find, when you’ve had a chance to look into things, that this farm has been losing money for years and years. I suspect it’s held together by a huge overdraft and the bank won’t stand for it for too much longer.’ He paused so Fran could take this in. ‘I offered to buy the farm from Amy, to clear the debt, so she could go on living here as long as she wanted. She rejected the offer. As things have turned out she’s had to go into a home. But I’ll make you the same offer.’
‘This farm is not mine to sell.’
‘You’re due to inherit it. You could live here, have a go at farming a bit, until Amy dies, and then come away with a handsome sum of money you could do something with.’
Briefly Fran thought about the dream she’d had of running her own restaurant and then put it aside. The farm would never be worth enough to fund a little London culinary gold mine. But even if it was, she’d started this project now, she wasn’t ready to give up until she’d given it her absolute best shot. ‘I’m not due to inherit. Only if I make a go of it.’
‘I could help you make a go of it.’
Franrealised she was beginning to like this man. He was attractive, polite and probably quite kind, but she was not ready to throw in the towel before she’d even started.
‘I’m sure you could and I’m sure you mean well, but I’ve been brought from London to this farm by a woman who went to a lot of trouble to find me. I can’t let her down without giving it a proper go. Of course it will be difficult. I know nothing about farming but I can’t just cave in before I’ve been here a week.’
Antony didn’t speak for what seemed a long time. ‘I respect that. I think it will be heartbreakingly hard for you, trying to make a go of a business you know nothing about – one that bankrupts men who’ve been in the business for generations – when you’re not even starting from a level playing field. That said, I do think you’re very brave.’ He smiled. ‘And I’m still willing to help you.’
In spite of the smile, which was effective, she wasn’t won over. ‘Why? Why would you help me?’
‘Because I don’t think this farm is viable as it is. Even with my help it’s not going to work. But if you have a better time trying because of what I can do, I’ll be happy.’
‘Well, that’s very gracious of you,’ Fran said huffily, ‘not to say patronising, but I think I’ll manage just fine without your help, thank you very much.’ She didn’t believe it and she knew he didn’t either.
