‘Yes,’ said Fran, crossing her fingers under the table.
‘How does your farm make money, Miss Duke?’
‘It’s a small dairy farm,’ she said. ‘I make cheese with the milk.’
‘And how do you sell it? Do you have a shop?’
‘I share a friend’s farmers’ market stall.’ She still had her fingers crossed as this hadn’t happened yet. ‘I have very low overheads.’ She didn’t know what the overheads were but they would have to be lower than a shop.
‘So it’s mostly profit?’ Mr Partland seemed a little encouraged.
‘I don’t charge for my time, so yes.’
Antony made a noise that made Fran look at him. She knew he was saying she should charge for her time, but how could she?
Fran felt she was the British underdog in a tennis final at Wimbledon. Mr Partland would serve what might be an ace and she would have to run desperately to think of an answer to his question. Somehow she managed to do it every time. And while she wasn’t panting hard, a trickle of sweat had run down her spine and she was concentrating on looking relaxed and confident.
Antonygave a very small, slow nod, to indicate he thought she’d done it. If it had actually been tennis he’d have been on his feet waving and cheering. At least, Fran hoped so. You could never quite tell with Antony.
‘Right, Miss Duke, you seem to know what to do but of course you’ll need to produce a proper business plan.’
‘I can help with that,’ Antony murmured.
‘As well as the payment that is currently due …’ Fran stifled a small scream. ‘And then we can think about renegotiating the terms.’
Fran got some moisture back into her mouth so she could speak. ‘So, when do you want all this by?’
‘The payment in a week, say, as it’s already overdue, and then we can make another appointment for when I’m next back in branch.’
‘OK,’ said Fran and wished she’d sounded more confident.
‘So? How do you propose to make the payment? I’m assuming you don’t have a separate account with the money in it?’
‘No.’
‘So what will you do? Sell a cow?’
‘That would be a ridiculous thing to do,’ said Fran, suddenly angry. ‘The cows are irreplaceable and how I make money!’
Mr Partland shrugged and got up. The meeting was over and he probably had a few more to do while hewas‘in branch’. ‘Well, as long as you make the payment next week I really don’t mind how you do it.’
Fran wasn’t quite sure how she got out of the bank but she found herself blinking in the sunshine as if she’d been in a very dark place for some time.
‘I’ve got time for another coffee if you have,’ said Antony, ‘unless you need a stiff drink.’
‘I definitely need a stiff drink but I can’t have one. I’m seeing Amy soon and I’m driving.’
‘Double espresso and a chocolate brownie, then?’
Fran smiled. ‘Actually I think a sparkling water would do it. I feel like I’ve run a marathon – well, a half marathon anyway.’
‘Let’s go to the pub. We’re rather on public view in the café.’
‘Why is that a problem?’ Her nerves were already rattled by the in branch meeting, so this made Fran jump.
‘We don’t want to be seen together again by someone who’ll rush in to tell Amy we’re in cahoots. Come.’
He took her arm and led her through streets Fran hadn’t discovered yet to a lovely old-fashioned pub. ‘No one who knows Amy will see us in here.’
