‘And that one is Princess Lay-a. She used to be quite garrulous, but for some reason she likes to keep herself to herself these days.’ Adrienne grimaced. ‘A bit like my son.’ She shook her head.
Intrigued Hannah ventured, ‘Conor?’
‘Yes.’ There was a droop to Adrienne’s mouth. ‘I suppose you know he used to be quite the big deal. And now he’s content to play maintenance man and builder. He doesn’t want anything to do with the cookery side of the things. Won’t even teach. He’ll help out when we need him to, but he won’t take up a proper role. Breaks my heart. And he won’t talk to me about it.’ She sighed. ‘All that talent.’ Then she smoothed her hair back and said, ‘Well, all this talk won’t bring the eggs in, will it?
She darted off to the barn, leaving Hannah wondering what all that had been about.
She came back a moment later with a pair of straw-lined baskets and handed one of them over. With it tucked on the crook of her arm, Hannah felt like something out ofLittle House on the Prairie.
Finding her first egg brought with it the joy of discovering treasure and Hannah grinned with an odd sense of triumph. How amazing that one of those busy strutting and pecking ladies had laid this. It was still warm to the touch. She tucked it into the straw in her basket and carried on looking for more. It didn’t take long to discover that with fifty hens there was an abundance of eggs. After she’d found fifteen she stopped counting, but it was still a thrill each time she gently added another one to her basket.
‘I’ll leave you to it. Take them to the kitchen when you think you’ve found them all. I’ll see you later.’ Adrienne clamped a wide-brimmed straw hat on her head and walked away, her voluminous – pale blue today – linen dress wafting about her, making her look as if she’d stepped out of a pre-Raphaelite painting. Hefting the now heavy basket, with a ridiculously overblown sense of achievement, Hannah bore the eggs over to the big farmhouse kitchen where Bridget, presiding over a large range oven, greeted her with a friendly smile.
‘Good morning to ye, Hannah. Eggscellent timing,’ she said with a mischievous grin. ‘Come grab a drink. Tea. Coffee. Help yourself.’ She inclined her head to the side where a selection of mugs and a large cafetière of coffee were arranged around the kettle.
Meredith and Alan were already seated at the table, chatting away over large mugs of coffee with empty plates in front of them.
‘Morning.’
‘Hiya, Hannah. I’ve been out harvesting the vegetables.’ Meredith’s words tumbled out in her usual runaway fashion. ‘Honestly, it’s heaven. Everything is just so fresh. I can’t wait to cook with them later. When I get home to Liverpool, I’m going to get myself an allotment. You have to come work in the garden.’
Hannah smiled at her enthusiasm. ‘I don’t know, I’ve been collecting eggs and there’s something rather magical about finding each one.’ She’d surprised herself saying that out loud, especially as she wasn’t one for fanciful turns of phrases.
Meredith sighed. ‘That sounds so romantic. Collecting eggs.’
Bridget smiled at both of them and wiped her hands on her apron. ‘And would you like one for breakfast? How would you like it?’
Hannah didn’t normally eat more than toast, and that was usually as she was halfway out of the door on her way to work. However, this morning she felt she deserved one, especially as she was going to be on her feet all day rather than on her bottom in an office. ‘Can I have a boiled egg?’
‘Hard or soft?’
‘Soft, please.’ She turned to Alan. ‘How were the cows?’
‘Bovine,’ said Alan. ‘And big. I tell you, I was a bit anxious but all I had to do was open the gates. The old dears know where they’re going.’
Jason stomped in wearing Darth Vader socks, closely followed by Izzy and Fliss, as Hannah sliced off the top of her boiled egg. The golden yolk inside stopped her for a moment. It was almost orange in colour, unlike the pale yellow she was used to.
Jason threw himself into a chair and moodily helped himself to some toast from the rack on the table.
‘Fancy some bacon and eggs, dearie?’ asked Bridget, turning from her post at the gas rings, that same mischievous smile playing at her mouth.
‘Those pigs stink!’ He did not look impressed. ‘And I’ve got shit all over my trainers.’
‘Don’t let Adrienne hear you,’ said Fliss with a smirk.
He glared at her and shot up two fingers. ‘I don’t give a—’
‘Children,’ said Meredith, shaking her head with an exasperated huff. ‘How old are the pair of you?’
Fliss stuck her nose up in the air and flounced over to the coffee pot.
‘I’d bloody love some bacon,’ said Jason with sudden gleeful relish and everyone burst out laughing as Bridget put several rashers into a big cast-iron skillet.
‘Oh my goodness. This is the best egg I’ve ever eaten.’ Hannah stared down at the egg cup, not quite able to believe it. ‘It really does taste amazing.’ Obviously because it was so fresh but there was also a funny little sense of satisfaction that she’d collected it and that she’d met the hen – well sort of – that had laid it.
Meredith and Alan both nodded as if it were something they’d known all along. ‘Wait until you try the bacon.’
‘You left dinner early last night. Were you all right?’
