He shook his head slowly. ‘No, of course I’m not.’
‘Then we need to think of a way to stop them. Dad and Mum have obviously given this a lot of thought and their minds are made up. So, the only other option is for you to persuade Uncle Leonard not to buy the farmland and the business, and for him to at least try to get Dad to let me have a go at running the place. At least before he goes to any trouble to raise funds to buy it.’
Zac sighed heavily. ‘I wondered why they wanted you to come back rather than wait until we were both here at the same time in the summer.’
He had a point. As she waited for Zac to wash the first plate, Lettie thought how similar they both were with their light brown hair, blue eyes and spattering of freckles over their noses. People had occasionally assumed they were twins when they were children even though Zac was eighteen months younger than her. He was now twenty-four and her twenty-five. He rinsed the plate and put it onto the drainer for her to dry.
‘You don’t think you’ll be taking on too much by doing this though do you, Letts?’
‘What do you mean? I grew up here, Zac, like you.’
He turned to face her, unaware that soapy water was dripping from the scrubbing brush in his hand onto the tiled floor. ‘Yes, but both of us have only ever helped out during school holidays and the last time we did that must be at least five or six years ago. Dad’s done this for years and no doubt makes looking after the farm seem easy. Farming is all he’s ever known. Anyway, I thought you wereinto your career and had ambitions about rising through the ranks. Won’t you miss all that if you move back here?’
She understood his concern and explained what had happened the previous week. ‘You’re making a mess all over the floor.’ Lettie pointed at the small pool of water at his feet.
He grabbed a few sheets of kitchen roll and mopped it up, leaving her to consider his question. ‘That’s rough, Letts. I’m sorry they’re talking about letting you go. I know how excited you were to get that job.’
She had been very excited to move to London after graduating from university. It had been a dream come true initially to make friends in the vibrant city, topping it off by landing the job that she had thought of as perfect until Scott’s move to the company had turned everything sour, even their relationship.
‘I did love it initially,’ she admitted, ‘but things changed along with mine and Scott’s relationship, and to be honest with you I think that subconsciously I’ve been waiting for something to inspire me.’ She saw the look of astonishment on his face and smiled. ‘I’m aware it will be a massive life change, but ever since Scott and I broke up last summer, I haven’t found life in London quite so much fun, so now I’m beginning to think that it won’t be the end of the world leaving.’ She noticed him looking at her askance. ‘What?’
‘It’s not like you to let some bloke ruin the way you see things, Letts.’
He was right. ‘It wasn’t the break-up alone, more that by the time we broke up the magic of the place had faded slightly. I think I was caught up in the glamour of it all.’ She sighed. ‘Or probably I was working such long hours trying to prove to my boss that I was worthy of a promotion that I didn’t have much energy left for going out and socialising any more. I know looking after the farm will take up most of the hours in each day too, butI’m already used to that and at least I won’t have a commute here.’
She could tell he wasn’t convinced. ‘Maybe not, but you’re not used to doing such a manual job.’ He looked down at her feet. ‘Or working in wellies and overalls.’
Lettie laughed, grateful for the release in the tension. ‘True. But I’m sure I can find some glam ones.’
‘I wouldn’t suggest wearing them though, not if you want to be taken seriously.’
She slapped his shoulder lightly. ‘It was a joke, Zac.’
‘I know, Lettice.’ He laughed enjoying using the name she hated. And it wasn’t even her real name. ‘I don’t want to speak to Uncle Leonard about this,’ he moaned.
‘You’re closer to him than I am,’ she said. ‘After all, he is your godfather.’
‘You’re such a pain, do you know that?’ He began washing the next plate.
‘Will you speak to him for me, or not?’
‘Of course I will. If you’re willing to deal with all these nutty chickens, goats and whatever else Dad has taken on, and farming his precious crops, then I’m not going to stand in your way. I’ll pop round to see him a bit later, if you like. In the meantime, I think you need to tell Mum and Dad about your job, so they don’t feel so guilty about your offer to come here.’
Lettie groaned. ‘All right.’ She hoped she wasn’t underestimating what running this place meant. She knew how hectic life was on the farm between April and June when the Jersey Royals were harvested and how imperative it was to ensure no time was wasted taking the potatoes to the harbour to be loaded onto the boat for delivery to be sold on the mainland. There were other harvest periods too for the tomatoes, squash and beetroot her father grew in his large polytunnels.They would need to be cared for and harvested to then be sold to local shops and that was without having to milk the goats, collect the chicken eggs and look after the few cows they still had and the five alpacas.
‘Do you want to come with me?’
Should she? Would she have more chance persuading her uncle if she was there, or if her brother went alone? ‘I’m not sure.’ After another moment, she added, ‘I think you should talk to him first. Give him a heads-up about what I’m planning on doing. Then if you fail, I’ll go and see him.’
Zac narrowed his eyes and she could tell he had thought of something. ‘Go on,’ she said smiling. ‘What is it?’
‘Uncle Leonard is far less likely to turn down your suggestion if you’re there. He’s not a confrontational person and will probably feel mean saying no to your face.’
He had a point. ‘You could be right.’ She dried her hands and hung the towel on the Aga rail. ‘Come along then, let’s go.’ She didn’t add that her reason for hurrying was to speak to their uncle before she lost her courage.
‘You’re such a pain – do you know that?’
She did, but right now Lettie didn’t care all that much.
