Page 28 of New Beginnings on Railway Lane

But his kindness made her feel even more upset than she had already felt. The family appeared to have already forgiven her, but it would take her a lot longer to forgive herself for Bob’s accident.

16

After Eddie had left the station platform, Paddington the dog remained on Katy’s feet, unwilling to move.

But Katy didn’t mind. In fact, just stroking the dog’s silky ears made her feel a little less anxious about everything, she realised. Even the line of drool that Paddington left across the shins of her jeans didn’t faze her too much. She figured that she must have still been pretty weary after her late night at the hospital with Ryan and Bob to not care about the mess for once.

‘Good morning, by the way,’ said Harriet, standing next to her. ‘Although it’s not really a good one, from the sounds of it. Poor Bob. He’s such a sweetheart.’ She frowned down at Katy. ‘And poor you as well. You look all done in. Listen, we’re just heading over to Flora’s farm for breakfast. Why don’t you come with us?’

Katy automatically began to shake her head, but she wasn’t feeling strong enough to protest much further, especially when Harriet took her by the arm and gently pulled her up from the bench.

‘Come on,’ said Harriet, looking stern. ‘You look like you need a strong coffee and one of Grams’s excellent pancakes.’

‘Grams?’ asked Katy.

‘Flora’s grandmother,’ Harriet told her, as they walked through the narrow passageway from the platform and onto Railway Lane. After passing the end of the station and then the train workshop, they turned left and began to walk down a country lane towards a pretty farmhouse at the far end.

It had rained heavily overnight and Katy’s high-heeled boots struggled to cope with the heavily potholed lane. As her foot once more went down into the mud-filled water, she winced.

Meanwhile, Harriet, who was far more sensibly dressed for the walk in wellington boots, was able to stride out and enjoy the view of Paddington racing ahead of them, seemingly knowing exactly where he was going.

Harriet laughed. ‘Looks like Paddington remembers last week’s pancakes – no surprise there!’

Katy smiled at the joke and took in a deep breath of fresh air. It was doing wonders for her foggy brain but also reminding her stomach that she had yet to have breakfast and that she had missed dinner as well the previous evening.

Katy and Harriet followed Paddington across a large courtyard towards the back door of the farmhouse, outside of which were various wellington boots.

Harriet shrugged off her boots and Katy followed suit, grimacing at the now mud-caked state of the leather. She was pretty certain they would be ruined, but one crisis at a time, she told herself.

‘Only us,’ called out Harriet, as she opened up the front door, letting Paddington inside. ‘And I brought a friend along too, hope that’s okay.’

Harriet led Katy inside and she found herself in a comfortable farmhouse kitchen, full of oak beams, a very large oak table and a homely aroma of coffee and freshly baked bread.

However, where she would probably have expected it to be decorated with gingham tablecloths and muted colours, instead she was met with bright orange walls and terracotta fabrics along with vivid blue painted cupboard doors.

‘Wow,’ she said, looking around in wonder. The room was warm and inviting as well as feeling fresh and unstuffy.

‘Isn’t it great?’ beamed Harriet as she crossed the tiled floor.

‘Morning,’ chorused Flora and Libby who were sitting at the table.

‘Good morning,’ said a small but feisty-looking elderly lady who was standing next to the Aga, pouring out batter onto a skillet. ‘You must be the famous Katy.’

‘I’m not sure I’m famous, but yes, hello. I’m Katy,’ she replied.

‘Nice to meet you,’ said the lady with a nod. ‘I’m Helen, or you can just call me Grams like the rest of the girls do. Now, you sit yourself down. I hear you had a late night.’

‘Coffee?’ asked Flora, grabbing a pot on the table to fill a large mug. ‘There’s milk and sugar over there next to Libby.’

Katy sat down on one of the empty chairs, which had a battered but very comfortable turquoise cushion as a seat. ‘Thanks,’ she said, as the mug was pushed across the table.

It felt a little strange to be amongst these women who were so bright and chatty, she thought. As a rule, she normally avoided such small gatherings as she had always struggled to make small talk.

‘How’s Bob?’ asked Libby.

Katy explained his operation to them all whilst she added milk to her coffee.

‘How awful,’ said Grams. She had a weather-worn face from a lifetime spent farming, Katy guessed. But her green eyes sparkled bright against her grey hair and rosy cheeks. ‘Thankfully, it sounds as if he’ll be right as rain very soon.’