Coming Home (2 page)

‘
I’m the eldest. My place is here!’ he yelled, stamping his foot, as he had when he was a toddler in a tantrum. ‘It’s my birthright to work the farm as my grandfather and great grandfather have done.’ He chose to forget that Steven shared these paternal ancestors and in spite of his fine words he had never made the slightest effort to pull his weight and follow their example.

There
was genuine astonishment when the neighbours heard it was Steven who would be going to the army.

‘
’Twad dae Fred a power o’ guid tae join the services and have a boss, so ’twad,’ declared one neighbour.

‘
Shittin’ his breeks at the thought o’ leaving hame, I shouldna wonder,’ announced Willy McKay viciously. He had no love for Fred’s lazy arrogance and bullying ways.

‘
A guid day’s work wad kill the young devil, if ye ask me,’ an older neighbour prophesied. ‘I pity Eddy being left wi’ yon idle bugger at hame.’

Whatever
the neighbours’ views, it had been Steven and Sam who had gone to fight for their country and Fred who had stayed at Willowburn.

***

Hannah Caraford was another of the thousands of mothers who breathed sighs of relief now that peace had been declared. She looked out of the bedroom window at the fields of Willowburn stretching down the glen; she raised her eyes to the sparkle of the Solway firth in the distance with the Galloway hills to the west and the Cumberland hills to the east. The past five years had seemed like a lifetime with Steven away in the army. She knew how he had yearned for the day when he could return to Willowburn and the way of life he loved. She was filled with joy at the prospect of having him home again, but Fred’s outburst at breakfast time had certainly marred her happiness. If only Fred could have shown a little pleasure at the prospect of his half brother’s safe return. Instead he had shocked her when he delivered an ultimatum which could put an end to a future at Willowburn for them all, including himself.

‘
I tried so hard to be a good mother to him. Where did I go wrong?’ she murmured aloud as she gave a final glance around the bedroom she had lovingly prepared for Steven. She was sure she had never favoured one little boy more than the other, even though Steven was her own flesh and blood; Fred’s jealousy had reared its ugly head when he was only six years old, almost from the day Steven was born. He had believed she didn’t love him because he hated school and she had to make him go while the new baby stayed at home with her. His resentment seemed to have grown and festered with the years.

This
morning Jim Brownlee, the postman, had delivered a telegram from Steven with the news that he would be home today. Joyfully she had read it aloud to Jim. Edna, their land girl, was still eating her bacon and egg so she had heard the news too. Eddy had already eaten and gone out to get on with the day’s work and Fred had not yet appeared, being late for breakfast as usual. Edna had lost no time in telling him the news of his brother’s return. As soon as he heard Steven was due home he had flown into a rage and dropped his bombshell.

‘
If I can’t have
all
of Willowburn, none o’ ye will have any of it!’ he stormed.

Two

Whatever
the future might hold for them all, Hannah couldn’t help feeling a surge of relief to know that Steven was alive and well; he had survived, he was coming home. The war was over at last. His childhood friend, Sam Oliphant, had not been so lucky, Hannah reflected sadly. Sam had been such a fine boy with his cheery smile and twinkling green eyes. Unfortunately there were thousands who shared his fate. She had prayed for Steven’s safe return every day for the past five years and she would count her blessings, whatever evil scheme Fred had in mind.

Even
so, her agile brain considered the possibilities of foiling Fred’s spite. Eddy was looking forward to his younger son’s return too and she was reluctant to spoil his pleasure by telling him about Fred’s threats. Yet she couldn’t deny he was so insanely jealous he would do almost anything to prevent Steven returning to farm at Willowburn, even forcing all of them, to sell up and leave, including his own father.

Hannah
was already worried about her husband. Eddy seemed to have aged fifteen years instead of five since the outbreak of the war. At eighteen Steven had willingly done more than his share of the work but they had only realised how much more when he was no longer there. As a schoolboy, he had been eager to learn everything about the animals and farming. He had learned to plough as soon as he could trudge behind the horses and hold the plough to the furrow. They had a tractor now but Willowburn still needed him. His knowledge and his instinct could not be replaced by the land girls. None of them had stayed long enough to gain experience, not that Hannah blamed them. One of them, a lovely girl named Ruth, had been particularly kind and considerate in the house and a hard worker, eager to learn all she could about the farm and the animals. Hannah’s heart had warmed towards her from the day she arrived. She had been with them about six months, then one morning she had run into the house, sobbing as though her heart would break. Alarmed by her evident distress, Hannah had tried to comfort her.

‘
Whatever is wrong, dear child? Have you had an accident?’

‘
F-Fred…’ she sobbed and ran upstairs to her room. She had packed her few belongings and minutes later she left Willowburn, refusing all Hannah’s offers of help, even a lift to the bus. Hannah had worried about her for weeks until a letter arrived, written from her home in Westmorland, where her father was a vicar. They still kept in touch occasionally and Hannah still felt some concern for Ruth.

She
had confronted Fred but he had denied that he had assaulted her.

Their
present land-girl, Edna Wright, appeared oblivious to Fred’s idleness and she ignored his bullying tactics but she was not a conscientious worker herself. The other girls had all found Fred’s persistent advances unwelcome but Hannah was beginning to think Edna encouraged them. She hoped Fred knew what he was about. He would not be the first man to be trapped into marriage by a scheming woman, although she had begun to think the two deserved each other.

Fred’s
sullen manner and his sly ways, coupled with his idleness had proved a heavy burden to Eddy. When Steven started sending home his army pay, Fred had been more jealous and disgruntled than ever, especially when she put the money into a bank account for Steven instead of adding it to the meagre income the farm was bringing in. She was glad now that she had insisted or Fred would have frittered it away. In an effort to appease Fred, and in the hope of encouraging him to be more conscientious about the care of the animals, Eddy decided to make him a partner in the farm.

‘
That will surely give him a sense of pride and responsibility,’ he confided to Hannah and she hadn’t the heart to voice her doubts. ‘When he sees the results of our hard work he will feel the satisfaction of knowing he has had a share in it.’

His
father’s generosity had not worked any miracles with Fred. It was a thousand pities he had not been the one to go into the army, Hannah reflected as she had done many times before. The routine and the discipline might have benefited him, he might even have found a niche he enjoyed. Being a partner had only made him more arrogant and overbearing. The older he grew, the more he reminded Hannah of her cousin Eleanor’s father, Fred’s maternal grandfather. He had been a boorish, selfish man. He had used his authority to browbeat his wife and his daughter just as Fred was planning to use the partnership which his father had bestowed on him. His threats almost amounted to blackmail.

She
was glad Eddy had already left the house this morning before Fred’s outburst. She could only hope he would calm down and see reason before Steven arrived home but she shook her head in despair. She had been responsible for his upbringing when Eleanor, his mother, had died a few weeks after giving birth. She had done her best but his greed and his unreasoning jealousy made him unbearable. She had never looked for gratitude from Fred but his latest outburst had dismayed her and left her in no doubt of his feelings towards both her and Steven.

‘
Aye, I hoped your “wee laddie” would never come back,’ he had sneered, ‘him and his pal, Sammy Oliphant.’ The callous words echoed in her head clouding her joy over Steven’s return. ‘Why did he have to be one of the survivors? This should all be mine! All of it, d’ye hear!’ He had flung his arm wide, knocking the milk jug from the table to smash in pieces on the kitchen floor with a pool of milk swirling towards the hearthrug. Hannah snatched it up in time, and still Fred ranted on. ‘Why should I get only a share in the farm because of him? It’s mine.’

Hannah
shook her head in despair. His own mother, her cousin Eleanor, had died a few weeks after giving birth and she had done her best to take her place when she realised Eddy’s need of her. She had asked herself thousands of times what more she could have done. Fred’s greed, coupled with his insanely jealous nature, made him insufferable. She had tried to reason with him.

‘
But Fred you know—’

‘
Shut up! You should never have married my father. There’s no place here for your bloody son. I’ve already told you, I shall demand my share of this place in cash. I shall force the old man to sell up to pay me out. I have a claim remember,’ he gloated ‘There’ll be no place for you or your precious Steven then.’

‘
You would force your father out of the only home he’s ever known?’ Hannah was aghast. ‘You only own part of the stock because your father gifted it to you when he made you a partner,’ she protested. ‘He trusted you.’

‘
So what?’ She hated his mocking sneer. ‘I’ll make damned sure there’s no place for your brat. This is my birthright, I tell you.’

‘
At least consider your father, Fred. He’s worked hard all his life for all of us. It would break his heart to leave Willowburn after all these years and in such circumstances.’

‘
You know what to do then!’ he jeered. ‘Make sure your clever little soldier boy never comes back here to live.’

The
words went round and round in Hannah’s head, spoiling her pleasure in Steven’s homecoming. She frowned and pressed her lips together. Eddy didn’t deserve this trouble. They were both his sons. If Steven still wanted to farm, and she was sure he thought of little else, then he deserved help too, especially after sacrificing five years of his young life fighting for his country.

***

Steven Caraford made his way to the front of the bus. He had travelled from the south by train to Annan and as he crossed the Solway Firth he felt his heart soar, as it always did when he reached the last leg of his journey and saw the familiar landscape.

‘
Willowburn Farm road end, please?’ he requested. That was the good thing about local country buses they stopped wherever their passengers needed to get on or off. He glanced curiously at the driver. ‘Where is Mr Crosby today?’ he enquired pleasantly. Old Mr Crosby had driven the local bus for as long as he could remember. The young driver looked up with a grin.

‘
He’s my father. He said he would retire the minute I got demobbed, so here I am.’ He looked at Steven’s army uniform and raised his brows. ‘You’re not demobbed yet then?’

‘
I expected to be.’ Steven grimaced. ‘The world is not all peace and goodwill yet it seems. We’re being drafted to Palestine.’

‘
Ach, that’s bad luck, mate. This is Willowburn up ahead, isn’t it? That’s where you want?’

‘
Yes. Thanks.’

‘
What’re you planning to do when you do get back to civvies then?’

‘
Help my parents run the farm.’ Steven smiled. ‘They’re expecting me home for good but I only had time to send a telegram. I havena had the chance to tell them we’re being posted again.’ He sighed. ‘Getting back to Willowburn is all I’ve dreamed about for the last five years.

‘
Aye, I know what you mean,’ Billy Crosby nodded. ‘I plan to build up my father’s business, run trips to the sea side and up to the Highlands. I reckon folks will be ready for holidays and a bit o’ pleasure now the war is over. I shall have to go slowly though.’ He gave another infectious grin. ‘My parents are cautious. We had to get used to taking chances and snatching opportunities in the services but my folks have seen none o’ that.’

‘
No, you’re right there. I suppose we were lucky to survive, but now that I have, my dream begins here and I wish I could get on with it.’ Steven jerked his head towards the fields and the track winding beside the burn, up the glen to Willowburn. ‘Good luck.’

‘
Good luck to you too, mate. I hope they’ll not keep you much longer. I reckon we’ve done our bit for king and country.’

Steven
stood on the grass verge and watched the bus chug along the winding road until it was lost to sight. He breathed in deeply, revelling in the earthy scents of the countryside. “This is my own, my native land,” he murmured the poet’s words aloud and with feeling. The smell of freshly cut grass drifted on the summer breeze and behind him a blackbird sang in the thick thorn hedge. He slung his army pack over his shoulder and turned his steps towards the farm track. His gaze took in the flowers as he passed, fox gloves and red campion, the clear blue of the harebells, the climbing vetch and white wood anemones. They were all familiar, he had passed them hundreds of time on his way to and from school, and yet it was as though he was seeing them for the first time.

Up
at the house Hannah kept scanning the track, watching out for Steven, longing to see his familiar figure striding up the glen from the main road. Would he still be in uniform, or would he be wearing a demob suit? She knew better than anyone how eager he was to get back to farming at Willowburn. Her tension mounted again as she remembered Fred’s threats. As soon as he knew Steven would be arriving home today he seemed to lose all sense of reason. Surely he must realise this was Steven’s home as much as it was his. As for the work, a good man couldn’t be replaced by a mechanical tractor.

***

Chrissie Oliphant took a deep breath as she considered the things she wanted to say to Megan before Steven returned.

‘
Has Steven mentioned when he’ll be home?’

‘
No, he mentioned there were some kind of changes afoot so he wasn’t sure what was happening when he posted his last letter but I know he’s expecting to be home soon. He can’t be much longer now.’ Her eyes shone with anticipation and Chrisssie’s heart sank. She had set her heart on her clever young daughter having a good career. Even Mr Turner admired her intelligence and academic success. Megan had qualities no amount of money could buy for Natalie, however wealthy she might be.

‘
Megan dear, I-er, I know you transferred your affections to Steven when Sam died, but– but does he still regard you as Sam’s wee sister, do you think? Does he ever mention going out with girls in his letters?’

‘
No of course not.’ Megan frowned and her cheeks coloured. She had heard about some of the pleasures many of the servicemen enjoyed and she had wondered about Steven. He never mentioned such things in his letters to her so recently she had begun to hope he might think of her as his special girl.

‘
Steven was always a sensible laddie,’ Chrissie reflected. ‘He’s sacrificed five of the best years of his life fighting for his country and I expect he realises it will be a long time before he can afford to be serious about any girl. Willowburn isn’t such a big farm, and if the rumours are true, Fred Caraford nearly got his family put out altogether. He was always idle and when he refused to plough any extra land for cereals, the government officials threatened to take over Willowburn and send somebody in to plough the pasture.’

‘
I know all that, Mum,’ Megan said, ‘And Steven knows what Fred’s like. He can’t wait to get on with all the work that needs doing to bring the farm back to the way it used to be.’

‘
Oh I’m sure the Carafords will make more progress once Steven is there to help, but his father isna so fit these days and it takes a long time to build things up in farming. There are no farm cottages attached to Willowburn either so there’d be no place for Steven or Fred to live if they wanted to get married…’ Chrissie broke off and looked at Megan, hoping for some response, something which would tell her how serious her friendship with Steven might be, but her daughter remained silent, her face pale now.