Honey's Farm (42 page)

He filled her and encompassed her; he owned her, he dominated her, and Fon cried out in the passion of the moment, knowing that the sweetness he gave her stemmed from love as well as desire.

She touched his face with her hands. ‘Jamie, my love, if you want sons, then I am ready.' She closed her eyes and flung back her head and knew that, when she was loved the way Jamie loved her, she
was
ready, ready to do anything he wanted of her.

Eddie eased his shoulder, rubbing it with the tips of his fingers. He was still a little sore from the gunshot wound inflicted by Arian's father. Still, he mused, he was lucky to be alive; if Bob Smale hadn't been distracted by the arrival of his daughter, Eddie might not be here right now.

He drew his clean shirt around him and did up the buttons with a feeling of anticipation. He was meeting Arian; it was her day off from work, and Jamie had obligingly given Eddie the day off as well – about time too, Eddie thought good-naturedly.

He went to the mirror to adjust his tie and saw, with a start of surprise, how much his body had filled out since he'd worked on the farm.

And yet the hankering to be a doctor was always there. The love of books was inherent; he took to studying as other people took to breathing. He grimaced at his reflection. ‘Be glad of what you've got, lad,' he admonished himself. ‘You could be starving in the mean streets of Swansea somewhere.'

The walk down the hill towards town was a pleasant one; a soft breeze was coming in off the sea and Eddie felt it ruffle his hair. He felt alive, full of vigour; he was happy with the anticipation of meeting Arian.

She was waiting for him in the gardens of Victoria Park. Her moonlight hair, caught back in a ribbon, was hanging down her back in soft waves; Arian had never cared for fashion or convention.

She looked up and smiled as he sat beside her on the bench. She put her hand in his and his fingers curled warm around her slender wrists.

‘Watch my callouses,' she said, laughing. ‘Making shoes isn't easy work, believe me.'

‘I do,' Eddie said solemnly, ‘but you obviously enjoy it.' He lifted her hand and kissed it.

Arian drew away, embarrassed at his gesture. ‘We've got a new customer,' she said quickly, ‘a sweet little girl named Jessie. She has a withered leg, and Eline is trying to sort out some kind of boot that will support it so that she can walk more easily.'

Eddie was interested. ‘I wonder if I could help,' he said. ‘I admit to knowing nothing about shoemaking, but I
do
know a little about anatomy.'

Arian looked at him thoughtfully. ‘That's true. Perhaps you'll walk with me to the workshop, talk to Eline – though I must admit she seems a little distracted right now. I do hope she's not sickening for something.'

‘Come on, then,' Eddie said, good-humouredly. ‘I might as well see this Eline of yours and find out what sort of work she does.'

He glanced at her sideways. ‘Nothing better to do if you are not going to let me make love to you.'

Arian's pale eyebrows rose. ‘And who told you those lies?' Her smile widened, and Eddie felt love rise within him like a tide. Arian was lovely and desirable, but she had a fine mind, too, and an ambitious streak that he found irresistible.

‘Am I mistaken, then?' He pretended to leer at her. ‘Am I going to get my wicked way with you, after all?'

‘Perhaps,' Arian said softly, ‘when it's not quite so sunny and bright.'

‘We could always go into the dunes,' Eddie said. ‘We'd be hidden from view there on the beach.'

‘No thanks!' Arian spoke emphatically. ‘I don't want the skin sanded off my backside.'

‘
My
backside wouldn't mind a bit of sand,' Eddie said, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile.

‘Forget it,' Arian said, ‘we're going to the workshop, remember?'

They walked along the edge of the shore, not touching but very close, and Eddie, glancing up at the blue skies of late summer, felt at peace. It was a lovely day, Arian was beside him; what more could he ask?

Eddie's first impression, when he saw Eline sitting on a stool near the bench which was littered with tools and off-cuts of leather, was that she was far too pale. She looked up and smiled as Arian entered the workshop.

‘What are you doing here? I thought it was your day off.' She put down the boot she had been working on and straightened her back.

Eddie could see at once that she was not well; there were lines of strain at the corners of her eyes and mouth.

‘I wanted Eddie's opinion on the boots we're making for Jessie Kennedy,' Arian said. ‘Eddie was training to be a doctor – I think I told you about it –
and,'
she rambled on, ‘he knows all about anatomy.'

‘Not all,' Eddie protested wryly, ‘just a little, perhaps enough to help with the construction of the boot.'

‘I'd be glad of any help I can get,' Eline said. ‘I know shoemaking but I can't quite make out how to support the little girl's leg without making the whole thing too constricting.'

Eddie looked down at the drawing at Eline's side and frowned. ‘I don't think a boot made entirely of leather will work,' he offered diffidently. ‘Perhaps some struts of iron along the side and then a double layer of leather around the calf would do it.'

‘I thought of that,' Eline said, ‘but I decided it wouldn't look very elegant.'

‘It wouldn't,' Eddie agreed, with more confidence. ‘But it would support the weak leg.'

‘How about struts of iron covered with leather to make it look part of the design?' Eline asked, looking up at Eddie as though expecting him to have all the answers.

‘That would work,' Eddie said. ‘But how about getting the boot on and off?'

‘I'd make a front opening,' Eline said, ‘with buttons, just like any other boot.'

Eddie felt admiration growing for the dedication of the woman who had everything money could buy. She was a lady of title, living in the grandest manor house in the area, and yet she was concerning herself with the problems of a child whose parents would probably never clear their debt to her.

‘The cost of the boots in materials and time might be prohibitive,' Eddie said.

Arian dug him rudely in the ribs. ‘There's long words, then.' She lapsed into the Welsh accent that she used when teasing him and Eddie tugged at her long hair.

‘Shut up, ignoramus,' he replied. Her eyes met his, and he knew that she had been impressed with his suggestions. It took a great deal to impress someone like Arian, and the sensation Eddie had was of swallowing too much wine, heady and confusing.

Eline looked up at them. ‘Why don't you go and enjoy what's left of your day off?' She smiled. ‘I think I've picked your brains enough for now, Eddie. Thanks so much for your interest.'

Suddenly, Eline swayed and would have fallen from the stool if Eddie had not stepped forward and caught her in his arms. He held her tilted forward, talking softly, in the professional manner of a doctor.

‘Take it quietly, now, you're going to be all right, just a little dizzy, it's quite normal in your condition.'

‘Condition?' Arian whispered, looking down at Eline in surprise. ‘What are you talking about, Eddie?'

Eddie ignored her and rubbed Eline's wrists. ‘It will pass. Just give it a moment, and then you'll begin to feel much better.'

After a moment, Eline looked up and, though she was still very pale, she was smiling. ‘Thank you, again, Eddie.' Her voice was low. ‘You've missed your vocation, haven't you? If anyone was meant to be a doctor, you were.'

‘Come on,' Eddie said, ‘we'll take you home. I think you've done enough work for today.'

‘Yes, doctor,' Eline answered meekly. She looked at Arian. ‘I should have told you before this; I didn't mean to upset you. I'm fine really, it's just that I'm going to have a baby.'

‘Congratulations, I suppose,' Arian said softly, ‘if it's what you want?' Arian was looking shrewdly at Eline.

Eddie saw Eline shrug. ‘I wasn't prepared – it was a bit of a shock, but I'm sure I'll warm to the idea, given time.' She smiled, as though to soften her words, and yet Eddie felt she had serious reservations about her condition. In any case, that was her own business. His business was to get her home safely.

Stormhill Manor reminded Eddie of his old home on the outskirts of Cardiff. It was large and airy, with well-proportioned rooms and high ceilings, and the house had the advantage of spectacular views over the bay.

‘It reminds me of my old home,' he said, and he felt Arian looking up at him in surprise. Eddie smiled. ‘You don't know
everything
about me, madam,' he said to her.

Eline led the way through the broad entrance hall towards the sitting-room and Eddie opened the door for her. He was amused to see Arian still standing in the hallway, gazing in awe at the curved staircase and the huge landing above, with the brilliant stained-glass window casting a rainbow of colour over the carpets.

Calvin Temple was reading the paper, his feet stretched out before him. He rose hurriedly when he saw Eline. ‘What is it?' he asked. ‘What's wrong?'

‘Nothing's wrong,' Eline said quickly. ‘I just felt a little faint, what with the heat in the workshop and . . .'

Calvin led her to a chair. ‘Come and sit down. I
told
you not to work in your condition.' His handsome face was anxious, and Eddie realized that Calvin Temple loved his wife very much. He warmed to the man as Calvin offered him his hand. ‘I see, you brought my wife home. Thank you very much, both of you.'

‘It was nothing,' Eddie said quickly. ‘My pleasure.'

‘No,' Calvin insisted, ‘it was very kind of you.' He paused. ‘Perhaps I could give you . . .'

‘Eddie was going to be a doctor,' Eline interrupted swiftly, and Eddie hid a smile; Calvin had been about to offer him some money, a gesture that Eline felt would cause offence.

‘He grew up in a house just like this one,' Eline continued. ‘It was a shame, Eddie' – she turned to look at him – ‘that you had to give up your training.'

‘What happened?' Calvin asked, and Eddie could see he was genuinely interested.

Eddie shrugged. ‘My father was improvident,' he said. ‘He lost all his money, and the only way to settle his debts was to sell Brookland House. I had to forget my training in London and try to find work where I could. In the event, I came west, to Swansea, and now I'm labourer for Jamie O'Conner on Honey's Farm.'

Calvin studied him for a long moment. ‘How would you like to resume your training?' he asked.

Eddie smiled. ‘I would love it, if I had the money,' he said, ‘but, as it is, I'm lucky to have a roof over my head.'

‘What if I made you a loan?' Calvin said, turning to Eline for support. ‘Don't you think it would be a good idea, darling?'

‘I do,' Eline said at once. ‘Eddie offered some sound advice on a special boot I was making. I'm sure his talents are wasted where he is now.'

‘I agree,' Calvin said. ‘Once you were earning, you could pay me back a little at a time; you doctor chaps earn a fair bit of money, I understand.'

‘Eventually,' Eddie said, ‘but it would take some time, years, in fact; and perhaps I would never be in a position to repay you.'

He could see Arian making faces at him, apparently urging him not to be such a fool. He ignored her.

‘Look,' Calvin said briskly, ‘I can afford to lose some money; this tax business, you know, helps me out really. I would be delighted if you would look on my proposal as a business venture on my part, one from which I hope to reap rewards once you are qualified.'

‘It's kind of you, but it's out of the question,' Eddie said, smiling. ‘It's taking too much of a risk, though I appreciate the offer, sir.'

Calvin inclined his head, and Eddie moved towards the door. ‘I hope you'll soon be feeling better,' he said, and Eline smiled at him warmly.

‘Goodbye, Eddie and thank you. See you in the morning, Arian; be at work bright and early, mind.'

Once outside, Arian clutched his arm. ‘You're made up, my boy!' she said. ‘You're on your way to being a doctor. Congratulations!'

Eddie smiled down at her in amusement. ‘Didn't you hear me refusing Lord Temple's offer?' he said.

She laughed up at him. ‘I heard, but you must think again. You owe it to the ordinary people out there to become a doctor; you're needed, don't you understand? Promise you'll think about it.'

‘I promise I'll think about it.' He tugged at her hair, and she pulled away, poking out her tongue at him. She ran along the street and Eddie chased after her, watching as the wind caught her skirts, lifting them to reveal a shapely pair of ankles. All thoughts of Calvin Temple's offer were erased from his mind.

Arian was proved right and, once the money was at his disposal, Eddie knew, deep within himself, that he would take the opportunity presented to him and take it thankfully. And if it meant taking the rest of his life to pay Calvin Temple back, then so be it.

Arian missed Eddie; she didn't deny it. She missed his intelligence, his dry humour and, most of all, she recognized wryly, she missed his passion.

He had gone to London, after much persuasion on her part and string-pulling by the indomitable Lord Temple, and had resumed his training in a big teaching hospital somewhere in the city.

Eddie had attempted to persuade Arian to go with him; he had held her in his arms, his mouth close to hers, and begged her softly, with love in his eyes, to go with him, as his wife. Two, he said, could live easily on the generous allowance put at his disposal.

Arian appreciated the honour he did her and would have accepted the difficulties readily; but she had envisaged endless days spent in some faceless boarding house while she waited for Eddie to spare her a little time from his work. That, she had told him firmly, was not for her.