Autumn Leaves at Mill Grange by Jenny Kane (the little red hen ebook .txt) 📗

‘Exactly. He never has, but he could, if he needed to.’

Bert stared thoughtfully into his mug of milky liquid as he held it between his large palms. ‘Did Sam tell you about my time in the forces?’

Shaking her head, Tina resisted the urge to place a hand on the old man’s elbow as his eyes glazed over as if he was seeing sights that weren’t there; that hadn’t been there for over fifty years.

‘Claustrophobia, it’s often laughed about. People get mocked for not liking going in lifts or whatever, but when Mabel bought me a shed for our back garden as a twenty-fifth wedding anniversary present, it was a big day indeed. And not just because I’d survived a quarter of a century with Mabel!’

‘You had it too?’ Tina overcame her natural reticence and held her hand out to him anyway, feeling the cool thin skin of his palm as he wrapped his hand in hers.

‘Still have. It’s there, under the surface, but I’ve learnt to manage it. The doctors helped for a while, but there was no such thing as therapy back then; no acceptance of mental disorders or anxieties.’ His eyes dropped to his tea again, his expression making Tina wonder if he was seeing every nightmare he’d ever had.

‘It was Mabel who helped me. She saved me.’

Tina let the hush that followed Bert’s words hang in the air before pushing a packet of biscuits in his direction. ‘Your wife is an incredible woman.’

‘You’d better believe it. If she’d been born thirty years later, she’d have gone to university and probably be running the country by now.’

‘What did Mabel do to help you? Could I do it too? Sam’s tried every therapist going. And while I’m sure that he’s right about work, fresh air and laughter being the best medicine, it takes more than that. He’s determined to be in the house long enough to be able to move around inside by the time the first official guests come on October 5th.’ Tina dunked a cookie in her tea. ‘The practice guests come next week. Just three to begin with.’

‘Are they the chaps Sam knew when he was in the forces?’

‘I’m not sure if he knew them from when he saw action, or if he met them in the recovery centre after he was hurt. He never talks about it.’ Tina brushed away the sense of exclusion she always experienced when her boyfriend mentioned his time in the forces.

After taking a gulp of tea, Bert smiled. ‘You help him every day, Tina. Small acts of encouragement. Supporting him through the frustration of not being able to join you inside. Those things are more important than you can imagine.’

Tina nodded as she stared out of the large window. The late summer sunshine was already high in the sky, illuminating the garden and bathing the woodland beyond in a glow of blue and green. ‘I wish I could work out how to get him to actually walk beyond the bathroom door though. Any ideas?’

‘I’ll need a minute or two on that.’ Bert patted her hand as he absentmindedly dipped another biscuit. ‘The test guests, how is that being arranged exactly?’

‘They’ll be paying for food only. They know it’s an experiment to see what activities work and which don’t. Two men and one woman.’

‘Sensible lad that Sam. I’d like to help him.’

Tina sat at the table. ‘Thanks, Bert.’

‘No thanks required. Sam reminds me of me a hundred years ago.’ He chuckled as he crunched into a third biscuit. ‘But never fear, lass, you only have one thing in common with my Mabel.’

Tina chuckled as she pictured the bossy, well-meaning, occasionally overbearing but always big-hearted woman who dominated everything in the village of Upwich, from the WI to the bridge club. ‘And what might that be?’

‘You’re kind.’

Tina blushed. ‘Thank you.’

‘I was wrong. I meant two things!’

‘Oh yes?’

‘Kind and beautiful.’

*

Thea leant over the fence and watched the chickens as they pecked around their run.

‘It’s alright for you, Gertrude – your man doesn’t have to disappear for weeks at a time for work. He’s right where you want him.’

As Thea watched, the rooster came out of the chicken coop and made a beeline for Betty, Gertrude’s chief rival for his affections.

‘Then again, maybe not. At least Shaun’s working away and not playing away.’

Gertrude cocked her head to one side as if to ask Thea, ‘How long is he away?’

‘I don’t know. As long as it takes to excavate and film a pre-Norman church I suppose. He said the deadline was a month, but keeping to deadlines rarely works in archaeology.’

The squeal of the gate to the walled garden distracted Thea from any wisdom Gertrude may have been about to share.

‘Morning, Sam.’ Thea raised a hand to the new owner of Mill Grange. ‘Come to seek a dose of chicken philosophy?’

‘Is there a better sort?’ Pulling a bag of apple and pepper slices from his bulging jacket pockets, Sam emptied them into the coop. ‘I’ve been thinking about giving the girls more space. Half the walled garden perhaps; what do you think?’

‘That’s a great idea.’ Thea turned her back on the increased pecking and surveyed the rows of vegetable beds before her. Half of them were flourishing, thanks to Sam’s green fingers, and promised crops of potatoes, cabbages and more. The rest were overgrown and in desperate need of tender loving care.

‘We’re going to need more eggs when we get regular guests, and although I want to cultivate as much of the garden as possible, there’s still enough land to allow the hens to roam more freely.’

‘You’re thinking of getting more friends for Gertrude and co?’

Sam looked lovingly at his chickens. ‘I’d like to, but I’m not sure if you can add new fowl into an existing flock. Tina’s going to do some research into it later.’

‘That reminds me—’ Thea flicked a windblown hair from her eyes ‘—Sybil asked if she can increase her egg order from two dozen to