The Legacy of Lochandee (4 page)

‘Then of course I'll stay.' It had been a morning funeral and it was only midday. Bridie wondered whether Conan really needed to rush away so soon. She felt irritated with him. ‘For goodness sake, Conan, sit down a minute. You know as much about the local solicitors as I do. Dad uses the Nivens from Lockerbie. Old Mr Niven is almost retired now, but Dad seems to get on all right with his son. Didn't he help you buy the land for the garage and get a licence to build your flat and the shed for repairs, Conan?'

‘Yes. Yes, Niven's all right,' Conan said absently, his eyes moving around the large room. ‘It's seems a lovely big house. Are you sure you should make such a decision so soon? I mean, aren't people supposed to wait …?'

‘Everyone says don't rush into things,' Fiona grimaced. ‘I've given exactly that advice myself to clients, but …' she shuddered. ‘I hardly ever lived here. I've no childhood memories, only recent sad ones. It's far too big. Mum bought it thinking it was a good investment. I suppose it was really, but I just know I could never, never make it my home. So the sooner I can move out, the better I shall feel … I think.'

‘Oh well, if it's what you want.' Conan's mouth tightened.

‘If you're serious about buying a smaller house, Fiona, and if you really do mean to settle down here in the country, then there is a nice house to sell in the village of Lochandee,' Bridie said. ‘It's not far from Beth's.'

‘I thought the cottage near Beth's was to rent,' Conan said.

‘Oh, there is that one too. I'd forgotten about that. But if you want to buy a house, Fiona, the one that is to sell was built by the Mackenzies who live in the big house on the hill on the other side of the loch. It was built just before the war started for Mr Mackenzie's mother. She died a month ago. It has a bathroom and a lovely little kitchen, as well as two front rooms and two bedrooms. At the back the garden goes right down to the burn. It's lovely.'

‘Oh, any house with a bathroom is heavenly to hear Bridie talk,' Conan teased. ‘She's obsessed with bathrooms since Dad built one at Glens of Lochandee.'

‘Well, I notice you enjoy using it too, big brother, but you never clean the bath afterwards. Besides, I was just reading the other day – only 46 per cent of houses have bathrooms – so it's a luxury you should appreciate. And Fiona's used to having one, aren't you, Fiona?'

‘Yes. I don't think I would like to go back to filling and emptying the tin bath in front of the fire.'

‘Oh, of course not.'

Bridie glared at her brother. Was he agreeing or was he mocking? He raised an eyebrow at her.

‘You go if you want, Conan, and leave us to our talk,' she said irritably.

‘All right, I'll do that.' He stood up, but he hesitated, looking down at Fiona and the smooth sweep of fair hair which so often hid her expression. ‘If you need two strong men and a lorry to move your furniture you can rely on Nick and me …' he offered.

Fiona looked up startled. She stared at Conan.

‘I do believe you mean that, and I would be truly grateful. I scarcely know where to begin. Mum has … had so much furniture. Some of it came from her grandparents and she never threw anything out. The drawers and cupboards are full of linen and china. I shall have to dispose of most of it, when I move to a smaller place.'

‘Maybe the new owners would want to buy some of it?' Bridie suggested.

‘Yes, it would be better not to get rid of anything until you sell the house. Besides, some of the things may be antiques. Nick and I used to have a friend – you remember Mark, don't you, Bridie? He was killed during the war.'

‘Yes, but …'

‘His father knows all about furniture. He restores antiques for lots of the gentry. Nick and I always get a card from Mark's parents at Christmas. I'm sure Mr Murray would give you his opinion on anything which may be valuable. He does travel up and down the country quite a bit. He told us a lot of family treasures were destroyed during the bombing and those who still have money are always on the lookout for replacements. He says some of the Americans have got a taste for English furniture too since they were over here during the war.'

‘I didn't know that. What do you think, Fiona? Would you like Mr Murray to have a look?'

‘Well, not if he had to come specially. I doubt if there is anything of real value and there are some things I'd like to keep for sentimental reasons …'

‘Shall I ask if he has any plans to come up to Penrith? I know he has friends there,' Conan said. ‘It wouldn't be all that much farther and I'm sure Mum would put him up for a night, don't you think, Bridie?'

‘Of course, she would be happy to help. It sounds worth asking anyway. What do you think, Fiona? Will you leave it to Conan to get in touch? That wouldn't stop you going ahead and seeing the solicitor and setting things in motion, if you're sure it's what you want?'

‘Yes, all right, thank you, Conan.' Fiona looked at him with her wide grey eyes. ‘I'd be grateful for your help, if you wouldn't mind.'

‘No problem,' Conan nodded. ‘I'll write tonight.' He wondered why he always felt so defensive in Fiona Sinclair's company. Even now, when she was supposed to be vulnerable and full of grief, she was cool and in control, her manners as impeccable as ever. Why should that irritate him?

Chapter Four

A
NOTHER WEEK HAD PASSED
before Fiona was able to arrange an appointment with Jordon Niven. He was younger than she had expected to be in business on his own, but then she recalled his father had built up the firm and he was merely taking over. She wondered how he would have done on his own merits. The thought made her wary and on her guard.

‘Is there something in the air down at Lochandee?' he asked. ‘You're the third client I've had in a fortnight. But I understand you want to sell, as well as buy?'

‘Yes, that's correct. The Maxwells from the Glens of Lochandee recommended you to act for me.'

‘I see … At this rate Mr Maxwell will be asking me for commission. Now, if you could give me some details first, Miss Sinclair …'

‘I have a full description written out ready for you.' Fiona took an envelope from her leather bag and handed it to him. He raised his eyebrows in surprise at the neatly typed sheet of paper and the detailed descriptions and sizes.

‘How very efficient. Are you sure you need a lawyer?'

‘Yes, I'm an accountant, not a legal expert.'

‘You're an accountant!' He eyed her with sharp interest. ‘Where are you working now, if you don't mind my asking?'

‘I'm not. I resigned from my post because I wanted to be with my mother …' She bit her lip, striving for the composure she valued above all else, especially in male company. ‘She did not live as long as the doctors had expected so …'

‘So now you regret your decision?'

‘Not at all. I shall not return to the city – at least not for some time. I was a company accountant latterly.' She told him the name of her firm. This time, his eyebrows almost disappeared into his thatch of black hair. He asked her some pertinent questions about her work and she knew he was well acquainted with the type of businesses she had dealt with.

‘I have a couple of friends who are accountants. One of them is in Glasgow. We were at university together. I did think of studying accountancy myself but Dad persuaded me to become a lawyer, so that I could take over the family firm. I've no regrets really, though sometimes I could do with an accountant to deal with death duties and some of the estate matters. Now that the government has introduced Pay As You Earn taxes for employees, I foresee it being only the thin end of the wedge. I reckon most businesses will need an accountant to advise them before many more years have passed.'

‘Yes, I am considering setting up a small accountancy business, once I have bought another house and settled in.'

‘Surely you will find life very tame down here? I mean after the cut and thrust of the city financiers?'

‘If you mean more peaceful, then that is something I would welcome right now. If I change my mind later I may go back to the city – perhaps to Edinburgh.'

‘I see …' Jordon Niven looked at her thoughtfully, his fingers pressed together in a peak, elbows resting on his desk. ‘I wonder …' Then he shook his head, reminding himself that his father still had a final say in matters affecting the firm. ‘Anyway, I think it will be a fairly simple matter to procure the house you have in mind,' he said more briskly. ‘I'll contact the solicitor concerned and obtain more details regarding the price and so forth.'

‘Oh I know what price they are asking. I have just sold my flat so I could afford to buy it right away if necessary. I thought you might try offering a little less first? I believe their price seems reasonable though and I wouldn't like to miss it. I have friends in the village of Lochandee.'

‘Very well, I will follow your instructions. Now, regarding the sale of your own property – I may have a client who would be interested, a family looking for a large house in the country. They would prefer some ground with it, though. I will make enquiries. Can I contact you if they wish to look quite soon? I know they would like to get fixed up. They will not quibble unduly over the price provided the property is what they are looking for.'

A little while later, Fiona left the solicitor's office feeling more satisfied and settled in her mind than she had for some time. If only she could rid herself of the feeling of guilt.

Nick had also been busy with appointments. The manager of his bank had agreed to arrange a loan – just enough to buy a plot of land and build a modest house. Privately, he was impressed by Nick's caution and his plans to extend only when he could afford it, but he had insisted he must take out insurance to cover the loan, especially as he was self-employed and his own capital was tied up in the business. Nick agreed to return when his solicitor had negotiated the purchase of enough land to build on, and when he had completed his enquiries regarding planning permission and a licence to obtain building materials.

Ross had not fared so well with his own negotiations. His need was for a much larger loan if he was to have any chance of buying Nether Rullion. Some of the stumbling blocks were the grounds and the small mansion in which Brigadier Jamieson had lived, and which had been empty since he emigrated to Canada. Although the house was far too large for an ordinary family, the Brigadier's solicitor was intent on protecting his client's interests, and his own. He knew there would be little demand for such a large house on its own, so he insisted that the farm and house must be sold together.

‘The Mansion House is just a white elephant to people such as us,' Ross repeated while Rachel went on ironing at the kitchen table and doing her best to console him.

‘Perhaps it's for the best, Ross. It looks as though Nick is going ahead with buying a plot of land to build a house for Bridie. Even if she comes back to Lochandee to work, she'll not be here all the time, and if they get a family … We shall miss her help badly.'

‘Maybe you're right,' Ross sighed. ‘Anyway I shall have to see Mr Niven again and tell him to withdraw my offer. I'll wait until after Christmas now though.'

‘Yes, you do that, dear. Speaking of Christmas, do you think Ewan will be very disappointed when he gets a piano accordion instead of a bicycle? He really had set his heart on a bike and Lucy is getting one.'

‘Well, he'll just have to wait. Harry said it wouldn't be ready until his birthday if we wanted a second-hand boy's bike. That's only four weeks away.'

‘Yes, I suppose so,' Rachel sighed. ‘Things seem to be scarcer than ever since the war ended.'

‘Everything is being exported to get the balance of payments down. War is a costly business.'

‘Mmm, I suppose this is what they mean when they say “Britain can make anything, but Britons can't buy anything.” Don't you think?'

‘Possibly, but Ewan likes to have his own way. It will not do him any harm to see Lucy can have some things first. He's getting a bit bossy with her, but she's beginning to stand up to him. I do believe she has as much fire in her as he has.'

‘I know. I heard Conan telling her not to give in to him. Of course, he adores both of the children really.'

Ewan was bitterly disappointed when he didn't get a bike for Christmas and he barely looked at the small piano accordion, which Ross had managed to buy second-hand from a man he had met while playing the fiddle at one of the village dances. He was frequently in demand for his own musical skills and he hoped Ewan would enjoy learning to play an instrument. So far, Bridie was the only one who had inherited any of his own musical talents, but they had been unable to afford an instrument and music lessons when she was younger. As it was, she was often in demand to sing at the local concerts and she seemed content. Sometimes Nick and Bridie accompanied him to the dances and performed as a duet. Ross liked Nick and he was happy to welcome him as a son-in-law, but he did not relish the day when Bridie would leave Lochandee. She knew every one of the cows and calves, by name and breed, better than he did himself these days. It was her life. Ross sighed. It didn't matter how much a man tried to plan, things didn't always go the way he wanted.

It was the end of the second week in January when Fiona phoned to ask if Bridie could meet her that evening.

‘I have three bits of news to tell you,' she said mysteriously.

‘Good news, I hope?' Bridie prompted.

‘One very good, one disappointing, and one I'm not sure about.'

‘Och, you're a tease, Fiona,' Bridie laughed. ‘I'll see you as soon as the milking is over this evening.'

It transpired that Fiona had been successful in buying the house which Bridie herself had recommended and she was delighted at the prospect of moving into Lochandee village as soon as possible.

‘The disappointment is that the people who came to see this house think it's too small, with not enough ground.'

‘Too small! Whatever do they want? A mansion for goodness sake!'

‘I don't know,' Fiona shrugged, ‘but Mr Niven is going to advertise it now – which brings me to my other bit of news. He has offered me work for two days a week. It'll be nothing like I was doing, and nothing like the money, but I'm thinking of accepting. He says he has various clients who ask for advice or help with their accounts and there is the death duties side of things. It would make a change for me and he says if I build it up to more clients it will be up to me whether or not I take them on. Do you know him, Bridie?'

‘No, but Dad does, and he has great respect for both young Mr Niven and his father. He has an appointment with them this week, but I'm afraid they'll not get any business this time. Nether Rullion land, plus the big house and the parkland, are too big an undertaking for us and the Brigadier's solicitor refuses to sell them separately, in case he gets left with the house. Besides … I don't know how Dad would manage everything at both farms when I move away from Glens of Lochandee.'

‘Has Nick bought the land then?'

‘Not yet, but he can get a bank loan for it. Mr Niven advised him to wait until he knew he could get permission to build and a licence for materials. He didn't think there would be a problem but he's looking into it.'

‘You don't sound exactly over the moon about it all,' Fiona said shrewdly.

‘I long to be with Nick, it's just … I hate the thought of living away from the farm and the animals. I shall go back every day to begin with but …' She blushed rosily.

‘But Nick wants a family?'

‘We both do.'

‘Of course. I'm sure you'll be wonderful parents, Bridie. I saw Conan visiting Harry and Beth the other day. I was surprised to see how patient he is with Ewan and Lucy. He was teaching Lucy to ride her bicycle in the village.'

‘Conan has been friendly with Harry and Beth for as long as I can remember. He first got his interest in machines from Beth's grandfather. He used to have a cycle shop. Harry and Beth took it over, but when Harry was called up he asked Conan to clear it out and wind up the business for him.'

‘I see. Maybe there is more to Conan than I had realised from our school days. I think I shall enjoy living in Lochandee. Beth introduced me to Carol and her two daughters and Harry says I've to let him know if there are any little jobs I need doing. They're all so friendly.'

‘When do you plan to move?'

‘As soon as Nick and Conan can arrange it for me. I shall leave a lot of the furniture here until the house is sold, of course.'

‘That reminds me. Conan had a letter from Mr Murray – you remember, his friend's father, the one who knows about old furniture and antiques?'

‘Oh yes! I didn't think Conan would remember.'

‘He's usually quite good at keeping his word. Anyway, Mr Murray will be visiting his friends in Penrith at the beginning of March so he is coming to stay at Glens of Lochandee for a night. Conan will tell you the exact date when he hears.'

‘It's very good of him.' Fiona cast an uncertain glance round the large sitting room. ‘I can't see there being much of interest though. I hope he'll not think we're wasting his time.'

‘Conan had the impression he was pleased to be remembered. He lost both of his own sons during the war. They were twins and both in the Air Force. It must have been terrible.'

‘It's tragic. Has he any other family?'

‘Only his wife, and Conan thinks she's never really recovered from the death of her boys. He reckons her stepsister makes her worse. He said she ranted on and on, even when he was staying there with Mark and his parents. Both he and Mark were glad to get away in the end. Conan thought she was a bit … well, a bit screwy. He said she made him feel really uncomfortable. And guilty.'

‘Guilty?'

‘Well … she raved on about them bombing innocent women and children in Germany. He said she really got under Mark's skin, and upset him. They were already aware of the cruelty of war, but what were they to do? Sit back and let the Germans bomb British women and children instead? War is such a terrible thing. But I don't need to tell you that …'

Ewan was delighted to get the longed-for bicycle on his birthday at the end of January. He even agreed, albeit reluctantly, to go for music lessons.

‘You're lucky. I wish I could go,' Lucy told him.

‘I'll teach you. I'll tell you what the man teaches me,' Ewan declared gravely, unaware of his parents' amused smiles. The two did almost everything together, but music lessons were beyond Harry and Beth's budget for their young daughter. Her education was Harry's priority. He dreamed of Lucy becoming a teacher.

Fiona had been working for Jordon Niven for three weeks when he mentioned her friendship with the Maxwells of Lochandee.'

‘I'm afraid your friends, the Maxwells, will be disappointed. I've tried every argument to persuade the late Brigadier's solicitor to sell the Nether Rullion farm without the Mansion House and parkland.'

‘Is that what's preventing Mr Maxwell from buying the farm?' Fiona asked. ‘Because it can only be sold as one lot?'