Page 13 of Summer Storms

“No,” she said slowly. “I kissed him back.”

Now there was delight in his expression. Clearly it wasn’t just Molly who had believed something significant was happening between her and Zek.

“I know you always said you hated him,” Josh said thoughtfully, “but I always wondered if it might be otherwise. It was as if you both went out of your way to annoy the other. You couldn’t just ignore him, and he couldn’t ignore you. Sometimes children really want someone’s attention, to the point where they don’t care if it’s the good or bad kind. The snowballs, for instance. And then there was the water bomb.”

Christine had forgotten about that. After one of the Christmas luncheons, she had filled a sheep’s bladder with water, then stood in an upstairs window, waiting for Zek to leave. She knew he would be on his own. He always left first, as if he couldn’t wait to get away from Starling Hall once his stomach was full.

Back then, she had taken this quite differently. She’d told herself that Zek behaved like he was somehow better than her family, and couldn’t wait to be rid of them. It wasn’t until much later that she realised his haste had most likely stemmed from embarrassment.

She’d dropped the bladder and it had exploded right over his head. It had seemed hilarious at the time, but now... How cold he must have been walking home in wet clothes! She certainly knew what that felt like.

Zek’s sister had been there as well. She remembered Izzy’s hateful glare as the young girl looked up at the window a moment later. She had been following Zek out and must have been caught in the splash. Given her recent visit to their home, it was clear Izzy still despised her for what she had done, and the Christine of today couldn’t blame her. Until now, she hadn’t realised her behaviour as a child had been so… childish.

“Christine?”

Startled from her uncomfortable thoughts, Christine looked up and saw Mrs Smith, the owner of Allingham Farm and Josh’s employer. She was coming over from the farmhouse, holding a mug of something hot.

Mrs Smith handed the mug to Josh with a smile, and he smiled back. Christine had not seen the woman for some time, but she looked much the same, perhaps a little better than she remembered. Her dark hair was shining in the sun, and her eyes were crinkled with her smile. Mrs Smith had lived a difficult life, and still struggled to maintain her farm, almost losing it at one point. But since Josh had come to work for her, things seemed to have turned around.

“Abby and Reeve have a son!” Josh said before Christine could speak. Josh and Mrs Smith beamed at each other. She couldn’t be sure, but the smile suggested this was more than an employer and employee moment.

“That is wonderful news,” Mrs Smith said, turning to Christine. “Josh has been wondering what was happening at the Keep.”

“You should go with Josh when he goes to see them,” Christine said. Reeve’s grandfather had a connection with Allingham Farm, and Mrs Smith had kindly shared information about the old man with Reeve when he’d needed answers about him. At least, that was what Christine had been told.

“Oh, I’m not sure I should...” Mrs Smith looked at Josh again. In the ensuing silence, it seemed as if she was asking him questions, and Josh was answering them. That was more than a little strange, and Christine couldn’t help but wonder how close these two had become. But Mrs Smith was Josh’s senior by ten years! Surely she must be imagining it.

Mrs Smith invited her inside the farmhouse for tea. Christine hesitated, feeling like she was intruding somehow, but Josh said he would join them in a moment and waved the two of them off. Christine decided it would have been rude to refuse, but she felt quite awkward once seated at the table without her brother. She did not know Mrs Smith very well, other than that she had laboured for years to run the farm, which had been passed down in her family, and that her husband had died and left her a childless widow.

“I am so glad for Lord and Lady Ravenhill.” Mrs Smith said as she set the kettle to boil. She opened a cupboard and took out some pretty cups and saucers that Christine suspected she saved for special occasions. “Did you know they visited here last month? They came to see Josh, of course, but also to talk about the farm. Lord Ravenhill has a great many ideas for helping people in the area who have been struggling. He wants to set up a transportation company, so we can send our crops to bigger towns that are further away.” Her eyes shone as she spoke, and she looked excited by the possibilities.

Christine had not heard any of this before. “That’s wonderful.” She knew nothing of farming, but the news did sound good. Reaching larger towns would no doubt offer them better prices. Mrs Smith clearly thought so.

She poured the hot water over the tea leaves. “He’s working with Zek Nash on the venture. Do you remember him? He lives in London now, I understand. I remember how poor that family was, but it seems their fortunes have turned around.”

Christine wondered why she had not heard any of this. But then she was rarely home and had discovered she had missed a great deal while she made her dream come true in London. “I’ve seen him a few times since I arrived, and even stopped by his family’s home. They were all very kind.” Well, apart from Izzy.

“Then you must know all about it?” Mrs Smith brought the teapot and cups to the table, along with a little milk jug and sugar bowl. She set everything out to her liking before seating herself.

“No, I can’t say the matter ever came up,” Christine admitted with a frown. Of course, she hadn’t asked Zek or Reeve about their business arrangement either.

Did this mean Zek putting down roots in Barton Lacey? Was he not going to stay in London after all? She felt confused and a little uneasy, as if something she had been secretly hoping for had been taken away from her.

Josh arrived just as Mrs Smith was pouring them a second cup. His face and hands were flushed and wet from working the pump outside. He dried them on a kitchen towel before he sat down. Mrs Smith poured his tea and then went to find some cake, cutting him a big slice and placing it before him. He smiled his thanks to her. Though he had said nothing, that smile had spoken volumes.

Christine pretended not to notice, and instead filled Josh in on what had happened during her visit to Ansford Keep. “Father kept Reeve quite busy,” she said, “while Mother tended to Abby.”

“They’ve both had plenty of practice.” Josh shared a look with Mrs Smith, but this wasn’t the usual subdued affection she’d noticed earlier. It was more like they were concerned about something. Before Christine could guess what it was, Mrs Smith asked her about her life in the theatre, and that was something Christine had no trouble talking about.

But soon she felt as if she were monopolising the conversation. She had never been averse to talking about herself before and wondered why it suddenly felt selfish now. Or perhaps merely limited. After all, there was more to life than her acting career, wasn’t there? Perhaps she needed to take a leaf out of Zek’s book.

“Is there anything I can do while I’m here?” she asked, looking about for some way to be useful.

Josh laughed and shared another of those intimate smiles with Mrs Smith. “Come now! We wouldn’t ask our star of the stage to wash up the dishes!”

“Goodness, no!” Mrs Smith agreed. “We are just so glad to see you and hear your news. It’s very quiet at Allingham Farm some days.”

“Just how we like it,” Josh added, then cleared his throat as if he’d somehow spoken out of turn.