The Legacy of Lochandee (19 page)

‘Is that so,' Bridie asked tightly, ‘and I suppose Conan will expect Nick to do all the other work while he's away.' She often sensed that Nick was not happy about the garage business and the way they were expanding, but he rarely discussed it with her. She suspected he did not want to criticise Conan because he was her brother and on the whole they were a close family, even if they did have their different opinions on business.

But even Bridie did not realise just how frustrated Nick was becoming with his working life at the garage, and consequently at home. He sometimes felt like a seething cauldron, reaching the point of explosion. He and Conan had been such good friends during their time together in the RAF, but these days they rarely seemed to be on the same wavelength at all.

The days lengthened as spring arrived but Bridie's dissatisfaction and unhappiness grew. All around them, new life burgeoned, yet for her there was no sign of a baby. Nick had begun to wonder whether she would ever conceive again. He was bitterly disappointed but he refrained from commenting. He knew Bridie shared his discontent and he sensed she was also beginning to share his doubts, but she kept her own counsel, until one fine morning in May when her heart yearned for a child. She mentioned the possibility of adopting a baby. He was so shocked, he vetoed the idea before he had even thought about it, then hurried off to work without giving her chance to discuss it.

All thoughts of babies and adoption were temporarily banished from Bridie's mind as she listened in horror to the radio announcement later that day.

‘Oh no! Did you hear that, Beth? There's an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.'

‘Wh-what did ye say? Foot-and-mouth …?' Beth's face paled. She would never forget the terrible slaughter she had witnessed when she was young, long before she had met Harry … ‘Is't for certain?' she asked in a whisper, staring at Bridie's white face as she listened intently to the rest of the report.

‘Yes, it's been confirmed. All cattle movements have been banned in this area. I must phone Nether Rullion. I must find out if they've heard the announcement. Dad will have to stay at home. He can't come over here … He can't …'

‘He'll ken that, Bridie,' Beth assured her solemnly, remembering how strict and grim Ross Maxwell had been with everyone, when the last outbreak had occurred in Dumfriesshire. ‘We shall have to get baths ready for disinfectant and put them at the road end.'

‘Yes, and we must make a notice,' Bridie said anxiously. ‘We don't want anyone coming in or out. I'll phone Mum first though. And Nick. He'll have to stop going to other farms with deliveries. He might bring it back here. I can still remember how awful it was the last time … Dear God, please keep it away from us this time …'

Bridie blinked back her tears and turned away from Beth's sympathetic gaze. She couldn't bear the thought of losing all their precious cattle. Nick would have to stay at home. So would her father. They must not take any chances.

Chapter Nineteen

T
HE DREADED DISEASE SPREAD
in pockets throughout the county, cancelling shows and markets, and bringing movements to and from farms to a halt. At first, Nick welcomed the excuse to stay at Glens of Lochandee with Bridie, but he soon began to realise that there was very little farming business at the garage anyway. He could only guess what attempts some were making with their own repairs – almost without exception, the farmers kept themselves to their own premises.

Each morning Ross telephoned Glens of Lochandee, issuing instructions to Bridie and asking the same questions about the stock.

‘We're taking every precaution we can,' she insisted tensely.

‘But Nick has gone back to work, I hear. Does he …?'

‘Yes, Dad, he understands how serious it is, and yes he does disinfect his boots – in fact, he leaves a spare pair in the box at the road end and he never comes up the road in the ones he wears for the garage.'

‘Well, you can't be too careful and …'

‘Nick offered to strip naked at the road end, if it would stop us worrying,' Bridie said, more sharply than she realised.

‘There's no need to be sarcastic, Bridie, it's a serious thing and I've struggled for years to build up a herd that's a bit better than average. It'll break your heart if you lose all the cows you've reared from wee calves …'

‘I wasn't being sarcastic,' Bridie interrupted, near to tears. ‘But Conan was nagging at Nick to get back to work. He said the buses still needed maintaining and there were other people with cars besides farmers and they needed repairs. In the end, Nick felt he had to go. He stayed at the garage for a few nights but he hated it – and so did I. He really is careful, Dad, I promise you, and he never goes to any of the farms with deliveries.'

‘All right, all right, lassie,' Ross said, hearing the tension in Bridie's voice. ‘It's just such a worry and I hate being cooped up here.'

‘We're managing fine, Dad, really we are. Frank and Sandy never leave their cottage and Emmie gets my groceries and butcher meat from the vans to prevent them coming near the farm.'

The summer of 1952 progressed. The disease spread without pattern or apparent reason and tensions grew at Lochandee. Nick had agreed to stay at home but he had not expected it would continue for so long.

There was no joining force with Nether Rullion to get the turnip hoeing done, nor to help with the hay as outbreaks continued. It was four and a half months after the first infection and time to cut and harvest the corn before the foot-and-mouth had finally ended.

‘In the beginning, I really believed you and your father were making an awful lot of unnecessary fuss,' Nick admitted ruefully. ‘No idea, had I, that it would take so long, and so dreadful it is,' he declared, shaking his head in distress as he listed some of the farms where he had previously made deliveries. ‘Many more there must be too. According to this newspaper report, they've slaughtered 21,400 animals, including pigs and sheep.'

‘Yes, I was just a child when it happened before in this area,' Bridie nodded, ‘but I can still remember the horror of it.' She shuddered involuntarily. ‘I'm truly thankful we escaped this time.'

The following June, Nick thought half the Lochandee villagers must be coming to watch the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on the television, judging by the amount of food Bridie and Beth had prepared.

‘We don't want to be making food and miss any of the excitement,' she told him as eagerly as a child, ‘and it goes on all day, so everyone will need to eat.'

‘Perhaps it's just as well Conan and I are working, then,' he grinned. ‘We'd be sadly outnumbered by womenfolk.'

‘Yes, Dad felt the same, but he's coming over in the evening, so maybe Conan will come back with you? Ewan's coming with Mum. I hope he doesn't fidget and keep wanting to go outside.'

‘Well, I can't imagine the boyo being all that interested.'

‘Neither can I, but Lucy will be here and it's still a case of where one goes the other goes too. I thought they might have grown apart now they are both at DumfriesAcademy, but Beth says they often help each other with their homework.'

‘Yes, Lucy comes over to the garage every Saturday to help Beth at the petrol pumps. Bright little thing she is, and Conan now, he has so much time and patience. Makes young Ewan quite cross, it does.'

‘Well, he's a bit young to be jealous,' Bridie chuckled.

‘I'm not so sure about that,' Nick said seriously. ‘Possessive young pup he is, especially where Lucy is concerned, and of course she's impressed with Conan because he can drive a car and a bus. Pestering your father to let him drive the tractor, Ewan was, I heard.'

‘Yes, I believe you're right, but it worries Mum. She's sure he'll have an accident.'

It was an exceptionally cold day for June, but everyone enjoyed watching the Coronation, marvelling that it was actually taking place as they watched, even if it was in black and white. They could only imagine how beautiful the golden coach must look, not to mention the young Queen in her robes and crown.

At the end of the day everyone thanked Bridie for allowing them to come, and for feeding them so well. Carol had brought her daughters, and two of her neighbours. Lucy went home with them, leaving Beth to help Bridie and Emmie with the milking.

‘I'd better be going home too,' Fiona said, feeling flat at the thought of her own empty house.

‘Oh don't go yet,' Bridie said. ‘There'll be lots more pictures on the newsreels tonight. Stay and have supper with us. I've made a huge shepherd's pie and there's apple pie and cream. I know that's your favourite. I don't know how you stay so slim, Fiona.'

‘Aye, you stay, lassie,' Rachel said. ‘You can help me with the washing-up and putting the room back into order before Nick comes home, or he'll think we've had a real old party.'

‘All right,' Fiona nodded. ‘Just so long as I can be useful. I'm certainly no use at milking cows,' she smiled ruefully.

‘There's plenty of us tonight. We'll be as quick as we can,' Bridie promised.

‘It gives me a chance to tell you again how grateful I am for all you did to get the business of the vase sorted out,' Rachel said as they washed and dried the dishes.

‘I received the cheque a fortnight ago. It's wonderful. I'm sure I should never have received a penny if it hadn't been for you, Fiona.'

‘Glad to help,' Fiona said simply. She had told no one of her ordeal, but she had mentioned Mrs Murray's confinement in a mental hospital. Now she added, ‘I received a short letter from Mrs Murray's housekeeper, Mrs Bunty. She says Mrs Murray is progressing wonderfully now that she's safely home again and she's got a lovely young nurse-companion who can drive the car. They go for short trips into the country when the weather is fine.'

‘I'm so pleased to hear that,' Rachel said warmly. ‘I've thought about her often, although we never met. It must have been awful to lose both her sons and then her husband.'

‘Yes,' Fiona agreed softly. There were times when she herself felt very alone, in spite of her work with Jordon Niven and the good friends she had made since moving to Lochandee. She couldn't account for her restlessness, and recently she had pondered the possibility of returning to the city and a more challenging job again. She felt her present life was lacking purpose. Sometimes Lucy came to ask for help with her homework and Fiona enjoyed her company, and her bright, intelligent young mind. At such times, she wondered whether she should enquire about retraining to become a teacher herself, but so far she had done nothing to change her routine.

Much later that evening, when the men had seen as much about the Coronation as had interested them, the conversation drifted back to work, as it usually did. Ross suddenly turned to Bridie.

‘I nearly forgot to tell you, lassie. I've bought a young Ayrshire bull for you from Mr Drummond. They're going to deliver him after the Castle Douglas sale and …'

‘Oh, Dad!' For a moment Nick thought his wife was going to burst into tears, then he saw the twin patches of colour stain her cheeks and he realised she was extremely annoyed with her father. ‘You know I wanted to try some new blood lines. You knew I wanted to try the artificial insemination for some of the cows, but even if you couldn't agree to that you could at least have consulted me about buying a bull.'

‘Och, this is a well-bred young bull,' Ross said.

‘I thought we'd agreed you would choose the bulls for the Friesian cows and I should select my own breeding for the Ayrshires.'

‘But you're just a lassie …'

Bridie jumped to her feet, grabbed a tray of teacups and hurried away into the kitchen. She knew if she didn't get out of the room she would either quarrel with her father or burst into tears, or both. Nick half stood to follow, but Fiona had already risen and she gave him a sympathetic glance as she lifted the other tray and followed Bridie.

‘I'll just help Bridie with the cups then I'll give you a lift home, Beth.' There was no reply from Beth. She was sound asleep in her corner of the large settee and she looked pale and exhausted. For the first time, Rachel was shocked to notice how gaunt Beth's face was in repose. She had always had such round cheeks and a healthy colour.

In the kitchen Bridie clattered the cups into the sink in angry frustration, and Fiona knew she was near to tears.

‘Dad thinks I'm still a child!' she muttered, ‘yet he leaves me to manage the dairy, milk the cows, and do all the other work there is to do. Then he doesn't believe I can use my brain enough to study the pedigrees to select a bull. I know the strengths and weaknesses of our own cows better than anyone. I feel so – so …' Her voice shook and she bit her lip. ‘If only I hadn't lost my baby it wouldn't have been so bad! Now there seems to be no satisfaction in anything I do. Nick's right, I'm just a glorified milkmaid.'

‘Oh, Bridie, I'm sure your father means well …' Fiona comforted her.

‘Maybe he means well.' She turned to look at Fiona. ‘Yes, I know he does really, but if only he could see, I want to make my own decisions. Even if I make mistakes, I want to try out my own ideas! He just doesn't understand that.'

‘Well, I suppose it is still his farm …' Fiona said gently.

‘Half of it is mine. Aunt Alice left it to me. She knew how much I loved the Glens of Lochandee and the animals. It's my life, Fiona. Especially – especially if I can't even have any children to bring up and love and …'

‘I'm sure you will, one day, Bridie. You're not that old yet.'

‘I'm 27! We've been married nearly four years now. I'm sure Nick's given up hope. I don't think he's all that happy with the garage either. Dad and Conan are alike; they want to make all the decisions themselves. Sometimes I wish – I wish …' She shrugged. ‘What's the good of wishing?'

‘No good at all unless you do something to make your wishes come true,' Fiona said wryly. ‘Why don't you ask your dad if you can buy his share of the Glens of Lochandee? Then he can use the money to carry out his plans to Nether Rullion. He might even build a byre and have a dairy herd there, or …'

Bridie had turned to stare at Fiona, her mouth in a small “O” of surprise.

‘If only I could …' she breathed softly, ‘but where would I get the money?'

‘Well, Nick was going to get a bank loan to build the house – why not ask him to get one to buy half a farm instead?'

‘Do you think it might be possible?' Bridie asked.

‘I don't know. You'd need to ask the bank manager, but at least you would have the land as security and land doesn't disappear. In fact, it seems to be more in demand now than it has been for years, according to old Mr Niven. Seriously, Bridie, I'm not the one to advise you, but you could ask the bank manager's opinion. You'd probably need to take out a life insurance too. The thing is, would your father agree to sell his share, even if you and Nick can raise the money?'

‘Oh, I couldn't ask Nick to help. He has enough worries and problems with the garage business. Conan's wanting to buy another bus. That will be four they've got. He does seem to get plenty of bookings for them. He loves arranging the journeys and routes, and where to stay. I think that's what makes Nick so frustrated. He's not interested in the bus trips and holidays, but Conan says it's the way things are going since the war. People want new sights and experiences because they're still restless. Do you think we are all restless, Fiona? I must admit I feel that way but I thought it was just me.'

‘O-oh, it's not just you, Bridie, not by any means.'

‘Well, don't breathe a word of this to anyone will you, Fiona? I'm really going to look into it, but I want to do it myself.'

‘If you did manage to get a bank loan, Bridie, do you think you could manage to repay it on your own?' Fiona asked anxiously.

‘I think so, over a long time, but I'd need to discuss the costs. I've been keeping a set of accounts and records, just so I could see how economical things are, and what we might need to cut back, or increase. I'll take them in to the bank manager when I get an appointment.'

‘Good for you!' Fiona said admiringly. ‘But you always were intelligent and practical. I don't suppose your father realises how much he underestimates that side of you.'

‘Then I shall have to show him,' Bridie said with a gleam in her eye.

As she drove home, with a weary Beth beside her, Fiona wondered how it was she could solve other people's problems, yet she could find no solution to her own restlessness.

Nick had expected Bridie to be in low spirits when they went to bed later that night, so he was surprised to find her strangely elated. He did a swift calculation but no, he thought sadly, it couldn't be the start of another baby making her that way. Whatever it was, he enjoyed her passionate responses to his loving. He wouldn't mind if there was a Coronation every day if it had this effect on her.