‘When is the baby due?’
‘October.’ She stopped her bike to point out a family of rabbits hopping amongst the grass. Really, it was worth stopping to simply breathe in the view. A rainbow of pink, blue andyellow wildflowers danced in the gentle breeze. I caught the faint whiff of bonfire smoke and cow manure mingling with the salt air. Beyond the edge of the field, the ribbon of Irish Sea was sparkling periwinkle. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get bored of taking in the breadth of the sky – clear, wild blue from one horizon to another: such a contrast to the forest back home.
‘Anyway.’ Flora pushed herself off again. ‘Auntie Violet is single because she loves Barnie, but he’s solid islander, and she wants to travel. And Uncle Pip should know if he loves Celine or not by now. The farm’s future is in jeopardy unless I step up.’
‘I’m starting to appreciate why you’re so invested in your family’s romantic lives. But what about Jack or Beanie? They might want to be farmers.’
‘Jack might dress like a cowboy, but he’s scared of cows. And the only animal Beanie’s interested in tunnels under the ground. Besides, would you entrust prize cattle to someone with a name like Beanie?’
We both burst out laughing until my front wheel started wobbling, threatening to topple me into the corn.
‘It is unusual.’
‘She’s supposed to be Rosemary, like my grammie.’
‘Are all the women in your family named after flowers?’
Flora nodded. ‘That’s an island thing.’
‘Is Beanie an island thing, too?’
‘No.’ Flora shrugged. ‘It just sort of found her one day, and stuck. Look, there’s my potential future prison, right there.’
We both stopped again as the path began to slope downwards, revealing a large stone farmhouse halfway to the sea.
To one side, a herd of cows clustered underneath a huge chestnut tree. Below that, a short distance from the farmhouse was a spacious yard containing a tractor and other machinery, various-sized outbuildings forming a border on three sides, andan enclosed field full of small trees that Flora told me was where the forty thousand chickens roamed free.
‘Come on,’ she called, accelerating ahead as she freewheeled down the slope. ‘I can smell the sausages from here!’
We propped the bikes up against the side of the house and I followed everyone through a wooden side-gate to a garden at the back, already regretting my decision to be brave and come along. When I saw the groups of people helping themselves to drinks from the long trestle tables, sitting in deckchairs or hovering near the enormous barbecue, the urge to flee only grew.
About two dozen heads swivelled towards us as Lily and Malcolm called hello, adult conversations fading into potent silence as the younger kids ran to play with two chocolate Labradors while Flora joined a couple of girls sprawled on a blanket.
‘Come on, let’s get the hard bit out of the way,’ Lily murmured, linking her arm with mine. ‘Stop them speculating.’
She led me over to the table, where two women with the same dark hair as Lily and her brother were sitting with glasses of wine and a giant bowl of crisps.
‘Iris, Violet, meet Emmie.’
‘Pasty Girl!’ Violet beamed, patting the bench beside her. She was more angular than her sisters, with short hair curling over high cheekbones that accentuated grey eyes. She wore white, baggy combat trousers and a red crop top that managed to look both comfortable and dressy. ‘Come and sit down, tell us everything. We’re dying to hear what antics our darling brother got up to on the mainland.’
At that point, a man appeared with a tray of drinks.
‘Ladies.’ He sat down beside Iris, kissing her on the top of her head before handing Lily a lemonade.
‘This lady has a name,’ Iris said, pointedly. ‘It’s Emmie, and she’s about to tell us all Pip’s wild student secrets.’
Iris’s wavy hair reached almost to the waist of her flowery smock dress. She had blue eyes, like Lily, and Flora’s sardonic smile.
‘Emmie, this is Hugh, who I’m hoping to marry at some point, despite him spending more time with animals than me these days.’
Hugh handed me a glass of wine, raising a thick, sandy eyebrow. ‘She’s pretending to sulk because I had to cancel a day of wedding preparations to save a mare and her unborn foal from dying.’ He gave his fiancée an unashamedly adoring glance. ‘She’s a farmer. We both know full well that if I’d chosen invitations and centrepieces over the horse, she’d have called off the engagement.’
Iris poked her tongue out at him.
‘Anyway,’ Violet said, ‘back to Emmie telling us about Pip before he comes to find her.’
‘Where is he?’ Lily said. ‘He’s meant to be the guest of honour.’
