Summer Sins

He let out a very rude swear word. ‘I’d like to do more than bludgeon your ego, young lady,’ he muttered.

‘You put one hand on me and I’ll make you pay for it,’ she threatened.

He threw her a stinging look. ‘I’m already paying for it, sweetheart.’

Hayley didn’t bother asking him what he meant. She wasn’t sure she really wanted to know. She sat back stiffly in her seat and waited in silence for the journey to be over.

CHAPTER SIX

THE COUNTRY PROPERTY Jasper turned into some time later was accessed by a long winding gravel driveway lined on both sides with tall poplar trees, their bright new spring growth shivering in the fresh breeze.

The homestead at the end of the driveway was a colonial sandstone building with a sprawling cottage garden that seemed to fill every available space, the sweet scent of alyssum and early blooming roses filling the air as soon as Hayley stepped out of the car.

‘Wow!’ She looked around with wonder. ‘What a beautiful place. Why on earth do they want to sell it?’

She received her answer as soon as the front door of the homestead opened to reveal a grey-haired woman in her early seventies standing behind a wheelchair where a man a few years older was sitting, his right arm lying uselessly across his lap.

Jasper took her hand and, giving her fingers a quick squeeze, said in a low tone, ‘Don’t forget, you’re madly in love with me, right?’

She gave him a tight smile. ‘Right.’

Mrs Henderson stepped from the verandah and took Hayley’s hand. ‘You must be the lovely fiancée Jasper has been telling us all about. My name is Pearl and this is my husband, Jim.’

‘I’m very pleased to meet you both,’ Hayley said, and reached to shake Jim’s left hand to spare him the embarrassment of trying to lift his damaged one.

Jim Henderson mumbled something inaudible, his stroke-ravaged body tearing at Hayley’s heartstrings. She leaned down to his level and asked him to repeat it, this time managing to make out what he’d said.

Pearl Henderson gave an approving smile and ushered them all indoors. ‘I’ve made scones,’ she announced. ‘I thought we could have a cup of tea before Jasper shows you around the property.’

‘That would be lovely,’ Hayley said, breathing in the fresh fragrance of furniture polish as they went indoors.

The house was beautifully maintained, the furniture looking as if it had watched over several generations of Hendersons. Even the rugs on the timber floors bore the imprint of thousands of footsteps over the passage of time.

‘This is such a beautiful home,’ she said as Pearl Henderson handed her a cup and saucer. ‘You must be feeling very sad to be leaving it.’

A shadow passed over Pearl’s face as she pushed the milk and sugar closer so Jasper and her husband could reach it. ‘It’s time to move on,’ she said. ‘Jim’s stroke has made things difficult to manage the outside work. We lost our only son a few years ago … otherwise he would have carried on the tradition. There have been Hendersons on this property for six generations.’

‘I’m so sorry …’ Hayley said, feeling the couple’s pain like a silent presence in the room.

Pearl forced a smile to her lips as she passed the scones around. ‘Of course, we’re delighted now that Jasper is going to buy it,’ she said. ‘We weren’t going to sell it to just anyone. I don’t want our home bulldozed down to make way for shoebox town houses.’

Hayley did her best to keep her eyes from straying in Jasper’s direction. What had he told the Hendersons? she wondered. He surely hadn’t lied to them in order to secure the property? What would he want with several thousand acres of land unless to redevelop it to make the sort of money he normally made on such transactions? That was after all why he wanted his father’s property Crickglades, which wasn’t even a quarter of the size of this one.

‘When he told us he was looking for somewhere to spend his weekends once he got married we reconsidered,’ Pearl continued. ‘This place is crying out for a young family to make it come alive again.’

Hayley very nearly choked on a crumb of scone and quickly gulped at her tea to disguise it.

‘It’s very good of you both to give me first offer,’ Jasper said. ‘I fell in love with this place the first time I saw it.’

Jim gave him a lopsided smile and mumbled something Hayley understood to be approval.

‘Will you run cattle or sheep, do you think?’ Pearl asked as she passed the home-made raspberry jam to him. ‘We sold all our livestock a few months back, but with the spring growth it seems a shame to have it go to waste.’

‘I’ll appoint a manager to sort it out,’ Jasper said, generously spreading a scone with the thick jam. ‘I don’t know much about farming, but I’m willing to learn.’

Hayley couldn’t wait for morning tea to be over so she could go outside and challenge him. Willing to learn indeed!

Pearl began to clear the tea things a short time later. ‘Why don’t you take Hayley outside and show her the river walk?’ she suggested. ‘It’s lovely at this time of year with the willows sprouting their new growth. When you get back we can finalise the details of the sale. Jim and I have the paperwork ready. We met with the lawyer the other day.’