Always and Forever at Glendale Hall Read online

  ‘I’m fine. And, yes, I travel light, makes things easier especially if you’re thrown out by a grumpy old man early in the morning.’ Brodie raised both eyebrows as he picked up my bags, and I sighed. ‘I’m cranky because I need coffee.’

  ‘Well, if you look inside the car you might cheer up a little,’ he replied, putting my bags into the boot. I went around to the passenger side and saw a takeaway coffee waiting for me.

  ‘You’re a legend,’ I said, climbing in much more eagerly than I’d planned to. I took a sip. A black, sugary coffee, still piping hot – just how I liked it. I was pleased he had remembered that. Since I’d left home at eighteen, we hadn’t lived together and with all my moving around I hadn’t spent much more than the occasional Christmas visit or Sunday family lunch when I couldn’t avoid it with him.

  ‘It has been said,’ he replied with a grin as he climbed in beside me. I was relieved he was wearing a warm jumper and jeans this morning and not the dog collar: it always made me feel on edge. Like I was being judged or something. Brodie was naturally fair like me and we had the same big, blue eyes but whereas Brodie was tall and muscly, I was tiny in height and had always longed for boobs to fill out a bra to no avail.

  Brodie started the engine and we set off. I settled into the seat, sipping my coffee, glad of the car heating warming me up. ‘So, are you going to tell me?’ he asked after a moment, glancing across at me. ‘Why your boss told you to leave?’

  I braced myself for the inevitable lecture. ‘I accidently had a lock-in, and he came home unexpectedly and wasn’t at all happy about it.’

  ‘How do you accidentally have a lock-in?’

  ‘It was just one last drink for the road.’ I shrugged. ‘Hamish was supposed to be away for the night. Oh well, he was a complete bore to work for anyway.’ I swivelled to look at him. ‘I hope Beth will be a better boss.’ I’d only met Beth Fraser once before, when Brodie married Emily – the reception had been at Glendale Hall, and organised by her. She owned that vast estate and it was hard to believe that I’d now be living and working there. I had barely spoken to her, or anyone else at the wedding, making the most of the open bar that night, so I didn’t really remember much about her.

  ‘Beth and her family are lovely but they all work hard so they’ll expect you to do the same.’ He gave me one of his looks, one that made me feel like a big disappointment to him. ‘The Hall is going to be really busy this summer – Beth has started a wedding planning business, which was why she really needed a housekeeper so she wouldn’t have the house to deal with as well. They used to have a full-time live-in one, Sally, but she’s retired now.’

  ‘Will I have to wear a uniform?’ I laughed and Brodie tittered at me.

  ‘I know it’s a big estate but they are all very down-to-earth. I’ve already told Beth all about you.’

  ‘I bet you sung my praises,’ I said, dryly, draining my coffee cup dry. I felt slightly more myself after it at least.

  ‘Actually, I did, I just said you were a bit… lost.’

  ‘Here we go again,’ I muttered, folding my arms across my chest.

  ‘If there’s anyone who can understand, it’s Beth. She ran away from Glendale Hall when she was a teenager because she didn’t want to do what her family wanted her to do. Her mother, though, might be less keen once she sees your hair. What happened to the blonde?’

  ‘I fancied a change. It’s fun,’ I said, touching my pink locks. ‘At least there’s one rebel at the Hall, I suppose.’

  ‘Takes one to know one,’ he replied, and then reached for the radio. My brother’s music tastes were a little conservative for me but I was happy to put up with his choice if it meant conversation could be stalled for a bit. Instead, I looked out of the window and watched the city slowly be replaced by countryside. As we drew closer to Brodie’s village, I turned back to him. ‘There’d better be something for me to do in Glendale besides work otherwise it’ll be a very long summer.’

  He smiled. ‘Even you’re going to struggle to get into trouble here.’

  I grinned. ‘That, dear brother, sounds like a challenge.’

  He groaned in response.

  * * *

  Glendale was a small countryside village but it was busier this morning than I expected as we drove through the pretty High Street with its hanging baskets bursting with colourful flowers. Brodie pointed out his wife’s bakery, which had a queue outside, and the shop that Beth and her family owned, and then we passed the church and vicarage where Brodie lived and worked. I’d seen it all briefly when I came here for his wedding but I’d refused to stay the night so I hadn’t spent any time in the village. I felt a bit guilty about never having stayed with Brodie since he’d moved to Glendale, but he’d always come to where I was or met me at our parents’ home in Inverness without complaint. Although that was Brodie all over – he was a giver.

  ‘Emily is meeting us at the Hall. She wanted to be there with Beth to welcome you and introduce you to everyone. I mean, I know you met them all at the wedding but you didn’t stay long.’

  I tried to ignore that comment. Like most of the things Brodie said, it made me feel like the worst sister. ‘How is Emily doing?’ I asked. Emily was pregnant with her and Brodie’s first child although she had a little girl already from a previous relationship, who I knew that Brodie adored.

  ‘She’s really well. I can’t believe she’s due at the end of September, it seemed so far away but now it feels really close. She’s tired though. I keep telling her to do less at the bakery but she loves it so much. She needs to let others help her more. Beth too. It’s really good that you’ve come, Anna. I know that you’re only here now because you didn’t have another choice but…’ He smiled across at me. ‘I’m still pleased.’

  I forced out a smile. I knew I should be grateful that I had a job and place to live, and that it was down to him. The problem was – I hated that my brother was disappointed in me, which was why I didn’t look forward to spending time with him. I was always torn between wanting to please him and wanting to do the exact opposite of what he thought I should do. And behind it all was the guilt and fear I still carried with me from my accident, something I could never share with him or my parents, and it was part of the reason I kept a distance from them. ‘I’m sure Emily can handle things; you worry too much. You always have.’

  ‘I just want to look after her. That’s not a crime, is it?’

  I knew he wished I would let him do the same for me so I didn’t answer that. Instead, I looked out of the window again as the village faded away and we drove along the road to Glendale Hall. I sat up in the seat to watch as we passed through the large iron gates, which were flung open to let us in. The gravel crunched under the tyres as Brodie drove up to the front of the house. It was a grand cream-stone building with ivy climbing over the large oak front door. I was used to staying in one-bedroom flats. This was something else entirely.

  Once he had switched the engine off, and removed his seatbelt, Brodie paused with his hand on the door handle before turning to me. ‘I just want you to know that I only want to see you happy, Anna. I know you’re not excited to be here, but these people mean a lot to me, and I really think if you let us in a little bit, you might find we can help you find the happiness you seem to have always been searching for.’ I opened my mouth to protest, my default position, but Brodie held up his hand and I stopped. ‘I know you’re about to tell me that I don’t know what I’m talking about, that you are happy, but I won’t believe a word. You’re my sister. I know and love you.

  ‘I still think about those days at your bedside in hospital praying and hoping and wishing that you’d wake up out of the coma, that’d you’d pull through. God granted you a second chance. And me too. I became a minister because of how He saved you. I know you don’t have faith like me, like Mum and Dad, that you think it’s all, well, rubbish.’ He smiled slightly. I looked away. ‘But I know that you’ve run through life like you don’t have a second to b
reathe since then. Trying new things, moving to new places, changing relationships as often as you’ve changed jobs, never settling. I wish it was making you happy but I don’t think it is. All I’m saying is why not use this time to think about what you really want from your life? Make the next thing you do, or the next place you go to, something that fulfils you in some way. You can’t convince me the grotty pub I picked you up from today was where you really want to be.’ I hated that he saw through the barrier I had put up around myself. ‘Right, I’ve said my piece. Now I’ll shut up. I won’t mention it again but I’m always here if you ever do want to open up to me. Okay?’ I nodded once. It was all I was capable of.

  He opened the car door, letting in a blast of cold air, and I sucked in a deep breath before I climbed out as well.

  Chapter Three

  The front door of Glendale Hall swung open when we reached it and there stood Beth Fraser, my new boss, and Emily, Brodie’s wife, whose hands rested on her bump, both beaming at us. I bit back a quip about being shocked that they didn’t have a butler to welcome visitors. Brodie carried my bags, leaving me to walk alone up to them, trying to summon my usual bravado, but it felt a little wobbly after the past twenty-four hours and the fact I was moving into, and was expected to help run, an actual mansion.

  ‘It’s so lovely to have you here, Anna,’ Beth said warmly as I approached. And then she leaned in to kiss my cheek. ‘Welcome to Glendale Hall.’

  ‘Thanks,’ I said, a little taken aback by her familiar greeting. Beth was tall and slim with wavy, dark hair, and she wore skinny jeans, a t-shirt and ballet pumps, looking most unlike the owner of such a grand house.

  ‘You look really well,’ Emily said, reaching out to give me a big hug. Emily wore a long, floaty dress, her blonde hair up in a messy bun. I had always envied her curvy figure, and how she always radiated happiness. Now that she was pregnant, the effect was rather dazzling.

  ‘You’re the one who’s glowing,’ I replied, sure that I looked a right mess after having to be up so early. The coffee had helped a little but I’d missed my usual morning run and felt crumpled from the long car journey.

  ‘Where shall I put these then?’ Brodie asked as he appeared beside me. His face lit up when he saw his wife, which should have made me cringe but I had to admit it was sweet.

  ‘I thought Anna could have the room you stayed in, Em,’ Beth replied, stepping back to let us walk inside. I looked around. I hadn’t seen inside the house at my brother’s wedding – it had all taken place in the garden. The hallway was practically as big as the flat I’d lived in above the pub. It wasn’t decorated as traditionally as I’d expected – the walls were light, and there were wild flowers in vases all around lending a lovely fragrance to the room. ‘Are you okay showing her, Brodie? We thought you’d both be hungry after setting off early so we made some food. I’ll call everyone in.’

  My stomach rumbled on cue – I hadn’t had the chance to have any breakfast. I started to follow Brodie up the wide staircase.

  ‘Can you please talk to Heather about her wedding shoes?’ Beth said to Emily, linking arms with her. ‘That’s the only problem with wedding planning: I can advise on flowers until the cows come home, but shoes are so not my area of expertise,’ she added with a chuckle as they walked out of the hallway together.

  ‘I don’t know how she’ll pick just one pair. She’s too excited to get out of her wellies for the day, maybe she should get a pair for the ceremony, and another pair for the evening…’ Emily’s voice trailed off as they walked out. I knew from Brodie that they had been friends for years. I thought about the fact I’d had no one to call for help last night and felt a prick of envy at their friendship.

  ‘Are you coming?’ Brodie asked over his shoulder.

  I hurried after him. ‘I’ll get lost here,’ I commented as we walked along the corridor, passing bedrooms. Brodie opened what was to be mine and I hovered in the doorway as he placed my bags down by the large, four-poster bed. It was like something out of a book. The window displayed the garden, although whether you could call so many acres just a garden, I wasn’t sure. It was a lovely room, light and cream, and there was an en-suite bathroom too. ‘This is a step up from rooms above pubs,’ I said, walking over to the window to look down. The manicured lawn stretched out below me.

  ‘So, you like it?’ Brodie’s eyes twinkled as if he was daring me to disagree. Annoyingly, I didn’t think anyone could argue that Glendale Hall was anything other than a beautiful house. ‘Shall I see you down in the kitchen?’

  ‘No, I’ll come now,’ I said, not wanting to have to walk in by myself. I glanced at the full-length mirror as I trailed after Brodie, and quickly smoothed down my wavy, pink hair, and straightened my Beatles t-shirt. We went back down into the hall and then through into the vast kitchen. It was huge with a large, long dining table, and French doors which had been flung open leading out onto a patio. The kitchen was full of people and there was a delicious smell of cooking in there. My nose twitched.

  ‘Is your room okay?’ Beth asked me as she placed a basket of bread down onto the table.

  ‘It’s lovely,’ I said, looking at her daughter Izzy, who was reading a book with one hand, and with the other handing a toddler a quarter of a sandwich. The table was crowded and noisy as everyone reached for food. I couldn’t help but stare.

  Beth noticed and cleared her throat for attention. ‘Right, guys, stop devouring food for a sec…’ she said loudly. The table grew quiet and all eyes turned to me. I stared as defiantly as I could manage back at them. ‘This is Anna, Brodie’s sister, and she’ll be moving in with us for the summer, helping out around the Hall. No one can replace dear Sally,’ she said, turning to an older lady at the table. ‘But I think we all agree we need help around here.’

  There were some nods and titters at that.

  ‘Anna, let me remind you who everyone is but don’t worry if it goes in one ear and out the other, they are always here so you’ll soon know everyone.’ She pointed out everyone as she introduced them. ‘My husband, Drew, Izzy our daughter, that’s Drew’s brother Rory and his fiancée Heather, and their little boy Harry. That’s Sally, our dear former-housekeeper, my mother Caroline and her husband, John, and of course, you know Brodie and Emily, and little Iona too.’

  She paused for breath as everyone waved hello and I nodded, unsure if they all lived at the Hall or not. Had I moved into a commune or something? Beth noticed me frown.

  ‘Rory and Heather live on a farm not too far away, with her dad Don, who I’m sure you’ll meet soon, and Angus who works on the farm. They’ve also recently bought another farm and the manager there, Cameron, pops in now and again too. Sally lives in a cottage in the grounds. So it’s just you, me, Drew, Izzy, Mum and John in the house. Oh and that’s Ginny,’ she added, pointing to the cat walking out of the doors into the garden. ‘Right, sit down and help yourself to whatever you like.’

  She disappeared back into the kitchen and I sunk into a chair, thinking I’d never lived with so many people before. I glanced at Brodie, who was talking to Drew about an upcoming garden party, and at Emily, who was bouncing Iona on her lap as she sipped some orange juice. She gave me a reassuring smile. I decided to just eat and listen to what they were all talking about. There was a tray of mixed sandwiches, crusty bread, different cheeses, pâté, hummus and vegetables sliced up, a bowl of salad, and sausage rolls. I worked out what I could eat and piled up a plate, and then poured myself another cup of coffee. I needed to be as alert as possible.

  ‘Do you not eat meat, Anna?’ Izzy, who sat opposite me, suddenly said. I was startled as it had appeared that she had been lost in her book. ‘I like your hair. Was it easy to dye like that?’ The conversations around us halted as everyone waited for my response.

  ‘I’m a vegetarian,’ I confirmed. ‘And it’s just a home dye. I have light hair naturally so it was easy, although it fades quickly. What are you reading?’ I crunched on a carrot dipped in hummus as the
others began talking around us again. It was shop-bought hummus, so not as good as the one I made, but I was too hungry to mind.

  ‘It’s about the suffragettes,’ Izzy replied. ‘Brodie said you went on a march once?’

  ‘I’ve been on several animal rights and climate change marches. I really think we all need to do so much more to help the environment. Out here, it’s maybe less obvious but I’ve mostly lived in cities and the pollution is out of control.’

  ‘Well, we don’t have many marches in Glendale, I’m afraid,’ Caroline, Beth’s mother, said from down the table. Her voice was posh and she was clearly full of disdain. ‘We also have a cattle farmer at the table.’

  ‘We are very interested in sustainable farming though,’ Rory said, quickly. I smiled at that.

  ‘You’re not vegan though?’ Izzy continued her grilling of me.

  I took a sip of coffee. ‘No. I haven’t found a vegan cheese or chocolate that I can get on board with. Yet.’ I looked at the lunch spread. ‘Who’s the cook here?’ I asked, wondering if I could give them some tips. The sandwiches were pretty uninspiring.

  ‘No cook, unfortunately,’ Beth said. ‘Sally used to do all our meals and I know I’m second-rate in comparison. She’s always asking me to let her help but she deserves her retirement,’ she said, smiling across at the older lady. ‘Emily provided the baked goods for dessert so everyone will be happy about that. I don’t know what I’ll do when the weddings kick in; there will have to be a lot of takeaways.’

  ‘Why? I’m here?’ I asked, raising an eyebrow, confused.

  ‘You can’t cook,’ Brodie said with a laugh.

  ‘There’s a lot you don’t know about me, brother,’ I replied, a little irritated. I’d spent my working life in pubs and restaurants and worked for some really talented chefs and cooks. I’d picked up more than a few tips, although I was yet to cook for anyone but myself. I was nervous but I wanted to prove to him that there was something I could do. ‘Leave tonight’s meal to me and I’ll show you.’