Page 27 of Sunrise over Strawberry Hill Farm

Nico exchanged a surprised look with Flora at the woman’s abrupt attitude as they followed her around the side of the large house.

An offer of a cup of tea was obviously not forthcoming, thought Flora. Also, on closer inspection, the beautiful manor house appeared to be crumbling and quite run-down.

They went across a courtyard and found themselves at the entrance of a large meadow. The view was spectacular across a loch to the mountains on the other side.

‘How wonderful,’ said Flora, appreciating the view.

The woman nodded. ‘No better place,’ she snapped back. ‘Well. Here you are.’ She gestured at a large pile which appeared to be layers of canvas. This was obviously the tents they had come to purchase.

Flora and Nico stepped forward to inspect them. It was hard to see the state of the canvas, but it appeared to be heavy and of good quality. But who knew what holes and tears were hidden in the many layers.

‘Are all the tents in equally good shape?’ asked Nico, who had only managed to lift the top layer to inspect underneath.

‘They most certainly are,’ snapped Mrs McKinley. ‘I never lie. I said that they were in good wear and I meant it.’

‘Of course,’ replied Nico quickly.

She was extremely prickly, but given the large amount of tents she had to sell and the extremely low price she wanted in return, they had no choice but to grin and bear her attitude.

‘It was my husband’s idea,’ she told them. ‘But he’s gone now and so I can do what I like.’

‘I’m sorry for your loss,’ said Flora quickly.

‘I’m not,’ snapped Mrs McKinley. ‘He ran off with his assistant and they’ve legged it to the Isle of Skye. Good riddance too.’

Nico coughed in his throat and Flora had the distinct impression that he was trying not to laugh.

‘So, do we have an accord?’ asked Mrs McKinley.

Flora exchanged a look with Nico before giving him a tentative nod. After all, the woman appeared to be quite trustworthy, even more so given her abrupt manner.

‘If we find that each tent is in the same good condition as this top one as we load them into the lorry, then yes, we have an agreement,’ he told her.

Mrs McKinley stuck out her hand, which he gave a firm shake. ‘So that’s done,’ she said. ‘Tea?’

As she walked away, Nico turned to look at Flora. ‘Congratulations,’ he said. ‘You’re now the proud owner of a campsite. Or, at least, the very beginnings of one.’

As he followed Mrs McKinley inside, Flora shivered in the cool air, wondering what on earth she had signed up to. And whether it would be enough to save the farm.

16

After a cup of extremely strong tea served by Mrs McKinley, Flora and Nico began the arduous task of moving the heavy tents from the courtyard into the back of the lorry.

It was a slow and back-breaking task, with only the aid of a small trolley that they had placed in the back of the lorry at the last minute.

Finally, after nearly two hours, Flora stretched her back as she stared at the pile of canvas in the lorry. ‘At last,’ she said, with a sigh. She felt absolutely exhausted and somewhat hungry as well. She looked at Nico. ‘How about we get going and find somewhere to stay?’ she said. ‘I’m shattered.’

He nodded, but frowned as he looked around. ‘When did this mist appear?’ he asked.

Flora followed his gaze and noticed with a start that the sun had disappeared and there was now a grey gloom cast all around them. ‘I hadn’t noticed,’ she told him.

‘I’m sure it’ll be fine,’ he said, ever the optimist.

She hoped so. It had been a long drive after a very early start. She was hoping that there would be a hotel nearby that they could stay in for the night, preferably extremely cheap given their tight budget. But when they went to wish Mrs McKinley goodbye and check that the money had been transferred into her account for the sale of the tents, the woman merely shook her head when Flora asked about accommodation.

‘There’s no hotels near here,’ she replied.

Nico was trying Google, but there was no signal for him to search online.