Christmas at the Farmhouse - Rebecca Boxall Page 0,31

job. So have you found a child-minder for Violet, or a nursery?’

‘Actually, I’m going to look after her,’ Lucas said, smiling. ‘It makes sense. I haven’t got any permanent work. Heidi’s the real breadwinner in our family. I’ll still need to look after the horses, but Violet can help me with that. And I’m not too bad at all the domestic stuff. Thankfully you treated us all the same when it came to teaching us how to cook and clean.’

It was true; Magnus and I had made a firm decision to treat the boys and girls the same in every way: buying them unisex toys, dressing them in gender-neutral colours, encouraging them to pursue whatever sports they were interested in (Freja was excellent at football, while Lucas was the one who became obsessed with horses). And, despite the fact that it was always me in the kitchen, and not Magnus, we tried to instil in the children the importance of chores being shared equally and the necessity of knowing how to cook. Not that you’d ever know any of them can cook, because, when they come home, all they want is Mum’s dinners, which I’m over the moon to provide.

‘How are you feeling about going back to work?’ I asked Heidi.

‘I can’t wait!’ she said. ‘I mean, I’ll miss Violet of course. But it’ll just be nice to be back into my old routine: dressing up, the usual commute, the challenging work, chatting to people about non-baby-related stuff…’

I nodded. Actually, though it was clear Heidi was suffering from return-to-work mum guilt, I thought they’d made the right decision. Heidi had thrown herself into motherhood and looked like she was almost drowning in it. Going back to work would help her find a balance. And I was thrilled that Lucas would be looking after Violet. Unlike poor Heidi, he’s such a natural parent.

‘Are you going to go to all those mother-and-baby groups?’ asked Astrid, who’d given in to Percy’s whiney demands for crisps. He was now sitting on the carpet looking pleased as punch, munching his way through a bowl of them.

‘I might do!’ he laughed.

‘Oh my God, all the women will fall in love with you!’ said Freja, giggling. She always gets giddy when Lucas is around. ‘It’s like when you used to pick me up from school. All my friends fell for you – and some of the teachers, too! Do you remember Mrs Le Gresley even gave you a red rose one Valentine’s Day?’

Heidi rolled her eyes, but she looked amused. We were all laughing at the memory when I heard the telephone ringing.

‘I’ll get it,’ I said, and I hurried through to the hallway. ‘Hello,’ I said, still smiling.

There was a pause and then a small voice began to speak. ‘Mrs Nielsen? I understand you’ve been trying to get in touch with me. Do you know who this is?’

I felt my heart flutter and my stomach swoop. I knew exactly who it was.

‘Yes. Yes, I do,’ I said and I sat down on the stairs with a thump.

Chapter Seventeen

April–May 1969

Susan

No-one ever believed me, but we didn’t even go the whole way. We were both too naïve to realise that ‘heavy petting’, as it was known back then, could lead to a pregnancy. That was why I couldn’t understand it when my curse didn’t appear in the middle of April. I was regular as clockwork and, as far as I was concerned, we hadn’t done enough to conceive a baby. Penny was the first person I told about my concerns and she booked me in with her lady doctor who confirmed, disapprovingly, that I was indeed pregnant.

I was worried Robin wouldn’t believe the baby was his, but he didn’t doubt me for a moment. He was shocked, of course, when I delivered the news at our old haunt – The Cherry Pie – but he told me from the outset he’d support me.

‘A baby,’ he repeated after I’d told him.

‘Looks like it,’ I agreed, frowning. ‘I’m so sorry,’ I whispered into my hot chocolate. I felt tearful and faintly sick.

‘Takes two to tango, as the saying goes,’ Robin replied, taking my hand. ‘It’s a shock, of course, but not the end of the world. For him or her, it’ll be the start of it.’

‘I’m so glad I’m not going to have to do this alone,’ I told him.

‘Of course not! I’ll be with you every step of the way. I promise.’

***

A week after telling Robin the news, we