The Secret Orchard by Sharon Gosling
Author:Sharon Gosling
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Published: 2024-09-12T00:00:00+00:00
Chapter Twenty-seven
When Nina got home with Barney after school later that day, the last thing she expected to find was her sister, still at the house. Bette was sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of tea, and looked up when her nephew ran in through the door to say hello. She was smiling, but Ninaâs internal alarm bell went off at the sight of her pale face. Bette looked wan and exhausted, and her eyes were rimmed in red, as if sheâd been crying.
âAuntie Bette!â he said, giving her a hug. âWhat are you doing here?â
âI missed my flight,â Bette said, returning the hug but looking at Nina over his head. âAnd it turns out there are some more things I need to talk with your mum about. So here I still am.â
âGreat!â Best Barnaby Barnacle said, with genuine enthusiasm. âThat means we can finish our map of the farm. Can you help me now?â
âWhy donât you go up and get changed first, bub?â Nina said.
They both watched as the boy and his faithful hound bounded out of the kitchen, along the hallway and then thundered up the stairs. Nina pulled out the chair opposite Bette.
âWhatâs happened?â
Bette dropped her gaze to the mug clutched between her hands and Ninaâs heart sank further.
âBette? Is it the bank? I thought everything was all right for now â I got your text this morning, telling me thatââ
âItâs not the bank,â Bette said, quietly. âNina, Iâve lost my job. Thatâs what the meeting was about this afternoon. To tell meââ she stopped and took a breath before going on. âTheyâve made me redundant.â
âOh Bette,â Nina said. âIâm so sorry.â
Bette looked away, and despite knowing what a huge blow this must have been, Nina was shocked to see tears in her sisterâs eyes. She couldnât remember ever seeing Bette cry. She tried to focus on that, on feeling sympathy for her sister, who was so clearly devastated, instead of the thoughts that had immediately turned towards the farm. Now what do we do? she thought. In three months, without Betteâs incomeâ¦
Bette sniffed and wiped her eyes quickly. âAnyway,â she said, âobviously this leaves us with a rather large issue. Because while the bank isnât a problem at this moment â it will be.â
Nina rubbed a hand over her face. âRight. But⦠youâll get another job, wonât you? Another firm will take you on. I bet you could walk right into somewhere else tomorrow morning if you wanted to.â
âIâm not so sure about that,â Bette said. âAnd even if I did, then itâs unlikely my salary would match what Iâve just lost at the firm, let alone what I expected to get as a partner.â
âButââ
âPlease, Nina,â Bette said. âI canât talk about that right now. I canât. Okay?â
âOkay,â Nina said. âThen what do you want to talk about?â
Bette looked down at her tea, her fingers squeezing the mug hard. âIâve been speaking to Ryan.â
âRyan?â
âHe was down in the orchard, gathering up the windfalls. I
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