Escape to the Country by Patsy Collins Read Free Book Online Page A

you're
interested in is what I've got to give you."
    Leah didn't have any treats left. "Sorry," she said,
pulling out the pocket to prove it was empty. He wagged his tail and
slobbered on her hand as though to show he wasn't too disappointed.
Maybe she'd misjudged him and he wasn't as shallow as she'd supposed.
    "Oh and I promised you a whole box full as a reward for rescuing
me, didn't I? I'll get them for you this afternoon."
    He wagged his tail again and seemed to grin. Soon it was Leah
grinning. A tractor passed the entrance to Jayne's yard and the
driver waved to her. She waved back at Duncan and wondered how
obvious it would be if she rushed straight into the yard and got
herself stuck again. She'd like another opportunity to feel those
strong arms around her, but that probably wasn't the best way of
achieving it.

    Chapter 4

    After breakfast, Jayne and Leah cut sprigs of herbs which Jayne tied
into neat bunches and packed, with a few drops of water, in plastic
boxes. There was rosemary, sage, savory, bay, thyme and mixed
bunches.
    "The butcher sells these too," Jayne explained. "I
wasn't convinced there'd be a demand for them, but when I made the
deal for pork and eggs, he asked me to think of anything else he
could sell for me. Now I make more profit from these than the meat,
especially in the summer when I have a much wider range available."
    They loaded the herbs and an unfeasibly large quantity of eggs into
the pick-up and took these into the butcher before they started their
shopping.
    "Thanks, Jayne. Just in time, I've sold out."
    "The hens are laying as fast as they can for the time of year,
Mike. They should pick up a bit over the next few weeks though."
    "Good, good. And the herbs?"
    "Them too. I'll probably have chives and marjoram next week and
the mint won't be far behind."
    "Good, good. I've been asked for lemon verbena. Do you grow
that?"
    "No, but probably I could. I'll look into it."
    There were several shops selling clothes in town. One supplied
outfits for babies and toddlers, another specialised in work wear
(steel toe-capped boots, overalls and quilted shirts rather than
power suits) There were two charity shops and one that looked as
though its customers must only ever go to hunt balls and travelled
fifty years back in time to get there.
    It was to this last one that Jayne headed. "Don't worry, it's
not nearly so bad in the back."
    She was right. Once inside, Leah saw a good selection of perfectly
normal clothes.
    "What's that window display all about?" Leah asked.
    "We get a few tourists in the summer and the owners don't like
to disappoint them."
    "Did I mention that you country people are weird?"
    Leah enjoyed trying on comfortable clothes in colours she liked
without having to worry what Adam might say.
    Jayne said, "Those jeans look a bit baggy. You'd better try a
size smaller."
    She had a point. The clothes did seem to be more generously cut than
the brands she normally wore. Perhaps she could get away with smaller
ones.
    "They show off my bum!" she giggled and wiggled as she
emerged from the changing room.
    "Good, get this too," Jayne said holding up a clingy
looking jersey top in bright pink.
    "That'll get me noticed," Leah said.
    "Good. Dressing like a mouse has encouraged you to act like
one."
    "I don't," Leah said without conviction. It wasn't entirely
true though. Most of her wardrobe had been selected with the aim of
avoiding criticism from Adam rather than with any hope of attracting
compliments. Most of her actions had, until she drove down to
Winkleigh Marsh, been motivated in the same way.
    Leah tried on the top. She was right about it getting her noticed.
The colour was hard to miss and so she suspected was the amount of
cleavage on display. As she looked at herself in the mirror she did
rather wish Duncan had seen her in that, with her curves shown off to
perfection, rather than covered by one of Jayne's thick anoraks.
    She came out and gave a twirl for Jayne.
    "Very nice, buy