Long Willows

In the novel Taken at the Flood, Long Willows is a farm near Warmsley Vale kept by Rowley Cloade and formerly Johnnie Vavasour. It is situated in a valley, on the pathway between Warmsley Vale and Warmsley Heath, overlooked by Furrowbank and Rowley Copse and not far from the White House where Lynn Marchmont lives. When Lynn marries Rowley, she is to come to Long Willows to live with him, although she does not know anything about farming yet. It is said, however, that she has always liked the farm's name.

The layout of the farm itself is not much described. Primarily, Rowley rears cows and sends young calves to the market. Throughout the novel, he also mentions the purchase of a costly new tractor and plowing by Rolland Copse, as well as his needing to attend to paperwork up until midnight.

Some time before the war, Rowley and his friend Johnnie started in partnership on the farm. Rowley's wealthy uncle Gordon Cloade highly approved of the project, but told Lynn in secret that he would not back it with capital crucial in successful farming before the two young men had proven their seriousness and determination. Rowley seemed to have understood Gordon's views intuitively and he and Johnnie worked hard to earn his trust.

With the outbreak of war, however, the secure future of the farm changed drastically. Whereas Johnnie and Lynn, Rowley's fresh fiancée, enlisted, Rowley stayed at home and managed the property alone.


 * "Of the two young men, Rowley and Johnnie, one had perforce to stay on the farm. They had tossed for it and Johnnie Vavasour had been the one to go.
 * He had been killed almost at once – in Norway. All through the years of war Rowley had never been more than a mile or two from home."

(in Taken at the Flood, Book I, Chapter One)

In 1944, uncle Gordon is killed in the Blitz. His last will being invalidated by his recent marriage, he left all his wealth to his wife Rosaleen, although he always intended to divide it equally between his three siblings and Rowley.

When Lynn returns home from overseas in Spring 1946, Rowley is short-handed and struggles to keep the farm afloat. He also mourns Johnnie's death and silently hates being left behind, not having the opportunity to change and broaden his horizons as Lynn did. After Lynn's homecoming, she meets Rowley for the first time at the farm. They discuss staff shortage caused by the war and Rowley's poor farming propects now that uncle Gordon and Johnnie Vavasour are not there to help anymore. Lynn asks Rowley to describe Rosaleen and David, to which he replies that the widow is completely "run" by her brother. She is probably not very intelligent, and seems even less so as she takes great pains not to appear uneducated. The couple further talk about their engagement and upcoming wedding, somewhat unenthusiastically. Lynn notices that Rowley seems to mind quite a lot that he was to stay at home while she was off seeing the world in the war which, in her own words, has decidedly broadened her outlook. Rowley, in turn, seems to understand that – just like for all service girls – it is going to be hard for Lynn to settle down at home.

When Lynn learns that her mother got a cheque for five hundred pounds from Rosaleen, she comes to the farm and asks Rowley to give her the sum to be repaid. He argues with her in his reasonable manner, saying that he is overdrawn because of the new tractor. If really neccessary, he could sell land or stock; but as it is, there is no harm in Rosaleen's occassionally helping the family as Gordon would have done. Lynn suggests lending her some money, but Rowley counters with a recount of his dire situation. He is short-handed but does not wish to go to Rosaleen, as he would feel bad asking a woman for funds.


 * "'...sometimes – it's too much for one man.'
 * Lynn said bitterly: 'Oh, I know! If only Johnnie hadn't been killed –'
 * He shouted out: 'Leave Johnnie out of it! Don't talk about that!'
 * She stared at him, astonished. His face was red and congested. He seemed beside himself with rage."

(in Taken at the Flood, Book I, Chapter Seven)

In the end, Lynn leaves the farm empty-handed, silently cross with her fiancé for not appreciating her plight.

On a Friday afternoon, just as he is making tea, Rosaleen Cloade visits Rowley at Long Willows. He is surprised to see her but gladly shows her around the farm, noting her interest in and knowledge of farming and her happiness to have "an afternoon off" when her brother David is not around for once. She confides in Rowley that her family had a farm in Ireland and offers jokingly that she could milk his cows for him. She seems much more at ease that usual and they spend an agreeable hour together before the girl hurries off guiltily as her brother is due home. Rowley does not regret losing so much time because of her.

Before he can get back to work, a man going by the name Enoch Arden passes by Rosalin on the hill, as he reaches the farm through the footpath from Warmsley Heath. He asks Rowley Cloade for directions and inquires about Furrowbank and the widow who lives there. Rowley finds his face familiar, but cannot quite place it. As for accommodation, he recommends the stranger the Stag Inn in Warmsley Vale.

On Tuesday, Rowley is busy with the paperwork when he receives a beautifully-written letter from Beatrice Lippincott, the landlady of the Stag Inn and his childhood friend. She asks him to come see her about "a certain person" – Mr Arden, on whose conversation with David Hunter she has eavesdropped. Rowley then pays Arden a visit and returns home at about nine o'clock.

Two and a half weeks later, on Friday after the inquest for Arden's murder, Lynn comes to the farm in the evening to tell Rowley she has chosen to marry David. She did not want elope with David and break it to her former fiancé after the fact, as David suggested. Just as she arrives, a storm starts to rage outside.

Before she can speak, Rowley interrupts her with plans for new kitchenware after their marriage. He also expresses regret over Rosaleen's death. When Lynn finally manages to tell him what she came here for, he utterly calmly askes her Why? Lynn explains to him that war has changed her and she does not love him anymore. As the tension escalates, Rowley's repressed emotions start welling up, his frustration with his lot taking the best of him.


 * "She had risen, was retreating a step at a time. She was terrified. This man was not a man any longer, he was a brute beast.
 * ' I've killed two people,' said Rowley Cloade. 'Do you think I shall stick at killing a third? '
 * 'Rowley –'
 * He was upon her now, his hands round her throat...
 * 'I can't bear any more, Lynn –'
 * The hands tightened round her neck, the room whirled, blackness, spinning blackness, suffocation – everything going dark...
 * And then, suddenly, a cough. A prim, slightly artificial cough."

(in Taken at the Flood, Book II, Chapter Fifteen)

Hercule Poirot arrives at Long Willows just in time to prevent Lynn's strangulation. Rowley turns away from her and thanks Poirot flatly for having turned up just in time. Poirot then asks the farmer to make some coffee as he himself tends to Lynn's hurting neck. Rowley wants to explain himself, but Poirot does not let him. Just then, David Hunter arrives at the farm and demands to know what happened. The Detective calmly dominates the situation, telling everyone to drink their coffee while they listen to his account of the case.

For more information about the resolution of the case, see Taken at the Flood – Plot summary.

On Sunday morning, Lynn comes to the farm and tells Rowley that she "has come home" and wishes to marry him. Rowley says he will most certainly go to prison. Lynn does not think so, as M. Poirot is "rather a dear" and shall not reveal Rowley's role in the case to the police. Rowley counters sadly that he is no good and cannot trust himself not to hurt Lynn. Lynn waves him away, declaring that she never much cared for safety. Thus, the novel ends.