Amelia Grey's Fireside Dream (10 page)

‘Maybe Jules will come round to the idea,’ I said, taking another tissue from the box and blowing my nose. ‘With time.’

‘I don’t know. He seems pretty set at the moment. You’re so lucky with Jack,’ Carly said. ‘It’s all so straightforward. You love him, he loves you, you want the same things. Neither of you has kids with anyone else. Your wedding was a dream.’

‘Thank you.’ My eyes drifted unconsciously to the wedding
photo on the mantelpiece: Jack and me in front of a vintage car by Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, close to where he grew up. ‘It’s not always been smooth sailing, believe me. But I can’t complain. Jack’s great.’

‘I thought, back then, that you were tying yourselves down too soon,’ Carly said. ‘But maybe it was me who was late to the party. I didn’t mind waiting for Alex at first, but now I feel gripped by this fear – if this doesn’t work out, is that it for me? Do I really have time to find someone else?’

‘You’re insane,’ I said. ‘A – it will probably work out, and B – if not, of course you have time.’

‘Sorry,’ Carly said. ‘I’m really hormonal right now. And having a teenager in charge of my love life isn’t helping at all.’

*

Later that evening Jack opened the bedroom door with a creak, waking me up from what felt like a drug-induced coma. Before Carly left she’d given me a hefty dose of Night Nurse, and I must have gone out for the count. I didn’t even remember her leaving, but she had obviously switched off the lights and TV before she did, because the flat was silent now.

‘Hey, Amelia,’ Jack said, climbing on to the bed beside me.

‘You’re back.’ I could make out through bleary eyes that it was my husband who was beside me, but his face looked strangely wobbly, and the bright light in the hallway behind him hurt my eyes.

‘I am. I brought you a creme egg. Not easy to find out of season, but I happen to know that they have unique restorative powers.’

I brightened immediately, and raised myself up to a seated position in bed to receive it from him. I unwrapped the foil from my surprise. ‘You’re an angel.’ As I bit into the chocolate shell, I pieced the day together again and remembered where Jack had been.

‘The cottage,’ I said. ‘What’s it like? Is it beautiful like the other one? With a big garden?’

‘The garden’s enormous,’ Jack said. ‘Like your mum said, the house definitely needs some work, but it’s got heaps of character – even more original features than the other one – and it looks like we could snap it up cheaply. The asking price is sixty grand less than for Arcadia Cottage, and Shannon, the agent, hinted that they’d probably accept an offer under the asking price. If they did, we would have money left in our budget to do it up.’

‘Sounds good,’ I said, still battling through feelings of slight delirium in an effort to concentrate on what Jack was saying. ‘What was it like inside?’

‘The layout was quite similar to the first cottage,’ he said. ‘You have to use your imagination a bit more, as the owner’s been living there for more than fifty years, and at the moment it’s full of her stuff. The kitchen’s a bit outdated, but we could do that up. Even with the money we lost on
the last survey and solicitors’ fees, I think we’ll have enough to do the work. This place just needs a bit of a tidy-up.’

‘Can I see the photos?’ I asked, intrigued. Jack got out his iPhone and showed me some dark interior shots – the bathroom looked quite old-fashioned but had lovely oak beams, and the bedroom was spacious. I could see there was a window with a great view out on to the surrounding fields.

‘It looks nice,’ I said. ‘In a few days I should be well enough to go for a viewing.’

‘We might need to move fairly quickly,’ Jack said, shifting position on the bed to face me. ‘It was an open house today – there were three other couples looking around.’

‘OK, sure. I’ll go and see it as soon as I’m better.’

*

The next weekend I drove down to Hazelton on my own, as Jack had to work. Instead of stopping at my mum’s house I drove through the local high street, with its clock tower, independent shops and lively village green, and carried on until I reached Brambledown Cottage.

When I arrived there was a woman in her twenties, with highlighted hair pinned back in a bun, waiting for me at the gate. I parked and got out of the car.

‘Hi, you must be Shannon,’ I said. ‘I’m Amelia.’ We shook hands.

‘Thanks for coming, Amelia. Jack mentioned how important it was that you see the place too and of course we
completely understand that. We’ve had interest from two other couples but I’ve encouraged the vendors to hold back on any decisions until you’ve had a chance to see the place for yourself.’

‘Thanks. I appreciate that.’

Shannon went up to the wooden front door and knocked on it once, firmly.

I looked at the front garden – by the apple tree the grass was overgrown, and by the front path there were two flowerpots lying on their side, broken, with soil spilling out of them. It would all need a tidy-up, but there was potential – and with the low price the cottage was on the market for, Jack and I were expecting to have to do a bit of work.

There was no answer, so Shannon tried the door again, knocking harder this time. ‘She’s an old lady,’ she said, by means of explanation.

Five minutes later we were still waiting on the doorstep. ‘I’m really sorry about this. Let me ring her son and see what’s going on – he said a viewing today would be fine.’

Shannon stepped away from the door, mobile to her ear.

I saw movement in the living room, and took a step closer. There was the same woman I’d seen before, standing, silently, in what looked like a silk dressing gown. She looked up and our eyes met. She put a hand to her chest as if seeing me had frightened her.

I glanced over at Shannon but she was deep in conversation on the phone.

The wooden door swung open, and the woman stared at me accusingly – elegant and tall, with her white hair pinned up haphazardly and a wild look in her eyes.

‘Hello,’ she said, her gaze softening. ‘You came. Come inside.’

I walked into the hallway, noticing the original wooden staircase and getting a brief glimpse into the kitchen.

‘Sarah,’ she said.

‘No, I’m Amelia,’ I said, offering her my hand.

The woman shook her head, confused.

‘I’ve come with Shannon, the estate agent,’ I said, motioning back outside to where Shannon was standing. She’d hung up the phone and was walking towards us.

‘Mrs McGuire,’ Shannon said from the doorstep, ‘I’m here to show this lady around your property. Is that still OK with you? Your son said it—’

‘Round my property?’ the woman said, angry and confused. ‘Absolutely not. What are you planning? To take things? From a defenceless old woman? I won’t have it.’

‘No, Mrs McGuire,’ Shannon said, shaking her head and smiling.

‘Are you laughing at me?’

I backed away quietly until I was standing next to Shannon just outside the doorway.

‘No, certainly not. Not at all I just wanted to show Amelia round the cottage, because she’s interested in buying it. You know, like we did with those couples the other day?’

‘Buying it?’ the old woman snapped. ‘How ridiculous. It’s not for sale. I won’t have strangers in my house.’

Shaking her head, she slammed the front door shut with such force that I took a step back.

‘Oh dear,’ Shannon said. ‘I’m so sorry about this. She was absolutely fine last time, but her family did warn me that she wasn’t well.’

‘She seemed frightened by us.’

‘Just confused, I think.’ She held up her mobile phone ‘Her son David said he’s down in Sussex today, otherwise he’d come here himself and let us in.’

‘Oh,’ I said with a pang of disappointment. ‘I suppose it can’t really be helped … but I have come all this way. Is there anything we could have a look at – the garden maybe?’

‘Yes. I don’t think we should risk going in, but there’s a low fence round the side that means we’ll be able to get a pretty good look.’

She led me through a narrow alleyway to the back of the house. The heady scent of honeysuckle crept into my nostrils. The wooden fence, heavy with white climbing hydrangea, had bowed in a section, so that we could have walked right into the garden if we wanted. I peered through the gap.

The garden was wild and untended, stretching back for what seemed like miles, with nothing but fields behind it. An oak tree stood at the far end. Blasts of colour came from within the wild grasses – hollyhocks and wild poppies were flourishing in the untended land, and there were two tall sunflowers by the opposite fence. In a sunny spot to my left there was a large patch of lavender next to a rose bush – I wondered if in the past the garden had looked quite different from how it was now.

Taking in the sweet smells, and the distant birdsong, the betting shop and railway tracks we looked out on from Addison Road felt a world away.

‘Needs a bit of TLC, obviously,’ Shannon said, pointing out the thick weeds. The grass in some areas had grown to waist height. Only the paved area by the house was under any kind of control.

‘But it’s beautiful, isn’t it?’ I said, taking a lungful of country air. Yes, the space needed taming, but the garden had potential we’d never find in a city flat – a place where I might be able to discover my green-fingered streak. I picked a poppy from the ground by my feet and held it up. ‘I think it could be lovely.’

*

Rather than go straight home, I called my mum to see what she was up to.

‘What a lovely surprise,’ she said. ‘I’m just at the post
office. Why don’t you come into the village and we can go for a stroll, get some ice creams on the green?’

‘Sure,’ I said. ‘I’ll be right over. I’ll meet you on the high street.’

I drove to the village, about fifteen minutes’ away, and parked in a side street off the main road. The high street, lively on the sunny day, was a mixture of modern boutiques and cafes, a mini-market, and a jeweller’s and antiques shop that looked as if they’d been there for centuries. I peered in through the window of the antiques shop and spotted a fireplace and some attractive standard lamps in there – I made a mental note to tell Jack about it. If we did go for the cottage, this might be just the place to pick up some bargains to furnish it with.

I crossed the road and spotted Mum right away, standing on the pavement waiting for me in a turquoise wrap dress and ballet pumps. We hugged hello.

‘So, what did you think of the cottage?’ she asked, as we made our way over to the village green.

‘The viewing was a non-starter, unfortunately,’ I said. ‘The old lady who lives there refused to let me go in and look around.’

‘Oh no – what a shame. You didn’t get to see any of it?’

‘I only had a peek inside, and then there was what I could see through the window – not much really. But we did go
round the back to the garden, which was incredible – really big. Did you say you’d been in there?’

‘No, I haven’t – I’ve just seen the outside, like you. But people round here say it’s a diamond in the rough. It’s been neglected for a while, and if you’d met the owner I’m sure you’ll have seen why. But a young couple like you and Jack, well, I’m sure you could work wonders with it. Add tons of value.’

We reached the bandstand and took a seat on the steps.

‘It would be mad to offer on it, wouldn’t it, without having seen it properly?’ I said.

‘Oh, I don’t know. Sometimes in life you just have to take a leap of faith, don’t you? And you said you were restricted in your budget. It’s not every day that a cottage like that comes up.’

‘The agent did mention there’d been other interest. I can’t see she’ll hold them back from offering much longer, and it’ll be a while till I can get back here again.’

‘What did you feel when you were there?’ Mum asked.

‘I don’t know. I liked it, I think. I mean, I was a bit thrown by the situation – the old lady being so bewildered by my being there. But the cottage was certainly charming, and I love the idea of a garden we could really put some work into.’

‘Talk to Jack tonight. I’m sure the right response will come to you.’

‘I hope so,’ I said. ‘It’s such a big decision, isn’t it?’

‘Yes,’ Mum said. ‘I felt the same when I bought my place – but I’ve never looked back. Hazelton’s a great place. Really friendly.’

‘This seems like a lovely spot,’ I said, looking out over the lawn that divided the high street in two. Mums were pushing buggies and school kids played in the central area, and there was an ice cream stand just to our left.

‘99 with a flake?’ my mum asked.

‘Yes, please. Now, that’s my kind of decision.’

*

I arrived back in Hackney in the early evening. Jack had left me a note to say he was at a cafe down by the canal, with Sunita and Nico. I put on a cardigan and went down to meet them.

‘Call this work?’ I said to Jack, when I saw the cold beer in his hand. He got up and gave me a hug.

‘I was working all day, I swear,’ he said, laughing. ‘They forced me out.’

‘We did, it’s true,’ Nico said. ‘You know how hard it is to persuade your husband about these things.’

I shook my head and kissed them all hello and took a seat beside them. Early evening sunlight flickered on the canal, and the sun was setting behind what remained of the Olympic park.

‘So, what’s the verdict?’ Jack said. ‘What did you think of the place?’

‘I’m really confused,’ I said. ‘Long story, but I didn’t get to look inside – but from what I could see it had lots of charm, and Mum says she’d heard it’s got tons of potential and thinks that at that price it’s a steal.’

‘You didn’t get to see any of it?’ Sunita said.

‘I only had the briefest of looks inside, before the owner made it clear she wanted me out. I saw the garden though, which was beautiful. Stretches back for ever.

‘Ah, the envy,’ she said. ‘Fond as I am of our metre-square concrete slab, I’d do anything for a bit of lawn, especially when this one comes.’ She put a hand gently on her stomach.

‘I got a – I don’t know. I think I got a good feeling about it though.’

‘What’s the deal with the buyers of your place?’ Nico asked.