When Alice Met Danny (2 page)

‘While on that subject, Al, there is always my original suggestion.’ Sally gave her a wink. ‘And by the sound of it, your experience of the opposite sex is back in the realms of history, so you’d be killing two birds with one stone.’

‘Oh, Sally, there’s more to life than sex.’

‘Certainly in your life.’

‘I’ll find myself a man, don’t you worry.’ She glanced across the table. ‘Maybe a handsome young student with a six pack.’

‘So somebody half your age? You’re almost forty, Al. You could be done for cradle snatching. Anyway, from what I remember of university, the only six packs I came across were the ones containing beer.’

‘Anyway, I’ve got to get there first.’

‘Where’s there? Are you going to stay here in London? Or are you thinking of pastures new? Maybe a little thatched cottage in the country?’ She was joking, but she spotted something on Alice’s face. ‘Really? You want to bury yourself in the country, among the yokels?’

‘I was thinking of Devon, actually. And Exeter is one of the best universities in the country, or so they say.’

‘Wow, that’s radical. So you really fancy abandoning the bright lights of the city? And Devon? They’re still eating the missionaries down there, you know.’

Alice gave her a smile. ‘I’ll take my chances. Anyway, I’ll need to find a house first.’

Chapter 3

‘A house in the country?’ Danny was doing his best to sound positive, although he was still reeling at the news that she was leaving London.

‘I think so. I’ve got my eye on Devon. We used to go on holiday down there when I was little. It has happy memories for me.’ She was still holding the envelope that he had brought from the office. Alongside her name and address, there were the words:
Strictly Private and Confidential. By hand of courier.

His eyes flicked down to it. ‘Nigel told me to tell you it’s a really good deal.’

‘What would he know about a good deal?’ She allowed herself a snort of derision. ‘I’ve closed more deals than he’s had expense account lunches.’

‘We are all so sorry you have had to leave.’ He decided to take a chance. ‘And I’m very sorry indeed. It won’t be the same without you.’

‘Thanks, Danny. I’m going to miss you, too.’ She failed to spot the flash of disappointment on his face as she added, ‘All of you on the fifteenth floor.’

He rallied himself. ‘So have you found a house yet? And what about this place?’ Her flat was in a lovely old house, halfway up a narrow backstreet in Greenwich. It was the first time he had ever been inside, although he had once walked past and wondered what it was like. When Nigel had asked for a volunteer to deliver the envelope, he hadn’t hesitated.

‘I’ve only just started looking. I’ve been checking out the property websites. Prices in Devon are a lot lower than London prices.’ She nodded towards the envelope. ‘So, depending on what this says, I’ll either sell up and buy or maybe keep this place on and rent it.’ He perked up.

‘Listen, Alice, if you decide to keep it and rent it out, I would be very interested. It’s a gorgeous place and so very close to work. Would that be all right?’

‘That sounds great.’ She hesitated, looking a bit dubious. ‘It isn’t very big, you know. Are you sure you’d have room?’

‘Loads, Alice. There’s just me. Nobody else, no pets, not even a goldfish. And I should be able to afford to pay the rent. G&B are spending a lot on IT at the moment.’

She was on the point of making a rude retort about them having money to spend on computers, rather than on real people like her, but she stopped herself. It wasn’t Danny’s fault, after all. And he was a real person. How funny that he wasn’t married. He was quite good-looking, really.

‘Have you tried looking for property on auction sites?’ His voice interrupted her train of thought.

‘What, online auctions?’

‘Not exactly. These days there are more and more auctions, real auctions, where people can bid over the internet or by telephone, if they can’t be physically present. You can view all the lots from the comfort of your desk and then bid at a distance.’ He glanced around the room. ‘If you’ve got a computer here, I can show you a few if you are interested.’

‘I’d like that, Danny. Here, take a seat while I grab the laptop.’

They sat down together and he introduced her to a variety of property auction sites. In particular, they found one close to Exeter. He clicked on the icon.

‘
Next sale…catalogue
…look, there’s a sale next week.’ He could feel her warmth beside him. He did his best to concentrate on the screen. ‘Wow, look at this. There are eighty properties going under the hammer. Why not take a look at some of those. You can sometimes get real bargains at auction.’

She started clicking through the list, astounded to see some with a guide price of less than the cost of her new kitchen. She shot him a quick glance. ‘I’ll make some tea in a minute if you like. Do you want to take a look around the place in the meantime? You might as well check to see if it could suit you.’

He got up and wandered round the flat. There was this wonderful large living room, with a dining table to one side. The view from the window, over old slate roofs, was towards trees and parkland. The ultra modern kitchen was through an arch and looked like the inside of a space capsule. Not without difficulty, he located the electric kettle and filled it. While it heated up, he continued his tour of inspection. The bedroom and bathroom were spectacular. The bed was stainless steel, the sheets crisp and white. It was like something out of a glossy magazine. Shelves of clothes and rows of shoes gave it an air of intimacy, as did the blouse lying across the bed. He thought he could distinguish the imprint of her head on the pillow. He gave a silent sigh. He was still looking down at it when he heard her voice.

‘What do you think?’ Her voice echoed through the flat.

He returned to the living room. She had left the computer and was in the kitchen, making tea. He glanced at the screen. There was a pretty, red-brick terraced house for sale with a guide price of less than a hundred thousand. He gawped. The same house around here would be closer to half a million. Alongside the keyboard he saw that she had opened the letter from Nigel. She had tucked it back into the envelope again. He found himself hoping desperately that it would be sufficient for her to be able to keep the flat and rent it to him.

‘Afraid I haven’t got any biscuits.’ She reappeared with two mugs of tea. ‘If I had them in the house I would only end up eating them. Just because I’m unemployed, I don’t intend to slob out on the sofa.’

She looked, as ever, utterly gorgeous. He risked a compliment. ‘I can’t imagine you as anything remotely resembling a slob. You always look fantastic.’

Her head jerked up. That sounded remarkably like a compliment.
Mind you,
she thought to herself,
he’s probably just trying to cheer me up
. She kept her tone light. ‘A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.’

He did his best not to think of either her lips or her hips. He turned his attention to the laptop and pointed at an address on the screen. ‘See that? Beauchamp-by-the-Sea, I know that place. Did you know the locals pronounce it “Beecham”? It’s got a lovely sandy beach. Good for windsurfing, if you’re ever interested.’

She concentrated on the house agents’ blurb. ‘It’s in East Devon. That’s an area of outstanding natural beauty. I like the sound of that.’

He took a good look at the description of a terraced house. ‘It says here this one is in need of total refurbishment. Are you ready for a bit of DIY?’

She took a sip of her tea. ‘Do you know, Danny, I think I am. Something physical might be just what I need after years sitting in an office. I know what I’ll do, I’ll buy something in Devon that needs to be refurbished. In the meantime I’ll rent a place down there, so I’m not living in the midst of a building site.’ Happy with her decision, she pointed to the letter on the desk. He was pleased to see her smiling. ‘You can tell Nigel that he was right. It
is
a good severance package they have offered me. So, Danny, if you want it, this flat is yours. I’ll find out what the going rental rate is and send you an e-mail. OK?’

He jumped to his feet and extended his hand. ‘It’s a deal. Shake on it?’

She took his hand. ‘It’s a deal.’

Chapter 4

‘So you bought it without viewing it first?’ Sally was aghast.

Alice looked a bit sheepish. ‘It was at auction, and it was so very cheap. I thought I’d got nothing to lose.’ In fact, she acknowledged to herself, she had been caught up in auction fever. Although she had registered, she had only intended to view the different lots as they went under the hammer. But then when this one had appeared for so little, she had decided to put in a bid. To her surprise, nobody else had followed, and she was now the owner of a terraced house in East Devon.

‘So what are you going to do now?’ Sally still sounded very dubious.

‘I suppose I’d better go down and take a look at it. Then I’ve got to pay for it. Plus I’ve got to arrange insurance and all that stuff. I suppose I’d better get it surveyed as well. While I’m at it, I could look for a place to rent until the other one is finished.’ She swilled the last of the cappuccino around in her cup before swallowing it. ‘I don’t suppose you fancy a trip to Devon sometime soon?’

‘I’d love to, Al, but I’ve got my boys to look after.’ Her boys were two Yorkshire terriers and a husband. ‘If I take Cain and Abel on the train, they’ll probably throw up. Come to think of it, Adam might throw up as well.’

‘How is your perfect man?’ Alice had always liked the big, quiet man that Sally had married. For a while they had even tried to set Alice up with his brother, but to no effect. She had always been far too busy.

‘My perfect man is no doubt sitting in a fire station somewhere, rubbing baby lotion on his muscular body after rescuing a few old ladies and a pussy cat.’ Her eyes became positively misty before she returned to the real world. ‘As for Adam, he’s fine. He’s joined a gym because he reckons he’s getting a bit porky.’ She lowered her voice. ‘Between you and me, he’s right. Anyway, how about you and men? Any on your radar, now that you’ve got the time to dedicate yourself to their pursuit?’

‘I haven’t had time, yet. First things first, I need to get my new life on track. Then I can think about men.’

‘What about that tall boy from your office?’ Alice looked blank, so Sally elaborated. ‘You know, the one you introduced me to in that pub that time.’

‘You’re going to have to be a good bit more precise, Sal.’

‘Tall, blond, good-looking, races yachts or something.’

The penny dropped. ‘You mean Danny, Danny Kemp. He doesn’t race yachts. At least, I don’t think so. He does a lot of windsurfing, though. And, no, he’s just a friend.’

‘A handsome one.’ Sally was doing her best to get Alice fired up.

‘I can’t say I’ve noticed.’ That wasn’t strictly true. Only the other day it had occurred to her, but theirs was now a business relationship. ‘Actually, he’s renting my flat from me once I move out.’

‘With his bronzed Australian windsurfing girlfriend?’

‘Not so far as I know. He says he lives on his own. At least, that’s what he told me.’

‘What a waste.’ Sally glanced at her watch. ‘Well, got to go. I dare say you’ll find yourself somebody suitable once you are down among the haystacks. I can see you in a few months’ time, plucking cows, milking chickens…’

‘Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.’

Chapter 5

Alice rented herself a car from the station at Exeter. Buses to and from Beauchamp-by-the-Sea appeared to be few and far between. She made a mental note to add a car to her shopping list, when the time came to move out of London.

After threading her way out through the traffic, she soon found herself in the Devon countryside. Easter was approaching and the fields and banks were peppered with daffodils and primroses. The sky was bright blue, the forecast good. She opened a window and breathed deeply. Maybe this change was the right thing at the right time of her life. She felt happier than she had for a long time. This mild euphoria lasted until she reached the offices of the estate agents responsible for the auction.

‘All I can say, Ms Grant, is that you are a brave woman. We have been describing number 23 to everybody as “not for the faint-hearted”. I’m glad you did not find it too off-putting.’ Mr Melhuish, of ‘Melhuish, Melhuish and Seymour’, was a charming man with a florid complexion and a taste for tweed suiting. He emerged triumphant from the key cabinet. ‘Here we are, the keys. Or rather, I should say, the key. We only found the one. None of us managed to make it through to the back door to see if there was a key in the door, but you will find that out for yourself.’

Alice’s expression had moved from surprise to concern by this time. The penny was beginning to drop that there might, after all, be a good reason why there had been no other bidders.

‘If you could just give me directions to the house, please.’ She signed the forms he thrust at her. He looked up in surprise.

‘You don’t know your way there? Do you mean to say you haven’t seen the house?’ He looked bewildered. She just looked embarrassed.

‘Erm, no. You see, I bought in online. Did I do wrong?’ Alice was getting seriously cold feet by this time. ‘Is there something awful about it?’

Mr Melhuish did his best to reassure her, but she could see that he wasn’t finding it easy. ‘Well, you see, it’s like this. The lady who owned the house was a bit peculiar.’ From the way his eyes rolled, this was clearly a considerable understatement. ‘She has since been put into a home where they can look after her. The sale was all done through the local authority to fund her care. You see, she wasn’t what you might call a good householder.’

Alice felt her spirits fall even lower.

He attempted a smile and some encouragement. ‘It’s a good little house, in a lovely position. Once you’ve got it cleared out and refurbished, I’m sure you’ll find it just splendid. I’ve got friends in Lyndhurst Avenue. They all love it there.’ He eased her towards the door. ‘Anyway, it’s easy to find. Turn left, go straight along this street for a few hundred yards and you’ll find Lyndhurst Avenue off to your right. Number 23 is down there on the left. Five minutes and you’ll be there.’