Chapter 9
After our meeting at the bank, which was cut rather short thanks to Minnie, who howled pitifully if I was out of sight for more than five seconds together, David offered to treat me to tea and cake at The Cherry Tree Café, so we could talk through the final few details of Gwen’s legacy.
Thankfully there wasn’t all that much to discuss and I tried my best to stay focused on what David was saying rather than becoming distracted by the nudges, nods and blatant stares coming from a few of the other customers who had no doubt worked out who I was.
When we finally finished, and with Minnie still happily ensconced with a bowl of water in the shade under our little table in the café’s front garden, it was time to properly meet the team who I had already heard so much about. I felt pretty certain they were going to be a friendly bunch and thankfully my thoughts were soon confirmed.
‘Angela guessed who you were when she spotted Minnie,’ gushed a pretty woman with a riot of red unruly curls and freckles to match.
‘Yes,’ I agreed, glancing at the other tables. ‘She is a bit of a giveaway, isn’t she?’
‘Just a bit,’ she laughed. ‘So how are you settling in to life at Cuckoo Cottage?’
‘I haven’t really started yet,’ I admitted, wondering if this was the baking queen David had been singing the praises of. ‘But I am enjoying the peace and quiet.’
‘Oh, I bet there’s plenty of that,’ said the woman, rolling her eyes. ‘Penny to a pound you’ve got no mobile signal, and I know for a fact that Gwen had no internet connection set up.’
‘But you can always come and use ours until you get yourself sorted,’ said another member of the café staff who came to help clear away our empty plates. ‘I’m Jemma, by the way,’ she added.
‘Oh, and I’m Lizzie,’ laughed the redhead, her curls bouncing. ‘I probably should have told you that.’
‘Don’t worry about it,’ I reassured her. ‘It seems to me that pretty much everyone around here remembers who I am, so it stands to reason that you’d think I already know your name.’
‘Very true,’ she smiled. ‘But don’t worry about that lot,’ she added quietly, nodding in the direction of the tables closest. ‘They’ll move on to gossiping about someone else soon enough.’
I nodded back, hoping she was right.
‘Well,’ she said, ‘I’d better get back to work. I’ve got a crafting session to prepare for this afternoon.’
‘That’s what Lizzie does,’ Jemma explained. ‘She runs all sorts of crafting courses and sewing sessions here at the café. If you’re interested in that sort of thing, Lottie, you’ll have to have a look at the schedule and see if you fancy signing up.’
‘I’d love to come along,’ I said, thinking that the best thing I could do to curb the name-calling and speculation would be to brazen it out and immerse myself in what the town had to offer, even if I would have to force myself to do it. ‘I tried to teach myself how to crochet last winter,’ I admitted, ‘but I couldn’t get the hang of it at all. I can knit well enough, thanks to my gran, but the fine art of self-taught crochet has eluded me completely for some reason.’
‘In that case, I reckon the weekly knit and natter afternoon would be perfect for you,’ called Lizzie over her shoulder. ‘We do all sorts of things at that. Bet we could get you on track in a jiffy. We aren’t running at the moment but we’ll be starting again in the autumn.’
‘I’ll keep it in mind,’ I nodded. ‘It would be handy to have another reason for popping to town to eat more of this delectable cake.’
Not that you could really categorise the journey from Cuckoo Cottage to Wynbridge town centre by bike as ‘popping’ to town, of course.
‘You really do need to think seriously about this car business,’ frowned David. ‘It’s all very well cycling in when the sun’s shining, but on a wet Wednesday in winter you won’t be so keen.’
I could understand the reasoning behind his suggestion, and Chris and Matt’s, but deep down I was still resistant to the idea, even though they didn’t know why.
‘I think I’ll just see how things go for now,’ I said, keen to take baby steps into my new life, rather than diving in off the high board. ‘I’ll get settled in for a few weeks and then see how I feel.’
My head began to thump as I realised the question of my mobility wasn’t going to go away and I braced myself for David’s nagging to commence, but it didn’t happen. To my surprise, he fell silent and when I looked up I could see that he had forgotten all about me and was watching the lady who had served us when we first arrived, and who Lizzie had identified as Angela.
As if aware of David’s gaze, Angela turned to look at him and smiled. When I looked back at David I saw a slight blush lighting up his usually pale complexion and I couldn’t help thinking that perhaps there was a little romance blossoming here. However, I hastily nipped the thought in the bud, remembering how annoyed I had been by Chris’s insistence just a couple of days before that he was going to try and ‘find me a fella’.
‘Feel free to use our Wi-Fi code if you need to catch up with emails or anything, won’t you, Lottie?’ said Jemma as she rushed by with another packed tray. ‘The signal’s great here.’
‘Actually,’ I said, suddenly remembering what David had said about Jemma helping Gwen access the internet, ‘you wouldn’t happen to have a minute, would you, just a few seconds for a quick chat?’
She made a hasty scan of the tables, most of which were filling with customers hoping to tuck into an early lunch, and nodded.
‘Give me ten minutes to get these orders through,’ she said with a wink, ‘and I’ll come back.’
‘Thanks,’ I smiled. ‘I’d really appreciate it.’
‘And do you think I could have our bill please?’ asked David. ‘If it’s all right with you, Lottie, I really do need to get back to the office.’
‘Of course,’ I said, ‘and please let me pay for this. It’s the very least I can do, considering how much you’ve done for me during the last few months. I’m sure you’ve helped with far more than you were obligated to as Gwen’s solicitor.’
‘Well, perhaps I have,’ he admitted with a smile, ‘but don’t forget I was her friend as well.’
He wouldn’t let me pay of course and having given Angela another wistful glance he settled our bill and went back to work.
‘He’s a lovely man, isn’t he?’ said Angela, who arrived with another cup of delicious coffee courtesy of Jemma.
‘From what I’ve seen and experienced he’s an absolute gem,’ I agreed, ‘and I hope you don’t mind me saying,’ I rushed on, completely ignoring my former conviction to keep my observations to myself, ‘but from what I could tell, he seems to think you’re a lovely lady.’
‘Oh, I don’t know about that,’ said Angela, colouring deeply and looking mortified, ‘but we are good friends.’
I looked at her and raised my eyebrows.
‘And nothing more,’ she said with a smile. ‘You naughty girl!’
‘See,’ said Jemma, sidling up and playfully plucking at Angela’s sleeve. ‘Lottie’s only been here five minutes and she’s already spotted how David feels about you.’
‘Two naughty girls,’ tutted Angela, shaking her head. ‘What vivid imaginations you have.’
When she had gone back inside I picked up my coffee and took a long sip.
‘I shouldn’t have said anything,’ I said. ‘I hate it when people try and play matchmaker in my life, so I should know better really.’
‘Oh, don’t worry about it,’ shrugged Jemma. ‘Lizzie and I have been trying to push those two together for months. She’s no doubt getting used to our attempts to interfere by now.’
In spite of what I had just said I was still intrigued.
‘So I’m guessing she and David are in a position to . . . ’ I stumbled for the right word.
‘Date?’ suggested Jemma, raising her eyebrows.
‘Exactly.’
‘Yes,’ she nodded, ‘they are. Both widowed. David more recently than Angela, but they’re both free agents. They just need a bit of encouragement, that’s all. We’ll keep working on them,’ she said determinedly. ‘Don’t you worry about that.’
I was relieved that I hadn’t really put my foot in it or opened up a brand new can of worms, but I didn’t think I’d mention the situation again. After all, I still didn’t really know anyone involved well enough to justify sticking my nose quite so far in.
‘So,’ said Jemma, ‘was there something in particular you wanted to talk to me about?’
‘Yes,’ I said, thinking back to the treasure tucked away in the barn, ‘there is actually. You said yourself that Gwen had no internet access at the cottage, didn’t you?’
‘Yes, that’s right.’
‘But she used to come here to use your computer, didn’t she?’
‘She did,’ Jemma confirmed. ‘In fact she was very proficient. Had she got access sorted at home, I’m certain there would have been no stopping her.’
‘I can well believe that,’ I agreed. ‘I can’t imagine that a woman like Gwen would let something as trivial as modern technology hold her back from making the most of every opportunity life offered her.’
‘Quite,’ beamed Jemma, ‘and I’m guessing,’ she added, eyeing me sharply, ‘that you want to talk to me about what she dedicated her time as a silver surfer doing, don’t you?’
‘Yes,’ I confirmed. ‘I do. David said you helped her find the four pretty little caravans that are now safely tucked away in the barn, but what I’m trying to figure out is what she thought I would want to do with them when I moved here.’
‘Well, given the passion she said you had for your job, I’m sure she thought you would be able to guess.’ Jemma winked.
‘I’m sure she did,’ I conceded, knowing that Gwen was most likely encouraging me to set up my own business just as John and Eric had done. ‘And I’m thrilled by the idea of renovating and restyling them, just like the projects I worked on in Lincoln, but I think there’s more to it than that. Gwen was very particular in the vans she sourced and I can’t shrug off the feeling that she probably didn’t want me to sell them on.’
‘Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, my lovely,’ Jemma frowned, ‘but I don’t know about that. Given the way she talked about how much you loved your job, I just assumed that she was buying the vans for you to sell on once they’d been through your expert hands.’
I felt the colour rise in my cheeks. I’d never been good at accepting compliments.
‘I really am sure there’s more to it than that,’ I sighed. ‘Three of the vans are almost exactly the same, right down to the builder, but the fourth,’ I mused, thinking of the little Bailey, ‘that’s a bit different.’
I was trying to look for a link that might give me a clue as to what Gwen had been thinking.
‘Now if you’re talking about the Bailey,’ said Jemma, her tone quiet and conspiratorial, ‘we did talk about what you might be able to do with that particular one.’
‘Oh really?’ I said, leaning further forward in my seat.
‘Um,’ she said, looking a little flushed. ‘I’ve got this crazy idea, you see . . . ’
Unfortunately I didn’t get to hear what her idea, crazy or otherwise was, because at that exact moment the café gate opened and Minnie began to growl. I’d pretty much forgotten that she was even under the table because she had been so quiet and well behaved, but clearly she hadn’t forgotten that she didn’t like Matt, who was now sauntering towards us carrying a toolbox and cordless drill.
‘Finally,’ said Jemma, throwing up her hands and jumping up. ‘I’d almost given up on you.’
‘Sorry,’ he said sheepishly, ‘I had an emergency call-out.’
‘Well, if you’d been much longer, this would have turned into a full-blown emergency as well!’
‘Sorry,’ he said again. ‘I should have called.’
‘Lottie,’ said Jemma, determinedly turning her back on the dazzling consolation smile Matt was trying to placate her with, ‘would you mind if we carried on chatting about this another day?’
‘No, of course not,’ I said, desperately struggling to keep Minnie under the table.
‘But in the meantime, please don’t do anything with that van!’ she called over her shoulder as she rushed back to the kitchen, obviously expecting Matt to follow on behind.
‘Hello again,’ he said, turning back to me.
‘Hello,’ I said, conscious of the gaze of the two women at the table closest.
‘How are the legs?’
‘Not too bad, all things considered, and mostly thanks to you.’ I smiled. I could see Jemma striding back down the path and looking from one of us to the other, an inquisitive frown forming. ‘It’s a long story,’ I told her before she had a chance to say anything and hoping she wasn’t going to expect me to tell it with such a rapt audience.
‘Well, you can tell me all about it at as you fix this leak,’ she said pointedly to Matt. ‘Or would you rather I went and called a plumber?’
‘OK, OK,’ he said, dutifully making to follow on as she disappeared again. ‘Here, Lottie,’ he said, rushing back, ‘this is what I tried to give you before.’
He handed me a slip of paper with a mobile number on – his, I presumed.
‘Give me a call when you want me to come and talk you through those jobs Gwen was planning to have done, or just give me a call,’ he shrugged, throwing a cheeky grin over his shoulder, ‘whatever.’
With Matt finally inside the café and out of sight, I stowed his number safely away in my dress pocket, ignored the muttering which had escalated next to me and let Minnie out from under the table. She looked absolutely outraged to have been denied her quarry and I wondered what she really would have done had she popped out and found Matt within range of her sharp little teeth.
‘Come on, you,’ I said. ‘Let’s go and see if we can find Chris and Marie on the market.’
I took one last look at the café, hoping that Matt wasn’t embellishing the details of how we’d met and adding his own ‘damsel in distress’ subplot. I didn’t care if the ladies were appalled by Will’s ridiculous driving, but I didn’t want any of them jumping to the wrong conclusion about Matt and me, especially Jemma. Having witnessed for myself her dogged determination to throw David and her friend Angela together, I certainly didn’t want to find myself the unwilling target of yet another Wynbridge matchmaker.
‘Well, well, well, if it isn’t Miss Foster.’
So preoccupied with worrying about what was being said in the café, I hadn’t noticed I was on a collision course. Jumping to the side of the path and pulling Minnie along with me, I stared up at the thickset, burly, unshaven face of a man I didn’t recognise.
‘Sorry,’ I blushed. ‘I didn’t see you . . . ’
‘Not to worry,’ he said, fixing me with a long stare. ‘I dare say you don’t remember me, do you?’
‘No,’ I said, ‘sorry.’
‘Well, I remember you,’ he said, clearly enjoying the moment. ‘You used to come on the seaside trip with your nan and grandad every summer, didn’t you? It’s funny how you’ve not been seen around here for ages then suddenly pop up once you’ve inherited Cuckoo Cottage.’
I felt myself go hot and thought how deluded David had been to suggest my arrival would fail to raise a comment.
‘So how is our little bird settling into her nest then?’
Unnerved as I was, I felt my hackles rising as fast as Minnie’s had when Matt was in close proximity.
‘Got any plans for the place yet?’
‘Not that it’s anyone’s business, but no,’ I said primly, ‘not yet. However, life at Cuckoo Cottage is every bit as lovely as it always was, thanks.’
‘We all thought you might be keen to sell on rather than move in.’
I glanced around, wondering if by ‘all’ he meant practically every resident in town.
‘I’m not going anywhere,’ I said, daring to look him in the eye and wishing I had been blessed with a few more inches to help me stand my ground.
‘Well,’ he shrugged, ‘if you do find it all a bit too much to cope with I’m sure you won’t have any problems getting rid.’
‘Look,’ I swallowed, backing towards the gate and reaching for my bike, ‘I hate to disappoint you, but I have no intention of going anywhere.’
‘Well, we’ll see,’ he laughed after me. ‘I give you six months, seven tops.’
That was funny I thought, because Gwen had given me twelve.
Given what I could remember of it from former visits, Wynbridge market looked as if it had recently enjoyed a very healthy growth spurt and it was the perfect spot in which to put some distance between myself and the less than friendly local who was taking bets on how long I would last living in the sticks.
Not only were there more stalls, including a great hardware stall where I found a padlock for the big shed, but there was also a really nice vibe and camaraderie about the place. The stallholders called out happily to one another and I could see there were quite a few more shops opened up as well. Next time I cycled in I really needed to find a way to leave Minnie behind at the cottage so I could have a proper look around.
Unusually there was no sight or sound of Chris, but I soon spotted Marie.
‘Hello, Lottie,’ she waved, beckoning me over. ‘How are you? How are you settling in? You’re looking a bit peaky, my love,’ she added, taking a step closer. ‘Are you all right?’
I had no intention of mentioning the little spat I had just had at the café, even though it had upset me far more than it probably should have, given that I had been forewarned.
‘I’m fine,’ I told her, with a brave smile, ‘and I’m settling in beautifully,’ I added, ‘thanks to you.’
She waved a hand and shook her head, but I wasn’t going to let her get away with that.
‘No,’ I said firmly. ‘I really mean it, Marie. I’ve stayed at Cuckoo Cottage often enough in the past to know what Gwen’s attitude towards housekeeping and polishing the family silver was. The place is absolutely sparkling.’
‘Well, I was hoping you wouldn’t mind,’ she said cautiously, ‘because I did give it a thorough going-over. Given everything you’ve been through in the last few months, I thought you could do without having to do a proper deep clean on top of everything else, and besides,’ she added, ‘it’s easier to do a really good job when no one’s at home. You don’t mind, do you?’
‘Of course not,’ I told her, keen to dismiss her fears and express how genuinely grateful I was.
‘Only I got part of the way through and Chris said I should have asked you before I even started,’ she shook her head. ‘I felt awful after that, but I could hardly stop, could I? I had to finish and then I just crossed my fingers and hoped you wouldn’t notice.’
I had to laugh out loud when she said that.
‘How could I possibly not notice, Marie? The place is spotless, but no, I don’t mind at all that you didn’t ask.’
‘Well, that’s a relief,’ she sighed, puffing out her cheeks. ‘I’m delighted I haven’t upset you because, believe me, even just the thought of telling Chris that he’d been right was too much to contemplate!’
‘Where is he today?’ I laughed.
‘He’s had to pop to the wholesaler’s,’ she said, ‘but he shouldn’t be long. Do you want to hang on to see him?’
‘No,’ I said, ‘that’s OK. I’ll just have a quick look at Gwen’s old stall.’
‘Oh now that’s typical,’ said Marie, shaking her head. ‘It isn’t set up today, but it will be tomorrow.’
‘There isn’t a problem with keeping it going, is there?’
‘No, no,’ she reassured me. ‘Not at all. There’s just been a bit of a hiccup with the rota today. Can you possibly come back tomorrow?’
I thought about having to cycle the journey in the sun two days in a row.
‘Oh, I’m forgetting,’ said Marie, ‘bit of a trek on two wheels in this heat, isn’t it? You need to get yourself sorted with a little car.’
‘Oh Marie,’ I groaned, ‘not you as well! Everyone I’ve spoken to keeps telling me I need a car. Oh and a man. Apparently my life will only be complete when I’ve got four wheels in the yard and two feet under my table!’
Marie burst out laughing.
‘Sorry, love,’ she chuckled. ‘Have I hit a bit of a nerve?’
‘Yeah,’ I sighed, ‘just a bit.’
‘Well,’ she said in a low voice and with a nod towards The Cherry Tree Café where we could see Matt packing up his tools. ‘From what I heard a few minutes ago, you’re already well on your way to ticking one of those things off your list. What do you have to say about that?’
I was saved from having to say anything by the timely arrival of two other stallholders, who introduced themselves as Harriet and Rachel.
‘And of course we already know you’re Lottie,’ laughed Rachel.
‘Of course you do,’ I said. ‘It’s Minnie, isn’t it?’ I suggested, pointing at the scruffy little bundle who was showing absolutely no interest in any of the three women. ‘She’s a bit of a giveaway, isn’t she?’
‘Nope,’ said Harriet, ‘I hadn’t even taken Minnie into account.’
‘So how . . . ’
‘Mags works for us,’ cut in Rachel. ‘She’s helping us get our plant nursery ready for its launch and has been full of excitement about her lovely new neighbour.’
‘She’s over the moon to have a girl living up the road,’ Harriet added with a smile. ‘I think she was feeling a bit fed up being so outnumbered by the menfolk.’
Given that one of her neighbours was Will, I couldn’t say I blamed her, but I didn’t say as much. Practically everyone I had spoken to about him so far had him pinned as ‘Warrior Will the Great’ so there was little to be gained from trying to convince them that he was actually whatever word beginning with ‘w’ was most derogatory.
‘So we’ll see you at the party on Saturday,’ said Rachel. ‘Mags said she was going to give you a lift.’
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘I’ll be there.’
‘Oh, and Matt will be too,’ added Harriet with a wink as she watched him driving away from the café. ‘So you won’t need to worry about looking for a date.’