Hello and welcome
As we near the final chapters, I wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed writing this novel and having you along with me on the journey.
My next step is to clean it all up, do some final edits, and then pitch it to an agent. Wish me luck!
Thanks for being here.
Rosy
Kate packed the custard creams and a bottle of Harveys Bristol Cream into a separate bag and paid for her shopping at Tiddy’s. As she was fishing around in her handbag for her purse, she overheard a conversation that Mrs Tidmarsh was having on the telephone in the back room behind the shop.
“I’m sure it’s all a terrible misunderstanding. He’ll be home in a day or so I expect. Besides, the police can’t keep him for more than 72 hours unless they’re going to charge him...”
Kate could feel herself blushing as she handed her debit card to Mr Tidmarsh, who quickly pulled the connecting door between the shop and their private space beyond, closing it tightly, but he knew that Kate must have overheard that Billie had been arrested.
“Thanks, Mr Tidmarsh!” she said cheerily, pretending that she had been so pre-occupied with packing and finding her purse that she was oblivious to Mrs Tidmarsh’s conversation, and she turned to leave before he could see the guilty look on her face. As soon as she was outside, she felt a lightness in her step that she hadn’t felt in months and she couldn’t wait to share the gossip with Miss Moorcroft but before she did that, she had an errand to run.
Turning down into Mill Street she stopped on the corner and admired Wysteria Cottage with its beautiful pie-crust thatch and traditional pheasant on the ridge, and couldn’t believe her luck. She tore herself away and walked along Laburnum Lane, past Bert Humble’s old house and into the new housing development at Meadowbank. She gave her solicitor’s details to one of the young girls who was drinking coffee and chatting with a colleague in the show home office. She could hardly tear herself away and Kate coughed to get her attention, although she had obviously seen her walking up the path. Lucy had done such a good job when she had been there and was far more attentive and customer-oriented than these two gossiping madams, and she was heartened to hear that Lucy was going to make a new life for herself out in Dubai. Good for her, she thought, slightly enviously.
Irritated with the non-attentive sales staff, she wondered how people like that got jobs these days; she certainly wouldn’t have given either of those young women the time of day, let alone employ them. She headed off along Snickets Lane and came out on High Street between Miss Moorcroft’s house and Boden’s Funeral Directors.
“Hello! Helena, it’s only me,” she called, letting herself in with the key Miss Moorcroft had given her.
“No need to shout, dear,” Miss Moorcroft said gruffly without taking her eyes off the TV, where Alan Titchmarsh was extolling the virtues of planting tulip bulbs on Gardeners’ World, ‘for an explosion of colour in the spring’. She was sitting with her leg propped up on an old threadbare footstool in the sitting room, which the front door led straight into from the street outside.
Kate smiled and went through to the kitchen to unpack the items Miss Moorcroft had asked her to pick up at Tiddy’s. She loaded up a tray with some custard creams, two Schooner glasses and the new bottle of sherry.
“What’s all this?” Miss Moorcroft asked, her arms folded across her chest, clearly irritated that Kate was interrupting her afternoon viewing.
“We have a celebration!” Kate announced, peeling the plastic coating from the top of the bottle and pouring the two glasses to the brim.
Miss Moorcroft pressed the mute button on the remote and her eyes lit up.
“What exactly are we celebrating?”
“New beginnings,” Kate said cryptically.
“Oh. To new beginnings it is then,” and Miss Moorcroft gulped the warming sherry down, almost emptying the glass.
“What do you mean?” she asked, suddenly concerned that Kate might be leaving the area.
“Well, between you, me and the gatepost, I’ve just heard that Billie Tidmarsh has been arrested and I have a feeling he won’t be seeing the light of day for a long, long time. But you didn’t hear that from me.”
Miss Moorcroft smiled and her eyes twinkled. “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer chap,” she said, holding her glass up for a refill.
“But what’s that got to do with new beginnings?”
“Well,” Kate said, scooting Kitty along so she could settle on the sofa opposite. “I had Nigel’s life insurance payment through last week and I’ve decided to go ahead with the purchase of the corner plot up at Meadowbank.”
“What? You’re not leaving The Granary for that estate are you?” The disdain in Miss Moorcroft’s voice was clear and the look on her face was one of utter disgust.
“No! I’m going to let it out and keep it as an investment property, but I am going to put The Granary on the market. There are too many bad memories there and I need to move on.”
Miss Moorcroft’s face clouded over and she removed her leg from the footstool and shifted uncomfortably in her chair.
“Wysteria Cottage has come up for sale,” Kate continued. “I’ve spoken with the owners and we’ve decided to cut out the middle man and negotiated a deal. I think I got it for a good price and I’ve always liked it. There’s a lovely garden which goes down to the river, which the boys will love.”
“Oh, thank goodness for that, dear! I thought you were moving away for a moment there.”
“Why would I leave Little Twichen? The boys are settled in school and I love my job there. I can’t ever see myself leaving and instead of being next door, I’ll just be a short walk away.”
“Good for you, Kate. You deserve some happiness in your life. All we need now is for you to meet a nice, handsome young man. Or woman,” she added quietly under her breath. “Now, where’s that sherry bottle?”
#
Lucy was blown away by how smart everything was in Dubai and her first impressions were of awe and excitement. She had never seen so many skyscrapers with fantastic designs and she craned her neck to look up at them out through the car window.
“Lucy, this is Younis, our driver and he’ll be at your disposal 24/7.”
“Hello, Ma’am. Nice to meet you.” The young man nodded and smiled at her in the rear view mirror before skilfully negotiating a path through the bumper to bumper traffic leading to the downtown area of the city. The air conditioning was a welcome relief from the cloying heat and Lucy looked across at Saff on the plush leather seat next to her with a confused look on her face.
“I know what you’re thinking. It’s a nightmare to drive out here and we don’t want to go to the expense of buying a car each, so I hired Younis who only charges us for each trip. Which we then charge to the company!”
There she goes again, thought Lucy, talking in riddles but she trusted her friend’s judgment and had no option but to go with the flow.
“Did you sort out that loan business with Billie?” Saff asked.
Lucy recoiled at the sound of his name. “I did. I went to Blacks and I’ve done it through them. It’s gonna cost me a few quid but at least I won’t have any direct contact with that crook and everything will be legally binding. And I got them to check the title deeds to make sure the apartment is in my sole name and they confirmed there and then that it was, so. All good.”
“That’s great news, Luce. You’re best rid of him.”
“Yeah, I can’t believe how stupid I was to get involved with him in the first place.”
“Gorgeous guy, smart car, flashy holidays…?”Saff suggested.
“Well, there’s more but I’ll tell you when we get to yours.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about Younis.”
“All the same, I will if you don’t mind. Besides, I want you to point out all these beautiful places. I’ll never find my way around this amazing place!”
Sapphire laughed and was glad that her friend had taken to Dubai in the first instance. She hoped it would be long term but ex-pats took to the place differently; some loved it and others despised it. The falseness and trappings of obscene wealth didn’t sit well with everyone who lived there. It was also a lot more touristy than when Saff had last visited ten years ago and even she had noticed how much glitzier and over-the-top everything was. But she still loved the place; it had a great vibe and she had already garnered a good social network of friends.
“What does that say on your tee shirt?” Lucy asked, pointing at Saff’s top.
“That, my friend, is our brand. Our logo. Remember the name we came up with? Here it is for all to see – you can never get enough advertising out there and so whenever we’re working, we wear one of these. I’ve had loads of other merchandise made up too.”
Emblazoned across Saff’s teeshirt was a skyscraper with a diamond balanced on the top and a slick logo that read: Diamond Properties.
“Oh, my God! That’s amazing! I love it!”
“I’ll take you to our new office tomorrow and show you around.”
“I can’t wait.”
Lucy checked her e-mails on her iPhone and noticed one from Kate Bursford. It read: ‘I heard your news, Lucy, and wanted to wish you all the very best in your new venture in Dubai. I thought you might like to know that Billie Tidmarsh has been arrested and I don’t think he’ll be seeing the light of day for a very long time.’ There was a heart emoji at the end and a face blowing a kiss.
Lucy smiled and simply handed her phone to Saff to read. When she had finished reading the e-mail she handed the phone back.
“New beginnings all round then, so to speak,” and she gave Lucy a high five in the back of the limousine. “Why the serious face?” she asked, her Australian accent as strong as ever.
“I told you, Saff. Wait till we get back to yours.”
#
To be continued.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The eerie image at the top of this post is by Jr Korpa on Unsplash
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