(Part 01)
Olivia Adamson was a cool and detached woman who to the untrained eye appeared to be aloof and detached but nothing could be further from the truth.
But to all intents and purposes she disliked men, though that wasn’t strictly speaking true either, in fact she disliked what they did to her.
It all began for Olivia when she was 12 years old when her father left her mum and as a result she felt abandoned for the first time.
That selfish thoughtless act of desertion marked Olivia and proved the benchmark of her early years and in every relationship she had throughout her teenage years ended the same way with her being left alone again.
College was one disappointment after another and even onto university she seemed to possess the knack for choosing men with feet of clay.
So midway through her degree course she decided to wash her hands of the species entirely and concentrate on her BSc, and she never looked back and Olivia finished university with a first in business management.
Olivia never forgave her father and she was never reconciled with him and as a result of a massive heart attack when she was 29 she never would be.
She was a formidable woman and dealt with all men with a firm hand and if that failed she would employ her Paddington Hard Stare, which had been known to strike fear into men and in some cases reduce them to tears.
Olivia had willingly sacrificed the chance of love, marriage and family just to protect herself from being hurt again.
And Olivia maintained her aloofness in the face of men and reinvested the love she might have shared with a life partner with her dearest friends.
Honestly it would have been forever so had she not met Simon Fisher, a local writer and serial philanderer.
At first she had the measure of him and kept him safely at arm’s length, courtesy of hard stare.
But through acts of kindness and self-sacrifice on his part she weakened and so began a short but exhausting sexual affair.
Simon was a dog when it came to women but she knew what he was, and she let him have her, dog or no dog.
He was insatiable in his habits and he cast his net wide.
Olivia had even heard rumours about him and Claire Andrews but she didn’t believe them and nor did she confide her complicity in his philandering with Claire.
She did enjoy it though and she had never felt so alive succumbing to him was one of the events that had made her revaluate her life.
Another one was the Reverend Katie Oliver’s untimely death and then so many of the people she knew in Bushy Down had formed into couples and left her alone again.
Claire Andrews was a well-respected GP and was Olivia Adamson’s closest friend.
They had spent more than ten years at the surgery together in Bushy Down so when Claire instructed Olivia, the practice manager, to find her another practice she didn’t hesitate for a second.
With her contacts and ultra-efficiency it didn’t take long to find out the Shallowfield practice was up for sale and she offered to handle all the details, with the strict proviso that Olivia could run it for her, Claire agreed in principle but said she would be happier if she became her partner instead, Olivia agreed in a heartbeat.
And it was with a clear conscience and a heart full of hopeful expectation that Olivia upped sticks and moved across the county.
Claire had no problem selling her share of the Bushy Down practice to her partners and as Shallowfield’s surgery was vacant due to the untimely death of its previous occupants, the Doctors Collins.
It all went through very quickly, in fact so quickly that neither Olivia nor Claire had found anywhere to live despite the fact they had both sold their respective properties.
So while they were waiting they booked in to the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel at the head of Teardrop Lake.
Of course staying at the lodge was not the hardship it might sound, it was a very comfortable Hotel, well situated for the Surgery and the proprietors, Ron and Sheryl Brown, were the perfect hosts.
But as nice as it was it wasn’t home.
Which is why they were seated in front of William Lyndon-Sanders desk at his Property company office, hoping to impress him sufficiently that he might actually help them to find somewhere to live.
Olivia was four years younger than Claire and although she said it herself she was not unattractive to look at with her short dark hair, tall and slender figure with nice long legs, though she had so admit she was fairly shapeless and her chest was as flat as a bowling green.
Liv wore a smart two piece suit and black tights and due to her height a pair of flat shoes.
She also wore glasses, which made her look quite formidable and she had been told on more than one occasion that it helped in determining which way she was facing.
And Olivia knew that eeven though Claire was fast approaching forty she was still an attractive woman, a very attractive woman.
pretty face, blue eyes, soft shoulder length brown hair, 5ft 3, nice figure, everything where it should be, equally proportioned, and she also knew as they sat in the front office of Lyndon-Sanders, that William Lyndon-Sanders lustful gaze was on the woman wearing a blue two piece suit, thick black tights and 4” heels.
They were dressed in their ultra-smart apparel because some of the estate agents they had visited in the area had been more than a little frosty, even for January.
(Part 02)
William Lyndon-Sanders was very impressed with one of the potential client seated before him, the one who was emitting a very exotic perfume every time she moved.
And he thought she was a very attractive looking woman.
He was a details man and his eyes had been studying the little bit of pale pink bra strap and the glimpse of lace edging inside her nicely filled blouse, her neat hips and her beautifully round buttocks.
Olivia had to deploy the hard stare which caused him to snap out of his lusty trance.
“How may I help doctor?” he asked
“Please call me Claire” She said “And this is my colleague Olivia,”
He looked at Olivia and was less impressed but smiled
“Olivia is the practice manager” Claire clarified
Claire then proceeded to fill him in on the situation and there difficulty in finding somewhere close to Shallowfield.
“The problem is there aren’t many properties locally for sale” he explained
“And those that are, go for over inflated prices”
“Why is that?” Olivia asked
“There is a covenant dating back to feudal times” he said “That covers a great number of properties in the area”
“What does that mean for us exactly?” Claire asked
“It means that the only available properties locally are for rental only” William said
“So is there somewhere to rent in Shallowfield that might suit?” Olivia asked
“I think there is yes” he said
So that was how practice manager and organizer extraordinaire Olivia Adamson and the lovely Dr Claire Andrews came to be living in the Folly Cottages in the Dancingdean Forest.
The three terraced cottages were situated high above the northern perimeter road in a rocky glade overlooking Teardrop Lake.
Once upon a time they were home to peasant woodsmen who worked the forest but now the peasantry couldn’t afford to live anywhere near the lake.
The view was spectacular, although they couldn’t see it all or even discern the teardrop shape that gave the lake its name. But the view of the surrounding ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest was majestic.
Much of the modest body of water was obscured from view from their vantage point but it was beautiful and relatively unspoilt which was why the two women fell in love with the place immediately.
Even before they had even seen inside the cottages they were all but decided and afterwards the only decision to make was who would occupy which cottage.
In the end it was a simple choice, Claire had the one with the bath and Olivia had the one with the best kitchen as she liked to cook.
The middle one remained empty for now at any rate.
It was both idyllic and peaceful overlooking the lake, there was little or no noise pollution and although the lake was used there were no speed boats or jet skis, only rowing boats, canoes, dinghies and skiffs.
Teardrop Lake and the surrounding woodland was privately owned and covered by an ancient covenant, and was divided into twelve parcels each with one significant dwelling, although those who rented any of the cottages dotted around the forest had access to the woodland and lake.
Olivia and Claire were very pleased with themselves for finding the cottages, but a variety of reasons prevented them from immediately moving in.
Firstly they needed to be decorated and re-carpeted and Olivia and Claire needed the time which was of a premium and they didn’t really have any to spare.
The new practice was taking all their time and even with organizer extraordinaire, Olivia, on-board they were too exhausted come the end of the day to do anything other than eat and crash.
So they employed Karl Bowers, the odd job handyman at the Shallowfield Lodge, Coleman’s son, to decorate the cottages.
At their favourite eatery, The Brown Windsor, across the street from the surgery they tackled the thorny problems that remained.
The Brown Windsor was a popular restaurant and boasted a large regular clientele.
It was owned and run by Mark Roscoe, a pleasant personable man around 40 years old, who carried the evidence of his over indulgence around his middle.
For the first month or so they ate there every night by the end of it they had exhausted the variety on the menu and Mark had exhausted Claire’s patience with his constant attention.
It was one of the few occasions that Olivia didn’t mind being the least attractive.
(Part 03)
In the early days of their time in Shallowfield, Olivia and Claire found that the Brown Windsor Restaurant was where all the decisions were made.
And after they had secured the services of all the key players for the surgery, it left just one vital position to fill, that of the practice nurse.
“Look we both know who we want” Claire said
“Evangeline” they chorused
“Yes but we’ll never get her” Olivia replied
“We could make her an offer” Claire suggested
“Look this practice has twice the number of patients as Bushy Down and one in three of them are private, but there is still a limit to what we can offer her” Olivia said
“She’ll never come all the way out here anyway”
“It’s worth trying”
“But she’ll never be able to afford to live here” Olivia said
“It was difficult enough for us to find somewhere”
“I have an idea about that” Claire said
“What?”
“Number two Folly Cottages”
“That’s brilliant” Olivia said “why didn’t I think of that?”
So they lured Evangeline Christodoulou to Shallowfield with an improved package and a tied cottage.
It was a real coup, they had tried to get her to join the BushyDown surgery but never quite managed it.
Where Olivia Adamson was the master organiser Eva was a doer, in fact she was a tour de force, she was practice nurse, phlebotomist, ran the clinics, did home visits and was an all-round good egg.
So they managed to lure Evangeline Christodoulou to Shallowfield with an improved package and a tied cottage.
It was a real coup, they had tried to get her to join the BushyDown surgery several years before but never quite managed it.
Where Olivia Adamson was the master organiser Eva was a doer, in fact she was a tour de force, she was practice nurse, phlebotomist, she ran the clinics, did home visits and was an all-round good egg.
So with all the major post filled by the end of February
And the three Folly Cottages fully redecorated by Karl Bowers and new carpets fitted throughout they were finally able to get their worldly goods out of storage and were moved in by the middle of March two months to the day after they signed the leases.
Eva moved into hers two weeks earlier courtesy of her brother Emilio’s and a battered transit van.
Olivia thought it was nice after two months of living in a hotel and eating at a restaurant to just go home at the end of the day and change into sloppy joes and have a home cooked meal.
She seldom had to eat alone though because Claire couldn’t cook to save her life, so most nights they ate together.
By the time May arrived things had settled down considerably and they had added another nurse, Kate Marston, to the staff.
On the May bank holiday Lynn Cooper had invited everyone from the Surgery to a BBQ at Coopers Villa at the east end of Teardrop Lake.
As they were all local everyone accepted the invite.
It was a glorious day with not a cloud in the sky and only a gentle breeze blowing off the lake.
Claire, Liv and Eva all walked down to the Coopers together.
Along with Paul, Alastair and Kate who all emerged into the lane simultaneously as they all had flats in Dancingdean House.
Olivia thought there was a bit of a love triangle forming with the three of them and hoped it wouldn’t blow up in everyone else’s face.
Olivia thought Kate knew exactly what she was doing.
The three of them were all of a similar age and she trusted they would be sensible.
She envied Kate though having two good looking men chasing after her.
Now things had settled down at work she had more time to think that she was comfortable with and her thoughts turned to love.
She had after all moved to Shallowfield for a new start so why couldn’t that include someone special for her.
She chastised herself for her foolishness and her unrealistic dreams and decided she should just be pleased for Kate and hoped she would be happy with her choice.
(Part 04)
As soon as the group arrived at the Coopers Eva disappeared in search of Siti.
Olivia and Claire mingled and made their way slowly towards the patio stopping on the way to chat as they went and they had just set foot on the flagstones Mark Roscoe emerged through the French doors in deep conversation with Paul Cooper who was a Chief Inspector in Abbottsford.
But as soon as his eyes fell on Claire he lost interest in Paul and made a beeline for Claire.
“Oh God” Claire said
“What?” Liv asked
“Restaurateur alert” Claire said and looked for an exit
“Fear not” Olivia said and blocked Mark’s path while Claire made good her escape.
Olivia put herself in his path and smiled, the smile was one of the most disarming weapons in her arsenal.
In truth it was the type of phantom smile like a baby might make, which you think is aimed at you but it turns out to be wind.
“Hello Mark” she said
“Oh hello” he replied trying to look past her
“We have so missed eating at the Brown Windsor” Olivia said
“Well you know where we are” he said still trying to look beyond her
Anyway pleasantries were exchanged and when she felt Claire had shown him a clear pair of heels she let him pass.
Then Olivia Adamson smiled a natural smile.
“That was neatly done” a voice said behind her
“Very impressive”
Olivia turned slowly around and was priming herself to deliver a withering look at the owner of the voice.
When she completed her turn she was met by a tall skinny man with short brown hair and glasses with an inane grin on his face.
And the withering look she had planned melted away into a smile.
“I thought you handled him very well” he said and handed her a drink
“Thank you, he’s been pestering my friend” she explained
“He won’t take no for an answer”
“Oh I see” he said “and I thought you were a secret agent”
She felt herself blush and then inexplicably Olivia giggled
“No I’m Practice manager at the local surgery” she said
“Ah so you’re not Mata Hari?” he quizzed
She giggled again
“No I’m Olivia Adamson” she said
“So what about you? Are you an international man of mystery?”
She asked and they both laughed
“No my name is Ben Shenton” he replied “and I am Vicar of this parish”
“Well I’m pleased to meet you Ben” Olivia said and smiled
“Well that’s not the normal response I get” Ben said
“It’s normally the cue for them to be somewhere else”
“Well I’m made of sterner stuff” She replied
“In which case let me introduce you to some of my parishioner’s” he said then he whispered
“They have gossip that will make your hair curl”
Olivia was sitting on a stone bench and while Ben had gone to get them another drink she decided to phone Claire, it rang three times before it was answered
“Doctor Andrews” she said
“Are you ok?” Olivia asked
“Oh yes” Claire said “I’m on a yacht drinking wine with the rich and famous”
“Sounds fabulous” Liv said
“What about you?” Claire asked “I know it’s not your kind of thing”
“I’m actually enjoying it” she whispered “And I’ve heard a lot of gossip”
“Excellent you can fill me in later” Claire said
“I’ll see you later then, Bye Claire” Olivia said
“Ok Liv” Claire said and Olivia hung up
When Ben returned he had two wine glasses in one hand and a plate from the BBQ in the other.
“I hope this is ok” he said “There was a bit of a bun fight so I grabbed what I could get”
“It looks great, thank you” she said “I’m starving”
The two of them sat on the stone bench and ate in silence but for the satisfied sighs of appreciation.
When they had finished Ben gathered together the dirty plates and empty glasses and said
“Do you fancy a walk?”
“Yes I’d like that” she said “but I need to spend a penny first”
So Olivia went to the loo while Ben took the dirty things to the kitchen.
When they met back on the patio Olivia had attended to her makeup and Ben was carrying two bottles of water fresh from the fridge.
“You think of everything” Liv said
“I try to” he said
“So which way?” he asked when they got up to the road
“Left” she replied
“Left it is” said the vicar and they started walking slowly along the road in the spring sunshine and idly chatted.
Ben Shenton wasn’t from Downshire he was born in New Zealand to missionary parents, subsequently he had travelled the world, doing missionary work.
But he felt called to a different life and settled in the county.
He was almost forty years old and St Mary’s in Shallowfield was his first parish as Vicar.
“How long have you been at St Mary’s?” Olivia asked
“Two years now” he replied
Oliver thought back to her time in Bushy Down and how difficult it was for the new vicar Robert Hunter after Katy Oliver died.
“And?” she asked
“And it took time for me to win them over” he replied
“But now they have accepted me”
By the time they got to the top of the hill up the sun was at its hottest and they were flagging.
So as they were close to the Folly cottage’s Olivia suggested take a refreshment break at her cottage.
“Great idea” he concurred
They spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on her patio drinking cold beer.
“Lynn tells me you are an organizer extraordinaire” he said
“That’s very flattering” Liv said and blushed a little
“I could use a great organizer” he said
“I see, first the flattery and then the sting” she said laughing
“Not at all, not at all” he said, also laughing
Whether or not Olivia thought she was being conned or not she agreed to help him, and by the end of the afternoon she had also agreed to join the choir.
(Part 05)
After spending the afternoon on Olivia’s patio and suitably refreshed they resumed their walk and went up to Olwen’s Chapel.
Olwen was an Anglo Saxon Lady who was one of the early converts to Christianity but her pagan husband’s tribe would not accept the new faith and she was forced to worship secretly in the forest.
Her chapel was in actually just an assortment of stones on the forest floor arranged around a granite altar stone in a woodland clearing.
It had been rediscovered early in Queen Victoria reign and had been lovingly maintained ever since by a local society.
It was a very atmospheric place and every time she went there Olivia found herself spiritually refreshed.
They stayed a short while and then the Vicar walked Olivia home before going home himself, it was a lovely afternoon marred only by the fact she had snagged the chain of her crucifix on an errant branch.
“Oh shit” she exclaimed
“What’s the matter?” Ben asked
“I broke the chain” she replied “and I’ve lost my cross”
The two of them scrabbled in the undergrowth but after several minutes search they were unable to find it.
“It was my mums” she said and a lump filled her throat.
Ben was apologetic but Olivia dismissed it as unimportant.
Ben knew of course that it wasn’t unimportant.
When she returned to the cottage she was enigmatic about her whereabouts for the afternoon and when Claire pressed her Olivia distracted her with the gossip she had heard at the party.
She had enjoyed her afternoon with Ben, he was nice, someone with a like mind, a kindred spirit, but she knew Claire would have endowed it with romantic overtones, which she wasn’t even sure existed, and if they did, did she really want it?.
Olivia knew the answer to that question was a resounding yes.
In the days immediately following the BBQ at Lynn’s, Claire had been like a cat on a hot tin roof waiting to hear from Peter, the gallant hero who had helped her escape Mark Roscoe’s clutches.
On one morning she heard Claire leave very early, clearly unable to sleep and Olivia presumed she was on her way to the surgery to catch up on paperwork.
By the time Olivia walked into the surgery Claire was much happier.
“You’re very chipper for someone who left home at sparrows fart this morning”
“It must be the country air” she said
“Hmmm” Olivia uttered
“Do you fancy a Chinese tonight?” Claire said changing the subject
“Yes ok” she agreed “We’ll have to eat at 8 though”
“How come?” Claire asked not that it mattered
“I have choir practice” she replied
“You have what?” Claire asked with a snort of derision
“Choir practice” Olivia said “I have joined the church choir”
And before Claire could say anymore she flounced off into her office.
Olivia was cross, she didn’t understand why Claire was so surprised, neither of them were strangers to church and Claire knew she liked to sing.
(Part 06)
Things had settled down at the surgery with all the staff and processes starting to pay dividends and with Claire thinking more about the whereabouts of her new man than what she was doing so Olivia made herself useful on the Vicars behalf,
Doing some bookwork, Rota’s, that kind of thing.
Despite Claire’s scepticism in regard to Liv’s choral epiphany it had very definitely put a spring Olivia’s step.
And a good humour had seeped in to her every pore when she increased her choir practices to twice a week.
Due to her preoccupation with Peter Lutchford, Claire didn’t notice just how much time Olivia was spending on parish matters and the choir.
One night in the church hall after practice Olivia was helping Ben clear away after everyone had gone.
“I won’t be here for Friday’s practice” she said
“Oh! Why?” he asked struggling to keep the disappointment from his voice.
“Claire is throwing a dinner party for my birthday” she replied
“It’s your birthday?” he asked “why didn’t you say”
“I don’t like a fuss” said Olivia
“Well you should” he said “you deserve it”
“Nah” she responded and picked up her bag and said goodnight.
Ben had a meeting at the diocese with the Bishop the next day which occupied most of it.
The day after he only had a narrow window between a meeting with the parish council and the summer fete organizing committee.
He left the village hall and walked down towards the surgery, he saw Peter Lutchford entering Gunasekara’s general store and Doctor Andrews crossed the road in front of him also heading towards the store.
As he approached the glass doors of the surgery he took a deep breath, muttered a little prayer and pushed open the door.
He was carrying a manila envelope as he walked to the reception desk.
“Hello Vicar” Lynn Cooper said
“Hi Lynn” he replied “could I leave this envelope for Ms Adamson”
“You can give it to her yourself Vicar” she replied and gestured beyond him
He turned around and saw Olivia was just leaving her office.
“Vicar!” Olivia said “Were you looking for me?”
“Yes, if you have a minute” Ben said
“Certainly, come in” Olivia said in her cool detached way
“What brings you to the surgery” she said as she closed the door
“To invite you to lunch” Ben said “for your birthday”
“Oh” she responded. Taken completely off guard
(Part 07)
On Friday lunchtime Olivia left the surgery and walked along to the Vicarage.
As she approached, Ben was waiting next to his car on the driveway.
“Happy birthday” he said and kissed her cheek
“Thank you” Olivia responded
“Jump in” he said
Olivia looked at the 15 year old red and rust colour Proton and said
“I take it we’re not going far?”
“Don’t worry” he said “it runs better than it looks”
“I hope so” she said as she got in
They didn’t have far to go, just a few miles to the Huntsman’s Lodge in Childean.
As they sat at the table drinking coffee after the meal Ben reached into his pocket and brought out a small gift.
“Happy birthday” he said
“What’s this?” she asked
“Open it and see”
Olivia was carefully opening the little package when she stopped and looked at him
“You shouldn’t buy me a gift just because you’re grateful for my help” she said
“I didn’t get you a gift because I ‘m thankful for what you have done” he replied “I got it because I’m thankful for you”
“What?” she said meekly
“It’s because I think you’re special” he said
“Oh” she said and smiled, then continued opening the package, she ripped off the paper and exposed a small rectangular lidded box.
Olivia discarded the paper and then removed the lid and gasped.
“It’s my mums cross” she said in disbelief
“How?”
“I borrowed Coleman’s metal detector” he said
“You did that for me?” she asked “really?”
“Yes” he replied
She sat in silence staring at the little cross on the new gold chain and there were tears in her eyes.
“Can you put it on for me?” she asked with a crack in her voice
They both stood up and Olivia turned her back on him and offered up the chain to her neck, then Ben took the two ends and closed the clasp.
Once it was on Olivia paused to admire it briefly before turning around to face him.
“Thank you so much” she said and laced her skinny arms around his neck and pulled her whole frame in close to his and kissed him slowly and deliberately and he reciprocated in kind.
When they had finished they remembered they were not alone in the restaurant and they laughed as they sat down.
Ben leant forward across the table and whispered
“It’s a good job I didn’t wear my collar”
Later on that Friday Claire held the dinner party at her cottage in honour of Olivia’s thirty seventh birthday.
Olivia and the other guests were completely undaunted about the fact that Claire couldn’t cook to save her life.
Apart from Claire and the guest of honour, those present were Evangeline, Siti Shahara, Lynn Cooper, Chantelle Dooney and Kate Marston and they were all from the practice.
The evening went very well, Olivia had a lovely time though her thoughts did keep wandering to Ben.
All the guests enjoyed three courses of gourmet food and copious quantities of wine.
And the hostess with the mostest Claire never lifted a finger all night.
All the food was prepared, cooked and served by Lynn’s daughter Jane who was the Sous chef at the Brown Windsor.
Jane moonlighted on her nights off doing home dining experiences.
It wasn’t cheap but Claire thought it was worth every penny.
Olivia was unaware of the cost and would have been passed caring if she had, she needed to use every brain cell she could muster as she weaved her way back to her front door.
Later that day, while Claire was in her cottage deeply regretting her over indulgence the night before, because she had her first date with Peter that night, Olivia slept her hangover off until teatime.
Despite her hung over state she had decided on a plan of action, the first part of the plan was to shower off the smell of the booze that was seeping out through every pore.
Part two involved her dressing to kill and making the best of what she had.
She saw headlights through the cottage window and when she looked out she saw what she assumed to be Claire’s new chap Peter in a chauffeur driven car.
She watched Claire get into the car and then saw it drive away the she put part three of the plan in force.
It was the day after her birthday and Olivia finished getting ready and left her cottage to drive to the village.
She parked her car in the surgery car park and walked down the road to the vicarage.
Like a secret agent in the night she looked around and knocked on the door and fingered the crucifix he had presented too her for her birthday.
She saw the shadow through the glass and the door opened.
“Hi Ben” she said and smiled
“Olivia” he responded “Come in”
She stepped inside and the moment the door closed they were in eachother’s arms.
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