(Part 01)
Downshire is a relatively small English county but like a pocket battleship it packs a lot in, a short but beautiful coastline, a channel port, the Ancient forests of Dancingdean and Pepperstock, the craggy ridges and manmade lakes of the Pepperstock Hills National Park, the rolling hills of the Downshire Downs, the beautiful Finchbottom Vale and farm land as far as the eye can see from the Trotwood’s and the Grace’s in the south to the home of the Downshire Light infantry, Nettlefield, and their affluent neighbour’s, Roespring and Tipton in the North and it’s in leafy Great Trotwood where our story begins.
When Kevin Riddett first moved to Great Trotwood he did so without the expectation of falling in love.
But when he was invited to a garden party at Trotwood Manor that was precisely what happened as he fell in love with Emma Ridgley the very first moment he laid eyes on her.
She was perfect, five foot four to his five eight, bobbed blonde hair, blue eyes a strong chin and a sporty physique.
But he barely finished saying hello when he noticed the wedding ring, which was to him what Kryptonite was to Superman.
He had a strict rule about adultery, a rule which he had never on a single occasion, broken.
He had always avoided fishing in someone else’s pond, no matter how attractive the body of water might be, so that was as far it went, they became friends and he admired her without making a move and valued her friendship.
Emma was married to Derek Ridgley, and thanks to the success of his business they lived in a large house in the village and they had two young children.
Emma loved her husband and they had been married for ten years but her husband was incapable in every conceivable way of loving her, he was a drunkard and a serial adulterer and yet she had remained faithful to him for the nine years since she found out he had betrayed her.
And even after she met Kevin whom she had fallen for she remained faithful, she was a married woman and to betray that was a big no-no for her, even if it was not so for her husband.
So a year went by and Emma and Kevin shared their platonic relationship, she saw the time she spent with him as a guilty pleasure, and he was content with the friendship of a married woman and refrained from making an adulteress of her.
They did the rounds of parties, flower shows, fetes, all the church events, weddings, christenings and funerals, every social event big and small and then it was time for the Trotwood Manor garden party again and all the usual faces were there with the conspicuous exception of Derek, so not for the first time Kevin was her escort and they mingled and circulated and thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company.
(Part 02)
It was time for the Trotwood Manor garden party again and all the usual faces were there with the conspicuous exception of Derek, so not for the first time Kevin was Emma’s escort and they mingled and circulated and thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company.
At the end of the day they left the party and headed towards the carpark and they paused before crossing the bridge over the culvert and turned to look across the lake and they were amazed at how natural the scene was when considering that little more than a 100 years earlier it was a boggy field.
That was before a Victorian industrialist named Josiah Tiplady, who, having made his fortune amongst the smoking factory chimneys of Lancashire, was seeking a country retreat in which to enjoy his fortune as well as the considerably fresher air, so he purchased the old Trotwood Manor.
He famously said he chose the Trotwood Estate as it had everything he was looking for, but not apparently a lake complete with fountains and an island bird sanctuary.
But as they viewed the scene on that glorious June evening they couldn’t have argued that it wasn’t money well spent.
“This is really beautiful” she said
He agreed and then they turned and continued onto the bridge and halfway across Kevin paused and turned to face Emma who had the lake behind her and said
“But now it’s even more beautiful”
And then he kissed her.
It was not a tentative or hesitant kiss and nor was it unwelcomed.
The kiss had been twelve months in the making and neither of them wished it to end too quickly but nor did they think it wise to prolong it in such a public place, but despite that the kiss lasted a full five minutes before good sense prevailed.
They journeyed home in his car largely in silence as they both tried to calculate the significance of what had happened.
Neither of them could quite believe what they had done or the full implications, they just knew it was what they wanted and that it was every bit as electrifying as they had expected it to be.
When they arrived back in the village he parked in the lane a short distance from her house so they could talk but in the end they just kissed and resolved to talk about it more when she returned from Greece.
Which was where she Derek and the children were off to the following day, for two weeks.
Which would turn out to be the longest and quietest two weeks of his life because he took himself out of circulation for the two weeks, which should have given him the chance to recharge his batteries but in truth it just gave him more time to fret.
He was by profession a blogger of financial and investment advice so it did at least allowed him to not only catch up with his blogging, but get significantly ahead and store some copy for future submissions.
So when Emma returned from Greece he would be able to give her his undivided attention.
(Part 03)
Recent events in the wider world had provided Kevin with a wealth of material for his blog and he had managed to produce around two months’ worth of content for his blog.
Which was one of the reasons he thought it was time to end his self-imposed exile, the other one being Emma’s return from Greece the day before.
He stepped out into the sunlight to find the postman, Frank Worthing, walking up the path.
“Morning Mr. Riddett” He said “So you’re not dead then”
“No rumors’ of my demise have been greatly exaggerated” he paraphrased.
“Well at least you’re up and about in time for the Dinner Dance” he said
“What?”
“It’s the village dinner dance tomorrow” he said “You’d better hurry if you haven’t bought your ticket yet”
The tickets were on sale at the village pub, Tiplady’s Tipple, named after Josiah Tiplady who was the Lancashire Industrialist who made his fortune amongst the smoking factory chimneys of the North who purchased the old Trotwood Manor in the 19th century.
He caught sight of Emma sitting alone at one of the tables in the beer garden wearing a bright summer outfit.
He guessed she was probably waiting to meet friends for lunch.
He quickened his stride and as luck would have it, or so he thought, he caught her eye and he gave her a wave, but instead of waving back she gathered up her things and hurried away.
“That’s very odd” he thought
Kevin went inside and found the landlady, Marion White, behind the bar.
“Hello Kevin” she said
“Hi Marion”
“What can I get you?” she asked
“Do you have a ticket for the dinner dance?”
“Just the one?” she replied, “Not bringing a guest?”
“No just me”
“£50” she said and reached under the counter and produced a ticket.
In response he took out his wallet and paid her in cash.
He had a sandwich and a couple of drinks at the bar and went in search of Emma as he hadn’t spoken to her since she got back from Greece.
It was after two o’clock when he stepped back out into the sun and he spotted Emma again, this time outside the Post Office.
But this time he approached her on her blindside so she couldn’t run off again and when he was a few feet away he said
“I think you’ve been avoiding me”
Emma jumped and immediately became flustered
“No, no not at all” she corrected him
“I think you have” he repeated “why?”
“I don’t know what you mean” she said coolly
“Why?” he repeated
But Emma didn’t say anything for a full minute
“Please tell me Em” he entreated
“Because I feel guilty” She snapped
“You don’t need to feel guilty Emma, I kissed you remember”
“I don’t feel guilty because it happened” She said
“Then why?”
“Because I really enjoyed it, because it was so special, because it was the most electrifying kiss I’ve ever had”
Emma paused then continued
“And because I had dreamed of that moment for a full year”
Then she hurried away but stopped and turned after a few paces and said
“But most of all I feel guilty because I want to do it again, I think of nothing else than doing it again, for the entire two weeks in Greece I thought of nothing else than kissing you again”
(Part 04)
“Because I really enjoyed it, because it was so special, because it was the most electrifying kiss I’ve ever had”
Emma paused then continued
“And because I had dreamed of that moment for a full year”
Then she hurried away but stopped and turned after a few paces and said
“But most of all I feel guilty because I want to do it again, I think of nothing else than doing it again, for the entire two weeks in Greece I thought of nothing else than kissing you again”
And then she was gone, and he thought for a moment before he hurried after her
“Emma?” he called but she kept going so he pressed on after her instead and Emma was stood by her car when he caught up with her
“Do you mean it?” he asked
Silence
“Emma?”
“Yes” she replied reluctantly “but it can never happen again, it must never happen again”
“Why?”
“Because I’m a wife and a mother” she retorted
Then she added almost as an after thought
“And I love my husband”
She may have once but not so much now he thought.
Her husband was often away on business and when he wasn’t he was in the members bar at the Golf club, supposedly in his capacity of club captain, or in a bar or club or womanizing somewhere and as a result Kevin thought Emma was clearly lonely which in his opinion she didn’t deserve to be.
She carried on putting her purchases in the boot of her car, but he put his right hand on the edge of the boot, preventing her.
“Did you really keep thinking about that day?”
“Yes” she said
“Often?”
“Yes”
“All the time” he asked
She reddened then nodded
“Don’t make fun of me, don’t make fun of it” and she started to cry
“I’m not making fun of you” he said taking hold of her hand
“I’ve thought about it all the time” he said “I relive every second of it”
“I think of you, on the bridge on that perfect night” he added and she squeezed his hand
“So do I” she gasped and squeezed his hand again
They didn’t speak and the only sound was her steady breathing and the birdsong and he watched her, her eyes were closed, her lips slightly parted, her tongue slightly moistening them as she breathed, but just then a group of shoppers walked by and the spell was broken and she let go of his hand and closed the boot.
“Please don’t avoid me Em”
“I won’t” she said, “I promise, but I meant what I said it can’t happen again no matter how much we want it to”
Then she drove away, but he would look for her the next day at the dinner dance and see what could be done.
(Part 05)
After Emma left Kevin she drove away from the village but she didn’t go home by the usual route, instead she drove up to Trotwood Manor and parked the car and then walked towards the Manor and paused before crossing the bridge over the culvert and turned to look across the lake and she was back in the moment of that electrifying kiss with the man she loved and she started to cry.
The dinner dance was being held at the Downshire Country Park Hotel which was situated equidistant between Great and Little Trotwood.
Since he watched Emma drive away he had had a very troubled day and a half and he was faced with the prospect of not ever winning her heart but also losing her as a friend.
After getting himself suited and booted he got a taxi to the Hotel and after he mingled his way through the crowd his worst fears were realized when he discovered Emma wasn’t there.
His first thought was to go straight home but he got hijacked by a bunch of regulars from the Tiplady’s Tipple and he missed his opportunity.
Four courses later during the lull before the dancing started he took his chance and snuck away all though by the time he got home he was regretting his decision as at home he had nothing to distract him from his desperate thoughts.
So he settled down in front of the TV with a large whisky and just before midnight the doorbell rang.
He was a bit miffed at the interruption, not that he was concentrating on what he was watching, he had no idea who it might be and he certainly wasn’t expecting anyone and whoever it was he was in no mood to entertain.
But when he opened the door he was surprised to see Emma standing on the doorstep in a blue cocktail dress
“Hello” he said with genuine surprise
“Hello Darling” she said, “Can I come in?”
“Of course” he said fussily “come in, come in”
Once inside she slipped off her shrug and walked through to the lounge.
Kevin followed on and thought she looked absolutely gorgeous in her party clothes.
As usual she was perfectly accessorized.
“You’re a bit overdressed” he observed
“I know” she said as she sat down “I was going to the dinner dance but…”
“But?” he asked
“I couldn’t face everyone quizzing me about Derek”
“About what?” he quizzed
“I’ve thrown him out” she replied, “And I don’t want him back, I’m moving on”
“I’m sorry,” he said inadequately
“I’m not” Emma said surprisingly “though it’s your fault”
“Then I should be sorry,” he admitted
“No, you opened my eyes and showed me that I’m still an attractive woman, still a sexy woman, Derek didn’t appreciate that, and I need to be with someone who sees me the way that you do”
Kevin raised my eyebrows,
“No that’s not right, I don’t need to be with “someone”” She corrected herself
“I need to be with you”
“Do you mean it?” he asked and knelt in front of her
“Yes, you have opened my eyes and my heart” she replied and then they sealed it with a kiss.
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