Day One - Thursday 11th
February
Victoria
Williams enjoyed a successful career in publishing, due to her diligence and hard work.
And she had arrived in her thirties with her integrity, looks
and figure intact, but she still lived a solitary existence and took her
holidays alone.
She had
friends a plenty and an abundance of family whom by and large she adored but
the one thing that had eluded her was a lasting romantic attachment.
It certainly
wasn’t by design or for the want of trying but it amounted to a failure in her
book.
So this year
she had decided to draw a line under any romantic expectations she may once
have had.
Victoria had turned 31 in January and
disillusioned and disappointed with love she was determined to escape any
further disappointment in the romance department and as yet another Valentine’s
day was looming large on the horizon she vowed that this year would be
different.
She persuaded a group of girlfriends
of like mind and in a similar position to her own, a mixture of singles and divorcées
to meet up for a kind of anti-valentines weekend.
It was Victoria’s oldest friend Catherine
Lowis who had suggested Teardrop Lake as the venue.
She was a Police Officer and her and her
partner
PC Ian Jennings had been on a domestic violence shout
in the area a year or so before.
Which was how he met his fiancée Kate who lived
on the lake.
Catherine had subsequently been invited to
several events in and around the Lake since and she had rather fallen in love
with the place.
She booked them all into the Shallowfield
Lodge Hotel for a four day weekend from the 11th to the 16th
of February and were assured there would be no St Valentine’s Day nonsense.
Victoria and Cathy set off on Thursday morning and drove
down together through the pouring rain in complete silence until at lunchtime they
reached the outskirts of Shallowfield.
“Is this going to be a complete washout Cath?” she
asked
“Are you having second thoughts Vic?” she replied
“Aren’t you?”
“Just wait until you see the lake” Cathy said brightly
even though she was doubtful herself about the sanity of their decision but she
wasn’t prepared to admit that to Victoria.
They pulled into the lane leading towards the lake and
the heavens really opened.
“Jesus” Victoria exclaimed and stopped the car “Let’s
call it off”
“Nonsense” Catherine said “We’re here now”
“Drive on” she added and pointed
By the time they reached the car park the deluge had abated
and when they got out of the car the sky had even brightened a little.
Catherine Lowis was a skinny freckly girl of about 5 ft.
8 inches tall and weighed in at about nine stone.
When she was working she looked about three stone
heavier in her police stab vest and utility belt.
But in civilian dress she had a lovely figure and wearing
her straw coloured hair down instead of tied in a bun made her look very pretty.
Victoria Williams was neat and slim with a
dark complexion, brown eyes and short dark bobbed hair and she was shorter than
her friend.
“Ok” she said looking out across the
lake “this isn’t so bad”
As they stood there admiring the
view they were brought back to the moment by the sound of a car horn.
They turned around to see Simone
Guiver grinning through her side window and Elaine Browning waving from the
passenger side.
The four women all knew each other from
University. Simone was a tall busty black woman with a loud voice and gregarious
personality.
But Elaine
Browning was as different from her friend as chalk and cheese she was a quiet
mouse of a woman, skinny and flat chested with red head.
Simone was a secondary school teacher and Elaine owned
an Antique shop.
But one thing they very definitely had in common however
was their divorcee status.
It was perhaps appropriate that the other
two women arrived much later in the day as they had both joined the group much
later than the others.
Clare Wappat and Katie Deighton had been
friends since childhood and had over the years been absorbed into the fabric of
the group.
Clare was also a police officer and
trained with Catherine Lowis, she was very petite with long blonde hair and
Catherine had introduced her to the others.
Katie Deighton, a tall
willowy brunette divorcee and a successful solicitor, met Victoria
Williams when her firm was doing some legal work at her publishers.
And during that time they recognized each other as
kindred spirits and struck up a lasting friendship.
When Victoria introduced her to the group she was
surprised and delighted to see Clare was there too.
They all met at the bar that evening and then walked
into Shallowfield for dinner at the Phoenix restaurant and ended the night in
the bar at the Shallowfield Lodge.
It was the first time they had all been together in
the same place at the same time for about 5 years but it was as if they hadn’t
been apart for more than a day.
Although the six women were all so different,
professionally and personality wise they gelled instantly to form a lasting and
deepening friendship which had endured.
Day Two - Friday 12th February
At the meal a great deal of wine was consumed and even
more followed it in the hotel bar so as a result only Catherine and Clare made
it down for breakfast the next morning.
With them both being in the police they were well
accustomed to keeping irregular hours and early starts in particular and they learnt
never to forgo a cooked breakfast.
After their third cup of coffee and when it became
apparent the others weren’t going to appear before lunch Catherine said
“Let’s go for a walk around the lake”
“What about the others?” Clare asked
“We can leave them a message and then meet up with
them later” Cathy said
So after a quick visit to the loo they left a with
Sheryl Brown note at the front desk and set off on their walk.
It was a beautiful morning and was such a contrast to
the day before and only the abundance of puddles bore testimony to the deluge
of the previous afternoon.
They splashed their way along the northern perimeter
road admiring the views
“So
which one of these gaffs does Ian Jennings girlfriend live in?”
PC Ian Jennings was Catherine’s partner and was
engaged to a local nurse called Kate Marston.
She lived in Dancingdean
Hall which was once the residence of the Earls of Dancingdean but that line of
aristocracy had long since died out and the hall was now divided into 6
spacious apartments.
“It’s
at the top of this hill” she replied pointing “and the view across the lake
from there is just amazing”
It was a bit of a slog up the hill and they were more
than a little out of breath when they got there.
They stood panting by the gate of the property and
Catherine asked
“Shall we go and say hello?”
“Well I could use a cuppa” Clare said
“I could use a pee” Catherine said “so let’s go then”
They set off along the drive which meandered through
the trees and as they rounded the final turn they spotted two men leaving the
main doors.
“Good morning” Catherine called
“Morning” a tall dark man replied
“Is Kate at home” she asked
“She’s at work” the other man said “Won’t we do?”
“Unfortunately not, but you could let her know that Catherine
called round and that I’m staying at the Lodge” she said
“How long for?” the dark man asked
“Until Tuesday” Clare replied
“Well we might get to see you again then”
the other man mused
“Maybe” Catherine said coyly and she and
Clare said goodbye
“He was lovely” Clare said
“Yes he was” Catherine replied looking back at the
other one
“But that’s not why we’re here is it” Clare said
“No, no its not, so why are we here again?” Catherine
asked
“Good food, wine, fresh air and exercise” Clare
reminded her
“Oh yes I remember”
“He was nice though” Clare said
“Your one was a doctor I think” Catherine informed her
“What was the other one?” she asked
“A wrestler I hope” Catherine replied “all oiled up
and grapply”
They both laughed
“But that’s not why we’re here” Clare said
“You are absolutely correct” she responded “which is a
shame”
“I’ll say” Clare added and they both laughed again.
“No don’t make me laugh” Catherine said “I still need
to pee”
Catherine was quite correct in her observation the dark man was indeed a Doctor.
Doctor Alastair Phillips to be precise, and at 33 years old he was the younger of the two
men by a year, he was tall and dark with classic good looks.
But the other man was not a wrestler, he was
another Doctor, Paul Blair, he was short and stocky with close cropped orange
hair.
“They were corkers” Paul said
“Just what the doctor ordered” Alastair
concurred
“Perhaps we should pay them a visit at the Lodge over
the weekend” Paul suggested
“That’s a great idea doctor” Alistair agreed
When
Victoria and Katie arrived downstairs at the hotel they were given Catherine’s
message.
Victoria
was going to meet up with the early birds but Katie elected not to join her,
due to a particularly savage hangover.
Day Two - Friday 12th February
Catherine’s
note said that they were walking clockwise around the lake so Victoria rushed
out of the Hotel to join the others and followed the southern road so she would
intercept them.
She
was hurrying because, although she wouldn’t admit it, she was a bit scared of
the woods as they were very thick and she didn’t have a clue where she was
going.
All
of a sudden a bird took flight from the undergrowth and startled her.
She
instinctively turned her head in the direction of the sound while hurrying
along on her way, which was when she twisted her ankle.
As
luck would have it a cyclist appeared around the corner as she sat on the verge
rubbing her ankle and feeling sorry for herself.
“Are
you ok?” he asked removing his ear pieces
“I’ve
twisted my ankle” she replied
He
dismounted and asked
“Can
you stand?”
“I
don’t know” she replied
As
he helped her to her feet, she was assessing him, she thought he was very good
looking even sweaty and spattered with mud.
“Can
you put your weight on it?” he asked
She
tried and winced with pain
“Ok
just lean on me for a moment” he suggested and she dutifully obliged
“Are
you staying at the lodge?” he asked
“Yes”
“Ok
let’s sit you on the bike and I’ll wheel you to the Hotel” he suggested
“Are
you sure? That’s very kind of you” Victoria said
“No
problem” he said
“Are
you staying long?”
“Until
Tuesday” Victoria replied
“Are
you here for a romantic getaway?” he asked hoping the answer would be no
“No
not at all” she replied
“I’m
here with a bunch of girlfriends”
“Really”
he said quietly relieved
When
they got to the lodge he helped her off the bike and supported her as he walked
her slowly to the front door.
“I
think I’ll be fine from here” she said stoically
“If
you’re quite sure” he said
She
nodded her acquiescence
“Ok
then” he said in response to her nod “take care of that ankle”
“Yes
I will …., I’m sorry I don’t know your name”
“It’s
Matt”
“Well
thank you Matt, I’m Victoria”
“Well
you take care Victoria”
His
full name was Matt Addison and he was
staying at Tower House with his Uncle and Aunt and their family.
He was an
ex-soldier in his early thirties and he had served 9 years with the Downshire
Light Infantry.
And when he
got out of the army he needed to find a new career so he began working for the
family Bakery business.
Like all of
the Addison’s he was learning the business from the bottom up and he was being
used as a goffer as well as helping his cousin Nick in the Shallowfield shop.
She
watched him walk back to his bike and she thought he looked as good from behind
as he did from the front and she smiled.
He
mounted his bike and then he turned and gave her a wave before peddling away.
When
he was gone she ran and skipped across reception and up to her room.
The
walk into the village had been very beneficial for her hangover but she still
purchased a remedy or two and after she had been to the chemist, Katie Deighton, ever the one for networking decided, to
drop a business card into some of the local businesses, not that she really needn’t
the business, it was just force of habit.
Her
last port of call was Lyndon-Sanders Properties where she met the man
himself, William Lyndon-Sanders.
He was in his early to mid-thirties and was best
described as dapper, and he had clearly spent more on the suit he was wearing
than was really decent.
But Katie liked it and she liked the look of him in
it.
In his business impressions were very important and he
was very impressed with the beautiful willowy brunette seated before him.
“How may I
help?” he asked
“I’m staying
locally for the weekend so I thought I would do a little networking while I was
here” She said and handed him her card
He looked at
the card and smiled
“Well Katie
I can see you are a woman after my own heart” William said
“Perhaps
we could discuss it further over dinner while you’re here, we have some very
fine restaurants in the area”
“That
would be really nice” replied Katie genuinely
“But
I’m here with my girlfriends for the weekend and it’s supposed to be a girl’s
only weekend, I could be flayed alive just for talking to you”
“Well
we wouldn’t want that” he said and they both laughed
“Perhaps
we could arrange something after the weekend then, at a mutually convenient
time” he suggested hopefully and offered her his card.
She
took it and said
“I
will look forward to that”
Katie walked back from Shallowfield and
was just approaching the Lodge when she spotted Catherine and Clare coming the
other way
“Where’s Victoria?” Katie asked
“We haven’t seen her” Clare replied
“Well she went off up that way looking for
you” she said “I hope she hasn’t got lost”
The three of them walked the rest of the
way to the Hotel together and they found Victoria sitting in the lounge with
Simone and Elaine who had only just surfaced, and the three of them were drinking
coffee.
“I thought you were walking up to meet
these two” Katie said
“I twisted my ankle” Victoria replied
“Really?” Katie asked “Are you ok?”
“I am now” she replied
“How far did you get?” Catherine asked
with concern
“About a hundred yards” she replied
sheepishly
“You are such an adventurer Vic” Clare
said and they all laughed
That evening they ate a quiet meal at the
Hotel and limited their drinking, well compared to the night before anyway, and
then they had an early night.
Day Three Saturday Morning 13th February
After
having moderated their drinking on Friday night and having had an early night,
they were all up for breakfast on Saturday morning and all consumed a hearty
full English.
Over
coffee they discussed what they wanted to do for the day armed with a map of
the area.
The Lake was shaped like a teardrop, hence its
name, and was surrounded by the ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest.
It wasn’t a huge body of water, just over two miles
long and almost a mile at its widest point.
The Lake and the surrounding woodland was privately
owned and divided into twelve parcels each with one significant dwelling
although there were a number of cottages dotted around the woods as well, some
in use and some not.
It was both idyllic and peaceful, there was little
or no noise pollution and although the lake was used there no speed boats or
jet skis only rowing boats, canoes, dinghies and skiffs.
There were also a number of places of interest, two Folly’s, a
Watch tower, Olwen’s Chapel, a waterfall, brooks, streams, a 16th
Century Bridge and lovers leap.
The
Hotel proprietor, Sheryl Brown, told them when she brought more coffee that the
forecast was for another mild fine day with a light breeze on the Lake, rain
was forecast for the next day so it was a good day to be out and about.
On
hearing that Clare and Catherine decided they would avail themselves of one of
the Hotels Dinghies and go sailing on the lake.
Vic
and Katie weren’t strong swimmers so didn’t fancy that at all but thought that lover’s
leap would be worth seeing.
While
Simone and Elaine wanted to spend the morning exploring the Chapel and the
falls.
So
they all went their separate ways and agreed to meet back at the Lodge for
Lunch.
Victoria
really wanted a bike ride but Katie hadn’t ridden since she was 12 years old and
even then she fell off.
So
they settled on walking instead and it was Victoria who led the way and strode
off in the direction she had gone the day before, hoping she might meet her gallant
cyclist again.
“Where
are you going?” Katie called “it’s this way”
“Oh,
is it” she said and then cursed under her breath.
They
followed the northern perimeter road which lead up a long gently incline as it
climbed up above the cliffs.
As
they approached the point where the road crossed over the brook a car drove over
the brow of the hill ahead of them and as it got closer she noticed the driver
was her gallant cyclist from the day before, Matt.
A
smile appeared on his face as he recognised her and as he came to a halt he
wound down the window
”Hi
Victoria” he said “how’s the ankle?”
“Its
fine thank you” she replied and Katie gave her a look
“I’ll
keep walking and you can catch me up” Katie said and smiled at the unknown man.
“Ok”
she replied without averting her eyes from the prize.
“So
no bike today” she said
“No
I have some errands to run” he said
“So
I’ll go out this afternoon instead”
Victoria
nodded sagely in response
“We
could go together if you like” he suggested knowing they had guest bikes at the
Hotel.
“Yes
I’d like that” she replied
“Great,
do you want to meet at the Hotel?”
“No”
she said sharply “I’ll meet you here by the bridge”
“Ok
here at two then” he said
“I’ll
see you then” Victoria said
He
finally got on his way ten minutes later.
Day Three Saturday Morning 13th
February
Katie
had trudged along the Lane on her own and as she reached the top her attention was
attracted to the sound of someone hacking about in some shrubbery nearby.
She
cautiously approached and discovered on closer inspection it was William Lyndon-Sanders red faced and sweating.
“What
on earth are you doing in there?” She said and laughed at the state of him.
“Croquet”
he said
“Is
that a swear word around here?” Katie asked
“No
I was practising for next month’s croquet match” he explained “I hit a scatter
shot and one of the blasted balls ended up in this mess, ah there’s the bugger”
“Do
you have a croquet lawn then?” she asked
“Yes”
he said in a way that queried “doesn’t everyone”
“How
posh” Katie said
“It’s
a very technical game you know” he said enthusiastically “And it can be quite
nasty”
“Really?”
she said in disbelief
“It’s
quite thuggish to be honest” William said
“You
have to have a mixture of skill and spite and possess a ruthless streak” he
said
“And
do you?” Katie asked
“I’m in
property” he replied
He looked at
his watch and said
“It’s a bit
early but why don’t you come in and have a spot of brunch?”
“I
can’t I’m afraid I’m lunching with the girls”
“Afternoon
tea then” he suggested
“Afternoon
tea? Yes that would be lovely”
Because
it was the first mild sunny day of the year there were a number of boats out on
the water that day, local artist Danny
Pellegrino was sat sketching while his wife Penny was
at the tiller.
The
Famous film director Peter Lutchford and his wife Claire,
Peter’s
actress sister Amanda and her friend and fellow thespian Tamsin and of course the
stalwart Coleman Bowers in the hotel skiff delivering mail.
Catherine
was the experienced sailor of the two so she took the tiller and Clare just
went along for the ride, they noticed there were a number of other craft about
but didn’t know who any of the occupants were apart from Coleman because he was
the odd job man at the hotel.
They
had been out for about an hour when they spotted another dinghy which appeared
to be on the same tack as them but was making better headway.
On
closer inspection Catherine realised it was the Doctor and the Wrestler from
the day before.
“We’ve
got company” Catherine shouted
“Oh
good, yummy pirates” Clare said in a lecherous manner.
When
they were a few lengths astern of them Catherine let her sail go slack and a
few moments later the other boat did the same and they came along side.
“Hi”
Alastair said from the tiller “we’ve been looking for you”
“Really”
Clare said
“Yes
we went to the Hotel and Sheryl said you were on the water” Paul said “so we
went home a got the boat”
“Now
you’ve found us what do you suggest we do?” Catherine asked the other captain
“We
could change crew” he suggested
“What
a great idea” Catherine said and was about to give Clare the heads up just as
her friends was literally jumping ship.
Once
aboard she relieved Paul who was holding the two craft together and he stepped
effortlessly from one boat to the next.
“We
need to be back at the Lodge by 1 o’clock” she said to Alastair.
“Aye,
aye captain” he said and pushed off.
They
spent the next hour and a half racing up and down the lake until they both came
to a halt alongside the Hotel jetty.
“That
was fun” Clare said as she stepped onto terra firma
“We
can do it again after lunch” Alastair said
“Or
we could go out in skiff instead” Paul suggested
“That
sounds good” Catherine replied
“We’ll
pick you up at two” Paul said as the dinghy drifted away
“Make
it 2.30” Catherine shouted and then her and Clare waved them off.
“What’s
a skiff?” Clare asked
Day Three Saturday Afternoon 13th February
Miraculously
everyone made it back to the hotel in time for lunch and they all contributed excitedly
to the conversation with everyone enthusing on their various adventures.
“You would
not believe the view from lovers leap” Victoria said “it was absolutely breath-taking”
Of course
nobody told the whole truth about what they had been doing.
And trying
to decide among them on the content of the afternoon’s adventures proved to be
as difficult as nailing jelly to a tree.
Everyone had
different ideas on what they wanted to do and no one could agree so that
particular discussion just petered out but they did at least agree on dinner in
Purplemere at a restaurant called the Runcible Spoon.
After lunch
everyone returned to their rooms as the clock struck two, though Victoria was
barely in hers for more than 5 minutes and was the first one downstairs.
She quickly
sought out one of the Hotel bikes and a rather un-fetching helmet and pedalled
off at breakneck speed to the rendezvous.
Katie was
next about ten minutes later and left the building in a rather surreptitiously melodramatic
manner baring all the hallmarks of a character from a second rate 1950s spy
film, looking furtive and shifty and was constantly looking over her shoulder
making sure no one was following.
Simone and
Elaine came down after that and set off into the direction of the same section
of woods they were in all morning the only difference between after lunch was
that Simone appeared to be carrying a picnic blanket.
Finally dead
on the stroke of the half hour Catherine and Clare with their blonde hair
dancing about their shoulders went rushing out the door.
Although the
weather wasn’t warm enough for anything too revealing they did at least go for
more feminine apparel than they had on earlier in the day.
“Sorry I’m late” Victoria panted as she pedaled up the
incline.
“That’s ok” he said “it was worth the wait”
Victoria actually blushed a little which under normal
conditions would have been cute but instead it just looked like exertion.
“Are you ready for some more hill?” he asked
“Yes I’m tougher than I look” Victoria replied
They ended up at Lovers Leap sitting on the promontory
chatting.
She didn’t have the heart to tell him she’d already
been up there once that day.
And anyway if she hadn’t already been there she
wouldn’t have known how much more enjoyable it was to be there with him.
As Katie
began the slow climb up the hill she could just make out a couple of cyclists
at the top of the hill they were too far away for her to identify them and in a
second they had disappeared.
She too was
dressed in more feminine attired she had on a wool dress and black tights.
Slightly
less fetching were the trainers on her feet but she had a pair of flat shoes in
her bag which she planned to change into on his driveway.
Day Three Saturday Afternoon 13th February
When
Catherine and Clare got to the jetty the Doctors were already waiting for them.
“Wow you two
look lovely” Paul said
“Knock out”
Alastair agreed
The girls
didn’t say anything they just looked at each other they’d heard plenty of soft
soap in their time, only time would tell if they’d just had a fresh dose or
not.
Their skiff
was tied alongside the jetty and Alastair was stood in it waiting to help them
in and Paul was on the jetty waiting to untie the line.
It was about
20ft long and capable of holding more than the four of them it had two sets of
double seats facing each other, one at the stern and one in the middle which
were obviously the ones they intended to use the remainder was covered by a
Tonneau cover.
Alastair
took Clare’s hand and helped her into the boat and guided her into the stern
seat, then he did the same for Catherine but seated her opposite her friend.
Alastair
then sat next to Clare and steadied the skiff while Paul untied the line and
stepped in.
Paul then
pushed away from the jetty as Alastair started the motor he then reached under
the tonneau and retrieved a couple of car rugs.
“Here we
are, in case you get cold” he said and handed one to each of the girls.
The ever
resourceful Paul also produce tea, coffee and hot chocolate in flasks.
As soon as
Katie stepped on to the driveway she paused and changed her shoes, then she
attended to her makeup before continuing up to the house.
She knocked
on the door and it was opened almost immediately by William who looked even
more dapper than he did earlier.
“Ah Katie”
he said “do come in”
“Thank you
William” she said
“I think its
warm enough to sit on the terrace” he said
“But if you
get chilly we can come back inside”
After an
hour on the water the sun began to sink in the sky and it soon became apparent
that not even the rugs and hot beverages were going to stave off the chill so
they put in at the east end of the lake and walked up to Dancingdean Hall.
Where the
girls gratefully accepted an invitation to Alastair’s flat to enjoy his
hospitality, he had cocktails in mind but the girls just needed to pee.
They did
however stay for one drink, and then Paul kindly offered to drive them back to
the hotel.
Simone and
Elaine were the first two back to the Hotel and went straight upstairs to get
ready.
It was after dark when Victoria got back to the Hotel and
she was spattered from head to toe in mud but she was grinning from ear to
ear.
William dropped Katie off on the Shallowfield side of
the Hotel and she reentered the building
in the same surreptitious and melodramatic manner in which she left it, keeping
in the shadows until the course was clear.
“Thank you
for a lovely afternoon” Clare said and kissed Alastair’s cheek
“Yes, thanks
Al” Catherine added
Paul drove them down the hill and dropped them in the Hotel
car park.
“Thanks Paul” Clare said and got out
“Yes thanks Paul, I had a great time” Catherine said
and kissed him on the mouth.
Day Four Sunday 14th February
The Runcible Spoon was a wonderful
restaurant and more than lived up to their expectation and they were absolutely
stuffed by the end of the evening and when they got back to the Lodge they
decided to forgo a nightcap and they all waddled to their rooms.
Despite the amount of food they had consumed
the night before Catherine and Clare were still down the next morning for their
full English breakfast.
Everyone else was downstairs by 9 o’clock
but apart from Katie who ate a piece of toast they only drank coffee.
“So what’s on the cards today?” Clare
asked “As its V day”
V was for Valentines.
The rain predicted by Mrs. Brown the day
before was indeed falling but she up dated them at breakfast with the news that
brightening skies were following.
Though she couldn’t say when.
“Church” Victoria replied randomly
Although none of them were out and out
atheists none of them were regular Church goers either but none of them could
think of a reason not to so all of them nodded in agreement.
“We can all pray for good weather” Elaine
suggested
“Yes and if that fails its cag’s and
wellies for all of us” Victoria said.
They all went upstairs and changed and
then set off after Sheryl Brown gave them directions to St Mary’s.
It was a nice little church and the vicar
and his wife were very welcoming and the service was undemanding.
There was a good sized congregation
including two young doctors, who managed to steal a moments conversation with
the two blonde policewomen during the post service mingle.
When they all returned to the Hotel they
changed into their wet weather clothes and Sheryl prepared them a packed
lunch.
The six of them yomped the woods and
explored some of the hidden treasures of the woodland.
But they messed about so much they didn’t
make a lot of progress.
They ate lunch in Dancingdean Folly and
then worked their way back through the woods to the falls.
One by one they jumped across the brook, even
Simone who was a big unit leapt it with ease.
But as they followed the course of the
stream down towards the road Katie slipped and fell in the brook and got a
bootie.
Victoria laughed like a drain and so Katie
pulled her in and she got two booties and they all laughed until they cried.
They were still laughing as they sat on
the bank and tipped the water from their wellington boots.
When they got back to the hotel they were
all soaked to the skin but despite the foul weather, the brightening skies
never did appear, they all agreed it was the best Valentine’s Day they had ever
spent.
Before they went upstairs to a hot bath
they all sat around in the bar drinking Brandy coffee’s.
“Where are we going tonight?” Simone
asked
“I don’t know” replied Victoria “any
suggestions?”
“You know what I fancy” Catherine said
“I do” whispered Clare
Catherine elbowed Clare and said
“A pizza”
“Oh yes” Katie concurred
“What a great idea” added Elaine
“That’s unanimous I think” said Victoria
“There’s a very good sit down in
Purplemere” Sheryl Brown said “or an excellent takeaway in Childean”
“And they deliver” She added
After they all had good long soaks in the
bath they met back in the Hotel bar.
The very excellent pizza was delivered and
heartily consumed in the bar with a liberal amount of wine amidst a lot of
silliness and laughter but by 9.30 they were all exhausted and it was early
nights all round.
Day Five Monday 15th February
As might have been predicted the two
members of the Downshire Constabulary, Catherine and Clare, were up bright and
early and tucking into one of Sheryl Browns very excellent cooked breakfasts.
One by one the others joined them in the
breakfast room.
But no discussion followed that morning as
to the order of the day because Monday’s activities had all been pre-booked.
They had a full day’s beauty treatments at
Mazzone’s in Childean, facials, manicures, pedicures, waxing etc.
The whole nine yards.
They were all returning to their rooms
after breakfast when Sheryl called Victoria over and handed her an envelope.
And when they returned downstairs half an
hour later Catherine Lowis arrived in reception just as Katie Deighton was
hanging up the phone on the reception desk.
“Just checking everything’s all set for
today” she said
But Catherine didn’t believe a word of it.
They spent the whole day in Childean and had
the full range of treatments offered by Mazzone’s, including having their hair
done, along with a premium Buffet lunch and copious quantities of champagne.
Cathy
and Clare were sitting next to each other having a pedicure when Cathy
whispered
“Victoria’s
going to go ballistic”
“Well
she might be a little cross” Clare agreed
“A
little cross” she exclaimed “We came here for a man free weekend and were going
out to dinner with a couple of men”
“But
she won’t really mind will she?” Clare asked but Cathy just gave her a solemn look
“Oh
God she’s going to kill us isn’t she” said Clare
And
Catherine nodded in the affirmative.
When the giggling overexcited and slightly
tipsy romantically unattached group left Mazzone’s they had been coiffured, waxed,
buffed, threaded, tweezed, perfumed, painted, powdered and preened.
At
7.30pm the six women all met in reception and all dressed in their glad rags.
The
casual observer might have thought perhaps that they were a little over dressed
for a girl’s night out.
However
dressed to kill they were and they went through to the bar for drinks.
Catherine
Lowis and Clare Wappat were bracing themselves for the shock wave that would
surely follow them telling Victoria that they were abandoning the group and going
out for dinner with two local doctors.
But
it had to be done and done soon as they were being picked up in ten minutes.
Katie
Deighton was also looking decidedly pale and fidgety while completely unaware
of the other two’s plans, but in full knowledge of the consequences to her own.
Victoria
Williams ordered a large whisky from Mrs Brown and downed it in one as Clare
looked at Catherine and urged her with her eyes to speak.
But
before Cathy got the chance Victoria suddenly said
“You’re
all going to kill me after I dragged you down here for a man free weekend” she paused
only to down another whisky and added, “but I have a date”
She
closed her eyes and waited for the vehement response she had been dreading from
her friends.
Then
when it didn’t come she opened one eye just as Catherine said
“So
have we” and was holding Clare’s arm
“Not
with each other” Clare added “with men”
“Me
too” admitted Katie and the four women all laughed with relief.
And
then they turned to look at Simone Guiver and Elaine Browning who were looking on and had not made any
declaration and then Simone’s huge chest started to tremble as a deep fruity
chuckle rose from the depths of her chest and Elaine started to giggle uncontrollably.
“Don’t
mind us” Simone said when the laughter had subsided “we’ll be fine”
So
they all sat in the Hotel bar and waited for their respective escorts to arrive
and when the last of the couples had gone Simone and Elaine looked at each
other and grinned
“So
what shall we do?” Simone asked
“I
think we should go upstairs and get you out of that corset” Elaine replied
“Oh
what a wonderful idea” purred Simone
Day Six Tuesday 16th February
They
next day they were all stood in the car park before departing and chatted
briefly.
Before
hugging Simone and Elaine, who were the first to drive off and the other four
women waved them off flamboyantly.
The other four
girls were in no hurry to leave as all of them had lunch dates.
“When
are we going to tell them that we know they’re gay?” Victoria said as Simone
drove out of view
“Oh
not for a good while yet”
Katie
said and they all laughed
It was a strange
irony to the story that on an Anti-Valentines weekend, far from avoiding
romance they ended up embracing it, such was the magic of Teardrop Lake.
That long
weekend on the lake changed their lives beyond recognition forever because within
two years of it, four of the women were living on the Lake with the men of
their dreams and the other two were living together as a couple.
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