Mornington-By-Mere is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom
Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock
Hills.
It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque
idyll, with a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a Coaching Inn,
Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
But Mornington-By-Mere
is not just a quaint chocolate box English Village it is the beating heart of
the Finchbottom Vale.
Corner House aptly stood on the corner of Purplemere Road and West Gate Road
in the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside.
There were a number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere road
and Dulcets Lane, but Corner House was a large 8 bedroom Victorian monstrosity
which had at one time been the home of the master brewer of the Mornington
Brewery.
It was now the Corner Guest House run by affable landlady Kay Richardson
assisted by her children Paul 24 and Stephanie 23.
For 5 years Kay had her nephew Calvin Chance living with her as well, and
while he was there he managed to build up a reputation locally as a solid and
reliable worker.
As a result of that reputation he got regular work at Mereside Farm renovating
an old cottage which was where he met and fell in love with April Hoddinott.
They worked together from autumn till spring unable to show their
feelings for each other but they eventually went on their first date
appropriately in April.
It was a whirlwind affair after that, they Married in June and had their
first child Carrie in the following February and the new family lived together
in the cottage they had renovated together.
So as a result of her nephew starting his new family she had another room
to rent out.
Which was very beneficial as there was never any shortage of guest’s requiring
a room such was Corner House’s reputation.
Kay Richardson had worked very hard over the years running the Guest
House to build up that reputation as well as raising her children as a single
parent.
Her husband abandoned her and the children when Steph was only a few
weeks old so she and her mother ran the guest house but she died suddenly just
at the point when things should have begun to get easier when both children
were at school full time.
But that wasn’t to be.
There were of course no shortage of willing hands in the village to help
but she couldn’t afford to employ a lot of outside help.
As Paul and Steph grew up they were able to help out as well as long as
it didn’t conflict with their schoolwork.
She wanted her children to have options that she never had and make
their decisions accordingly.
As it turned out neither Paul nor Stephanie wanted to leave the village
they loved it there too much, so when they left school Kay took them on full
time and they earned their livings from the guest house which was always busy.
It was also at that time that her nephew Calvin moved in which gave her
another pair of hands.
But as steady as the trade was she always closed Corner House at
Christmas so she and the children could have a proper Christmas.
The last guests would check out on the 23rd and the earliest
check-in was 3 o’clock on the 27th.
It wasn’t a big break but they made the most of it.
Throughout the year Corner House was always busy if not fully booked, and
even at the quietest times they had more money coming in than they had going
out.
It was mixed trade, at weekends they were Birders, Ramblers or fishermen
and weekdays they were mainly business guests.
However when the
Mornington Estate exercised its option to purchase Mornington Field from the
MOD the conversion of all the buildings and infrastructure on the airfield to commercial premises
brought in a much steadier weekday business trade.
And it was the commercial space on Mornington Field which was what
brought Robert Gregory to the village.
He was a manufacturer of handmade toys who was interested in taking on
one of the converted units to use as a workshop and storage area and between
Christmas and Easter he had stayed at the Guest House at least one day every
week more often in fact than he really needed to.
Because he was a toymaker, The Richardson’s called him Santa because
apart from making toys he was also stout, jolly and had a white beard and hair
to match.
He was not as old as his hair colouring suggested, he had white blonde
hair when he was a child which darkened slightly when he reached adulthood
before turning white again in his late thirties.
As the year reached the Easter weekend he was actually 47 years old, his
wife died when his children were very young and it was to amuse his children
that he began to make toys.
As the children grew up he found he had more time to indulge what was at
that time a hobby.
But when he had a garage full of his creations and the children were more
interested in Xboxes and Playstation’s his sister Janice suggested he take them
to a car boot sale.
Janice did some research online to gauge the prices to see what they
could ask and then the two of them went off early one Sunday morning to the Nettlefield Antiques Fair and Car Boot Sale with a carful of toys and they set up their
stall and had sold out by midday.
It was after that first successful day in Nettlefield which planted the
seed of what was to become a very successful business employing almost 50
staff.
But now he was in his late forties, the children had all left home and
two of them had children of their own, and he thought it was time for a new
chapter in his life.
So when he arrived at the Corner House Guest House in January and first
met the voluptuous Kay Richardson he thought the Gods had smiled on him.
So while he was totally committed to setting up another workshop in
Mornington his primary reason for visiting quite so frequently was to see Kay.
He was taken with her the very first time he saw her and that feeling had
not diminished since.
In fact his feelings had deepened it was just that he wasn’t able to put
those feelings into words when he was with her.
He had a whole speech, carefully rehearsed in the car on the drive to
Mornington but the moment he saw her and his brain turned to mush.
Kay Richardson had been alone since her husband absconded leaving her at
the age of 21 with two small children.
Kay was still an attractive woman though fast approaching her 45th
birthday.
She had the same facial features as her daughter Stephanie but she had a
fuller figure than Steph, who she resembled in every other way, but she carried
it well.
Robert looked at her and saw a voluptuous woman but when she looked in
the mirror all she saw was fat.
She had fair hair with just a hint of grey and striking green eyes.
And because she had been alone for over 20 years, she was lonely, she had
her family around her and she loved them dearly but that wasn’t the same as
having someone to snuggle up to at the end of the day or someone to share the
mundane minutiae of the day.
Kay had loved Gerry and she hadn’t really felt whole since he left, not
that she missed him in the slightest and she felt no love for him but she
needed someone, she deserve someone because
she was a warm and loving person.
But she didn’t dwell on it or feel sorry for herself, she had always had to be strong for everyone since her mother died
and she had built a stable home for her children as well as running the B&B
to great effect.
Kay was proud of her children as well they had grown up into nice people,
good and kind.
In Paul Richardson’s
case he had literally grown up, he was very tall, almost six foot six, and stick
thin with mousy hair and big feet.
He was a hard working lad and what leisure time he had, and there wasn’t
much, was split between his hobby of birdwatching, and his girlfriend Cally
Wilson.
Cally was only 21 and
was a trainee chef at the Old Mill Inn and they were perfect together because
she stood six feet tall herself with
short curly auburn hair, and a very large bust, lovely eyes and a nice smile
and Paul loved her very much.
At 23 Stephanie was a year younger than her brother and eight inches
shorter but other than that they were very alike, stick thin, big feet, mousy
hair and good hearts.
The week began with a
normal Monday at the Guest House for Paul who along with his sister were
cleaning the vacated rooms of the weekenders.
Monday was normally
the worst day of the week for them because after the weekend visitors had
checked out the rooms needed servicing before the Monday afternoon arrivals.
That Monday however they had Cally helping as Monday was her day off and
the sooner Paul got finished servicing the rooms then the sooner he could do
the same to her.
With the extra pair of hands they made great progress and had all the
rooms completed and the landings hovered by 1 pm.
And it was as they were on their way to the kitchen for lunch that Paul
noticed Robert Gregory’s car pull into the car park.
“Is that a guest arriving already?” Steph asked
“Yes its Mr Gregory” he replied
“Oh he’s the one your
mum fancies” Cally said as they looked out of the window and when she turned
around Paul and Steff were staring at her open mouthed.
“What do you mean?”
Paul asked breaking the silence
“Your mum fancies Mr
Gregory” Cally said in surprise and was met again with stony silence.
“Blimey do you two go
around with your eyes shut”
“You’re wrong” Paul
said with a half laugh
“Trust me she fancies
him” Cally reiterated
“No she doesn’t” Steph
chimed
“I know he likes her
but then why shouldn’t he,
Mum’s still an
attractive woman”
“I agree” said Paul “She’s
just being friendly, like she’s friendly to all the guests”
“Ok then if you don’t
believe me just look at her face when he walks in and then tell me that she
thinks he’s just another guest” Cally challenged them
“Alright then” Paul
said accepting the challenge and all three of them positioned themselves on the
stairs so they could peer through the spindles at the door where Kay would
immerge to greet the arrival of a guest.
They heard the front
door open and Robert Gregory’s footsteps as he walked up the hall to the
reception desk.
He put down his
suitcase, straightened his tie and rang the bell.
A few moments later
the staff only door opened and Kay stepped through it into reception and her
face broke into the broadest smile.
“Oh Hello Robert” she
said fiddling with her hair
“Hello dear lady, you’re
looking as lovely as ever”
“Flattery will get you
everywhere” she replied and she played with her hair again.
They watched on from
the stairs in silence as the scene unfolded before their eyes but when Robert
headed for the stairs they moved quickly up the stairs ahead of him and hid
until he had passed by then Paul exclaimed
“My God you’re right Cal
she does fancy him”
“How did we not notice?”
Stephanie asked
“I told you so” Cally
said
“Alright Miss Marple there’s
no need to gloat” Paul said “But mum is clearly smitten”
“I think it’s mutual”
Steph added
“Then it’s obvious
what you need to do” Cally said
“What?” the
Richardson’s replied in unison
“We must breathe on
the embers” she replied
“What does that mean
Sherlock?” Paul asked
“We have to play
cupid” she replied
“Oh no I don’t think
so” Paul said forcefully “we shouldn’t get involved”
“Why not?” Cally asked
“Is it because you would like it if they got together?”
“No of course not, she
deserves to have someone in her life other than us” he replied
“So why don’t you want
to get involved?” Cally asked
“I just think we
should let nature take its course” Paul said
“But that’s not
working is it?” she said “they’ve been flirting with each other since January
and they’re still no closer to doing anything about it”
“Cally’s right” Steph
said “it’s time for an intervention”
“Ok then what do you
suggest?” Paul conceded
“Well a birthday
dinner obviously” she replied
It was Kays birthday
the following Monday which gave them a week to put their plan into action.
Normally Robert only
stayed for a day or two every week but as Block C on Mornington Field was
formerly being handed over to him the following day he was planning to be on
site all week overseeing the fit out so he was staying all week and into the
weekend.
And he was determined
to make his time at Corner House count by asking Kay out for dinner unaware he
had three allies who would assist in his endeavour.
Kay for her part was delighted
to have him there all week but it happened to be a week when they were fully
booked and he was busy in the new unit so they didn’t see as much of each other
as either of them had hoped.
The fact that they
were attracted to each other was an unexpected development for Paul and Steph
and they had never had the slightest intention of becoming match-makers until
Cally had pointed out what was happening under their noses, or not happening as
was actually the case, and since Cally’s revelation they had been disappointed
with the couple’s progress.
So when Paul, Steph
and Cally came across Kay and Robert talking in reception on Friday afternoon
they took their chance to move things along.
“I need to extend my stay until Tuesday, possibly even Wednesday” Robert was explaining
“The work is taking longer than anticipated”
“Oh dear” Kay expressed trying to sound sympathetic
“Did you say you have to stay on a bit longer?” Paul asked
“Yes we’ve hit a bit of a snag” he replied
“Well that’s handy, it’s
Mum’s birthday on Monday” Steph said
“Is it really?” Robert
said “And might I be indelicate by asking which one”
“Forty five” Kay
confessed
“Surely not, I don’t think you look a day over 40” Robert said kindly and
touched her hand
“Flatterer” she said and smiled
“Sounds like
serendipity to me” Steph continued “Why don’t you have dinner together”
“Stephanie!” Kay said crossly “Don’t be so forward”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea” Robert said “perhaps we could go to the
Old Mill”
“The restaurant doesn’t open on Mondays” Cally said
“Oh that’s a shame, in that case perhaps we could go to Shallowfield
instead”
“Yes but if you go all the way over there you won’t be able to have a
drink” Cally pointed out “But I could make a special birthday meal here”
“That’s very sweet of you Cally but I have the other guests to consider
remember” Kay said
“That’s ok I can cook for them as well” she replied
“Well that sounds like a plan to me” Robert said
“Well under the circumstances I can’t really refuse, so thank you Cally
that will be lovely” Kay conceded
Afterwards Paul, Steph and Cally were feeling very pleased with themselves
for their cunning and Cally was singled out for special praise for her quick
thinking.
Robert wasn’t quite sure how it had all happened but he was delighted
with the outcome and as for Kay she knew that she had been railroaded by her
children but she was happier than she had been for many years until it sank in
and she started to panic and called her best friend.
“Phil!” she said “Come quick I need help”
Kay’s best friend was
Philomena Cruickshank and she was best known as Aunty Phil, the matriarch of
the St George family, who were the custodians of the
Vale, and the residents of Mornington Manor.
They had been friends for the five years
since Phil first moved to the village from her home in Tipton, in the north of
the county, when her sister was taken ill.
She was wise and
brimming with stoical strength and practicality and Kay was to be her matron of honour when Phil was to
be married to the Vicar of St Winifred’s, Peter Cockcroft next April.
“So what exactly is the trouble?” Philomena asked
“I’m having dinner on Monday” Kay replied
“Ok” Phil said “but I’m not seeing anything life or death yet”
“With Robert”
“Really? That’s brilliant news” Phil said “About time, tell me
everything, when did he asked you?”
“Well he didn’t actually”
“So you asked him, good girl” Phil said
“Well no I didn’t ask him either”
“Ok now I’m officially confused” Philomena said
Kay then went on to explain how the children and Cally had cajoled them
both into having dinner together on her birthday.
“But that’s rather
wonderful isn’t it?” Phil asked
“You’ve been wanting
him to ask you since the first time he stayed here”
“I know, but now it’s
happening” Kay announced “And what if I blow it, what if I bore him to tears,
it might easily happen, I’m not a very interesting person, in fact I’m quite
boring”
“What nonsense, you
are witty, charming, intelligent and articulate” Philomena corrected her “Not
to mention attractive and sexy”
“Now you’re just being
silly” Kay said
On Monday because it
was her birthday Paul and Stephanie gave their mum the day off and took care of
everything between them while Cally and her best friend from the restaurant
Tegan got going in the kitchen.
When they had finished
servicing the rooms and had hoovered and dusted throughout they set up a table
for two in the private dining room for an intimate candlelit dinner.
While they busied
themselves at Corner House, Philomena Cruickshank was getting Kay spruced up at
Mazzone’s Beauty Salon in the village.
They didn’t normally
open on a Monday but when Phil phoned Antonella Gardelli over the weekend and explained
the situation she had no hesitation in offering to open the shop just for her.
Kay had been very kind to Antonella when she first moved to Mornington, she
helped her out with part time work when she was struggling to make ends meet
and later to get one of the Brewery Cottages by lending her the first months
rent and so she had great affection for Kay.
Antonella went to town
on Kay doing her hair, nails, eyebrows and a facial and by the time she and Philomena
left Mazzone’s she felt like a new woman.
Which meant she just
needed to put on her best frock and a bit of bling.
Kay left her room
wearing a cocktail dress and her mum’s best jewellery and she looked stunning
and Steph met her on the landing and they stood together, to the casual
observer they couldn’t have been anything other than mother and daughter, Kay
was just a curvier version of Stephanie.
“Wow mum you look
lovely” Steph said
“I’m not sure I needed
to dress up” Kay replied
“Of course you did”
Steph said “How often do you get the chance to dress up mum?”
“I know but….”
“Why wouldn’t you want
to look your best” Stephanie said
“I should have worn
jeans” Kay said “this looks like I’m trying to hard”
“Nonsense, you’ll
knock him sideways” she said and kissed her mum
They walked down the
stairs together arm in arm and then Kay put her hand on the dining room door
handle but Steph stopped her
“No not in there you’re
in the private dining room”
“Don’t be silly we
don’t need to eat in there, Robert and I can eat with the other guests”
“Do as you’re told
mother” Steph said
“When did you get so
bossy?”
Stephanie opened the
door to the private dining room and Robert was sitting at the candle lit table.
“Hello” she said
“Wow you look
stunning” he said and kissed her cheek “Happy birthday”
“Thank you but I think
it must be the candle light”
“You’re far too
modest” he said
“Thank you”
Cally and Tegan had
worked tirelessly all day to produce the finest gourmet meal for Kay and Robert
to make it a memorable occasion.
The food was wonderful
and during the course of the meal, the conversation flowed along with the wine
and they both shared things about their lives that they had never shared with
anyone outside their inner circles of friends and families.
At some point between
a wonderful Moroccan inspired Lamb dish and a desert that made her taste buds
tingle the conversation naturally turned to Toy making and the new premises.
“Why don’t you come
and have a look at the place?”
“Well as I’ve heard so much about it and as you paint such a vivid
picture I’d love to” she replied
“Excellent”
Coffee and liqueurs
followed desert and the conversation got onto future plans like walks in the
local countryside and maybe even a drive to Sharpington.
When they had finished
their liqueurs Kay suggested they go into her sitting room where it was more
comfortable.
Robert thought that
was a wonderful idea and stood up to attend to her chair but when she had stood
up she turned and kissed him.
When Paul and Steph
returned to the kitchen after clearing the tables in the guests dining room he
asked
“How is it going in
there?”
“Well I think they
enjoyed it, all the plates were cleared” Cally replied
“And they were very
complimentary about the lamb” Tegan added
“Not the food” Steph
said “how is it going?”
“Oh I see” Cally said
“Well they’re kissing so I suppose it’s going quite well”
“What exactly do you
mean by kissing?” Paul asked “was it a peck on the cheek or a “thank for the
company” kiss or was it something more?”
“Something more I
would say” Cally said
“To be perfectly blunt
they were snogging” Tegan said definitively
Over the following few
months Kay and Robert saw a lot of each other as he was in Mornington for 3 or
4 days every week.
And when they were in
her sitting room one evening after the guests had been fed they were chatting
when the subject of the Sharpington Day Parade came up.
“I haven’t been to the
parade since the children were small, we had such a lovely time” she said and
then her eyes filled with tears
“What’s the matter?”
he asked putting his arm around her
“It was the last trip
we had with mum before she died”
He comforted her for a
few minutes and then he suggested
“Why don’t we go to
the parade this year?”
“That would be lovely”
“We could put up at
the Seaview Hotel for a couple of nights and make a weekend of it” he said
“Separate rooms of course, what do you think?”
“Yes” she said “I
would love that”
She felt a little nervous about broaching the subject with her children,
she wasn’t sure how they would take it.
So over breakfast one morning as they sat
around the kitchen table she just came
straight out with it
“Robert has invited me
to Sharpington for a couple of days on the Bank Holiday weekend to see the
parade” she said
“That’s brilliant”
Paul responded
“You deserve a break”
Steph added “You should have a weekend away when someone else is cleaning after
you for a change”
“Are you sure?” Kay
asked suddenly doubting herself “I don’t think I should go”
“Why shouldn’t you
go?” Steph asked
“It will mess up the
rota for one thing” She replied stubbornly
“Oh hang the rota”
Paul persisted “We can cover for you for a few days”
“Well that’s all very
well but who will cook dinner for the guests?” Kay said
“You hadn’t thought of
that had you?” she retorted “You two can’t manage to do that as well”
“Cally has volunteered
to help with the cooking whenever we need cover as long as we give her some
notice” Paul said “I think six weeks is sufficient”
“Oh” Kay said
“So you have no excuse
do you?” Steph said triumphantly
“But...” she began
“You know how good a
cook Cally is” Paul said
“But...” she began
again
“And furthermore you
know that Paul and I are perfectly capable of running things”
“Ok I give in” she
submitted
That was the only
protest she put up until the morning she was due to leave and Paul and
Stephanie ganging up on their mother was having no effect so Paul called in an
ally.
“Phil? It’s Paul she’s
weakening”
Kay was pacing up and
down in the kitchen nervously as she fretted about her weekend away.
“I’m not sure about
staying overnight” she said to her friend
“Relax, Robert has
booked two rooms at the Seaview Hotel” Philomena said “Nothing has to happen
unless you want it too”
“Philomena!” she
scolded
But her friend just
gave her a look and Kay sat down hard on the chair.
“I wouldn’t know what
to do anyway, it’s been so long” she said “There hasn’t been anyone since
Gerry, in fact there wasn’t anyone before Gerry”
“You’ll be fine” Phil
said reassuringly “It’s like riding a bike”
“Yes well I fell of
the last time I rode a bike” Kay said
“I’m not sure I should
go at all” she said “I’ll call him and cancel”
“Nonsense” Phil said
sternly “Robert really likes you, and I mean “really” likes you”
“Oh ok” Kay said
meekly
“Just relax and enjoy
yourself” Philomena said and hugged her friend “Then if you feel like a special
treat, you will know what to do when the time comes”
“Are you sure you
should be marrying a Vicar?” Kay asked and they were both laughing and hugging
when Paul and Stephanie walked in.
Robert picked her up
half an hour later without further protest and Philomena received a text from
her the next morning just as she was leaving for church which simply read.
“Apparently I can still ride a bike”
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