Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (49) Entrapment

 

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 but it’s in leafy Shallowfield where our story begins but the main characters originate from the busy town of Purplemere on the other side of the Finchbottom Vale, which nestles comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest to the south and the rolling Pepperstock Hills in the north, those who are lucky enough to live there think of it as the rose between two thorns.

 

The Vale was once a great wetland that centuries earlier stretched from Mornington in the East, to Childean in the west and from Shallowfield in the south to Purplemere in the north.

But over the many centuries the vast majority had been drained for agriculture, a feat achieved largely by the efforts of famous Mornington Mills, of which only three had survived to the present day and even those were no longer functional and were in various states of repair.

There were only three small bodies of water left in the Vale now one in Mornington, one in Childean and third of course was Purplemere,

 

It was in Purplemere were Christine Prunot lived and worked, it was where she was a solicitor working for the firm of Curtis, Mitchel and Lovegood.

Christine was five foot two and on the skinny side of slim with dark flowing hair, brown eyes, olive skin and a beautiful smile.

On a grey drab Friday morning at the end of the first week of August she was over in Shallowfield on the other side of the Vale to meet with her friend, Annette Obertelli, because she was the family solicitor.

They were meeting with the representatives of Vale Farm Pizza’s at 11 o’clock at the Shallowfield premises but she had arranged to meet Annette early so they could get the lay of the land before the meeting.

Christine decided to drive over the night before and stay at the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel on the edge of Teardrop Lake so Annette was to meet her there.

She was up early and when she stepped outside she got her first view of the lake and was blown away by the view which was spectacular, although she couldn’t see it all or discern the teardrop shape that gave the lake its name.

But the view of the surrounding ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest was majestic.

Despite the grey start the skies brightened and painted the lake and the surrounding forest with a very sympathetic hue so she decided to go for a walk.

 

Shallowfield’s fortunes had always relied largely upon forestry and agriculture for its survival.

In the post war years with rationing and a shortage of work a lot of people moved away, to Abbottsford, Abbeyvale and beyond and it only barely survived, and the community around Teardrop Lake fared even worse.

Only a few of the houses around the Lake were thriving, a lot of the houses had been rented out and those that hadn’t were in a poor state of repair, some too such an extent they were little more than ruins.

But by the 1970s things were beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism and an increase in leisure time.

More importantly these people had money in their pockets.

This trend was reflected by the fact that the derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which had been inherited by a young couple from Lincolnshire, Rob and Sheryl Brown, was being turned into a hotel.

Its completion formerly marked the rebirth of Teardrop Lake and by extension, Shallowfield, forty plus years later it was thriving.

 

Christine met Annette at the Hotel and then they drove in the formers car to the where the premises were located.

Which was a relatively modern mixed use trading estate on the outskirts of Shallowfield in what had once been a wood mill.

It was first converted into offices in the 1970’s and was occupied by a firm of Accountants, Cooper, Brandon and Holland who had relocated from London.

They occupied the site until the end of the 20th Century when they moved into more modern, eco-friendly premises at the Childean end of the village.

When the Accountancy firm vacated the site it was completely transformed with the addition of further units, into a popular trading estate with retail and fast food outlets all with offices above.

It was vibrant and busy and was clearly very popular, there was a well-balanced mixture of traders and Annette and Christine were quietly impressed, that was until they reached the Vale Farm Pizza House.

“Oh dear” they said almost in unison and then they stood looking at the tawdry façade.

It was an absolute mess, it was scruffy with flaking paintwork, and some letters were missing on the shop front, litter was everywhere and it only got worse when they went inside.     

It was such a mess inside the shop, with boxes stacked everywhere, that Annette immediately turned around and went the other way.

“Second thoughts?” Christine asked

“Not at all” Annette said “And I think with some canny negotiations they will agree to whatever terms we set in order to get me to take it on”   

“Well I think if you want it they’ll pay you for the privilege” Christine agreed

“And we’ll get lunch out of them as well” Annette added and smiled

“The Phoenix is very good, and it’s not cheap” Christine suggested

 

The meeting went ahead on time and they got more than favorable terms due to the dire straits that the shop was in.

They also agreed to close for two weeks to revamp the place as it was looking very tired and then they would open again for business on the twenty first of August and have all the wrinkles ironed out before the bank holiday weekend.

Afterwards with only the formalities to be completed later that day they went for a very pleasant lunch at the Phoenix.

 

After a very pleasant lunch at the Phoenix Restaurant good byes were said and as there were only legal formalities to be dealt with it was left to the lawyers to draft the contract, which would be signed and sealed later in the day, so Annette said to Christine.  

“Do you need me for the next bit?”

“No it will take a couple of hours to tie everything up in a bow” she replied

“Good because I need to walk this off” Annette said and patted her stomach

“Well I would suggest taking a walk up by the lake, it’s really wonderful” Christine suggested

So Annette wandered off and Christine returned to the fray with the Vale Farm Pizza’s legal eagles.

 

When she was finished she met up with her client and friend Annette outside the Vale Farm Pizza House again and Annette asked

“So how’s it going?”

“All done” she replied “you just need to sign on the dotted line”

“That’s great news” Annette said “Because I just bought a house”

“Crikey you don’t hang about do you” Christine said

“So what are you doing with the house in the Gracewoods?”

“I’m going to rent it out, in the short term anyway” Annette replied and Christine’s heart sang, she had been looking to get out of Purplemere for a while and she loved Middle Gracewood so she asked

“Can I have first refusal?”

 

“What a fantastic day” she thought to herself, as she drove Annette back to the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel, not only had she done a great deal for her client to get the Shallowfield franchise for a song, but she had first refusal on renting Annette’s house in the Gracewoods.

When Christine drove her back to the Hotel to collect her car for the drive home, they said their goodbyes and Christine went in to collect her overnight bag, and when she came out she found Annette was still sitting in her car.

“What’s wrong?” Christine asked

“The car has broken down” Annette replied “I’ll never get a garage out at this time on a Friday”

“AA, RAC, Green Flag?” Christine inquired

“I’m not a member” she replied “I never go anywhere and Roberto drove me to and from work so I never bothered”

“Not to worry I’ll call Jordan” she said

She was referring to Jordan Donaldson, who was another one of Christine’s client’s although she would really have liked there to be more to their relationship than that.

He was one of the “Donaldson Automotive” family, and the Donaldson’s bought, sold, repaired, raced and rallied cars of all makes and models.

“I thought he worked in Purplemere” Annette said

“He does but he’ll know who to call to get you sorted” she replied.

 

After a five minute phone call in which Christine constantly fiddled with her hair and giggled, she announced

“Someone will be with us in half an hour”

So while they waited they sat in the hotel garden and drank tea.

 

Jordan Donaldson came good and a mechanic, Darren, duly arrived in the allotted time and after 20 minutes said that he would have to get it back to the workshop and he’d have her up and running by midday on Saturday.

 

The fact that the car wasn’t going to be ready until the next day left Annette in a quandary, about how she was going to get home.

Under normal circumstances Christine could have driven her home but she was going to Sharpington straight from Shallowfield to spend the weekend with her parents and the coast was at the opposite end of the Vale to Middle Gracewood. 

Annette could of course have gone home by train, which had its own problems, first she would be travelling through the rush hour and then she would have to repeat the exercise on Saturday to get back again.

There was also the option of hiring a car for the night, Annette had seen a car hire place on her travels, but she decided it wasn’t worth it and she might just as well spend the night in Shallowfield, and once she was happy that Annette was ok Christine set off for Sharpington. 

 

Christine felt guilty about abandoning Annette in Shallowfield but she was expected in Sharpington so she had no choice.

She was later leaving Shallowfield than she expected but she made good time until when she was just approaching the Dulcets and her phone rang on the cradle on the dashboard but as she reached out to answer it, it popped off the cradle, landed on the central console and bounced three times and ended up behind the passenger seat.

She didn’t notice who the call was from as the phone somersaulted past her, but she had always been a little paranoid about missing calls so she decided to pull over in order to retrieve the handset and check the missed call.

Just at that point she saw a sign indicating a car park one mile ahead

“Great I’ll pull in there” she thought and when she reached it she saw it was a little lay-by set back from the road.

“Just perfect” she said as she pulled off the road and came to a halt.

 

Christine unfastened her belt and reached behind the passenger seat but with her diminutive stature she was stretching as far as she possibly could and she just got her fingertips to the target but on succeeded in pushing it farther away.

“Damn” she said “I’ll have get out and use the back door”

But just at the moment she said the words the heavens opened and the rain fell in a deluge

“Sod it, I’m not going out in that” she said “I’m climbing over”

So she clambered between the seats as a shortcut to the back and after indulging in a little contortion she manage to reach her goal and returned to the vertical with a triumphant

“Hurrah”

However in her haste to get back to the driver’s seat she decided to reverse her previous manoeuvre but just when she was halfway there, there was a loud clap of thunder overhead which made her jump and as a result she somehow managed to get her left foot stuck between the driver’s seat and the centre console and furthermore it was stuck fast.

“Oh bugger” she exclaimed when she realised she was trapped

“Now what am I going to do?”

“I know I’ll move the seat” she said to herself and carefully reached down and grabbed the handle, yanking it up as she tried to push the seat but she could apply enough force against it and then it occurred to her that she couldn’t really move the driver’s seat because of her trapped foot, but she was able to recline it a little way without causing herself any injury.

Moving the passenger seat she could have done but that would not have been of any practical use to her and her predicament.

She decided there was only one course of action open to her and that was to call Jordan Donaldson.

 

Jordan Donaldson had been one of Christine’s client’s for over four years and she had been head over heels for him from the first meeting.

He was one of the “Donaldson Automotive” family, and the Donaldson’s bought, sold, repaired, raced and rallied cars of all makes and models.

He was blonde, rugged and gorgeous and he was only six inches taller than she was, so he didn’t tower over like most men did. And she liked that.

 

To add insult to injury when she looked at her phone she saw that the missed call was an 0800 number so she had got herself in a pickle for no good reason whatever.

Then she took a deep breath and called Jordan.

“Jordan Donaldson” he said

“Hi Jordon, its Christine”

“Oh hello, is your friend still having trouble?” he asked

“No it’s me this time” she replied sheepishly

“Have you had an accident? Are you ok?” he asked with real concern

“No I’m fine, I’m just stuck in my car” she said quietly

“Did you say you’re stuck in your car?” he asked

“Yes”

“Ok where are you?” he asked

“I’m in a lay-by on the Mornington Road about a mile from Dulcet Green” she explained

“Is that the one that’s set back from the road with trees on both sides?” he asked

“Yes that’s the one” Christine said

“Ok leave it with me and we’ll sort you out” he said and then hung up

“Well that’s scuppered any miniscule chance I may have had of getting him” she said disconsolately

 

As luck would have it Jordon was also in the Dulcets, The Dulcets being a collection of villages and hamlets such as Dulcet Meadow, Dulcet St Mary, Dulcet Green and Dulcet-on-Brooke to name but a few, and it was Dulcet Willow where he was when he took the call, so he jumped in his car and headed straight for her location.

He didn’t normally get that involved with customer’s problems but Christine was a special case because he fancied the pants off her

But she was beautiful, well educated, feisty, funny and wicked smart and he was little more than a glorified grease monkey so he had never made an advance in fear of being shot down in flames.

However now he had a chance to be a knight in shining armour, although he wasn’t sure how exactly because he didn’t understand what she meant by being stuck in her car.

 

Christine was mortified when she had to tell the man she fancied that she was stuck in her own car, but that mortification paled into insignificance when she saw Jordan Donaldson’s car drive into the lay-by.

“No, no, no,” she chanted “this cannot be happening, it can’t be him, please god don’t let it be him, that’s just not fair”

Then she saw the driver’s door open and the man himself got out and walked her way.

“Oh great my humiliation is now complete”

 

Jordan opened the driver’s door and looked in and said

“Hi I’m looking for a damsel in distress”

And after the initial hellos and the obvious question

“How on earth did you get stuck?”

Christine explained about the phone call, dropping the phone, the cloud burst, retrieving the phone, the thunderclap, and the being startled and getting her foot stuck.  

Jordan listened and nodded his understanding but at no time did he laugh or make her feel more foolish than she all ready did

“Ok let’s get you unstuck” he said “but you need to relax”

“Relax!” she snapped “Relax! How the hell can I relax when I’m stuck like this and the one person in the whole world that I very definitely would not want to see me like this is the very one who comes to my rescue”

Jordan didn’t speak, not that he could have got a word in edgeways, he was too busy digesting her comments about him and not wanting to look foolish in front of him and to his way of thinking that could mean only one thing.

“It’s so humiliating” she continued, “That’s why I’m so tense and that’s why I can’t relax”

“Well would it help if I were to ask you out to dinner after I’ve released you” he said “would that help you to relax?”

And with that it took about thirty seconds to free her foot, it seemed that once he had suggested dinner she relaxed and her foot pretty much freed itself.

 

“There you are” he said as he backed out of the driver’s door.

“Thank you Jordan” Christine said as she emerged after him and gave him a hug and then there was an awkward silence for a moment or two and then she said  

“Did you mean it about dinner?”

“Absolutely” he replied “but only if you want to”

“Oh I want to, I really want to” she said “but….”

“But?”

“I’m spending the weekend in Sharpington at my parents’ house” she said

“Well Sharpington have restaurants as well you know, in fact there is a great one called The Diamond in the Rough” Jordan said “we could go tomorrow night if you fancy it”

“I’ve heard of it, it’s very exclusive” she replied

“Is that a yes then?” he asked

“Of course it’s a yes” she replied

“Ok that’s a date, text me your parents address and I’ll pick you up at 8 o’clock” he said

“I’ll see you tomorrow then” she said “Thanks again for being my white knight”

 

She got in the car and watched him walk to his and get in and they waved to each other as he drove off and then she squealed with delight because she had a date with Jordan Donaldson.