Downshire Diary – (02) Hiding In Plain Sight

 

The Pepperstock Hills National Park stretched from the bare, and often barren crags of Oxley Ridge in the North to the dense wooded southern slopes on the fringe of the Finchbottom Vale and from Quarry Hill, and the Pits in the West to Pepperstock Bay in the East.

It is an area of stark contrasts and attracted a variety of visitors.

The quarry hill side of the park To the west, as the name suggests, was heavily Quarried over several hundred years, though more extensively during the industrial revolution, the Quarries had been un-worked for over fifty years and nature had reclaimed them and former pits had become lakes and were very popular with anglers and the sparse shrubbery and woodland made it popular spot with courting couples whereas the northern crags and fells were popular with climbers and more hardy folk.

To the south and east was an extensive tract of magnificent mixed forestry and was rivaled only by the ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest.

Peter Nesbitt was staying at the White Hart pub in the village of Springwater for a few days.

It was his brother Johnnies idea, a short break in the Pepperstock Hills, a change of pace and some R&R.

Unfortunately Johnnie’s idea of rest and relaxation was the consumption of copious quantities of Mornington Ale.

But Peter, now in his early thirties, was looking for something more than drinking games and hangovers so on Monday morning, bright and early Peter grabbed his backpack and set off for a walk in the hills in the early sunshine.

As he got halfway down the lane he happened upon another walker heading for the same stile from the opposite direction.

She wore stout walking shoes, old fashioned brogues, with long argyle socks, a grey tweed skirt and a drab shapeless sweater and her hair was tied in a bun beneath a tweed cap that matched the skirt and she looked about forty.

If it hadn’t been for the coloured backpack he would have thought he’d stumbled through a portal into the 1930s.

“After you” he said

“Thank you” she replied in a voice much younger that her appearance which was accompanied by a nervous smile.

Once she was over the stile she set off at an impressive pace and was very sure footed as she strode off ahead of him, he had to admit that although her footwear was old fashioned it was considerably more appropriate for the conditions than what Peter was wearing.

It wasn’t the warmest of March days but he’d optimistically elected to wear shorts and in his little back pack he had a waterproof jacket, a drink and a sandwich.

He felt confident on his choice of clothing as the sun got progressively warmer as the morning went on.

Peter was on top of a hill looking out across the valley and could make out the shimmering water on one of the old quarry pit lakes in the distance.

He had no idea which of the lakes it was he was looking at as he’d lost his bearings a bit, after all he wasn’t really familiar enough with the area to find his way around without a map which of course he didn’t have in his pack, there were trails to follow but he hadn’t really been concentrating.

He sat down and opened his pack, ate his sandwich and drank his drink but when he looked at the distant sky he didn’t need a map or anything else to tell him it was coming his way so he decided to make his way off the hill ahead of it as quickly as possible.

The weather in the Pepperstock Hills was always unpredictable, despite the bright sunny start to the day, so it wasn’t really a surprise that by the end of the morning the blue sky had been consumed by grey.

He hadn’t even reached halfway before the low cloud settled a thick mist all around him.

 

Peter had on his light jacket by that time which was getting wet in the mist, he also had good trainers on, but on the damp stony track they were not really fit for purpose and he was slipping with every other step.

The fog came down very quickly and was extremely thick and in places visibility was down to zero.

“You should just sit it out” a soft voice said

“I’m sorry?” He said turning around and seeing the frumpy woman sitting on a large flat stone that was once part of Pepperstock Castle an imposing and impressive fortress up on its hill that overlooked the eastern end of the Finchbottom Vale.

Now it was just a collection of ruins, which could still be clearly identified as having once been a Castle, and Sarah was sat on part of it.

“You should sit it out” she said again

“Is that wise?” Peter asked

“Yes this band of cloud is due to blow through in a couple of hours” she said confidently

“Is it? He asked

“Didn’t you check the weather forecast before you set off this morning?” she asked

“No” he admitted “A bit of an oversight on my part”

“No harm done” she said in a sympathetic tone and he sat down next to her

“I’m Peter by the way, Peter Nesbitt” and offered his hand

“Sarah Hallam” she responded

 

Sarah Hallam was 28 years old, single and happy to be so, she had studied law at University but after three years she decided it wasn’t the career for her.

So she followed a different path and had been a proof reader for a legal publisher for the last six years.

It suited her as she could work from home and so didn’t have to interact with people.

It meant that she spent a lot of time on her own, which she didn’t mind as she was happy in her own company.

Although she lived in seclusion in the country just outside Abbeyvale she still liked to get away somewhere whenever she could to some place beautiful and the Pepperstock Hills National Park was certainly that.

 

Although Peter had ridiculed Sarah’s mode of dress, as they sat on a large flat block of stone in the fog, he would have confessed that she was more appropriately dressed than he was, at which point he shivered.

“Do you have anything useful in your pack?” Sarah asked

“It’s empty now I’m afraid” Peter replied

“You did come well prepared” She said sarcastically

Luckily for Peter, Sarah’s backpack was filled with a wealth of useful stuff, a thermos full of coffee, Sandwiches, Kendal mint cake and a blanket, all of which she generously shared with him while they spoke candidly about their past.

She wasn’t sure why she opened up to him she was normally a very insular person, maybe it was because they were shrouded in fog and insulated against the world that she felt at ease.

Peter was interested to hear about Sarah’s profession as he and his brother Johnnie were also in publishing as they jointly ran a printing company.

“I don’t mean to pry Sarah” he began “I understand that under our present condition they are indeed practical, but why are you dressed like a….”

“Frump?” she suggested

“Yes” he agreed “I’m sorry”

“Its fine” Sarah said “it’s quite simple really”

Peter listened intently as she explained

“When I was at university, in my first year, I had my heart broken, very badly”

She began

“And again in the third year, and that one nearly cost me my degree”

“I’m so sorry to hear that” Peter said sympathetically “But why the tweeds?”

“Well after the second time I resolved to have no more truck with love”

She said without emotion

“I am single and glad to be so”

She paused for a moment and Peter spoke

“So that’s why you dress to make yourself look fifteen years older than you are?”

Sarah nodded   

“I have found that if you are a shapeless old frump, men tend to leave well alone”

“What a waste” he thought to himself

“And what about you?” She asked

“Well I’ve also had my heart broken” he confessed “just the once for me though”

“Once would’ve been enough for me” Sarah mumbled

“I’ve not given up hope completely” Peter continued “But I’ve not met the “one” yet”

She nodded

“I’ve not found my soul mate yet” was what he meant Sarah thought

“In truth I use work much the same way as you use Tweed” He said

“My brother Johnnie says I work too hard and should get out and have some fun”

“It’s nice that he cares about you” Sarah said

“His idea of fun differs greatly from mine” he said and they both laughed

 

By about three in the afternoon a light breeze got up and started stirring the mist.

“Right on time” Sarah said, though she was a little disappointed, as she was rather enjoying herself

“Perhaps we should wait for another half an hour or so” Peter suggested also in no hurry to leave.

“Good idea” Sarah said

 

Peter Nesbitt and Sarah Hallam sat amidst the ruins of Pepperstock Castle waiting for the mists to clear and were reluctant to depart, but by 4.15 they couldn’t really delay it any longer as watery sunshine was beginning to penetrate the remaining mist so Peter began handing the remnants of their impromptu picnic to Sarah which she packed neatly away.

“Thank you” Peter said

“For what?” Sarah asked

“Sharing your lunch and your blanket” he said “and for your company”

“Oh there’s no need to thank me” she responded and gave him a smile

“It would have been a very dull afternoon had you not happened along”

Peter thought he detected a slight blush on her cheek.

“She’s a very attractive and confident girl beneath the frumpy exterior” he thought

 

It was as they walked down the hill in the weak sunshine that he decided that he would endeavour to get her to re-join the world and if not embrace the waves then at least dip her toe in the water.

They were just approaching the stile they had crossed earlier in the day.

“I was wondering” he said “As you were so generous to me today you might allow me to repay the favour”

“There’s no need” Sarah replied cursing herself for her cowardice

“Just dinner at the Pheasant” Peter persisted

“Ok” she relented and to herself added “Good decision”

“But tomorrow would be better for me” she said as Peter helped over the stile

“Great tomorrow it is” he said smiling “I will look forward to it”

 

Sarah had taken a bold step in her agreeing to the dinner and opened herself up for disappointment again but she didn’t want to hold back now.

If she was going to make the most of it she had to make the most of herself. 

And as she hadn’t packed anything remotely suitable for dinner she had been in Purplemere all day shopping for girl clothes.

 

While Sarah was shopping for an outfit, Peter, on the other hand spent his day fending off questions from his nosy brother Johnnie, about where he was going and who he was meeting.

He loved his brother to bits but his biggest fear was that Johnnie would pitch up at the pub and unintentionally spoil things before they got started.

So he told him he was taking her to The Squirrel in Pepperstock Green, but in truth was actually meeting Sarah at The Pheasant in Quarry Hill.

 

Peter was sat in the bar a full half an hour before he was supposed to meet Sarah and he was insanely nervous, he hadn’t felt like that since he was 15 when he was waiting outside the multiplex for Cindy Brownlow.

However he was thinking it was a mistake to arrive early as his stomach was doing somersaults.

 

While Peter sat at The Pheasant in Quarry Hill while his stomach was doing somersaults Sarah was second guessing herself as she stood in front of the mirror wearing a little black dress.

Her long brunette hair was down, instead of in a bun and her face was subtly made up.

It had been a while since she had given herself the treatment and the face she was wearing was her third attempt to get it right.

The first one left her looking like a mortician’s subject fresh off the slab and the second one made her look like a clown.

She was much happier with the third one, but as time was running out it would have to do regardless.

And all the time she was getting ready she kept say to herself

“Why on earth did I agree to do this” and “what was I thinking?”

“Because you wanted to” she said out loud to the mirror “now suck it up and go and knock him dead”

 

When Peter turned around and saw this brunette in the little black dress coming towards him he couldn’t stop himself from saying   

“Wow”

Sarah smiled and asked

“Will I Do?”

“Comme ci comme ça” He said making a gesture with his hand 

“Charming” she said

“Well I was expecting someone in tweeds” Peter said defensively

And she laughed

“I can go back and change but I decided to make an effort” Sarah said as she sat down

“I thought this might be more appropriate”

“Well I am

 

The evening passed by so quickly, it was like an information exchange, as they found out every detail about each other and filed it away, their likes and dislikes.

Music, movies, TV, travel destinations, favourite pieces of art, favourite book and authors, they discussed everything and anything and as a result they were so absorbed in each company that they completely lost track of time, and to such an extent that they had to be asked to leave.

“Oh dear we seem to have overstayed our welcome and there is so much more to say” Sarah said

“Then we should perhaps consider this an adjournment and pick it up again tomorrow”

She nodded her ascent and he was rather pleased with himself for his legal reference but not as much as the securing of another date.

 

They agreed to meet again bright and early the next morning by the stile where they had first met when she was still yet to be transformed into the beautiful butterfly he had shared dinner with the night before.

The frump he’d met on the hill and among the castle ruins the day before was gone forever.

It was no wonder Peter hadn’t been able to find his soul mate for all those years, she was hiding in plain sight.

The former frump, Sarah Hallam, the woman who was a stranger to him only two days before would be at his side every day thereafter.