Downshire Diary – (10) Victoria Falls

 

The village of Highfinch sits just on the edge of the Pepperstock Hills and the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club separates the village from the Hamlet of Lily Green, and the combination of those two and Kingfisherbridge made up the parish of St Martins.

 

Among the residents of Highfinch was Vicki Paulding, a rather plain middle-aged woman just the wrong side of 50, who was small and slim and always immaculately turned out even if she was not on the cutting edge of fashion.

She never dressed casual, always choosing to wear a dress or suit, but current trends notwithstanding she always dressed classily.

She was a busy woman around the village and among other things sat on the parish council.

Vicki would have been described as a spinster of that parish having never tied the knot nor even come close, however she was not the virginal figure she was thought to be, she had not been short of suitors in her youth but they all fell short of her expectations so

she choose to be on her own and fully expected to be so for the rest of her life, and she didn’t have an issue with that however nor did she complain when events in her life took a different turn thanks to a young woman named Petra van Meeuwen.

 

Petra van Meeuwen was the sister-in-law of one of Vicki’s closest friends, Cressida, and had been staying in the village with her for a few weeks and they were sitting in the club lounge at the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club.

It was a very exclusive Golf Club with a large number of grand House’s in both Highfinch and the hamlet of Lily Green backing on to it.

It was not widely known but the Golf Club and all the plush dwelling’s attached to the course all belonged to the Mornington Estate.

It came into their ownership in the late 1980’s when a developer tried to buy it to create a luxury housing estate, Gabriel’s father Valentine, who was the then Baron, stepped in and saved it.

But because it was so exclusive the membership fees were exorbitant, but they had to be because the Golf Club and all the properties that surrounded it all had to pay their own way.

Gabriel hated the fact that the club was strictly for the rich but it was a necessary evil to preserve it and protect it from the developers, however he made sure concessions were made to those among the villagers who were felt to be worthy due to their contributions to their fellow villagers and village life and Vicki was certainly one of those.

 

The life changing event was set in motion at the Golf Club and the occasion which found them in the club lounge was the Friday lunch club, it was called the Friday lunch club but it could take place on any day of the week, and the one in question happened to be on a Monday.

In attendance were all the usual suspects, Vicki of course, her best friend Julia Thomas, bespoke Furniture maker Farron Sutherland, Local dentist Jonathan Walters, TV presenter Nick Faulkner and the incomparable Cressida van Meeuwen.

The lunch club would normally be some permutation of the six but not exclusively and on that occasion it was Cressie’s sister in law, Petra who joined their number.

Other than that it was a typical lunch club with lots of wine consumed as they sat around and chattered about everything and anything.

 

It was a typical lunch club with lots of wine consumed as they sat around and chattered about everything and anything.

But as soon as Cressida got up and went to the loo Julia said urgently.

“Ok you lot, I need help, as I haven’t got a clue what to get Cressie for her birthday.

Cressida’s 40th was only a few days away and Julia didn’t have a clue what to get her.

“I need help too” Vicki admitted but the next five minutes consisted of everyone else at the table relating the nature of their gift.

“Yes but what can we get?” Vicki said snappily

“Well I happen to know that she has her eye on something” Petra said enigmatically, but before she could say anything Cressida returned.

So when it came time to leave Julia and Vicki hung back and as Petra was about to go through the door Julia grabbed her and pulled her backward and then Vicki said

“Come on spill the beans, what has she seen and where did she see it?”  

 

Cressida loved Art Deco and in the two years since her divorce she had gradually transformed her home from the blandness of mass produced Scandinavian imported furniture, chosen by her ex-husband, whose favourite colour was beige, to an Art Deco paradise.

His sporting trophies and man cave paraphilia had gone and she had imposed her own tastes on her surroundings. 

So the thing that she had her eye on was obviously a piece of period Art Deco, namely a Spelter Figure by Josef Lorenzl and according to Petra she had seen it in an Antique shop in the village of Bracingly at the western end of the Finchbottom vale near the town of Childean, so the next day Vicki and Julia set off across the Finchbottom Vale in search of it.

 

The Vale 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 the 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 by the 21st Century, one in Mornington, one in Childean and third of course was in Purplemere.

Throughout its history the Finchbottom Vale was largely dependent on agriculture and so it remained into the 21st century but many and varied occupations and endeavour’s thrived alongside the traditional rural livelihood’s.

 

It was a pleasant drive through the Vale in the September sunshine as they headed to the village of Bracingly and the search of an antique shop called Aldridge Arcadia.

It was quite a large village, not as large as Highfinch, but nonetheless quite substantial.

When they located the shop they were amazed at how big it was and once inside they spent an hour looking on every shelf and surface but couldn’t see anything like what was described to them by Petra. 

“It’s definitely not here” Julia said as they stood in the middle of Aldridge Arcadia Antiques “They must have sold it”

“Let’s ask someone” Vicki suggested “Maybe we’ve just missed it”

They walked disconsolately to the counter and spoke to an elderly man with gold rimmed spectacles behind the counter and asked him about the figurine.

“Oh yes I remember the piece you mean” he said “A beautiful lady”

“It’s been sold then?” Julia said “We couldn’t see it anywhere”

“That’s because it was never here” he said “it was in the Shallowfield shop”

“But it was sold though” Vicki said

“Well why don’t I phone my sons and ask them” he said with a twinkle in his eye and went into the back room leaving Julia and Vicki in the shop fidgeting uneasily until he returned a few minutes later.

“Good news” he said 

“Really?” Julia asked

“Yes, they haven’t sold it and my son Mark has put it aside until you get there” he said

“Oh wow” Vicki said “Thank you so much”

 

So they left the quiet village of Bracingly and crossed the Finchbottom Vale again to the much busier Shallowfield and after about ten minutes found somewhere to park.

Once they were parked they stopped a local man and asked directions and then as they walked towards the shop Julia said

“Shall we have lunch in the village when we’re done?”

“Oh yes that’s a good idea” Vicki agreed

 

The Aldridge family had been in antiques since the end of the Second World War and had a number of shops in Downshire and the biggest of those was in Shallowfield and was run by Brothers Mark and Chris who were both in their fifties.

They had both secured the future of the business, having two children each who were all learning the business but once the brothers had reached their fifties they did so on their own, in Marks case due to divorce while Chris was a widow.  

 

When Mark took the call from his father regarding the Spelter Figure by Josef Lorenzl, Chris was hopeful that they wouldn’t be time wasters and they would actually buy it.

Chris wasn’t particularly fond of the piece like his brother Mark was he always preferred the Arts and Crafts movement to Art Deco.

He just hoped that they wouldn’t fall into the deluded amateur category, thanks to the Antiques Roadshow everyone thought they were an expert.

 

Julia and Vicki stood outside Aldridge Arcadia Antiques and paused to look at each other and they were both amazed that it was an even bigger shop than Bracingly.

 

Chris was rearranging the Wedgewood in a large glass cabinet when the two women walked in and he almost dropped the piece of Green Jasper he was holding.

“These two are not time wasters” he thought to himself

 

The two ladies, because that’s what they were, were both of around the same age as him, early fifties, immaculately dressed in quality clothing, a real classy pair.

One was a skinny plain looking woman in a blue skirt peach blouse and the other one had a lovely face and was more rotund, though perfectly proportioned, in a floral dress and a white shrug.

Chris was particularly taken by the slimmer lady, who although at first glance was a little plain she had a smile that lit up the shop.

 

“Good Morning ladies” Mark said, although he was looking at Julia as he spoke

“Hello” they both responded

“I believe we are expected” Julia added

“Ah yes the Lorenzl figure” Mark said and reached under the counter and then placed the Spelter figure in front of them.

“Here she is”

The two friends looked at the lovely Art Deco figure of a girl in a trouser suit and the face was the spitting image of Cressida.

It was the perfect gift for their friend but when they looked at the price tag they saw it was priced at £595.

It was absolutely beautiful and equally perfect but it was more money than either of them wanted to spend, or could afford to spend for that matter, they were both on fixed incomes, but they loved it.

“It is lovely” Julia said however her tone suggested there was a definite but.

“As you like it and you have driven over here specially I can give you a discount and reduce it to £500” Mark said and then added

“I’ll leave you to think about it” 

“Thank you” Julia said and Mark walked off to talk to his brother.

“Even at 500 it’s too much for me” Vicki said

“Me too” Julia agreed and then a few minutes later she added

“We could go halves”

“Oh yes, we could” Vicki agreed “I can afford that, let’s get it”

 

Julia called Mark over and she said

“We’ll take it”

“Our friend will adore it” Vicki added stepping back from the counter to let Mark pass and almost bumped into the other man, his brother she presumed as there was a similarity.

“Is it a gift?” Chris asked

“Yes it’s for our friend Cressida” Vicki said “she has a big birthday, she’s 40 on Sunday”

“So she’s your much older friend then” he teased

“Flatterer” Vicki said and blushed

“Would you like it gift wrapped?” he asked “No extra charge”

“Yes that would be lovely” she said

 

She could see that Julia and the other Mr. Aldridge were deep in conversation so she browsed the shelves until her Mr. Aldridge returned with the package and they had to say their goodbyes which was a shame because they had enjoyed the little exchange and so reluctantly Vicki and Julia headed towards the door but before they left Vicki turned around and said

“We were going to have lunch in the village, could you recommend somewhere?”

It was so out of character for Vicki to be so bold, she rather surprised herself.

“Well funnily enough we were just going to lunch ourselves so we can do better than that we can actually show you” Chris said and Vicki thought

 “Well played you”

 

The Aldridge brothers left the shop under the supervision of another relative though several decades younger and walked with Julia and Vicki the short distance from the shop to the Woodman’s Axe.

It was such a glorious September day that they sat in the garden and enjoyed a very pleasant lunch and after two hours Mark said

“Unfortunately we really need to get back to the shop”

Unbeknown to them Chris had already settled the bill and despite their protests the Aldridge’s would not permit them to contribute.

“Your company is all the contribution you needed to make” Chris said

“Well thank you both for a lovely lunch and even better company” Julia said.

“Yes thank you” Vicki concurred although she was looking at Chris “but you must let us pay next time”

And on hearing herself saying the words Vicki thought

“You are on fire today”

And a reciprocal lunch date was set for the following week, venue to be confirmed.

 

It was a glorious day at the very end of September, unseasonably warm and the type of day that England was made for.

There was a big do on at the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club to celebrate Cressida van Meeuwen’s 40th birthday, Cressie was the club Captains ex-wife and she was a very popular character, much more than he was, and a truly likeable person, as a result of which most of the village were there and subsequently a good deal of alcohol was consumed and quite a lot of it by Julia and Vicki.

 

Cressie was thrilled with her present, and after she had berated them for their extravagance she cried, but she did a lot of that during the day because everyone was so nice to her and she didn’t know they liked her so much.

 

Julia and Vicki sat on the terrace feeling very smug after making their friend so happy but as the wine began to take affect their thoughts turned towards the upcoming lunch with the Aldridge brothers.

“Where shall we go?” Vicki asked “it can’t be anywhere too expensive, it’s been an expensive month and it’s our treat remember”

“I wouldn’t mind giving Mark a treat” Julia said and followed it with a very dirty chuckle

“Julia!” Vicki exclaimed and then asked “Do you fancy him then?”

“Rather” she replied and chuckled again

“I like the other one” Vicki said quietly “He’s Phwoah”

“Do you think they like us?” Julia asked

“Well they took us to lunch didn’t they” Vic replied

“That doesn’t mean anything they could do that for all their customers” she retorted “They are gentlemen after all”

“Yes they are gentlemen” Vicki agreed “But I bet Mark doesn’t look at all his customers the way he looked at you”

“How was that?”

“Hungry” Vicki said and they both guffawed

 

Since taking the elegant ladies for lunch Chris had plenty of time to think about the time they spent together and more importantly the implications of their conversations.

Ever since he first met her he had thought of little else and he was really looking forward to seeing her again.

It was the first time since he lost his wife that he had looked at a woman in that way and he was excited at the prospect of seeing her again but he was racked with guilt about betraying his wife’s memory.

But he didn’t even know if she looked at him in the same way that he looked at her, he knew that she was a spinster, and had never come close to marriage, and he knew there was no significant other in her life, but he didn’t know if that was by accident or design.

 

The day after Cressida’s birthday party Julia and Vicki were quite hungover and late in the afternoon when the fug had finally cleared the latter went round to the formers for coffee and their conversation returned to the subject of lunch with the Aldridge brother’s but because they both fancied the pants off them they decided to move things along by substituting the lunch date with a dinner date at the White Horse Inn in Finchbottom.

 

On Friday night the ladies were going to meet the brothers at the White Horse but just as they approached the pub Vicki phone rang.

“Hello” she said “Oh hello Chris, oh dear, that’s not good”

Julia mind was suddenly full of unpleasant scenarios so she pulled up to the kerb with a screech.

“What is it? What’s happened?” she demanded but Vicki ignored her and said

“Don’t worry we’ll pick you up at the station”

“What happened?” Julia asked again

“Car trouble” she replied “They had to catch the train, they get in in 20 minutes”

“Honestly Victoria is that all, you do panic”

“Yes Julia” she said and smiled

 

The dinner at the White Horse was a great success and the evening ended outside the pub with cheeks being kissed and nothing more than that.

They all enjoyed the evening but the girls had hoped it was a date, date but it turned out to be dinner with friends

More Friday meals followed however, the Phoenix in Shallowfield, the Runcible Spoon in Purplemere, the Huntsman’s Lodge in Childean and the Old Mill Inn in Mornington.

But no progress from friends to anything better than that and no improvement on kissed cheeks.

Not that Vicki was happy with that in fact she determined to force the pace after the next dinner date.

 

On the evening of Halloween a very excitable Vicki rang the doorbell of her friend Julia’s house and when the door opened she was greeted by her friend dressed as a witch but she was way too excited to comment.

“You’ll never guess what’s happened” she said

“No you are correct so you had better tell me quick before I hit you with a bucket” Julia replied

“Chris just phoned and he’s taking me out for dinner” she said

“But you’ve eaten dinner already” Julia pointed out       

“I know but I didn’t want to say no, after all this is progress” Vicki said

“It is” she agreed “Wait a minute though, I thought they were going to a football match in Abbottsford today”

“They had to cancel, some kind of crisis in the shop” Vicki replied

“Mark is still there I think he’s staying in the flat tonight”

“Is he?” she said quietly

 

She stayed for about five minutes sharing her excitement and then she rushed off to get ready with Julia good wishes for a great evening following her out the door until the door closed behind her and the porch light went out.

 

Chris picked her up about an hour later and took her to a nice pub in Dulcet-on-Brooke called the Waterside Inn.

It was the first time they had been out when it was just the two of them and had she had more time to think about it she might have been nervous but as she didn’t, she was completely relaxed when she got in the car and the conversation flowed from the first second to the last and the evening couldn’t have gone better which made the non-existent goodnight kiss even more difficult to fathom.

 

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to kiss her, he did, the problem was his dead wife.

He was excited at the prospect of seeing Vicki every time, but when he thought about going to the next level he was overwhelmed with guilt.

Which was why on the 5th of November he drove to St Martha’s church yard in Finchbottom and spent much of the day talking to his dead wife about his future and by the time he left he knew exactly what he needed to do.

 

Vicki had had a busy day delivering parish magazines and she got home midafternoon and had just sat down with a well-earned cup of tea when the phone rang.        

“Oh bugger” she exclaimed more than a little fed up, it was like they knew, it was as if there was a sensor in the chair and as soon as her bum hit the cushion the phone would ring or the doorbell would sound, it was uncanny.

“Hello” she said abruptly

“Vicki?” said a hoarse voice “it’s Cressie”

It was just as well she clarified because she would never have recognised her voice.

Her initial anger at being disturbed melted away when she realised that Cressida had the flu.

“Hello Cressie” she said, “you don’t sound too good”  

“It’s the flu I’m afraid” she said, “Could I ask a favour?”

“Of course” she replied

“It’s a big favour”

“Ask away” Vicki said

“The girls are desperate to see the firework display tonight” Cressie said

“And you would like me to take them?” Vic interrupted

“Would you?” she asked

“What time would you like me?”

 

Victoria picked the twin girls up at five and Cressida couldn’t thank her enough for stepping in.

Lisa and Julie were incredibly excited in that way that only eight-year-old girls can be.

The firework display they were going to watch was in Mornington-By-Mere, and apart from the fireworks and the obligatory bonfire, there were also an assortment of amusements, darts, shooting galleries, play your cards right, hook a duck and hoopla.

And the girls had been looking forward to them as much as fireworks themselves.

While she was watching them on the hoopla she got a text message from Chris asking if she wanted to do dinner and she replied that she couldn’t as she was at the Mornington fireworks with a friends children.

 

By the time they had to take up their position for the display the twins had both won something on their own on one of the attractions and Vicki had won them both a cuddly toy on the shooting gallery so they decided there was just time for one more hotdog before the fireworks began.

By the time it was all over, between the games and the food they had pretty much cleaned out her purse.

But it was worth every penny as she hadn’t had that much fun for a good long while.

Vicki took some good shots of the pair of them on her phone playing various amusements so she could show Cressida later.

 

With the smoke from the display thick in the air and the noise of the pyrotechnics assailing her ears she suddenly became aware of someone close beside her.

“Hello” a voice said and when she turned around she saw it was Chris

“What are you doing here?” she asked unable to keep the delight out of her voice and feeling safe in the darkness she slipped her hand into his

“Do you mind if I hold your hand” she whispered

“No, but I was hoping for a kiss” he replied and squeezed her hand

“I shall look forward to that later” Vicki said trying to keep the excitement out of her voice.

 

Back in Highfinch Vicki drove onto Cressida’s drive and walked the twins to the house and as they were approaching, the front door opened and Cressida was standing there waiting.

“Mum, Mum” they cried running up the drive “look what we’ve got”

Vicki didn’t know where they got the energy from, she was exhausted, it was only the prospect of Chris kissing her that was keeping her going, but eventually the excited twins went inside

“Get yourselves ready for bed” Cressida called to them before turning to Vicki and hugging her

“How are you feeling?”       

“Ghastly” she replied “I won’t kiss you I don’t want to give it to you”

“Don’t worry”

“Thank you so much” Cressie said

“It was a pleasure” Vicki remarked “I’ve really enjoyed myself, and I’m not just saying that”

“Will you come in for coffee?” she asked

“I won’t if you don’t mind, I’m shattered” Vicki lied “Now get yourself to bed”

 

When she drove her car off Cressida’s drive it wasn’t to drive to her house on the other side of the village it was to return to Mornington where Chris Aldridge was waiting for her in the Old Mill Inn and it was in the beer garden beside the River Brooke where they shared their first kiss.