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.
