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 and it’s in leafy Great Trotwood where our story begins.
When Kevin Riddett
first moved to Great Trotwood he did so without the expectation of falling in
love.
But when he was
invited to a garden party at Trotwood Manor that was precisely what happened as
he fell in love with Emma Ridgley the very first moment he laid eyes on
her.
She was perfect, five
foot four to his five eight, bobbed blonde hair, blue eyes a strong chin and a
sporty physique.
But he barely finished
saying hello when he noticed the wedding ring, which was to him what Kryptonite
was to Superman.
He had a strict rule about
adultery, a rule which he had never on a single occasion, broken.
He had always avoided
fishing in someone else’s pond, no matter how attractive the body of water
might be, so that was as far it went, they became friends and he admired her
without making a move and valued her friendship.
Emma was married to
Derek Ridgley, and thanks to the success of his business they lived in a large
house in the village and they had two young children.
Emma loved her husband
and they had been married for ten years but her husband was incapable in every
conceivable way of loving her, he was a drunkard and a serial adulterer and yet
she had remained faithful to him for the nine years since she found out he had
betrayed her.
And even after she met
Kevin whom she had fallen for she remained faithful, she was a married woman
and to betray that was a big no-no for her, even if it was not so for her
husband.
So a year went by and
Emma and Kevin shared their platonic relationship, she saw the time she spent
with him as a guilty pleasure, and he was content with the friendship of a
married woman and refrained from making an adulteress of her.
They did the rounds of
parties, flower shows, fetes, all the church events, weddings, christenings and
funerals, every social event big and small and then it was time for the
Trotwood Manor garden party again and all the usual faces were there with the
conspicuous exception of Derek, so not for the first time Kevin was her escort
and they mingled and circulated and thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company.
It was time for the
Trotwood Manor garden party again and all the usual faces were there with the
conspicuous exception of Derek, so not for the first time Kevin was Emma’s
escort and they mingled and circulated and thoroughly enjoyed each other’s
company.
At the end of the day they
left the party and headed towards the carpark and they paused before crossing
the bridge over the culvert and turned to look across the lake and they were
amazed at how natural the scene was when considering that little more than a
100 years earlier it was a boggy field.
That was before a
Victorian industrialist named Josiah Tiplady, who, having made his fortune
amongst the smoking factory chimneys of Lancashire, was seeking a country
retreat in which to enjoy his fortune as well as the considerably fresher air,
so he purchased the old Trotwood Manor.
He famously said he chose
the Trotwood Estate as it had everything he was looking for, but not apparently
a lake complete with fountains and an island bird sanctuary.
But as they viewed the
scene on that glorious June evening they couldn’t have argued that it wasn’t
money well spent.
“This is really
beautiful” she said
He agreed and then
they turned and continued onto the bridge and halfway across Kevin paused and
turned to face Emma who had the lake behind her and said
“But now it’s even
more beautiful”
And then he kissed her.
It was not a tentative
or hesitant kiss and nor was it unwelcomed.
The kiss had been
twelve months in the making and neither of them wished it to end too quickly
but nor did they think it wise to prolong it in such a public place, but
despite that the kiss lasted a full five minutes before good sense
prevailed.
They journeyed home in
his car largely in silence as they both tried to calculate the significance of
what had happened.
Neither of them could
quite believe what they had done or the full implications, they just knew it
was what they wanted and that it was every bit as electrifying as they had
expected it to be.
When they arrived back
in the village he parked in the lane a short distance from her house so they
could talk but in the end they just kissed and resolved to talk about it more
when she returned from Greece.
Which was where she
Derek and the children were off to the following day, for two weeks.
Which would turn out
to be the longest and quietest two weeks of his life because he took himself
out of circulation for the two weeks, which should have given him the chance to
recharge his batteries but in truth it just gave him more time to fret.
He was by profession a
blogger of financial and investment advice so it did at least allowed him to
not only catch up with his blogging, but get significantly ahead and store some
copy for future submissions.
So when Emma returned
from Greece he would be able to give her his undivided attention.
Recent events in the
wider world had provided Kevin with a wealth of material for his blog and he
had managed to produce around two months’ worth of content for his blog.
Which was one of the
reasons he thought it was time to end his self-imposed exile, the other one
being Emma’s return from Greece the day before.
He stepped out into
the sunlight to find the postman, Frank Worthing, walking up the path.
“Morning Mr. Riddett”
He said “So you’re not dead then”
“No rumors’ of my
demise have been greatly exaggerated” he paraphrased.
“Well at least you’re
up and about in time for the Dinner Dance” he said
“What?”
“It’s the village
dinner dance tomorrow” he said “You’d better hurry if you haven’t bought your
ticket yet”
The tickets were on
sale at the village pub, Tiplady’s Tipple, named after Josiah Tiplady who was
the Lancashire Industrialist who made his fortune amongst the smoking factory
chimneys of the North who purchased the old Trotwood Manor in the 19th century.
He caught sight of
Emma sitting alone at one of the tables in the beer garden wearing a bright
summer outfit.
He guessed she was
probably waiting to meet friends for lunch.
He quickened his
stride and as luck would have it, or so he thought, he caught her eye and he
gave her a wave, but instead of waving back she gathered up her things and
hurried away.
“That’s very odd” he
thought
Kevin went inside and
found the landlady, Marion White, behind the bar.
“Hello Kevin” she said
“Hi Marion”
“What can I get you?”
she asked
“Do you have a ticket
for the dinner dance?”
“Just the one?” she
replied, “Not bringing a guest?”
“No just me”
“£50” she said and
reached under the counter and produced a ticket.
In response he took
out his wallet and paid her in cash.
He had a sandwich and
a couple of drinks at the bar and went in search of Emma as he hadn’t spoken to
her since she got back from Greece.
It was after two
o’clock when he stepped back out into the sun and he spotted Emma again, this
time outside the Post Office.
But this time he
approached her on her blindside so she couldn’t run off again and when he was a
few feet away he said
“I think you’ve been
avoiding me”
Emma jumped and
immediately became flustered
“No, no not at all”
she corrected him
“I think you have” he
repeated “why?”
“I don’t know what you
mean” she said coolly
“Why?” he repeated
But Emma didn’t say
anything for a full minute
“Please tell me Em” he
entreated
“Because I feel
guilty” She snapped
“You don’t need to feel
guilty Emma, I kissed you remember”
“I don’t feel guilty
because it happened” She said
“Then why?”
“Because I really
enjoyed it, because it was so special, because it was the most electrifying
kiss I’ve ever had”
Emma paused then continued
“And because I had
dreamed of that moment for a full year”
Then she hurried away
but stopped and turned after a few paces and said
“But most of all I feel
guilty because I want to do it again, I think of nothing else than doing it
again, for the entire two weeks in Greece I thought of nothing else than kissing
you again”
And then she was gone,
and he thought for a moment before he hurried after her
“Emma?” he called but
she kept going so he pressed on after her instead and Emma was stood by her car
when he caught up with her
“Do you mean it?” he
asked
Silence
“Emma?”
“Yes” she replied
reluctantly “but it can never happen again, it must never happen again”
“Why?”
“Because I’m a wife
and a mother” she retorted
Then she added almost
as an after thought
“And I love my
husband”
She may have once but
not so much now he thought.
Her husband was often
away on business and when he wasn’t he was in the members bar at the Golf club,
supposedly in his capacity of club captain, or in a bar or club or womanizing
somewhere and as a result Kevin thought Emma was clearly lonely which in his
opinion she didn’t deserve to be.
She carried on putting
her purchases in the boot of her car, but he put his right hand on the edge of
the boot, preventing her.
“Did you really keep
thinking about that day?”
“Yes” she said
“Often?”
“Yes”
“All the time” he
asked
She reddened then
nodded
“Don’t make fun of me,
don’t make fun of it” and she started to cry
“I’m not making fun of
you” he said taking hold of her hand
“I’ve thought about it
all the time” he said “I relive every second of it”
“I think of you, on
the bridge on that perfect night” he added and she squeezed his hand
“So do I” she gasped
and squeezed his hand again
They didn’t speak and
the only sound was her steady breathing and the birdsong and he watched her,
her eyes were closed, her lips slightly parted, her tongue slightly moistening
them as she breathed, but just then a group of shoppers walked by and the spell
was broken and she let go of his hand and closed the boot.
“Please don’t avoid me
Em”
“I won’t” she said, “I
promise, but I meant what I said it can’t happen again no matter how much we
want it to”
Then she drove away, but
he would look for her the next day at the dinner dance and see what could be
done.
After Emma left Kevin
she drove away from the village but she didn’t go home by the usual route,
instead she drove up to Trotwood Manor and parked the car and then walked towards
the Manor and paused before crossing the bridge over the culvert and turned to
look across the lake and she was back in the moment of that electrifying kiss
with the man she loved and she started to cry.
The dinner dance was
being held at the Downshire Country Park Hotel which was situated equidistant
between Great and Little Trotwood.
Since he watched Emma
drive away he had had a very troubled day and a half and he was faced with the
prospect of not ever winning her heart but also losing her as a friend.
After getting himself
suited and booted he got a taxi to the Hotel and after he mingled his way
through the crowd his worst fears were realized when he discovered Emma wasn’t
there.
His first thought was
to go straight home but he got hijacked by a bunch of regulars from the Tiplady’s
Tipple and he missed his opportunity.
Four courses later
during the lull before the dancing started he took his chance and snuck away
all though by the time he got home he was regretting his decision as at home he
had nothing to distract him from his desperate thoughts.
So he settled down in
front of the TV with a large whisky and just before midnight the doorbell rang.
He was a bit miffed at
the interruption, not that he was concentrating on what he was watching, he had
no idea who it might be and he certainly wasn’t expecting anyone and whoever it
was he was in no mood to entertain.
But when he opened the
door he was surprised to see Emma standing on the doorstep in a blue cocktail
dress
“Hello” he said with
genuine surprise
“Hello Darling” she
said, “Can I come in?”
“Of course” he said
fussily “come in, come in”
Once inside she
slipped off her shrug and walked through to the lounge.
Kevin followed on and
thought she looked absolutely gorgeous in her party clothes.
As usual she was perfectly
accessorized.
“You’re a bit
overdressed” he observed
“I know” she said as
she sat down “I was going to the dinner dance but…”
“But?” he asked
“I couldn’t face
everyone quizzing me about Derek”
“About what?” he
quizzed
“I’ve thrown him out”
she replied, “And I don’t want him back, I’m moving on”
“I’m sorry,” he said
inadequately
“I’m not” Emma said
surprisingly “though it’s your fault”
“Then I should be
sorry,” he admitted
“No, you opened my
eyes and showed me that I’m still an attractive woman, still a sexy woman, Derek
didn’t appreciate that, and I need to be with someone who sees me the way that
you do”
Kevin raised my
eyebrows,
“No that’s not right,
I don’t need to be with “someone”” She corrected herself
“I need to be with
you”
“Do you mean it?” he
asked and knelt in front of her
“Yes, you have opened
my eyes and my heart” she replied and then they sealed it with a kiss.
