‘Won’t be a sec,’ she called to the men in the van. ‘Just got to collect the keys.’
Beth took off down the road and hurried towards the estate agent, returning with the keys as fast as her legs could carry her. The removal men had opened the back of the van and were already manoeuvring her settee onto the raised platform.
Excitement fluttered in her chest. Beth was hardly able to believe that this lovely terraced cottage was to be her new home. It was considerably smaller than her house in Birmingham, but that was a bonus as far as she was concerned. Now that her last chick had flown the nest, two bedrooms and one reception room were plenty. And she loved the period features in this house. Nikki would probably say that it needed updating (it still had a back boiler behind the gas fire in the living room, and an airing cupboard and hot water tank in one of the bedrooms), but Beth thought it was perfect, and she particularly loved the built-in cupboards either side of the chimney breast. They were probably original, from when the house was first built, she thought happily, as she inserted the key into the lock and opened the front door.
But her happiness quickly evaporated, and she let out a cry of dismay.
The living room ceiling was all over the living room floor, and water was pouring through the hole.
Beth felt like crying and when one of the removal men said, ‘Right love, where do you want this sofa?’ she began to wail.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Zander, the young chap from the estate agent’s office said, for the fifth time. ‘You have my word that we’ll get it repaired as soon as possible.’
‘How soon?’ Beth demanded. She felt sick. She had a van full of furniture, the house was inhabitable, and she was at her wits’ end.
‘We’ll have to contact the landlord, obviously, and see whether they want to organise the repairs, or whether they’ll want us to do it. And if so, we’ll have to obtain quotes and—’
‘So, it could be months?’
‘Hopefully not that long. Thank goodness you had the presence of mind to turn off the water at the mains.’
‘I didn’t; one of the removal men did.’
The two men were currently sitting in the van, twiddling their thumbs. Beth could tell that they weren’t amused.
‘It prevented even more damage,’ Zander said.
‘Never mind that!’ Beth cried. ‘Where am I going to live?’
Zander paled. ‘Oh, uh, well, I’ll, um, have to check the landlord’s insurance policy as to whether there’s any contingencies built in for—’
Beth lost her patience. ‘Don’t bother. I’ll stay with my daughter. Keep me updated as to when I can move back in. Not that I’ve actually moved in at all. And I don’t expect you to chase me for rent when I’m not actually living there.’
‘Of course not, Mrs Fairfax, although there may be—’
‘Whatever you’re about to say, don’t.’ Beth held up her hand. ‘You’ve got a deposit and the first month’s rent. You’re not getting a penny more out of me until I’ve moved in.’ That was the last word Beth intended to say on the matter.
She accompanied Zander to the door, locked it behind them, then handed him the keys.
‘You’ve got my number,’ she said, and marched over to the van.
The driver wound his window down. ‘Where to, love?’
‘Muddypuddle Lane. It’s not far, just the other side of the village. You can follow me.’
Now I’m for it, she thought, as she got in her car and began to drive. She wasn’t looking forward to the next couple of hours. Dulcie would be furious, and she had every right to be. Beth’s life was going to be hell for a while. She just hoped that the repairs wouldn’t take as long as she feared.
With the van tailing her, Beth drove slowly up the steep lane, wincing every time her little car encountered a pothole, and praying that her china wasn’t being bounced around too much.
Bracing herself for a serious telling off, she turned into the yard, and didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed when she saw that neither Dulcie’s nor Otto’s car were there, and guessed that no one was home.
To make sure, she knocked on the farmhouse door and tried the handle. It was locked. Beth waved to the driver to wait a sec and made her way over to the barn.
Apart from the rabbits, it was empty of animals. Perfect.
‘You can unload everything into the barn,’ she told the driver.
It was the only logical place for her furniture to go. It was dry, and if Otto could dig out some plastic sheeting or tarpaulin, it should be safe enough until she was able to move it into her new house.
