She also wanted to give the cottage a good clean. On the surface it was tidy and looked clean enough, but it wasn’t up toBeth’s standards and if she was to live here for a few days, she didn’t intend to live in muck.
Well, what could you expect from an old chap who lived on his own, she mused as she bustled to and from the fridge, taking out the makings of a cheese and pickle sandwich. She was pleased to see that he used real butter, not the chemical-infused rubbish that the supermarkets tried to pass off as butter. And he had proper milk too, although the date was up today, so she would have to buy more soon. The bread wasn’t as fresh as she liked, either. She would go shopping tomorrow, she decided. Today she would clean.
Sandwiches made, she took them into the living room and placed them on the table. The two of them ate in silence, Walter sneaking Peg the odd morsel, and Beth made a note to remember to turn the telly on in future. Mindless daytime TV would be better than listening to Walter chewing.
He did manage to force out a ‘thank you’ after he’d finished eating, so that was something. Her sarcastic, ‘You’re welcome,’ earned her a sharp look.
Leaving Walter to his crossword puzzle, she took the empty plates into the kitchen and began to clean up. After about half an hour, during which Beth had run several bowlfuls of hot water and had cleaned out most of the cupboards, she became aware that she was being watched.
Walter looked thunderous. ‘What are you doing?’ he demanded.
Beth was on her hands and knees, the contents of his saucepan cupboard spread out on the floor around her, scrubbing vigorously at a rusty mark marring the white melamine shelf.
‘Ballet dancing. What does it look like I’m doing?’
‘Interfering.’
‘Somebody has to. This place is a disgrace.’
‘I find that offensive.’
‘Yeah, so do I – that’s why I’m giving everything a good wipe over.’
‘Unbelievable. I thought you were here to help. Peg needs a walk and Flossie, Princess and Toffee need checking.’
‘I’m not your servant, you know,’ Beth retorted. The cheek of the man! She was doing her best to help and he was ordering her around. ‘Fine.’
She gathered the pans together and shoved them noisily back into the cupboard. The clatter brought Peg running into the kitchen, barking loudly.
‘Now see what you’ve done,’ Walter said. ‘You’ve frightened my dog.’
Peg didn’t look frightened, but Beth was instantly repentant. The poor creature had enough to put up with having Walter as her owner; she didn’t need Beth scaring the living daylights out of her.
Beth stomped into the hall to fetch her shoes and as she was putting them on, she said, ‘What am I supposed to be checking?’ Beth had seen Walter’s pet sheep and the two goats belonging to the stables, from the window. They looked fine.
‘I always checked my flock every morning.’
‘Yes, but what did you checkfor?’
‘That none were injured or ailing, that one of them hadn’t got caught in a fence, that they weren’t having difficulty lambing…’
Beth was horrified. ‘Lambing?’
‘It was an example. None of them are pregnant. It’s the wrong time of year.’
‘Why mention it?’
‘As I said, it was an example.’
‘I don’t need to check: they look fine. None of them are caught in a fence.’
‘How about limping?’
‘The only thing limping around here is you.’
He pursed his lips. ‘Very funny. Can you check anyway? They might need their feet looking at.’
Beth put her hands on her hips. ‘I amnotlooking at their feet.’
