Installed at Alice’s laptop at the kitchen table, we’re checking the estate agent’s advertising before it goes live, and the glossy brochure is printed. The slick young woman in a pinstriped trouser suit had assured us that ‘a premium property like this deserves top-level marketing material to attract the right buyer’. She was confident that it would be snapped up.
‘So much of this is thanks so you,’ Alice says.
‘Oh, not really,’ I protest.
‘No, it’s true,’ she insists. ‘You’ve worked so hard and used your initiative...’
‘Have I?’ I’m unused to so much praise.
‘Yes! Just look at the garden, Kate...’ She points towards the kitchen window. ‘You knew, instinctively, that there wasn’t time for Rory’s team to relandscape the whole grounds. So you had them focus on what would make the biggest impact, and leave the rest wild. The contrast is lovely. So natural,’ she enthuses. ‘I’ve never been a fan of formal gardens anyway.’ Then the dogs start nudging at us to go out, and we step outside.
‘I’ve loved it here,’ I say truthfully. ‘Honestly, Alice, it’s been wonderful. The three weeks have flown by.’
And now it’s almost over.The thought squeezes my heart. We’ve been so frantically busy this past week that I haven’t had a chance to pop into town – or, more specifically, into the bookshop. Fergus has texted occasionally, asking how we were doing in putting the final touches to the house. It was thoughtful but each message made me realise, with a sharp pang, how much I’ll miss being here.
Then, just as Alice steps aside to admire the climbing roses, another message comes:Liv’s just told me she doesn’t want to work in the shop anymore.
Oh no, why?I reply, feigning surprise.
Something about life being too short not to be doing what you really want to do... very wise. Not like her at all!As I blink at his smiley emoji, thoughts start to turn over in my mind.
Alice rejoins me on the newly laid gravel path. ‘So I’ll tell the agency how delighted I am,’ she says.
‘Great. I’m just glad you’re happy...’ I inhale the fresh, sharp air. I could tell her now – come clean about everything. It would be a relief, frankly. And isn’t she due a refund anyway, as the real Kate hadn’t shown up?
We fall into an easy silence as we walk, with the dogs scampering ahead. There’s the distant baa of a sheep, and a crow calling out, sharp and urgent, perched on the fence. I glance at Alice – this kind, smart and accomplished woman – and am aware of the thud of my heart. Then I start, ‘Alice, I wanted to say something, about working for you. You see, I—’
‘Oh, hasn’t it been fun, Kate?’ she cuts in, blue eyes glinting. ‘I didn’t expect that at all. I thought it’d be hell, actually. Clearing out my dead mother’s things! God...’ She shudders, then brightens again. ‘You know, Ruthie had always planned to come up with me and we’d tackle it all together. We’d make a holiday of it, we said. Maybe travel further north when it was all done, as a reward to ourselves. Ruthie had always wanted to go to Orkney. It’s where her paternal grandparents were from – a little fishing town there with cobbled streets. You know how you talk about doing something and then you realise you’ve run out of time?’
She tails off and I link my arm in hers, surprised by how much she’s shared. Until now she’s barely mentioned her friend, whose dogs are currently investigating the lavender beds.
‘I’m so sorry you lost her,’ I say.
She presses her lips together and nods. ‘Then Max was meant to come up,’ she reminds me. ‘I mean, I haven’t asked much from my son over the years!’ She laughs dryly. ‘But things got in the way – work, family, whatever. I was furious with him at the time, you know? But he has his own life. Why should this old place be his priority?’ She shakes her head, as if exasperated with herself for being annoyed with him. ‘And then there was you!’ She beams at me, her face lighting up now. ‘How lucky am I? And after all you’d been through, leaving Vince, you were still prepared to do this job with me.Youdidn’t let me down...’
‘I’m glad I could help you,’ I say. My insides twist with guilt. But it’s true, isn’t it? I was right there when Alice needed someone. Perhaps I should feel proud – not ashamed – of what I’ve done. If the agency people don’t even know, and just assume the real Kate did the job... then maybe Alice will never find out that I’ve deceived her?
‘I thought you were an angel,’ she continues, ‘standing there at Euston station with that little leopard-print tote bag, in quite anunusualoutfit...’ Despite everything, I can’t help smiling at that.
As we head back towards the house, my gaze sweeps the grounds. Somehow – miraculously, it seems to me – Osprey House shines out now, like a painting, newly framed to be shown off to its best advantage. Next week the place will be on the market. Alice has yet to book our return train tickets for our journey back down south. I’ve explained that I’m in no immediate rush, and she feels the same. ‘We deserve a few days’ rest,’ she added. Yet even so, I’m aware that the end of my time here is surging towards me, faster than the scudding clouds above.
‘We can treat this place like our holiday home,’ she says with a smile, as we step back into the hallway.
I stop and look at her. ‘Alice, I know you weren’t terribly happy here when you were younger. But still, this must be a huge thing to you. To put it on the market, I mean.’
‘Well, I suppose so,’ she says, with a trace of reluctance. ‘And these past three weeks, with you here, I have felt a little differently about the place...’
‘Really?’ I ask in surprise.
She nods. ‘We’ve breathed new life into it, haven’t we, Kate?’ The waver in her voice suggests that perhaps she does care about this house after all.
‘Yes, I think we have. But... are you absolutely sure about—’
‘About going home? Yes, Kate. Of course I am.’ She sounds determined now.
‘I mean... about selling the house. D’you feel it’s the right thing to do?’
Her mouth twists, and pink patches appear on her cheeks as she touches my arm. ‘Kate, darling. It’s theonlything to do. So, what d’you fancy doing this afternoon?’
