‘It’s a lot for you to take on by yourself.’ I brace myself to go in for a last stab at the truth. ‘Right now, I’m picking up a lot more angst from you than bliss. Not judging. Just wondering if there’s anything extra we can do to help at all?’
He rubs his chin. ‘On balance, I’d say, carry on as you are.’
Which takes us right back to where we started. Thank you, Nic. Except we have learned something crucial – however hard I imagined this was going to be, times it by ten. Or maybe a hundred.
I push the last of my muffin in, make sure I swallow without choking this time, then pull out another bright smile. ‘Lucky we’ve saved the most grown-up venue here until last. Even the most reticent couples fall in love with this one.’Reticentis a politer word than fussy. Or demanding. Whatever he’s looking for, and however unfocused his thinking is, what’s up next might well make him fall in love. I pick up a last muffin. ‘Ready to take a look at the old farmhouse?’
Chapter 8
Later on Monday.
On the way to Rose Hill Manor.
Cloudy skies and puddle suits.
So, how did our third viewing go? In and out, and another rejection pretty much covers it. And now Nic and I are back in the van, heading down from the farm courtyard towards the road and Rose Hill Manor.
If I’m slightly wound up, it’s only because after four straight rejections I’m struggling to get any meaningful feedback from Nic at all. Poppy’s simply-restored Georgian farmhouse was my trump card. It held Nic’s interest for a good half hour, all the way past the grand piano, the monumental fireplace and the orangery. Then he saw the bride’s changing room, mumbled about it being ‘too tight’, and we were back in the yard before you could say ‘impossible client’. Which is why, for the next attempt, Poppy’s following behind us in her Landy, to give me some much-needed backup. And hopefully a few tips on how to get more out of Nic.
I’ve decided it’s best not to give Rose Hill Manor any advance build-up either. I’ve saved it until last because it’s the jewel in today’s selection, so the plan is that I’ll just let the house slide into view around the last twist of the tree-lined approach. Then let the mellow, welcoming façade with its random small-paned windows, and the big, shiny slate roofs and the lakeside setting capture Nic’s heart all by themselves. I’m counting on him being instantly wowed. I’ll have gone partway to proving myself. And we’ll all go home happy.
I’m too tired for more questions, and I can’t risk exposing him to my girly songs either, so instead of flicking on my CD player I lean forward and tap the address into the sat nav. It’s less than a mile down the road, but I’d rather take instructions from the sat nav lady than listen to the kind of personal-life interrogation I was getting from Nic on the way here.
‘Turn right in two hundred yards.’
How I’d hoped she’d keep Nic quiet I have no idea. Take him into a wedding venue and he’s like a mute. Put him in a vehicle, set off down the road, and even having to compete with the sat nav lady, there’s no shutting him up.
‘You know the trouble with sat navs? People turn them on and switch off their brains.’
My smile’s wry. ‘I’ve already proved I don’t have a brain, so that won’t be a problem for me, will it?’
He shakes his head but he’s still going. ‘A friend of mine got one letter wrong tapping in the post code and ended up in Norwich instead of Nottingham.’
I mentally roll my eyes. ‘That sounds like the original urban legend, and this is the country not the town.’ Just saying, I’m not going to add it to my very long list of anxieties.
‘Another couple typed Carpi instead of Capri and ended up four hundred miles away at the totally wrong end of Italy.’ From his snort he clearly thinks it’s funny.
‘I know where I am, I lived here over half my life.’ If I was less stressed, I’d never have let that out.
‘Really?’ His eyebrows shoot up. ‘Why didn’t you say that earlier? More to the point, why the hell do you need the sat nav then?’
Obviously, I’m blanking that. And obviously, I know the way. But it’s one of those funny things – when you’ve been away for a while you forget the details of the bends and turns. And it’s easy to have a momentary mind blank about where you are. Like the other day coming out of St Aidan, I completely missed the coast road and ended up cutting across country and getting horribly lost. Which definitely won’t be happening here, because even though lately I’ve come in from the other direction, I know I simply have to turn right, go past another little crossroads, and then it’s a couple of hundred yards on the left. However low Nic’s opinion of me is, even I should be able to get this right and maybe claw myself to a better place.
‘And there was that other couple who did what the sat nav said and ended up just driving into a lake. I mean, who would do that? You’d think they’d have seen the water, engaged their brains, and stopped.’
‘Turn left in fifty yards … in fifty yards you will have reached your destination. Turn left … turn left …’
I grit my teeth. ‘Would you please just shut the eff up about driving into bloody lakes and let me concentrate.’ There’s a phantom Phoebe, frowning over my shoulder, tutting. Telling the customers what I think is another no-no.
In my head I’m remembering more trees. But it’s quite possible Jess might’ve cut them down. Have you noticed how tetchy these sat nav women get if you don’t do what they say fast enough? As for having Mr Trendell on my case too … I spot the gap in the hedge, the open gate. Bring out my most decisive driving, pull on the steering wheel and accelerate into the turn.
It’s only as the tarmac runs out into grass instead of gravel that my tummy gives a little flutter of doubt, but by now it’s too late. As the grass opens up and I realise that I’m going totally wrong here, my stomach cartwheels and I jump on the brakes. But all that happens is we’re skidding forwards down a slope. Then, as the ground levels and we slide to a halt, I feel the steering wheel get heavy and immovable.
Damn, damn, damn. Of all the effs!
I look across at Nic and keep my tone very calm and my smile very bright. ‘Excuse me, I think I may have turned too early there. One moment, I’ll just get out and check exactly where we are before I turn around.’
‘Exactly in a field by the looks of it.’ What’s worse, he sounds like he’s holding back a laugh.
