Two
MidwinterBrook,atributaryof Midwinter River, gurgled its way between the car park and the row of three almost identical cottages on Midwinter Lane, which were reached via an old wooden footbridge.
A pair of swans glided gracefully towards us, eyeing us briefly as we crossed, and then ignoring us as they bent their beautiful long necks towards one another.
‘They look as if they’re deep in conversation, or exchanging endearments, or maybe, little kisses.’
Lucy laughed when I said that.
‘I’m surprised how close the brook is to the cottages,’ I added, as we stepped off the bridge and onto a short path that led to the lane and the wooden rail fences fronting each of the gardens.
‘I was too,’ Lucy said. ‘But according to Adele and Marcus, who’ve both lived on Midwinter Lane for several years, it’s never breached its banks. Although Midwinter River has, down in the valley on the leeward side of Midwinter Ridge.’
Far Cottage, where I was staying, was at one end of the three former farm cottages that had been rebuilt hundreds of years ago.
Each had a tiled roof with three casement windows built into it, and two stubby chimneys either end. They all had two larger casement windows either side of a central front door, framed by a stone pediment, but the façades of each cottage had been painted a different colour. Far Cottage was fawn and it had a brown front door.
Low hedges separated the front gardens, each of which had identical garden paths, and each garden was filled with virtually identical flowers. Perhaps all three owners had very similar tastes.
According to Lucy, the similarities didn’t end there.
Adele, who owned Far Cottage was working today. She was a waitress in a café called Fairlight Bakes, in Fairlight Bay, which also had a bakery attached. Lucy had told me that Adele was once head baker and pastry chef at a swanky hotel a few miles away, where she had worked for several years, but had lost her job when someone had made false allegations against her. She could have sued for unfair dismissal but she hadn’t, and it had since been taken over by a hotel chain. She’d got her current job as a waitress because she knew the owners. The money wasn’t as good but the owners of the café were lovely. Lucy had met them and she agreed with that.
‘Adele could’ve got the day off today,’ Lucy said as she opened the front door. ‘But the café is really busy, and she doesn’t like letting people down. Plus, she thought it might be nice for me to show you around, especially as I’ve stayed here myself. Adele told me when I was here in February that Far Cottage had been in desperate need of a complete refurbishment, and I’ve since seen photos of what it looked like before Marcus worked his magic. It was completely different, and very dated. Now it’s as sleek and modern as Marcus’ own cottage.’
That was no doubt because, as Lucy had already told me, Marcus, who owned End Cottage and was now Adele’s fiancé, was a property developer, and after she had moved in with him at Christmas, he’d refurbished Far Cottage so that Adele could rent it out.
Adele had given Lucy the key, which Lucy had now handed to me. It was attached to a red ribbon, and as Lucy gave me a guided tour, I slipped it into my handbag.
‘Middle Cottage, which is owned by Noelle, who is lovely, is very different inside, but Far Cottage and End Cottage are strikingly similar, although the ground floor of End Cottage is all open plan, apart from the hall, whereas this has a sitting room and a dining room in addition to a large kitchen with a seating area.’
As we went from room to room, I wondered what the place had been like before Marcus had transformed it into the magazine-ready beauty it now was. Perhaps I’d get to see those photos Lucy had just mentioned.
‘Well?’ Lucy asked, as we wandered back into the stunning designer kitchen. ‘What do you think?’
I’d said things like, ‘Wow!’ And ‘Blimey, this is posh,’ as we’d walked around the cottage. Now I said, ‘I think I might live here forever,’ as I placed my handbag on one of the granite counters, beside the welcome pack Adele had left me. ‘The photos on the website, and the ones you took, don’t do it justice, do they?’
‘I know. Right? It’s pretty special, isn’t it?’
It really was. I wasn’t just saying that.
Anyone would admire the sleek lines, and the top of the range fixtures and fittings. Even the pale oak furniture was expensive – or it looked it.
I particularly liked the wood burner set on a gleaming tiled fireplace from the 1930s, and the large screen TV above it. Not that I planned to spend much time watching TV, but it was good to have if the weather turned nasty. A sumptuous looking two-seater sofa with two matching chairs, all with small side tables next to them, and a tall bookcase filled with books made the sitting room both welcoming and cosy, even in June.
The dining room opposite had a table, four chairs, and a sideboard, all of which matched the furniture in the sitting room.
But the designer kitchen with its huge Aga, a seating area with a sofa, and sliding doors that overlooked the garden was my favourite room.
The garden wasn’t huge but it comprised a patio with a table and four garden chairs, and a lawn, and there were fields surrounding the cottages, separated by hedgerows.
The fence, bushes, and trees on the left side of the garden were tall, so I couldn’t see into the garden of Middle Cottage, and anyone in that garden, couldn’t see into this one. I was glad about that. Not that I intended to do anything I didn’t want anyone to see, but being overlooked is never nice, is it?
Upstairs, there were two bedrooms, both furnished with a small dressing table and a chair, a wardrobe, and a chest of drawers, all of pale oak, and both rooms had colourful bedding and accessories.
The bathroom had a top of the range white suite, and the walk-in shower had an overhead rainfall cascade and a power shower. The built-in shelves contained towels and some cute ornaments, and the room looked even better than it had in the photos. All the rooms did.
Lucy had told me that the welcome pack on the kitchen counter contained a bottle of red wine, a loaf of bread, and some snacks, along with notes from Adele about where things were and how things worked. There were also notes about places of interest in Midwinter and in Fairlight Bay. At least, that’s what hers had contained when she stayed here.
