Two simple, stylish brass standard lamps stood against the rustic white walls. A large oil painting of a choppy sea scene framed in a burnished gold frame hung on one wall, and a pair of tall, ornate candlesticks with thick white candles stood on top of the mantelpiece.
Instead of the wooden floorboards, the kitchen was tiled with square terracotta tiles. A smart black Aga sat against the light grey stone and whitewashed wood-panelled walls, against which nestled various shiny silver appliances. Ellie was pleasantly surprised to see a top-of-the range coffee maker there.
‘This is beautiful,’ Fee breathed, taking it all in. ‘How long have you had this place?’
‘A few years now. I inherited it from my mum, but it was pretty down-at-heel then. My partner and I renovated it. That’s how we met, actually.’ Mara adjusted the stone-coloured throw that was folded neatly over one arm of the sofa. ‘We lived in it for a while, but we’ve just moved into a new place in the village – we built it from scratch, this time. Still, I’ll always love this place.’ She smiled mistily, looking out of the window to the sea beyond. ‘It’s got a lot of history.’
‘Can we look upstairs?’ Fee asked.
‘Oh, sure. Help yourself. I’ll put the kettle on in the meantime.’ Mara waved them towards the staircase.
The first bedroom they came to at the top of the stairs featured white-painted walls and a scrubbed pine wood floor, the same as downstairs. The space felt clean and fresh. Ellie sat on the king-size bed, admiring the dull gold antique bedframe and the thick white cotton sheets, completely plain apart from a small broderie anglaise pattern. The only other adornment in the room was a white pottery bowl full of grey-black pebbles. It sat on a table underneath the window opposite her, which faced the sea.
‘Imagine waking up here every day,’ Fee breathed, lying next to her on the bed.
‘Hmm,’ Ellie replied, non-committally.
‘Come on. You have to admit this place is gorgeous. You couldn’t ask for a nicer location. It’s the height of summer. Do you really want to be trapped in some little car, driving around, when you could be here, relaxing? And I’m not convinced driving around in a cramped runaround is really a great idea. The motorhome was one thing: you could go and flake out in the back if you needed to. But this… this is really nice, Ellie. Maybe it’s fate that Marilyn broke down here.’ Fee rolled to face her friend.
‘Maybe. Let’s look at the rest of it before we make any wild decisions, though.’ Ellie yawned. The bed was really comfortable.
The two other bedrooms were equally as lovely as the first; Fee claimed the second, which had a window facing the cove and another king-size bed, complete with a pink chaise longue. The third bedroom contained two single beds and could have been a children’s room, even though it was still as impeccably designed as the rest. The fourth bedroom was a comfy office with a gorgeous vintage wooden desk and leather chair, as well as a sofa and plenty of shelving.
‘See, I could work from here, babes. You could recuperate. We can cook, drink wine, have walks on the beach. I can’t imagine what could be nicer.’ Fee looked around happily. ‘As long as there’s decent internet connection, that is.’
‘That bed was pretty comfy,’ Ellie conceded. She knew Fee was right, and she didn’t really know why she was being so fussy about the idea. Most people would love to stay in this lovely beach house for a couple of weeks. ‘But… I suppose I got the idea of the tour in my head. At least it felt like I was… being productive on my time off. That I’d have something to show for it when I got back to work.’
Fee sighed. ‘I know it’s not what we planned, but stuff happens. Best laid plans and all that. And, newsflash: you don’t have to be “productive” on holiday, Ellie.’
‘Believe me, I know “stuff happens”,’ Ellie snapped. ‘But what’s the point of buying a bloody ridiculous motorhome if we don’t get to at least go on a road trip?’
‘I know.’ Fee took Ellie’s hand gently. ‘But you have to give your body time to heal, Ellie. You’ve had a major operation. I really think you could get your head straight here if you just gave it a chance.’
Ellie shrugged. ‘Fine. Okay.’
‘Okay? That’s a yes?’ Fee whooped. ‘Yesss!’
‘Providing Mara has it free for a couple of weeks at least.’ Ellie gave her friend a begrudging grin. ‘You’re right. I don’t really want to live in a car for weeks. This place would be nicer.’
‘Tea’s ready if you want some.’ Mara popped her head in at the door. ‘So, what d’you think?’
‘We’d like to take it, if you have it free for a couple of weeks?’ Ellie asked, politely. ‘I’m not sure how long the motorhome will take to be repaired, and I guess we’re here until that happens. Or until I go back to work. That’s maybe three weeks. Four, tops.’
‘I have it free for a month or so, so that works.’ Mara named the weekly rent, which seemed pretty reasonable to Ellie. But then, she remembered, she was used to paying exorbitant London prices, after all. ‘That okay for you?’
Ellie nodded. ‘No problem.’
‘You said it had quite a history.’ Fee ran her hand across the wooden mantelpiece in the study. ‘Not haunted, is it? It’s just that I don’t want to wake up with a spectral Tudor milkmaid folding sheets at the end of the bed.’ She caught Ellie’s eye. ‘What? You never know.’
‘No, it’s not haunted. As far as I know, anyway.’ Mara laughed. ‘I just meant, I inherited the place from my mum.’
‘Oh, right. You did mention that.’ Fee peered out of the window. ‘Fabulous view.’
‘I never knew she owned it until she died.’ Mara leaned against the high-backed chair that sat next to the desk. ‘She grew up here, then ran away as a teenager when she got pregnant with me. I’ve never known who my biological father was.’ She stared at the desk for a few long moments. ‘Anyway. Sorry. Not sure why I blurted that out.’ She looked embarrassed.
‘That’s all right. Sounds tough,’ Ellie replied, feeling the mood shift in the room.
‘It was. Is still, sometimes. But on the other hand, this house will always be the thing that brought Brian and me together. My partner. The love of my life, really, apart from my kids, of course. So, it’s very close to my heart.’ Mara’s face lit up, and her mention of Brian chased away the clouds in her eyes.
