Chapter 14
14
Daisy wasn’t sure where she had expected Theo’s parents to live, other than the Lake District. In her imagination, everyone who resided in the Lake District lived in an idyllic cottage, on the top of a rolling hill, with a view out over acres and acres of lush green fields that stretched into vibrant blue lakes. And she had got some parts correct. The house was on top of a hill, and it was probably idyllic, although it was currently difficult to tell. Despite having driven in through the large gate over a minute beforehand, they were still trundling down a tree-lined driveway with no hint of a house in sight.
‘Are they the only people who live down here?’ Daisy asked, looking around for any sign of life. ‘Or are there lots of houses down here?’
‘It’s just their place,’ Theo said. ‘Although they might have a lodger. They sometimes do that when they get fed up with each other’s company. Or when one of Mum’s friends decides she’s leaving her husband again. She’s had a few of those camp out for a month or so before. Actually, I think Dad has too. But I don’t think there’s anyone staying with them at the moment.’
Lodgers and people staying with them for over a month? Daisy loved having Bex and Claire stay. She’d had Amelia over at times too, but even though the September Rose was a spacious, wide beam canal boat, squeezing them all in for two nights was as much as Daisy could cope with. It was the same when she’d had the flat. Bex would often stay on her sofa, but after two nights, they would feel on top of one another. She struggled to imagine how big Theo’s parents’ place would have to be for that not to be an issue, though it didn’t take her long to find out.
‘This can’t be where you grew up,’ Daisy said breathlessly as the house finally came into view.
The long driveway opened up into a large gravel space, upon which stood a single white house. Well, Daisy assumed it was a single house, given the conversation they had just had, but it was easily four times the size of the one Daisy grew up in. The roof was covered in dark slate tiles, and with just a quick glance, she counted five chimneys. How was it possible, she thought, that a house needed so many chimneys? With the air in her lungs feeling decidedly thin, she continued to take in the building. A series of steps led up to the front door, around which the spindly branches of a wisteria draped, the last of its purple blooms fading. Two of the windows were made of stained glass and depicted hills and lakes. There was something about the composition and colour that led Daisy to believe they were real places.
‘You grew up here?’ Daisy said, transfixed not only by the house but by the land that stretched around it. Manicured lawns with perfectly pruned rose hedges and bushes, interspersed with ornate flower beds. Three cars were parked out front, one of which was a sports car and another a 4x4.
‘I did,’ Theo said. ‘And believe me, no matter how big it looks, it can get pretty claustrophobic inside.’
Daisy considered the remark slightly odd but paid it little mind as she stepped out of the car and onto the driveway. Despite it being later in the day, it was far chillier up here than it had been when they left Wildflower Lock.
‘I should grab my cardigan from the back,’ she said, moving towards the boot of the car, but Theo caught her.
‘Don’t worry, we can get everything in afterwards in a moment. It’s probably better if we get straight into the house. Dad has a thing about people standing outside and dawdling.’
Daisy didn’t think that getting a cardigan to ensure she wasn’t freezing counted as dawdling, but she was already worried about making a less-than-ideal impression, and so she took Theo’s advice and walked towards the door.
‘Are you shaking because you’re cold or because you’re nervous?’ he said as he took her hand, then wrapped an arm around her to rub her shoulder.
‘A bit of both,’ Daisy replied truthfully.
‘Well, don’t be nervous, honestly. We’re just here for one night. I’ve got an exciting night planned for us tomorrow elsewhere.’
Daisy looked at Theo in surprise, the current situation momentarily forgotten.
‘We’re not staying here tomorrow?’
‘I thought perhaps we deserved something a bit romantic for the weekend after our engagement, don’t you? Unless, of course, you want to stay here?’
Daisy looked back at the house. It was hard to imagine a more romantic destination, but given all the effort Theo had gone to, there was no way she was going to say that.
‘A romantic night away anywhere with you sounds absolutely perfect,’ Daisy said as she pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and planted a kiss firmly on Theo’s lips. She had intended it to be nothing more than a peck, but as his hand slipped around her waist, she found herself leaning more into him. Given how he had been driving all day, she barely had time to stop and kiss him or revel in the fact that he was indeed her fiancé. As such, the kiss was one she could have lost herself in for several more minutes, had the front door to the house not swung open.
‘At last, Theodore. We were expecting you hours ago,’ a pristinely dressed woman said from the doorway. Every inch of her was exact, from the gentle curls of her hair to the perfect points of her shoes, although it was her expression that held Daisy’s attention the most. With a slight pout, she looked Daisy up and down so slowly that it wasn’t even subtle, and when she stopped and locked her gaze on Daisy’s, her smile tightened ever so slightly.
‘So,’ she said, with a voice that was both breathy and yet direct. ‘You must be the wonderful Maisy I’ve heard so much about.’