Chapter Eight
Miranda was ready to leave at twenty to eight the following morning so decided not to hang about in the flat but to set off straight away and risk meeting busier rush hour traffic at the start of her journey. She took her case and insulated bag of food with some containers of leftovers in it out to her car.
When she’d closed them in the boot she turned to see Libby standing nearby and sadness welled up. She was going to miss this particular neighbour so much and knew Libby would miss her just as badly.
‘I thought I’d come and wave you off.’ Her friend tried to smile but didn’t manage to do it properly and still looked sad. ‘I had a bet with myself that you’d be ready to leave well before eight, and you are.’
‘I didn’t sleep very well.’
‘Why am I not surprised about that?’
She came across and gave the younger woman a long, rocking hug. ‘Drive double carefully, love, and come back safely to visit me whenever you can. And at least email me regularly or I’ll worry.’
Then she stepped back, looking even more sad now as she murmured, ‘I’ll miss you so much.’
But when Miranda settled herself in the car and turned on the engine, all she got from the motor was a sick-sounding cough then silence. She tried several more times to start the car, but to no avail.
Libby walked across the car park in her slippers and signalled to her to raise the bonnet, then fiddled with some of the connections, looking as if she knew what she was doing, and she did know a lot more about cars than Miranda. Most people did.
But even Libby’s efforts were in vain. The only sound that could be persuaded from the motor now was the faint click of the key turning.
Miranda abandoned the attempts to start the car and got out, scowling at it. ‘I suppose I’ll have to call a breakdown service and if they can’t get it started, I’ll see if I can hire a car for a few days.’
‘You certainly shouldn’t try to go anywhere in this one even if someone can get it going for you. What if it broke down again in the middle of nowhere? When’s the last time you had it serviced, my dear girl? Your engine could do with a good clean and who knows what else?’
Miranda shrugged. ‘I don’t use the car all that often, as you know, because I can walk to the Underground station and I’ve been working only two streets away from one of the stops on that line. So I only get my car serviced about once a year, if that.’
She held up one hand as Libby looked as if she was going to scold her. ‘I’m not utterly stupid. I did check the water and petrol yesterday afternoon as I was getting ready, and they were fine.’
‘It’s a very old car, you know, and this model never was well thought of. Yours probably died of fright at the mere idea of making such a long journey. You really should trade it in – though you might not get anyone to offer you more than twenty pence for it in that condition.’
Miranda managed a faint smile at the feeble joke – well, she hoped it had been a joke. Only, with public transport being so good round here and easier to get to work on, she went for very few drives apart from to and from the shops when she needed a big buy-in of basics and heavier items. She’d not seen any point in upgrading to a more modern vehicle.
She turned to her friend, saw Libby hesitate and asked, ‘Is there something else you need to tell me about it?’
‘Not tell you, but I was wondering—’ She broke off.
‘Go on. Wondering what?’
‘Whether you’d like me to drive you there in my car. It’s not only far more modern than yours, but far more comfortable too.’
‘That’s a lovely, kind offer but I can’t ask you to do that. You’re going on holiday in another couple of days.’
‘You didn’t ask; I volunteered. And actually I’ve got two weeks’ leave and nothing much to do with it now.’ She gave her a rueful smile. ‘I cancelled for both of us yesterday, you see, not just you. I didn’t fancy going abroad on my own. I was looking forward to your company as much as to seeing Italy again. And if you’ve stayed in one luxury hotel – and I’ve stayed in quite a few in my time – you won’t find much difference in what the next one can offer you once you’ve looked at the nearby scenery.’
Miranda could only gape and wasn’t at first sure what to say. Then she saw the utter kindness in her friend’s expression, and also the diffidence and look of someone fearing a rebuff, so said, ‘Do you really mean that? You’d drive me there?’
‘Of course I mean it. I’d not have offered otherwise. I enjoy driving, actually.’
‘Then I accept gratefully but you must let me pay for the petrol and any other incidental expenses. We may even need to stay overnight somewhere if the house is in too much of a mess, and if so, that’ll be on me as well.’
‘Well, my petrol tank is full at the moment but you can pay to refill it when we get back or while we’re away, whenever it’s needed. And we surely ought to be able to sleep in your new home if we have to stay in Wiltshire overnight. I shan’t care if the place is rather run-down and dusty. Don’t forget, that house is yours now to do what you want with so we can clear things up as we choose and sleep on the living-room furniture if necessary.’ She cocked her head at Miranda. ‘There won’t be anyone there to tell you it’s not allowed. You’re sole owner of the place now.’
‘I keep having to remind myself of that.’ She shook her head. ‘Maybe it’ll feel like it’s mine once I’ve seen it. I don’t even have a clear idea of what it looks like, you know, inside or out, let alone whether it’s fit to be slept in.’
‘I’m happy to take the risk. We can always find a bed and breakfast place if it’s too bad. Just don’t forget to take the front door key that the lawyer gave you.’
‘It’s safe in my shoulder bag.’ Miranda still hesitated. ‘You’re sure about this?’
‘Of course I’m sure and it’s good that we’ll be going on a trip together as far as I’m concerned. It’s what we were planning to do anyway when we booked a joint holiday in Italy.’
Miranda flung her arms round her. ‘You’re wonderful. The more time I spend with you, Libby, the more I enjoy and appreciate your company. It’s what I’ve always imagine having an aunt would be like, if you don’t mind me saying that. I’ve never really had any relatives, just that horrible great-aunt and I didn’t want to be related to her. So it’s you I think of when people at work talk about aunts.’
‘That’s a lovely thing to say.’
‘I meant it totally. And it’ll be a relief to have someone with me, I must admit. I’ve been a bit worried about what I’ll find there because the house has been unoccupied for several weeks and the lawyer said it’d be wiser not to go on my own.’
‘Did he really? Then that’s what we’d better do, go together.’
‘I won’t even know what things ought to be like, inside or out, because I’ve only visited it once, and that was when I was about four. My mother and I didn’t get past a small sitting room at the front and I have only a hazy memory of the main entrance, which I think had double doors.’
She added softly, as if thinking aloud, ‘Mostly I remember Mum and another lady, who turned out to be the old aunt, shouting and arguing really loudly, and that frightened me.’ She felt sadness wrap round her as it often did when she thought about her mother, who had died young, thanks to a drunken lorry driver slamming into her car and shunting it into a tree.
When she looked up again she saw her friend looking at her sympathetically. ‘Sorry. That reminded me of my mother. I still remember her so clearly and miss her hugs.’
‘Of course you do. That’s natural when you’ve loved someone, so take your time. I must say, though, that you and I have bonded very quickly and I too feel like a sort of aunt. I often want to hug you, especially when I see you with that lost, closed expression on your face, trying to hide your loneliness from the world.’
Trust Libby to notice that about her, Miranda thought. She was a very caring sort of person and extremely perceptive.
Her friend hesitated, then began speaking again. ‘There’s something I’ve been wondering about …’
But she frowned and stopped so Miranda said, ‘Go on. Tell me. Surely we know one another well enough by now to share what we really feel.’
‘I don’t have any close relatives left in England, haven’t had for a good while. The family members I loved most when I was young emigrated to Canada many years ago. They asked me to go with them, but I didn’t want to leave England. It’s not only my country but my heart’s home, somehow.’
She took a deep breath then added slowly, ‘My oldies are all dead now and I’m getting older myself, so how about you adopt me as an honorary aunt? I’d love to return the favour and adopt you as a niece.’
Miranda stared at her visitor, so touched by this offer that tears welled suddenly in her eyes and her voice came out as a scratchy whisper. ‘It really does feel sometimes as if you and I are related and you’re how I imagine a proper aunt would be, not like that horrible old hag was.’
‘You only sometimes feel as though I’m an aunt?’ she teased.
‘All the time, actually, now I’ve got to know you better. I don’t understand why, but it’s as if you and I are linked, as if I could turn to you with any problem and ask your help in solving it, and share my joys with you, too.’
She’d never had anyone else close enough to share her innermost feelings with since her mother’s death. Phyllis Westerby had been the nastiest person she’d ever met and she’d quickly learnt not to betray any weaknesses to her.
Those guarded ways had mostly stayed up against the rest of the world too. But somehow, this woman was different, somehow she was utterly certain she could say anything to Libby, trust her with any secrets or thoughts.
‘You can ask for my help any time you like and I’ll be happy to give it, Miranda. But you don’t have to agree to treat me as an aunt unless you’re absolutely sure about it.’
‘I’ve never had a loving aunt, so don’t really know what I can say or do with one, but I always feel comfortable with you so maybe that’s a good start.’
She shook her head in disgust and added, ‘I certainly don’t count my great-aunt as a genuine relative, because I haven’t spoken to her in person since I was a teenager. I remember her eyes so clearly still. They had no warmth in them, let alone love or kindness, none whatsoever. Even as a small child I noticed that and was afraid of even standing too close to her. Luckily for me, she didn’t want me to.’
She paused for a moment, staring blindly into the distance again. ‘Now that she’s dead, I’m the last remaining Westerby in this branch of the family and I only know of one other distant connection from another branch. So an adopted aunt would be absolutely wonderful.’
‘That must make you feel very lonely. Tell me about the other remaining Westerby.’
‘It’s some male cousin but I don’t even want to meet him. He’s about my age and I’ve heard that he’s already been made bankrupt once because of his spendthrift ways and gambling.’
‘Who did you hear it from?’
She froze and stared at her companion. ‘My great-aunt.’
‘Then you’d be better waiting to meet him before you pass judgement, don’t you think?’
She nodded slowly. ‘Why did that not occur to me?’
Libby’s voice grew softer. ‘Because financial security is very important to you, isn’t it, love? That great-aunt knew exactly which buttons to press to keep you two apart.’
‘Money is all I’ve had to rely on for most of my life. If you treat it carefully it doesn’t let you down. Relatives are more chancy.’
‘Well, I grew up with lots of them and even so the younger ones scattered across the world and never came back to the UK to live. None of them bother to keep in touch these days, even at Christmas, so I might as well not have any relatives at all. The oldies were better at keeping in touch, but most of them have passed away now.’
She smiled rather sadly. ‘They were always full of fascinating stories about family members from previous generations and I loved to listen to them. But as the years passed, the people ebbed and flowed like human tides and all the ones still alive have been washed away and presumably made landfall permanently on distant shores now.’
‘I made some good friends at university,’ Miranda said softly, ‘but you don’t stay as close once you all graduate and scatter across the country. And when they get married and start building their own families and having kids, relationships with far-away friends inevitably seem to become less important to them. Unfortunately, my one and only attempt at marriage was a disaster.’
‘Your life isn’t over yet. There’s still time to do better about that.’
Miranda felt tears welling in her eyes again and fumbled for a tissue, muttering, ‘Sorry!’
Libby pressed a tissue into her hand, gave her fingers a quick squeeze around it then sat staring out of the window as her companion dabbed at her eyes. When she looked across again she smiled gently, waiting, not seeming at all impatient to carry on the conversation till her companion was ready.
Miranda looked back at her and then, feeling solemn, as if this was an important moment in her life, she asked, ‘What made you offer to be my honorary aunt, Libby?’
‘I’ve grown fond of you. And also – well, this may sound silly but I had my fortune told once when I was in my late teens and the clairvoyant was very impressive. She told me things about myself she couldn’t have found out from public sources, shouldn’t have known at all, and they were all true or have come true since. She ended up saying I’d have to find new relatives as I grew older because my own family would have scattered around the world by then. And she said one person in particular would need and care about my friendship as much as I’d need and value hers.’
Tears were trickling down her cheeks now. ‘I remembered that clairvoyant as I started getting to know you, and I began to wonder if I should think about trying to adopt some relatives. If so you’ll be the first one I’ve found, though I hope not the last.’
‘I hope we can find others together,’ Miranda said quietly. ‘Form a family of our own.’
‘So I’m going to start by gaining a niece to love?’
‘Yes please.’ Miranda gulped audibly. ‘Do you want to be Auntie Libby or Aunt Libby?’
‘Use whichever term comes into your mind at the time. Either would be great.’ She pulled the younger woman into another hug, then smoothed her hair back from her forehead in a motherly gesture and said, ‘Stop worrying about unimportant details. The main thing was that this hug felt right and was the first of many, I hope. Never hesitate to hug me.’
‘You’ve always been a touchy-feely person. Even with near strangers, I watch you sometimes pat their hands or their shoulders casually. I think that’s a lovely trait.’
‘Good. You can hug me as often as you please, and can call on me for help or company or whatever else you may need at any time.’
‘And you must do the same with me.’
As they stepped back from one another, Libby raised an imaginary glass and said, ‘We’ll drink to that properly tomorrow in Wiltshire and get an early night tonight. We’d better take some wine with us in case your great-aunt didn’t indulge, yes and fizzy wine too, which always makes things seem more special. I shall enjoy sharing a glass or two of bubbly with my new niece in her new home.’
More imaginary glasses were raised and they both took invisible sips from them then chuckled at the same time.
‘You need to share a similar sense of humour, too, to get really close to people,’ Miranda said thoughtfully.
‘I agree. Anyway, how about getting on with planning the other thing I offered to do for you? How quickly do you want to set off for Wiltshire tomorrow?’
‘As soon as we can so that we get as much daylight as possible to look round the house and gardens at the other end. The lawyer said the services like electricity have been left on, but you see things so much more clearly in daylight, don’t you? No nasty surprises can lurk in dark corners if there are no patches of darkness.’
‘Good thinking.’
Miranda beamed at her. ‘I always enjoy your company, apart from needing your help now. Are you sure you can spare the time this week?’
‘Utterly certain. I’d better phone my boss and let him know I won’t be able to go into work tomorrow as I’ve been called away. I’ll do the same as you and say I’ve had a family bereavement, because it’s sort of true. As it’s just before my annual holiday he’ll tell me to stay away till I get back, then to let him know once whatever needs doing is all sorted out, and we can set up a new work schedule then. He’s such a kind man.’
‘Won’t he mind you taking over two weeks off?’
‘No. I inherited some money from an old cousin years ago, so if I’m careful I don’t need to go out to work. I go in part time because I enjoy the company there but he’s got plenty of other part-timers he can call on for help. It’s not skilled work serving the sort of elderly customers you get in shops in that part of town but I really enjoy looking after their needs. They often come in for a bit of company as well as to buy food.’
‘Old age can be lonely. I saw a TV programme about it only a week or two ago.’
‘Yes, it can. Middle age isn’t always wonderful, either.’
She didn’t elaborate on that, which made Miranda wonder if she’d been lonely as well.
Libby waved one hand. ‘Anyway let’s get back to tomorrow’s arrangements. I’ll pack tonight and we can set off as soon as it’s daylight. I think we should take one or two changes of clothes just in case we need to stay for a few days.’
‘Yes. Good idea. You’re a brilliant organiser. I’ve noticed that before. Will you be all right driving all the way? I’m not all that good at coping with strange cars because I don’t actually do a lot of driving. And do you know Wiltshire at all?’
‘I don’t know it very well. I’ve only driven through it on my way to Devon but not stayed there or explored the countryside.’
‘I don’t know much about that part of the world either, so we can explore it together if we decide to stay in the house for a while.’
‘I’d enjoy that. And to answer your original question, yes, I shall not only be fine about driving there but extremely happy to do it, with the help of my trusty satnav. I don’t get enough long-distance outings because it’s no fun going anywhere on your own.’
‘Thank goodness for you.’
‘We’ll set off tomorrow at dawn, then, shall we?’
‘Yes.’
‘And we could pool our leftovers for tea tonight.’
‘Great thought.’
Miranda walked back up to her own flat, feeling distinctly happier about the coming changes to her life. She packed a few additional items of clothing, one set of what she called business clothes in case she had to deal with officials, and another outfit that was casually smart, suitable for going into a pub for a drink or two with a friend. Only this time it’d be with a relative. She was going to consider Libby a real relative, she decided, and dabbed her eyes at the mere thought of that, it felt so wonderful.
Strange that she hadn’t hesitated to accept Libby’s offer when she was normally so cautious about getting pushed into new situations that might cause difficulties. Only, it had felt right as they made plans, more than right, absolutely perfect in every respect.
She’d been alone for so long. How wonderful to have someone once again whom she trusted. She had certainly never trusted her great-aunt, on the contrary, and even though she hadn’t dealt with the old witch in person, there had been quite a few times when things had gone wrong unexpectedly and she’d wondered if the woman was trying to hurt her or stop her doing something she’d planned.
That evening, she and Libby enjoyed a strange mixture of leftover foods for tea, then separated to get an early night.
Miranda was smiling as she got into bed, looking forward to going with someone. She hoped she would get a good night’s sleep for once. She wanted to be very alert when she got to her new home, just in case there were any nasty surprises waiting for her there. She’d have to warn Libby about her great-aunt but hadn’t wanted to spoil an enjoyable evening.
She snuggled down, murmuring, ‘Auntie Libby’. And for once she did sleep well.