Chapter 8
8
‘Are you all right?’ Georgia whispered when I returned to the group. The concern in her eyes suggested I might look a wreck. Quick thinking was needed.
‘Choked on my own breath,’ I said. ‘My eyes were streaming. Has my mascara run?’
‘A bit.’ She rubbed at my cheek with her fingers. ‘Sorted. Although your eyes are a bit red.’
‘My nose probably is too. There’s a heavy frost out there now.’
I was saved from any further conversation by Arnie asking another question. I didn’t hear it so I sat back, heart still pounding, as Clarke and Keira debated the answer.
‘We’re halfway through,’ Arnie announced. ‘Connie will come round to collect your answers and give you a new sheet for the second half. We’ll start again in twenty minutes.’
‘There’s some people I want you to meet,’ Georgia said, standing up. ‘Bring a business card with you. You’re going to love this.’
Intrigued, I removed a card from my purse and followed her to the other side of the pub where we joined a table of three men and three women I didn’t know, all of whom looked younger than us. They were evidently quiz regulars but not very good at it judging from their team name – The Numpties – and the banter exchanged with Georgia.
‘This is my sister, Mel,’ Georgia said. ‘This is Maya and her fiancé Jonah. Maya is Kelly and Aled’s daughter.’
I knew Mum and Dad’s next-door neighbours had a son who still lived with them, but I hadn’t realised they also had a daughter.
‘This is Maya’s cousin Dane who’s in Mountain Rescue with Mark, and his partner Autumn,’ Georgia continued, moving round the table. ‘You remember Beatrice Eccles? They own her house.’
‘Cotton-tail’s Cottage? Aw, I love that place. I remember going inside once when I was younger and it was like a shrine to Beatrix Potter.’
Autumn and Dane both nodded, smiling.
‘We rented it from her daughter, Trudy, for a while before we bought it but one of the conditions of renting it out was to clear out all the memorabilia.’
‘You might remember me mentioning it,’ Georgia said. ‘Darrowby’s handled the sale of some of it about a year ago.’
‘I do remember,’ I said, nodding. ‘Weren’t there some books in it?’
‘Several first editions and rare copies. Gosh, what an honour that was.’ Georgia’s eyes were shining and she’d clearly drifted off into happy memories.
‘Sorry,’ she said, evidently realising we were all staring at her. ‘I haven’t finished the introductions. This is Rosie and her partner Oliver Cranleigh.’
She hadn’t given anyone else’s surname and, from the way she was grinning at me, I knew she’d done it deliberately with Oliver.
‘Cranleigh,’ I repeated, wondering how I knew that name. ‘Oh! As in the Cranleighs who own Willowdale Hall?’
Oliver nodded. ‘Good to meet you, Mel.’
‘And you but, oh, my God! Willowdale Hall? I’ve been obsessed with that place since I was a little. I used to drag Georgia out on our bikes and we’d stop by the gates and stare into the grounds.’ I started laughing. ‘That makes me sound really creepy. It was the building. I promise I wasn’t stalking your family. Old buildings are my deepest passion.’
‘Georgia told us,’ Rosie said. ‘She says you’re a conservation architect and you work on projects in this area.’
‘That’s right.’ I knitted my eyebrows at Georgia, confused as to why she’d been talking about me.
‘She hasn’t joined the dots yet,’ Georgia said, placing her arm round my shoulder. ‘Mel, you’ll be interested to hear that Oliver and Rosie are starting a major redevelopment programme at Willowdale Hall and they need a conservation architect to help them turn the hall into part home, part holiday accommodation without losing the character and history. So I thought the three of you might like to get together for a chat.’
I clapped a shaking hand across my mouth, eyes wide, hardly able to believe I was hearing this. A true business professional would have been calm and collected but I was completely incapable. This was the project of my dreams.
‘I think she’s in shock,’ Georgia told them. ‘Happy shock, though.’
‘Very happy. I can hardly speak. Yes, please, I’d love to talk to you about your plans. Name the date and I can show you my portfolio and client testimonials and…’ I paused to draw a breath. ‘Apologies. Very excited here.’
‘We obviously can’t offer you the project until we’ve talked and seen your work,’ Rosie said, ‘but I’m loving your enthusiasm. We both love Willowdale Hall very much and it’s important to us to work with someone who feels the same.’
Oliver nodded his head. ‘Have you ever been inside, Mel?’
‘I wish! No. I’ve never even seen the outside up close.’
‘So you love it even though you’ve never seen it?’ Rosie asked.
‘The closest I came was a boat trip on the lake. I’ve seen some old photographs but what makes me fall in love with a place isn’t just the bricks or stones – it’s the history. I’m fascinated by the Beatrix Potter connection and how the hall was used in both wars. That background is what gives a place a heart and when a building gets restored, I’m all about getting that heart warm and beating again. That probably sounds corny.’
‘I love that,’ Autumn said. ‘It’s not corny at all.’
Arnie gave us a ten-minute warning which had Jonah and Maya jumping up to get another round of drinks in.
‘All my details are on here,’ I said, handing my business card to Oliver. ‘Call or email me when you’re ready to meet and let me know if you’d like anything from me in the meantime. I can send you links to my work and client testimonials if you like.’
They both shook my hand and said they’d be in touch very soon. I said goodbye to the group and returned to our table with Georgia. A short while ago, I’d needed to squash down a squeal of grief but now I needed to keep a lid on a squeal of excitement. What a turnaround.
‘Willowdale Hall!’ I said as we sat down once more. ‘I can’t believe it! Thank you.’
‘I didn’t do anything.’
‘You got me an in. That’s huge.’
She shrugged. ‘I was in The White Willow last week and Rosie and Oliver were at the next table. I overheard them saying they really needed to get their act together and start searching for an architect if they were going to have any hope of refurbishing the hall this year, so I butted in and told them I happened to know the perfect woman for the job who I could introduce them to tonight.’
I put my arm round her waist and rested my head on her shoulder. ‘I thought it was your birthday. How come I’m getting the best gift ever? Or at least the chance of one.’
‘Because you deserve something to light that smile and make your eyes sparkle again,’ she said, her voice cracking.
I changed position, hugging her tightly. Did I deserve that? I wasn’t so sure. Did I need it? A hundred per cent. Even in that brief conversation with Oliver and Rosie just now, I’d felt more alive than I had in a very long time. I wanted to light my sister’s smile and make her eyes sparkle too and I knew how to do it. I had been planning to save my news until we got back to Georgia’s but I couldn’t imagine a better time than right now.
‘I do have another birthday gift for you,’ I said when I released her.
‘You can’t have! You’ve already spoilt me.’
‘I know, but it’s something you’ve wanted for a lot longer than you’ve wanted that handbag.’
‘Colin Firth in his Mr Darcy days?’ she asked.
‘I am here,’ Mark said, attempting to look indignant.
‘It won’t be here immediately and it’ll be too big to wrap,’ I added.
She shrugged. ‘You know I’m rubbish at guessing games.’
‘It’s something I wasn’t sure I’d be able to give you but I think I’m ready to now.’
Georgia gasped, her eyes widening. ‘Is it… is it you? Are you coming home?’ The words were hesitant, as though she feared it was an impossibility.
I nodded. ‘I think it’s time.’
I thought she might squeal but she pulled me into another hug and I stroked her back as I felt her tears soaking into my jumper.
‘You’ve made me cry on my birthday,’ she said, rummaging in her new handbag for a packet of tissues moments later. ‘But I’ll let you off. You’ve just given me the best gift ever.’
‘Even better than Colin Firth’s Mr Darcy?’ Mark asked.
‘A million times better.’
Georgia’s reaction – and that of everyone else – made me feel warm and fuzzy inside, but that familiar stab of guilt was there too. Georgia and I had been so close, always doing so much together, and I’d moved away without even discussing it with her. I should never have done that but leaving had been the only thing I could think of to do at the time to not only save myself but to save her because I was so angry with everyone. It had already lost me my husband and I’d been terrified that it might lose me my sister too.