3
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Nora was later than usual setting off for the lake. She’d made the mistake of responding to a text message from Neil, her kiln technician at the pottery. She had left several bespoke pieces in the drying room, and last night, when he’d come to fire them, the only kiln with the capacity to take these larger items wasn’t working. There were very few kiln engineers to call on these days, but after years in the industry, Nora had contacts. She put a call in to an engineer who had recently retired and he agreed to go later that morning to take a look. She hadn’t planned to visit Stoke today, but now she’d swim and then set off so she could be there when he arrived.
It was another beautiful, crisp day and Nora could feel the anticipation of the swim start to creep through her as she made her way through the woods to the lake. Even more so now that she’d had a relatively stressful start to the day. There was a deadline associated with the pots that were waiting to be fired. They were due to be shipped to New York the following week, and a delay to the firing meant a delay to her being able to make the final touches to them without having to rush. And she hated rushing.
She climbed over the collapsed wall and headed for the dock, which had become her preferred place to enter the water. There were other, smaller wooden platforms dotted around the edge of the lake but this was the only one that extended out over the water. Already prepared with her swimsuit on underneath her clothes, she stripped off with abandon, not noticing that the man from yesterday was standing on the opposite side of the lake. The sun was behind him, so Nora wasn’t looking in his direction. The first sign to her that there was anyone else there was the dog who trotted over to her, looking at her as if asking when it would be time to get in.
‘It’s you again,’ she said to the dog, before scanning the shore for the owner. Feeling somewhat exposed, she pulled her dry robe on, wrapping it around her before she walked around the shore, heading for the man who was watching her. His dog at her heels.
‘Good morning,’ he said as she approached. He looked friendlier than she’d expected, given that she was trespassing and he was probably about to tackle her about that.
‘Morning.’ Was it better to leap in with an explanation or wait until he said something? She decided to wait and a long silence ensued while they stood facing each other, taking each other in.
Nora wondered whether he’d looked in the mirror that morning. He had curly hair which was too long and seemed to be allowed to do anything it liked. His brown corduroy trousers did something to dilute the allover tweed look he’d sported yesterday, but they were worn down to the cotton fabric at the knees and his tweed jacket was just as threadbare.
‘Have you been in today?’ he asked, nodding to the lake.
‘No.’ She’d almost said not yet, which might have sounded too presumptuous, or cocky even.
‘But you come every day?’
Nora bit her lip. Was this a trick question? Was he trying to entrap her into admitting she’d done it lots of times before yesterday?
‘I don’t mind, if that’s what you’re wondering,’ he said, smiling. Now, his face softened and Nora could see beyond his dishevelled appearance. He had kind eyes. Deep brown, kind eyes. ‘Really,’ he said, bringing her out of the trance she hadn’t realised she was in.
‘Oh, well, thank you. I do come most days, actually.’ Despite what he’d said, she was sure he would mind, and there was a cautious tone to her voice as she admitted it.
‘And how does it shape up? Do you have anything to compare it to?’
He seemed genuinely interested, and for some reason, he put Nora at ease with his relaxed tone.
‘I used to swim in a sea pool so it’s very different to that, but I think the water quality is good and it’s wonderfully tranquil here.’
‘It is,’ he agreed, reaching down to stroke his dog’s head. ‘Are you new to the area?’
‘I’ve lived here about a month.’
‘And how’s it been so far?’
‘It’s pretty good,’ she said, grinning. ‘The lake helps. Do you ever go in yourself?’
‘Goodness no. I’m not saying this to scare you, but the carp in that lake were huge twenty years ago.’
‘I don’t mind fish. I haven’t noticed them yet, so I expect they’re steering clear of me.’
‘Ha, I expect so. Well, please don’t delay your swim on account of me.’ He gestured to the lake.
‘I’m assuming you own this place?’
‘I’m sorry, how remiss of me not to introduce myself. I’m Archie Harrington.’ He held out his hand.
Nora took it, noticing how warm it felt and enjoying the fact that she was making contact with him more than she would from a handshake with anyone else. ‘I’m Nora Hartford. Nice to meet you, Archie.’
He still had her hand in his. Then the dog jumped in the water, splashing them both, and they sprang apart.
‘Tatty! Out!’
‘She seems to enjoy a swim,’ Nora said, as they both watched the dog, who looked as if she was smiling, paddle to the shore and heave herself out.
‘Oddly, she’s never launched herself in before yesterday. She is rather old to start surprising me now.’
Nora wondered whether perhaps the dog wanted her as a swimming buddy.
‘I’m with Tatty. It’s an extremely inviting lake.’
‘Even in January?’
‘Especially in January. And at the moment, it’s not too cold, and not too warm.’
‘It’s been lovely to meet you, Goldilocks,’ Archie said, failing to mask his pride at making a pretty good joke.
Nora grinned at him. ‘Nice one. I’ll see you again.’
Archie fixed his eyes on hers for a moment, nodded, and then turned and walked away, his hands clasped behind his back like an old man. Tatty ran to join him and trotted devotedly at his heels.
Nora walked back to the other side of the lake and watched Archie until he was out of sight. So that was Lord Harrington. Perhaps she should have called him that instead of assuming that first-name terms were alright? But he hadn’t seemed to mind, and she was pleased to have his blessing to swim in the lake. How easy had that been?
After her swim, she bundled herself up, not having time for a leisurely cup of tea on the dock after being waylaid by Archie and Tatty. Instead, she sipped at it on her way home through the woods. As always, the rest of the day had melted into insignificance while she was swimming and only now did the anxiety over getting the kiln fixed come back into her thoughts. If Ken couldn’t mend it, she had no idea where she could get the pieces fired before next week. But until she knew it couldn’t be fixed, she wouldn’t waste her time and energy tracking down the nearest alternative kiln, because that’s what it would come to. No, she’d go up to Stoke and hope for the best. On the bright side, she could catch up with her production manager and see how the samples for the Christmas range were coming along. They weren’t due to be ready until next week, but they always built some contingency into the schedule, so she had high hopes that Val would have something ready for her to see.
While Ken was dismantling the controls for the kiln, convinced that a loose wire could be the problem, Nora headed upstairs to the production floor to find Val. The place was a hive of activity and Nora felt a lump in her throat, as she always did when she walked through the pottery. The sense of pride knowing she’d built this and that all these people were part of her success, as well as depending on it, was sometimes overwhelming.
‘Hey, Val,’ she said, knocking gently on the open office door.
‘Nora! It’s great to see you!’ Val got up from her desk and hugged Nora. ‘Nightmare about the kiln, though.’
‘I know. I thought I was ahead of the game with that order, but never mind. Let’s just hope the kiln gods are on my side once I get that far.’
‘Talking of kiln gods,’ said Val, ‘we’ve had the first firing of the Christmas samples. Want to see?’
‘I was hoping you’d say that!’
‘Let’s grab a coffee to take with us.’
They headed to the compact kitchen, which had a small table and chairs and so often was a good place to sit and chat.
‘So how’s the new place?’ Val asked as they waited for the kettle to boil.
‘I love the house. It’s gorgeous. Tiny but luxurious compared to my old place.’
‘And you’re not lonely? Being in a new town must be weird.’
‘It’s a bit strange,’ Nora agreed. She wasn’t going to let on that Archie was the first person she’d spoken to since she’d moved in. Being on the outskirts of town along a country lane meant she hadn’t come across any neighbours yet. She hadn’t ventured into town because she’d been busy getting the house straight and had been back and forth to Stoke, finishing the bespoke order, picking up a grocery shop at the big supermarket at the motorway junction on her way back. ‘I did meet the lord of the manor this morning.’
‘The lord of what manor?’
‘Croftwood Court. He introduced himself as Archie, but I’m pretty sure he’s Lord Harrington.’ It said a lot about Archie, in her mind, that he hadn’t introduced himself as such.
‘Ah, he owns the lake you told me about.’
‘Yes, Miss Marple.’
‘So he caught you in the act?’
‘Almost,’ laughed Nora. ‘I hadn’t got in, so at least it was a level playing field.’ And she’d have missed out on shaking hands with him. Why that stuck in her mind, she wasn’t sure. It was probably just because she was on her own now, and didn’t have the most basic level of physical contact with anyone very often.
‘And what was he like? He doesn’t mind you sloshing around in his lake on a daily basis?’
‘Thankfully not. He’s young for a lord, I think. Similar age to us.’
‘Eligible?’
‘No idea. Shut up.’
Val laughed. ‘That’s all I need to know. Come on.’
The Christmas samples were in their best room, in that it was one they tried to keep nice for entertaining buyers and so wasn’t dusted with clay like the rest of the place. Nora made a beeline for a ceramic bauble which was decorated to be a very fat robin. There was also a snowman, a Father Christmas and an angel.
‘I love these!’
‘I knew you would. I’m not sure the angel works, so we’re coming up with a reindeer option instead.’
‘Mmm, I probably agree about the angel. Could we do a Christmas pudding as well? Just in case.’
‘That’s a great idea,’ Val said, making a note on her phone.
They went through the other samples, which were a mixture of decorations and gift items like mugs and candle holders. There were things Nora loved, and things she didn’t. Things she didn’t hate, which might be an idea for another year, or something that could be tweaked for another collection. They chatted through the cost versus possible selling prices to make sure they had the right mix of price points and a range that all kinds of retailers could stock, from the small to the biggest. And by the time Ken came to find her with a kiln update, they had made all the important decisions.
‘You’re up and running again,’ Ken said with a huge smile on his face. ’It was touch and go.’
‘It always is. That kiln’s an old lady now.’
‘That she is. A word of warning though, it wasn’t a loose wire, it was a faulty element. I’ve repaired it, but it could go again and with the age of the thing, you won’t be able to replace it. That’ll be it.’
‘Oh god, really?’ The thought of having to replace the kiln was a headache she didn’t need.
‘You could use one of the old brick ones?’ Val suggested.
Nora shook her head. ‘Not controllable enough. You think it’ll be alright for this firing? I can’t risk anything going wrong.’
‘My best guess is it’s fixed for another couple of firings. Might be more, but you never know. If I were you, I’d be on the look-out for a plan B,’ Ken said.
‘Okay, I suppose at least I know what I’m dealing with. Thanks Ken, you’re a lifesaver.’
‘Here, look at the robin again,’ Val said, shoving it into Nora’s hands.
‘I’m not sure even he’s going to cheer me up. A new kiln isn’t what I was hoping to hear.’
‘At least you should be alright to get this lot fired now. When’s your next order due?’
‘I’ve got another month before I’ll need to use that kiln again, and even then, it’s a batch of smaller pots that I could put through the production kiln if I had to.’
‘There you go then,’ Val said soothingly. ‘There’s time to sort it out. And you’ll have a fancy new kiln to look forward to.’
Nora smiled, but she didn’t want a fancy new kiln that she’d have to faff around with doing loads of test firing. She wanted her old, trusty kiln. Why did everything have to change at once?