16
NORA WAS IN Stoke to oversee the firing, or more accurately, the end of the firing, of her latest pieces for a department store in London. Her latest collection was statement vases. Each was unique in its shape and decoration and yet unmistakably Hart Pottery. This was the first batch to be glazed in the new kiln after two successful bisque firings, and numerous test firings, so it was a nerve-racking time. Neil, the kiln technician, seemed confident it would be okay, and Nora clung onto that, trying not to spiral into what-ifs. Her chief concern being, what if the glaze didn’t perform as it should? It was all very well making bespoke pieces; you could pass off the odd imperfection as artistic intent, but not if they looked totally rubbish.
To keep the nerves at bay, Val had ushered her into the kitchen, tempting her with a lemon drizzle cake that was covered in crunchy sugar topping. It worked.
‘Neil will come and get you as soon as they’re ready to come out,’ Val said soothingly. ‘Come on, what have you been up to lately? How’s the lord?’
Thinking about Archie was a welcome distraction. ‘He’s fine. We’re seeing each other.’
‘Well, I didn’t see that coming,’ Val said, laughing. ‘No, seriously. I could see it coming a mile off,’ she said when Nora looked confused. ‘And I know you’re stressed out today, but you’ve looked happier than I’ve seen you in years.’
‘Really?’ Nora said, feeling pleased. ‘You don’t think it’s too soon?’
‘Why? I might be talking out of turn, but I don’t think you and Julian had been in love for a while. You needed time to get used to being by yourself, but that’s not the same as needing time to get over someone. I don’t think you needed to do that, did you?’
‘No.’ It was true. She simply hadn’t been heartbroken. She’d settled into life in Croftwood and the new routine of travelling up to Stoke from there, pretty quickly.
‘So what’s it like going out with a lord?’
‘You have to stop calling him that, Val. It’s weird. I don’t think of him like that at all.’
‘Really? I thought that was part of the appeal. You know, in Bridgerton. Anthony, Lord Bridgerton. He’s so commanding. Doesn’t Archie have that going on?’
Nora laughed because the thought of Archie being commanding was quite funny. ‘No, he doesn’t have that going on. He has the deepest soul. It makes my heart ache to look at him.’
‘Oh my god,’ Val said, putting her hand on her chest. ‘You’re in love with him.’
‘No,’ Nora said, frowning and delving into her slice of lemon drizzle cake. ‘It’s too soon to be talking about love.’
‘You are,’ Val insisted. ‘I’ve known you a long time, Nora Hartford, and this is a Nora Hartford I’ve never seen.’
‘You’re so dramatic.’
‘I’m right. And you’ll look back on this moment and marvel about how right I am. You haven’t admitted it to yourself yet. And I get that. It’s a big step. But there’s no denying what’s staring me straight in the face,’ Val said, pointing her fork at Nora.
‘You’re up.’ Neil popped his head around the door and then disappeared. Nora abandoned her cake and sped after him, Val’s words spinning in her head. Was she in love with Archie?
All thoughts of Archie were abandoned as she and Neil carefully unloaded the kiln. The glazes looked spectacular.
‘I should have bought a new kiln years ago,’ she said to Neil.
‘They look tidy,’ he said, picking one up and turning it around in his hands. ‘Very tidy.’
‘What a relief!’ Aside from meaning that this shipment would be on time, it meant that Nora had a whole other batch she had made, just in case. Now, that could be glazed and kept on hand for another order. She’d never been in the position of having any of her bespoke pieces on hand as stock before. It had been a slog to make the extra pieces, working every day in Stoke for the past few weeks, but it meant she could reap the rewards and take her foot off the gas a little.
She spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and finishing the pieces ready for being packed and shipped. It was one of her favourite things to do, aside from throwing the pots in the first place. Making sure that they were perfect, sending them on their way and saying goodbye to them. It sounded strange, but it was an important part of the process for her. Every piece she created was part of her in a small way.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was a text from Archie.
Would you like to come to the Court for lunch tomorrow? A x
He didn’t say that it was lunch with him and Constance, but Nora knew that was what lunch at the Court meant.
I’d love to. What time? Should I bring anything? xx
Noon would be perfect. I’d like to show you around before lunch. No need to bring anything. A x
Nora was considerably more excited about seeing the inside of the Court than she was about the prospect of lunch with Constance. But she couldn’t wait to see Archie again. Since kissing at the lake, they’d been kissing a lot. All the time. She’d wondered whether kissing might persuade Archie to swim with her, because as yet, he still hadn’t ventured into the water. She also wondered when they might progress from kissing. Travelling to Stoke every day this week had been tiring, but aside from that, it seemed too calculating to invite him over to her house without offering him dinner or any other reason to visit, apart from it being a blatant booty call, and she hadn’t had time for that.
When she’d finished with her pots, she went to find Val again.
‘What have we got that I can take to impress Archie’s mother? Something she can’t buy from Cushions and Candles in Croftwood.’
‘You’d better check with Michelle what they’ve ordered, or you could take something from the Christmas collection. Nobody’s got that yet.’
‘That’s probably impressive enough,’ said Nora.
‘Actually we have a handful of Christmas candlesticks where we didn’t have the glaze mix quite right. They look a lot less Christmassy and we won’t be able to sell them except as seconds.
The rejected candlesticks were actually very pretty. The Christmas green had come out as a sage colour and the red as a dusky pink. There was also a gold shade which had fired perfectly and went very well. Unless you knew what they were supposed to look like, they were lovely and entirely suitable as a gift for Constance.
The following morning, Nora went for a swim and was surprised when there was no sign of Archie. They generally didn’t arrange to meet every day, but now that he wasn’t here, Nora felt disappointed. Perhaps it was that it was a slightly murky, drizzly day, and he didn’t fancy sitting out in the rain. As it was, she enjoyed a swim alone, letting her mind wander. The sound of the rain pattering onto the water was soothing, although she wished she’d worn a hat because it was making her head cold.
When she got home, the hot shower was very welcome, and she made an effort to blow-dry her hair rather than let it dry into its usual waves. Although she knew Constance a little already, this lunch date felt like some kind of landmark occasion. Maybe it was a test. And in case it was, Nora wanted to prepare for it.
She picked out one of her favourite day dresses. It had long sleeves which were full, but elasticated at the wrist. The bodice was fitted, and the skirt was full and came to mid-calf. The dark pinky-burgundy colour suited her and paired with her favourite black suede wedge-heel boots, she felt good. She pulled a pretty crochet shawl from the blanket chest where she kept all her scarves and gloves, and wrapped it around her neck like a scarf but with the pretty edge across her collarbones and the ends draping down her back.
Now that she had a better feeling for where her house was in relation to Archie’s, she knew that if she walked down her road, there was a spot where the estate wall had fallen into disrepair, much like the wall she climbed over near the lake. It wasn’t ideal to clamber over in her dress, but it saved a very long walk around to the main gates, or a very muddy walk through the woods to her usual entry point by the lake. Driving was out of the question because she was hoping Archie would have some Dutch courage on offer, and she wanted to take full advantage of that.
When she was safely over the wall, she smoothed her dress down, adjusted her shawl and tucked her hair behind her ears. Clutching the prettily packed parcel of candlesticks for Constance, she headed along the estate road, approaching the manor house a few minutes later. It looked very different from this side. The side that faced the lawns was more opulent, whereas this was the back of the house and the disrepair that Archie spoke of from time to time was more obvious.
‘Miss Hartford?’ A willowy woman in jeans and a sweater came out of the back door.
‘Yes.’
‘Come this way. We’ve had a bit of a morning.’
Nora went over to the door and into a boot room which was stuffed to the rafters with waxed jackets, tweed coats and wellies and boots of various sizes and colours.
‘I’m Ursula, the housekeeper. Sorry to bring you in this way. Archie said you wouldn’t mind.’
‘I don’t mind at all. Please call me Nora.’
‘Right you are.’
Ursula led the way along some dark corridors before taking Nora up a short flight of stairs and through a door into a huge hallway. It was dominated by an ornate fireplace with a huge gilt mirror hanging above it. A galleried landing overlooked the space and a wide staircase led up to it.
‘He asked that you wait in the drawing room,’ Ursula said, leading the way into a bright room that overlooked the lawns and had about ten sofas dotted around it and almost as many windows. ‘Don’t worry, her Ladyship won’t be down just yet,’ Ursula said with a smile, as if reading Nora’s mind about perhaps getting ambushed by Constance before Archie appeared.
She set her package down on the table and walked over to the largest window. From here, she could see within the walled garden, something that no one could see from the lawns. The area nearest the house had a patio with a large round table and chairs and it was surrounded by shrubs and succulents. Everything was about to spring into life now that the weather was improving. The rest of the walled garden must have been a proper kitchen garden in its day. The beds were still there, tidy and laid out as they would have been, but there was no sign that anything was being grown.
‘Nora.’ Archie came into the room, beaming but looking tired. ‘It’s wonderful to see you.’
They took a moment to kiss, although Nora couldn’t help but feel odd. It was strange to see Archie here. He seemed different. Not in a bad way, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
‘Is everything alright?’ She cupped his cheek in her hand, and he closed his eyes for a moment.
‘The rain last night caused a bit of bother. I should have had the roof repaired by now. It’s made it worse by putting it off.’
‘You look tired.’
‘I was up until the early hours. Well. You’ll see.’ He raked a hand through his hair. ‘I’m sorry I missed the swim this morning. I overslept.’
‘It’s okay,’ Nora said, wanting to take him back to her house, tuck him into bed with her and let him sleep. ‘It was raining. Well, you know that. So not much fun to sit on the dock today.’
He smiled and took her hand. ‘Come on. Oh, would you like a drink?’
‘What are you offering?’
‘Tea, coffee, wine, beer?’
‘Would it be awful to have a glass of wine before lunch?’
‘You’re nervous,’ he said. ‘There’s no need. But of course you can have a glass of wine. I’ll join you.’
Archie produced a bottle of red and two glasses from a cabinet in the room next door, filled them halfway, and handed one to Nora.
‘To be perfectly honest,’ he said, ‘I feel nervous myself. This is uncharted territory. Who knows what Mama’s going to come out with?’
‘Thanks for the reassurance.’
Archie laughed. ‘Here’s to us.’
‘To us,’ she said.
Archie led the way through the rooms on the ground floor, which was really the first floor since the kitchens and what have you were downstairs, where Nora had come in.
‘This is the best part of the house. We try to keep it as it was. All of these things are handed down from generations ago. A lot of it was brought over from France after the French Revolution.’
They walked through room after room. Nora wondered why it wasn’t an option to sell the odd painting or twenty to raise funds. Surely Archie and the family must have considered doing that to take the pressure off. But it didn’t seem like the right time to ask, so instead she concentrated on admiring everything.
In one room, there was a row of cabinets with glass fronts that held all sorts of china. Everything from dinner services to serving dishes to commemorative ware. Nora was drawn to it, remembering that even the plates Archie brought to the lake had been Royal Worcester porcelain. And there, in the cabinet, mixed in amongst all sorts of vases and jugs, looking as if no one knew what it was, was something that she knew might be the answer to Archie’s money worries.