Chapter 2
2
Two weeks later, at the official end of the university’s academic year, Charlotte put the final touches to her packing and prepared herself for the off. Luckily, there was plenty of storage on campus, so she was able to put most of her belongings into boxes to be returned when she moved back into her accommodation at the start of the new term in September. She was used to packing light, having spent a great deal of her time travelling the world for her postgraduate studies. But for the past couple of years she’d been relatively settled in Bristol, where she and Comet had shared the flat during term time and then decamped to Gemma’s or her parents’ house for the holidays. Her mother and father had started to give her that kind of look though: the look that, roughly translated, meant ‘When are you going to get a proper job and buy a place of your own?’ Not just yet . The life of a researcher and archivist suited her, and Comet was all the company she needed. Of course, for a while she’d thought that she and Todd might settle down together, but clearly that wasn’t going happen now.
Even if she hadn’t had to vacate her accommodation, a quick look at Google Maps had confirmed to her that she’d have to find somewhere near the observatory to live for the duration of the post, anyway. She’d recently passed her driving test, on the sixth attempt, but she didn’t have the spare cash to buy a car, and finance the astronomical running costs as a new driver, so she still relied on buses and her own two feet while she was living in Bristol. The city was very public transport friendly, which helped a lot. However, public transport to Somerset, especially the remote part of the county where Lower Brambleton was situated, was practically non-existent. This had worried her for a while, before she’d decided to accept the job. Lower Brambleton seemed picturesque, but it was a tiny hamlet almost equidistant, in the centre of a triangle, between the towns of Minehead, Taunton and Yeovil. Buses did run every couple of hours, but there was no direct service to Bristol, and it would take three hours to go from the university to Lower Brambleton. So, instead of having to navigate this, she’d decided to move to the countryside for the duration.
‘Are you sure you’ve got everything?’ Gemma, her best friend, and for today, moving buddy, asked as Charlotte shut the door of the flat. ‘I mean, there’s not a lot here…’
Charlotte smiled. ‘I always travel light. It’s a habit I learned when I was chasing constellations in South America. Comet’s probably got more stuff than I have!’
‘You’re not wrong,’ Gemma replied, wrinkling her nose as the pong of a well-used dog bed reached her nostrils. ‘Might be time to get him a new basket.’
‘He likes that one,’ Charlotte grinned. ‘I’ve tried replacing it, but he just won’t take to any of the others. He’s a creature of habit.’
‘Like his mistress,’ Gemma observed as she started the engine of her VW Touareg. ‘Which makes it all the more surprising you’re upping sticks for this weird job. I mean, I can understand wanting to get as far away from that tosser, Todd, as you can, but since he’s already stateside, why wouldn’t you just bunk with me while your flat’s being occupied? I’ve got tons of room, and I could do with a lodger for the summer.’
Charlotte, who’d reached back to plug Comet’s seatbelt lead into the socket in the back seat, gave her friend a smile. ‘It’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer,’ she said, as she turned back around, ‘but, oh, I don’t know, there just seemed to be something about the observatory project that feels right. Someone should be there to take it all apart, record the artefacts and documents for posterity; someone who actually knows what they’re doing. I mean, can you imagine if they’d just gone ahead and thrown all the star charts and records into a skip?’ She shuddered. ‘I might not usually be on the side of a developer, but at least they seem to want to take care of the history they’re getting rid of.’
‘I get it,’ Gemma replied as they headed south out of the city and for the open road. ‘And you’ve always loved working on your own. I just worry that Lower Brambleton could be a bit isolated, even for you. I don’t like the thought of you all alone in the countryside, licking your wounds after Todd the Twat has done the dirty, with nothing but a manky, mouldy old telescope and an archive of mildewed star charts for company.’
Charlotte saw the concern in her friend’s eyes as Gemma glanced from the road to her, and then back again, and gave her a reassuring smile. ‘I think the telescope’s already gone,’ she said. ‘And besides, it’s better than pining in Bristol, going back to our old haunts and wishing he hadn’t hooked up with some new, better-looking model. After all, there’s nothing I can do about it, is there? Might as well make good use of the summer break and supplement my meagre income as a researcher with this project.’
‘I suppose.’ Gemma’s tone clearly illustrated that she still needed some convincing.
‘Besides,’ Charlotte continued, ‘I’ve got Comet for company, and he’s the only male I want in my life right now.’
‘Even if he needs a bath.’ Gemma’s nose wrinkled delicately again. ‘Promise me that’s the first thing you’ll do when you get there, or your new landlady’ll chuck you both out on the street before you’ve even had the chance to get his smelly old bed in situ!’
Charlotte laughed. ‘I promise. Although she did say that she was a dog lover, so hopefully she and Comet will take to one another.’
‘Let’s hope so,’ Gemma echoed. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I love the old boy, but he’s rather too fond of rolling in unsavoury things for my liking.’
‘Yes,’ Charlotte laughed. ‘I’ll never forget the day he barrelled in and rubbed eau de fox poo all over your living-room carpet! You’re a good friend to allow us both anywhere near your home, or your car, after that!’
‘Don’t remind me,’ Gemma groaned. ‘And Copernicus will definitely be glad he doesn’t have to share with Comet this summer, no matter how much I’ll miss you.’ Copernicus was Gemma’s fat, aged ginger cat, and although he definitely had the upper paw these days, having bopped Comet more than once on the end of his sensitive nose for stealing his food, there was no love lost between cat and dog.
‘So, what’s the name of your landlady, again?’ Gemma asked as the road began to widen, and the first of many pretty villages between Bristol and Lower Brambleton rushed by.
‘Lorelai Ashcombe,’ Charlotte replied. ‘She sounded nice on the phone. The university put me onto her as she often has people to stay on short-term projects. She lives a stone’s throw from the development, so her house seemed the best bet.’
‘Strange name,’ Gemma remarked. ‘I wonder if she’s one of those Somerset eccentrics, you know, hippies that never quite made it home from Glastonbury. I bet you’ll get there, and it’ll be all tie-dyed throws and incense.’
Charlotte laughed. ‘She didn’t sound like an ex-hippy on the phone, but I promise, if she gets too way out, I’ll ring you and you can spend the next few weeks driving me from your place!’
‘Just promise me you’ll have a good sniff of any weird-looking tea she makes you before you drink it,’ Gemma replied. ‘You never know what they’re likely to put in it, in the backwaters of Somerset!’
‘I will.’ Charlotte kept smiling. Gemma was a bit of a fusspot, but she loved her, and she was glad her friend was always in her corner. She knew that if things didn’t work out, Gemma would be there to lend a friendly ear and more practical help. But as they got nearer to their destination, excitement began to mingle with trepidation in the pit of Charlotte’s stomach. She couldn’t help wondering if she’d made the right decision to spend her summer in such an isolated spot.