Eighteen
Matt held the branches back for Sally, taking great care not to let them go where they could smack her in the face. At the same time, he hacked through the grass to make sure they were following the old track and not making a new one of their own.
There were a few occasions where the brambles fought back, latching onto their clothing and he was pleased to note that Sally calmly extracted herself without any fuss. He’d been concerned that the fearless girl he’d admired from afar at school may have grown into a woman who liked to moan and groan over small issues but it seemed his concerns had been unfounded. She was showing herself to be a resilient, no-nonsense person who could face anything that came her way and he liked it. He liked it a lot.
In some ways, she reminded him of his darling Flora. His wife had been a woman who didn’t shy away from hard work or difficult situations and he was picking up the same vibe from Sally. He wondered if this similarity is what had attracted him to Flora when they’d first met. Just like the first time he’d seen Sally, defending a younger child who was being bullied, Flora had been leading a protest outside Oxford University demanding better disabled access for the less able-bodied students. They’d both displayed a strong and indomitable spirit and when Flora had approached him to sign her petition, he’d done so without question. He’d also shocked himself by following it up with a request that she join him for dinner when she was finished.
She’d looked him up and down with her unusual silvery eyes, thrown her long, copper plait over her shoulder, and said she would. After that, they were inseparable. The seven-year age gap was never discussed and was never an issue. They fitted perfectly together and neither cared that she had a few years more experience of life.
‘Oh, look, I can see the gate!’
Sally’s words brought Matt out of his thoughts and he stopped to look back at the pathway they’d cleared.
‘Hmm, it looks like the track curves away from the house before turning back in towards the gate.’
‘Avoiding something, maybe? Drains perhaps? Or just preventing vibrations or noise through the house when a larger vehicle passed by?’
Sally looked at him as she voiced these thoughts and Matt found himself impressed again by her intelligent surmising.
‘Yeah, both of those could be possibilities. We’ll know more once we get it all cleared.’
They climbed over the gate and made their way to the old water trough where they perched on the edge again.
Matt opened the folder he’d left there when he’d arrived, before going to explore the undergrowth for a second road track, and clicked his pen.
‘Right, to business. We need to put together a timetable for what has to be done and when.’
He looked at Sally and she smiled back. Matt chose to ignore the little flip in his heart and forced himself to be businesslike.
‘As I’ve already advised you, my solicitor has estimated a six-week turnaround but hopes to get the sale through sooner if possible. That time scale hasn’t changed at this time.’
Matt wrote that onto the pad. Not because he wouldn’t remember but so that he had a reason to focus his eyes elsewhere.
‘Okay. I’ve spoken to my partner and he now thinks it’ll be eight to ten weeks to complete the job he’s on which will then release our team to move over here and begin your project.’
‘I see.’
‘However, I’ve spoken to a friend who does habitat management—’
‘What’s that?’
‘They’ll clear the unruly brambles, thin out your trees, remove old or dead vegetation and pretty much make all of that out there,’ he waved his hand to indicate the tall trees visible over the rooftops, ‘tidier and more manageable.’
‘I see…’
‘Is there a problem?’
‘Erm, what about the wildlife that lives there? I don’t want someone just coming in and ripping everything up. That’s not what I’m about. I want to preserve as much of nature as possible.’
‘You don’t need to worry. He thinks the same as you and will take great care to ensure it’s all done ethically.’
‘Is it necessary to cut down the trees? Can’t they just be trimmed or something?’
‘Good forestry management requires tree thinning. If the trees get too tall and thick at the top, this prevents sunlight getting down to the forest floor which impacts the growth of new trees and vegetation which sustains various ecosystems. Don’t worry, Freddie will do a thorough survey on the area first and he’ll keep us in the loop at all times.’
‘Okay.’
‘You happy with that?’
‘If you think he’ll do a good and fair job, then I’ll trust your judgement.’
‘He will, I promise. Anyway, he’s said he’ll be able to come and have a look around next week and can put you in the diary for work to commence in six weeks. That works out good for me as it means the access to the yard here will be clear for us to bring in our equipment. It makes it easier if we can leave our stuff on site and we don’t waste time loading and unloading every day. It should be pretty secure here.’
‘Well, I’m going to be on site so you’ve no reason to worry.’
‘Oh, how so?’
Sally filled him in on her meeting with Essie Walton and the arrangement with her motorhome.
‘She spoke very highly of you which was nice to hear.’
‘I suppose I should tell you, in open disclosure of information – or whatever they call it – that her partner, Craig, is my brother-in-law.’
‘He is?’
‘Yes, he’s my wife’s brother. And Flora’s uncle.’
‘Blooming heck, everyone in this village is related to each other? I thought those stories were urban myths.’
Matt couldn’t help but laugh.
‘No, we’re not that bad but we are a fairly close-knit community.’
‘Yeah, you’re not the first to have mentioned it.’
‘You’ll get used to it.’
‘I’ve been told that too!’
He grinned as he scribbled this latest development on his pad.
‘Where do you want to situate the motorhome? Out the front? Or along the side? You also have those two fields at the front.’
‘Hmm, no, I’d feel a bit exposed out there. I was thinking here in the yard might be better.’
‘That makes sense but I’m concerned it could get a bit noisy for you. With this being an enclosed space, the banging and clattering tends to reverberate which will make it seem louder than it actually is.’
‘Well, where would you suggest?’
‘How about inside the barn?’
‘Are you serious?’
‘Come with me.’
He walked over to the five-bar gate that was located between the stables and the barn. He bent down to clear the weeds around the kissing gate at the side of it, pushed it open, walked through and then waited for Sally to join him.
As they walked round to the back of the barn, he explained.
‘If you put the motorhome in the barn, but park it up by these doors,’ he pointed to the large wooden doors now in front of them, ‘you can open these up and get all the daylight you need, but in bad weather, they can be closed and you’ll be protected from the elements. Summer thunderstorms can be rather noisy in one of those things.’
‘Hmm, you’ve made a good point there. My folks had a caravan and you couldn’t hear yourself think when it rained.’
‘You’ve also got a small yard on this side where you could put out a table and chairs which would give you more space to work with. If you’re going to be living in it for three months or so, some extra space might not be a bad thing. Furthermore, just over there, you have a water tap, there are drain facilities by the stables and I’m sure I saw plug points in the barn. If not, we can hook you up with something easily enough.’
‘You make it all sound so straightforward.’
‘That’s because it is.’
‘I just have one last concern.’
‘Which is?’
‘My cat, Herbert. I don’t want him having too much outside access all at once.’
‘Easy. These doors open into the barn – unlike the front ones which open out – so I can cobble together a frame, a sort of cat run thing, which will give him space to run about in. I’ll make it large enough to fit in your table and chairs so you can both hang out together.’
‘You have all the answers, don’t you?’
‘I try to. It’s my job to find solutions to people’s building dilemmas.’
Sally smiled again, the one which lit up her face and crinkled her eyes. This time, his heart clenched a bit tighter than before and his mouth went a little dry.
Matt tried to reply but found words wouldn’t come to him. Thankfully, Sally came to his rescue although he didn’t think she’d realised the effect she was having on him.
‘Now that we have my temporary living accommodation sorted out, shall we head over to the house to discuss what you plan to do with that?’
Sally led the way this time and Matt followed behind, trying to come to terms with the feelings she was awakening in him. Feelings he hadn’t felt for a very long time.