Chapter 4 #2
‘Beautiful,’ I told her as I sat at the table. ‘Stunning. Some of the trees looked ancient.’
She smiled at that.
‘They’re not quite that old,’ she told me. ‘But a fair few of the oaks have seen many more winters than I have.’
It was my turn to smile then.
‘The woods aren’t without their issues,’ I went on. ‘But overall, they were wonderful.’
‘Issues?’ Constance frowned and I realised I’d offended her.
‘There are just a few remedial bits and pieces that need seeing to,’ I said quickly and airily, my tone hopefully suggesting that it could all be sorted in a day because I didn’t want to further upset her.
‘What sort of remedial bits and pieces?’ she asked sternly.
‘Just a bit of brush cutting and path clearing,’ I said, and she looked at my leg again.
‘Anything else?’
‘Maybe tidying around the pond and taking down a couple of tree limbs that have been damaged, probably by the wind.’
I didn’t want to name it all.
‘What about coppicing?’ she asked nonetheless.
‘Yes,’ I agreed, ‘that would be great. Getting more light on the woodland floor would encourage more wildflowers, not that there aren’t a lot already.’
‘That all sounds like quite a lot of work to me, rather than bits and pieces,’ she said. ‘And you seem to know your stuff.’
I realised her suggestion of coppicing had been a test.
‘I used to volunteer with a charity in a woodland close to where I previously lived,’ I told her. ‘And I took a couple of practical courses to learn about woodland management at the local horticultural college.’
‘I see,’ she said, sounding surprised. ‘Good for you.’
‘I really enjoyed it.’
She was quiet for a moment and had a faraway look in her eyes.
‘I can’t say that I’m not upset to think that the place has got a bit out of hand, but it has been a while since I managed to get down there to look at it myself.’
If I did buy it, I’d make sure it was accessible for her and take her there as soon as I could, because her tone suggested she missed spending time in it.
‘I won’t be knocking any money off the asking price because of the state of it though,’ she said shrewdly, which made me feel slightly less sorry for her.
‘I wasn’t expecting you to,’ I smiled. ‘But as I was viewing the site with an eye to buying it, I needed to make sure I took the time to look around properly and factor into my calculations any work that might need doing.’
‘Very wise,’ she said and took a sip of tea. ‘And how did you find the plant centre? Was that in a state, too?’
‘Plant centre?’ I frowned.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘The building and all the beds and cold frames set up around it. My younger sister used to run a woodland plant nursery from the cabin and the space in front of it was where she grew and displayed the plants. That’s why there’s a car park next to the road.’
My heart leapt at her words. Knowing there had been an established business on the site really could make it easier for when I wanted to apply for permission to set up a new one.
I felt my cheeks flush, but I reined myself in.
I was already dreaming that I was going to forge ahead with my idea, but there was still a lot to consider.
I couldn’t afford to get carried away this early in the proceedings.
‘People used to come to her for gardening advice and a walk around the woods and then head off with a boot full of wonderful woodland and shade loving plants,’ Constance continued wistfully. She sounded proud as she reminisced. ‘Grace was a well-known expert in her field.’
I wondered what had happened to Grace because Constance’s tone suggested perhaps more than the usual sadness at losing a relative and, given how the site had deteriorated, I knew it had been a long time since it had been a nursery.
I was also curious to know if Grace had been the person responsible for planting the Fernside ferns.
‘And she had the perfect setting there in the woods to showcase her knowledge,’ I commented.
‘Indeed, she did,’ Constance sighed. ‘Willowell Woods have been in our family for as long as anyone can remember and I was immensely proud of what Grace achieved there.’
‘Well, the building looked as though it needed a good clean but was otherwise fine,’ I said. I decided not to mention that I hadn’t spotted any outside beds or cold frames which might further spoil Constance’s memories of the place. ‘Though I didn’t go inside, obviously.’
‘I should have given you the key,’ Constance sniffed, before blowing her nose on a tissue from her dress pocket. ‘I didn’t think.’
‘I managed well enough without it. And it’s good to know that there’s been a business on the site before.’
‘You’ll want to run something there if I agree to you buying it then, will you?’ she asked shrewdly.
She was as sharp as a packet of pins.
‘Well,’ I said, ‘I know we’re a very long way from that at this point, but yes, if I did become the owner,’ just saying the words felt thrilling, ‘then yes, I would need to run a business there to generate an income. I wouldn’t be able to take the woods on if I didn’t think I’d be able to get permission… ’
But how was I going to establish the likelihood of that without taking the plunge and buying it first?
It was quite a conundrum. I wondered if the local resident who had also expressed interest in the site was buying the woods for pleasure rather than business.
If that was the case, Constance would surely favour them over me because it would be so much easier to sort out.
‘I see,’ she said.
‘I have lots of thinking to do and so many enquiries to make…’ I said, biting my lip.
And how on earth was I going to do that and encourage Constance to think seriously about my offer when I was in Bali? Especially if the location Zack was still staying in had intermittent Wi-Fi.
‘And this venture you have in mind wouldn’t be anything that would bring harm to the woods, would it?’
‘Absolutely not,’ I said passionately. ‘It would involve people coming to visit, but only in small groups at a time. What I have in mind would be both physically and mentally beneficial to the visitors and the fee I’d charge them would in turn enable me to keep the woods in the healthiest possible condition and eventually pay me a wage. ’
I knew I had so much number crunching to do, but I’d been shown the financial ropes by the manager at Woodland Adventures and what I had in mind for Willowell Woods wasn’t all that different.
‘Well, I’m intrigued.’ Constance nodded and I felt pleased to have piqued her interest.
‘I haven’t thrashed out all of the details yet,’ I admitted, ‘but as soon as I have, I’ll be able to fill you in.’
Again, the potential difficulties of trying to work it all out overseas and then somehow let Constance know filled my head.
I couldn’t imagine she was email savvy and a letter could take a while to arrive.
Perhaps I’d have to telephone, though not when her news programme was on, of course, because she wouldn’t pick up!
‘The sooner the better,’ she said, and I wondered again if she was thinking about the other buyer. ‘Do you have a timeframe in mind?’
‘Not yet,’ I said, ‘and before I work that out, I think we need to discuss the price.’
‘I’m not coming down,’ she snapped. ‘There might be some remedial whatnots to see to, but I think the asking price is fair.’
‘I was going to suggest you put it up,’ I laughed.
‘Oh.’
‘Have you had it independently valued?’
‘Well, no,’ she said and shifted in her seat.
‘You should,’ I insisted. ‘You might want to avoid selling through an agent and paying their fee, but you must add into the asking price the fact that there’s already a building on-site. And will the car park be included, too?’
‘Of course. Why would I want to keep that?’
‘I just wanted to be certain,’ I told her as my heart raced again. The place was perfect. ‘You really need to find out the true value of the woods and everything that comes with it,’ I encouraged her.
‘I suppose…’
‘And I’m assuming there was planning permission granted when the cabin went up?’ I asked and the look she gave me was withering. ‘Of course, there was. Sorry.’
‘Eighty still seems like a decent amount.’ She shrugged. ‘But perhaps you know best.’
‘I wouldn’t want to make an offer without knowing the true value,’ I insisted again.
‘And the other interested party shouldn’t either.
’ Constance didn’t comment on that. ‘Anyway, I promise I’ll come back to you as soon as I can.
Unfortunately, my time staying in the village comes to an end tomorrow, but I’ll try not to—’
‘You’re leaving the village,’ she cut in.
‘Yes.’ I swallowed.
I hoped I hadn’t just handed the woods to the other buyer by saying that, but I could hardly not tell her, could I?
‘Are you going home?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘I don’t actually have a home at the moment.’
‘No home?’ she said, with a sharp intake of breath.
‘Nope,’ I confirmed, feeling my tummy gurgle again, but this time not from hunger. ‘No fixed abode. My home was sold after Dad died and I’ve just given up my room in a houseshare along with my job.’
Saying it out loud, on the back of my sleepless night, made me feel giddy.
Sometimes it did all feel like an exciting adventure, but at other times, such as now, it was a bit overwhelming.
I might have had my heart set on embracing something new with the security of Dad’s legacy behind me, but it was still a massive difference to the life that I was used to.
The fact that I’d stuck at a job I hated for the sake of a regular salary for so long was proof that my current situation was a complete change to all that had gone before, and even though I’d wanted to do it, it was a lot to process and get used to.
‘No home and no job,’ Constance gasped.
‘That’s right,’ I told her, trying to sound like the carefree person I was striving to be. ‘My job was slowly pummelling the heart out of me, and with Dad’s estate settled, I thought it was the ideal time to embark upon a new voyage.’