Chapter 15 #3
Rick yelped and threw a piece of pastry crust from Melody’s delicious quiche at him in protest. Carter caught it, crumbled it up and slowly held out his hand. Constance’s blackbird wasted no time in hopping over and taking it from him.
‘You can tell a lot about someone by how birds and animals react to them,’ Constance nodded. ‘You’ve done the right thing asking Carter to get involved with your venture, Tilly.’
‘Aha,’ said Rick, and the blackbird squawked and flew off. ‘Sorry,’ he whispered. ‘But my guess was sort of right, there is something going on between you, isn’t there?’
‘There is, but not what you’ve assumed Rick,’ Carter smiled. ‘Put him out of his misery, Tilly, before he jumps to more unfounded conclusions.’
I waited while Melody refilled everyone’s glasses again. We had soft drinks as practically everyone was driving and, even though I wasn’t, I wanted to share my plans with a clear head.
‘Crikey!’ Kaya was the first to comment, once I’d talked about my idea for turning Willowell Woods into a sanctuary where visitors could connect with nature, along with the ways I, and eventually Carter, would help them achieve it. ‘That all sounds amazing.’
‘You really think it’s a good idea?’ I asked seriously.
‘A phenomenal one,’ Melody agreed with her sister. ‘And I love that you’ll be playing a part in it, Carter.’
‘Me too,’ he nodded. ‘I’ve already been out in the woods behind the pub and started brushing up on my skills again.’
I was delighted that he was so keen.
‘As long as I can secure permission,’ I reminded everyone, ‘it will be great.’
‘Having had a business there in the past is bound to make a difference to that,’ Rick sensibly pointed out.
‘And it’s not like you’re planning to alter anything in the woods, is it?
You’re not going to cause any harm to the trees or strip the site with a view to getting permission to build on it at some point down the line, are you? ’
‘Far from it. Aside from taking down any dangerous branches, little will change. And what does, such as reinstating the paths and clearing the pond, will only enhance the woodland. The diversity down there is phenomenal, so nothing is going to happen that could endanger that.’
I was looking forward to making a night-time visit to look for bats, owls and moths.
‘I’m happy to check the trees,’ Rick offered. ‘Unless acting the fool has put you off letting me loose with a chainsaw…’
‘Not quite,’ I said. ‘I was going to ask if you might come and make an assessment of what needs doing.’
‘And if there’s anything really pressing that needs seeing to,’ Constance said to us both, ‘I’d like you to deal with it right away.
I feel ashamed that the woods haven’t been properly maintained, so anything that will be for the benefit of the trees needs to happen before Tilly has taken ownership. ’
‘I didn’t know there’d been a business there before,’ Melody said, before I had the chance to suggest we could split the cost. ‘What was it and will you be able to build an office or something there, Tilly?’
The explanation and further discussion went on long into the evening.
The candles had burnt low and were casting long shadows before we’d finally exhausted the topic.
Constance hadn’t said much about her sister’s business, and sensing that she didn’t want to talk about Grace, I quickly carried the conversation on when Melody and Kaya expressed their sympathy for her loss.
I had assumed that everyone would know about Grace but then remembered that the sisters were relative newcomers to Willowell.
By the time we were stifling yawns, we’d explored every aspect of the business, the bottles of drink were empty and there was nothing beyond a few crumbs on the plates.
‘Well,’ said Constance, once most things had been carried back to the house and as we waved the others off into the star-filled night. ‘I think that was a roaring success, don’t you?’
I slipped my arm through hers and lightly rested my head on her shoulder. It was only then that I realised how tiny she felt. Her quick wit and mental sharpness often made me forget her real age and diminutive size.
‘I do,’ I agreed, and lifted my head again. ‘Though it felt a little self-indulgent to talk about the woods and what I’m hoping to do with them for so long. I rather monopolised the conversation, didn’t I?’
‘Not at all,’ Constance objected and turned back towards the gate. ‘Everyone, aside from Kaya, because she’s likely going to be leaving again, is going to be involved, so they were happy to listen and incredibly excited, too. Self-indulgent, my eye,’ she tutted.
She was right. Kaya didn’t have a part to play because she was considering leaving in the autumn, but Rick and Carter had roles and so did Melody now. She was going to supply the snacks and lunches I would serve in the cabin.
It felt wonderful to be drafting in local businesses and I wondered if there was anyone else I could involve.
Supporting already established enterprises and making the most of Willowell residents’ skills could only strengthen my cause when the time came to apply for permission, couldn’t it?
Not that that was my real motivation for doing it.
‘Thank you, Constance,’ I said, giving her arm a gentle squeeze. ‘I’m really beginning to think that this is going to happen now, aren’t you?’
‘I know it’s going to happen,’ she said firmly, going through the gate ahead of me. ‘There’s nothing that’s going to get in your way.’
I hoped we were right to be so convinced, because I was finding it increasingly difficult to imagine my future without Willowell Woods being one of the biggest things in it.