the tip of her tongue to offer him lunch in return for dinner the other night. But the knowledge that he was in his flat with another woman stopped her. She didn’t want him to get the wrong idea.
After he hung up, he wished he’d offered to buy her lunch, but he decided against calling her back. A smell of grilled bacon came through from the kitchen. He reached for a jumper and headed through to Janie. He was impressed. This was just about the first time she had ever cooked for him. Things were looking up.
Alice arrived in Exeter on time and went straight to the car rental agency opposite the station. This time she made a note of the type of car they gave her. It looked very similar to the one she had had the previous week, just silver instead of black. She drove straight to Woodcombe, to drop her bag. She was met at the door by a smiling Mrs Tinker and a friendly dog.
‘Hello Mrs Tinker, and hello Danny.’ The dog seemed very pleased to see her, as did his mistress.
‘Hello, my dear. I’ve got something to show you. Put your bag down here and come next door with me.’ She led Alice back out of the front door and along to the entrance of Duck Cottage. The door was half open. She waved Alice in.
The house was warm and welcoming and smelt of paint. In the kitchen an immensely tall man in a pair of white overalls was painting the ceiling. He had a step ladder, but was clearly only using it as a place to rest the pot of paint. The whole place looked wonderful.
‘You didn’t need to redecorate, Mrs Tinker. It looked fine as it was.’ Beside her, she could feel the heat from an Aga identical to the one next door.
‘Alice, this is Neil. He has painted our houses ever since I first got married.’
‘Have a heart, Agnes, I’m not that old.’ He waved a white-spotted hand in Alice’s direction. ‘I would shake your hand, but…’ He gave her a smile before returning his attention to Mrs Tinker. ‘Do you want me to give the bathroom a coat while I’m at it?’
‘Whatever you think needs doing, Neil. It needs to look good for Alice when she moves in.’ She turned towards her. ‘Have you got a date yet?’
Alice had been thinking about this on the train. There seemed no point hanging on in London. There was nothing and nobody to keep her there really. ‘As soon as possible if that’s all right with you. I’ll ring the removal people on Monday and see when they can manage. And I’m going shopping for a car on Thursday, so I won’t have to keep renting.’
‘That’s excellent, my dear. Neil will be out of here in the next few days. So any time will be fine. Just you let me know.’
Alice looked at her watch. It was half past one. ‘I think I’ll just slip down to the pub for a sandwich. Thank you so very much. And I’m sure I’ll see you again, Neil.’
The pub was unexpectedly busy. Then she remembered that it was the weekend. From the number of cars in the car park it was clear that people came there from outside the village as well. She ordered a crab sandwich and took her mineral water to a little table beside the door. Around her there was a sociable hubbub of noise. She was waiting for the food to be brought to her table when she spotted a familiar face. She gave him a little wave. For a moment she thought he was going to ignore her, but then recollection dawned. He came across to her table.
‘I can remember that it’s Alice, but I can’t remember your surname. Must be getting old.’
She smiled up at him. ‘And you are Daniel Tremayne. This must prove that I’m younger than you are.’ She felt remarkably pleased to see him. She pointed to the other chair. ‘You look tired. Would you like a seat?’
There was a moment’s hesitation, then he sat down opposite her. ‘Thanks. I’ve been on my feet all morning.’
She scrutinised him discreetly. He was still as handsome as she remembered, but there were bags under his eyes and he did not look comfortable. ‘Are you a regular here, Mr Tremayne? Oh, and by the way, it’s Grant, Alice Grant.’
‘Of course.’ He slapped his forehead in annoyance. ‘I knew it was a short name. Grant, right, I’ve got it now. I suppose I am a sort of regular. I rarely go to pubs these days but, if I do, it’s this one.’
‘So what have you been doing to keep you on your feet all Saturday morning?’
‘We had a car boot sale to raise funds for the church. It only just finished half an hour ago. A lot of the folk here are recovering, like me, from the effort.’ He looked across at her. ‘And how long are you down for this time?’
‘Only for a few days now, but I am moving in properly very soon. I’m renting Mrs Tinker’s other cottage. Some time this month, I hope.’ He looked tired, but there was more to it than that. The light blue eyes flickered around the room nervously. She did her best to put him at his ease. ‘I suppose Easter is a very busy time for you.’
‘I don’t know. It’s pretty full-on all year, really. From March onwards we are busy getting the fields ready, planting and so on.’ While she was trying to make sense of his words, he jumped to his feet. ‘Here, Alice, there’s somebody I should introduce you to.’ He caught the arm of a tall lady. ‘Megan, there’s somebody I’d like you to meet.’
Alice looked up as the lady, probably around fifty, turned towards her. The first thing she noticed was the clerical collar. Followed by the friendly smile.
‘Hello Daniel. Who’s your new friend?’ She was quite an attractive woman, struggling against some terrible clothes. A tweed skirt?
‘Megan, let me introduce you to a soon-to-be resident of our lovely village. This is Alice Grant. Alice, this is our beloved vicar, Megan Jones.’
Alice swallowed her surprise and offered her hand. ‘You have a lovely old church.’ The vicar’s smile broadened. Alice could now see that she was probably not fifty after all. Maybe mid forties, only six or seven years her senior.
‘Alas, as with all old buildings, it is badly in need of maintenance. If we couldn’t rely on the help of our faithful volunteers like Daniel, I fear I would be conducting services from the shelter of an umbrella.’
‘Would you like to sit down?’ Alice was beginning to get over her surprise and come to terms with who was who. ‘I imagine you’ve been on your feet all morning too.’
The vicar gave her a grateful look and slid onto the free chair. ‘Ah, that’s better. Daniel, have I taken your seat?’
‘Yes, but you are welcome to it. I have to be off. In fact I was on my way out when Alice spotted me. I’m sorry I have to rush off, but I’ve got to get back to Daisy.’ He bobbed his head in their direction and left.
Daisy? Alice was just thinking what an archaic name his wife had, when the vicar supplied some further information. ‘Poor Daniel. He’s been up most of the night with one of his milking herd. He looked exhausted this morning, but he insisted on helping us. The sale was in one of his fields, so I suppose he felt responsible.’
Alice found herself feeling unexpectedly relieved to hear about poor Daisy. ‘So, he’s a farmer, is he?’ She caught the vicar’s quizzical eye. ‘I’d better explain, I don’t really know anything about him. We just met briefly the
