surveyor, and a cleaning company with a strong stomach.’ She realised with a start that she was scratching the big dog behind his ear, while he grunted with satisfaction. She carried on in amazement. ‘I don’t suppose you know any good builders?’
‘I can do better than that, my dear.’ Mrs Tinker was enjoying her role as Alice’s saviour. ‘I can introduce you to my nephew. He’s a surveyor, and a good one, I can assure you. And he knows all the builders in the area.’
‘Mrs Tinker, you’re a marvel.’
‘I’m just glad I can be of assistance.’
The King’s Arms was almost empty at six o’clock. The young man behind the bar was friendly and attentive, and the food menu impressive. She ordered the mixed seafood platter and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. A sign outside had boasted the existence of free wifi, so she took a table in the corner and pulled out her iPad.
A check of her e-mails revealed one from Nigel, congratulating her on accepting the severance package and repeating his regrets at the board’s decision. She deleted it with a smile. There was also one from Danny. Two-legged Danny, she thought to herself with a smile. He hoped everything was going well and wondered when she would be back in London. She told him she planned to stay in Devon until the end of the week and gave him a brief summary of the day’s events, doing her best to play down the true state of number 23. She ended by giving him the news that she had already found a house to rent. Just a few moments after she pressed Send, her fish arrived.
She had a very pleasant meal for a fraction of the cost of a similar dish in London, and followed it with a fresh fruit salad. She was just finishing when a man came up to her table.
‘Hello. Sorry to interrupt. I’m Peter. Are you Alice Grant, by any chance? I got a call from Auntie Agnes.’ He was a friendly-looking man, maybe in his late forties. ‘She told me there was a maiden in distress and I had to get myself over here as soon as possible.’ He gave her a smile. ‘So here I am.’
Alice smiled back. ‘She’s a wonder, your aunt. I hope I have even half her energy when I’m that age. Thank you so much for coming. Let me, at least, get you a drink.’ She made to stand up, but he caught her shoulder and pressed her gently back into her seat.
‘Maidens in distress don’t buy drinks. What can I get you?’ He pointed towards her empty glass. ‘Another one of those?’
She sat back and nodded gratefully. ‘This maiden in distress business isn’t as bad as it sounds. That would be lovely.’
When he returned with the drinks, he lost no time in introducing himself properly. ‘Here’s my card. I’m a building surveyor. I do everything from homebuyer surveys to full design and build projects. My aunt tells me you have a refurbishment project in mind.’
‘Slightly more complicated than simple refurbishment, I’m afraid.’ Alice went on to describe the circumstances surrounding her purchase of the house and its present state. She left nothing out, including her stupidity in buying it unseen and the insanitary behaviour of the loony lady. To her surprise, he looked quite unfazed by her revelations.
Noting the expression on her face, he explained. ‘You wouldn’t believe some of the things I’ve seen over the years. You’ve just finished eating, so I won’t go into graphic detail, but you can believe me when I tell you I’ve seen worse.’
She found that hard to believe, but she felt it better not to pry, not least as she had a full stomach. ‘So, do you think you could help?’
‘Of course. So what exactly would you like me to do?’
‘Well, I suppose I need a survey first. But, in order for you to get in to do the survey, I need to find a firm who can go in and clear the place and disinfect it. I don’t suppose you know who might do that?’
He was nodding. ‘That’s not a problem. There’s a firm in Birmingham who specialise in this sort of thing. I’ve used them before. I’m afraid it won’t be cheap, as they’ll have to send a team down from the Midlands, but they’ll do a good job.’ Alice almost sighed with relief.
‘That’s wonderful. Would you please instruct them to get on to it? And then, once you’ve done the survey, I’d like you to draw up a list of the things that need to be done to return it to a decent, habitable state. And then it’ll be a matter of finding builders and so on…’ Her voice tailed off as she thought about the extent of the job ahead. He was quick to reassure her.
‘Don’t worry, once it’s all cleaned out, you and I can go in and take a good look round and decide just what needs to be done. If there’s anything that needs planning permission or Building Control consent I can make these applications on your behalf. OK?’
‘Absolutely.’ Alice felt as if a very heavy weight had been removed from her shoulders. She had a thought. ‘I’ve only got one key at the moment. I’ll get some duplicates made tomorrow. How do I get one to you?’
He explained that his offices were right in the town centre, not far from the auctioneers. She agreed to drop him in a couple of keys the next morning. He drained his pint, politely refused the offer of another and stood up.
‘If you don’t mind, Ms Grant, I had better get off home. My wife is going out to her art club and I’m keeping an eye on the kids.’
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you. And it’s Alice, please.’
He reached out and shook her hand. ‘See you tomorrow, Alice. Come to think of it, if you delay coming to see me until the afternoon, that’ll give me time to get some prices together for you. That way you’ll have a better idea of what it’s all going to cost you.’
‘Thank you so very much.’ She gave him a little wave as he made his exit.
She sat back with a contented smile on her face. Things were looking better. The bar had filled up a good bit by now. A glance at her watch told her it was almost eight o’clock. She took a sip of wine and began studying the faces of the locals. A bleep from her iPad told her she had received an e-mail. It was from Danny.
Dear Alice
How awful. I do hope you manage to get things sorted out. I feel terribly responsible. It was, after all, my idea for you to look at auction sites and I was the one who recommended Beauchamp. Maybe if I hadn’t suggested it, you wouldn’t be in this fix now.
Can I at least try to make up for this in some small way by buying you dinner on Saturday night? I would love to see you again and to hear all the gory details. That is assuming you are still talking to me….
Danny
She pressed Reply and started to type.
Don’t be so silly. I’m a grown woman and I should have known better. And, of course, there’s no need to buy me a meal. But, anyway, I would be very happy to have dinner with you on Saturday. Why don’t you come round to my place for a drink before we go out? By the way, I spent half an hour holding you, then five minutes scratching your ears this afternoon and you enjoyed it.
XX
Alice
