Each of them pushed a shopping cart as they wandered into the electrical section, while Adrian checked his prepared list.
“But all joking aside, Lenny. If she needs anything doing like moving furniture or lifting boxes, manual kind of stuff, you could give her my number. She’s met me now and I am local.”
Lenny seemed to mull the idea over, and after a while smiled and nodded
“I’ll let her know. That’s a nice thought, Ade.”
They walked on again in comfortable silence. Lenny steered them in the direction of the electrical equipment.
“So how has your week been?” asked Adrian absently.
“Pretty good. Everything seemed to run fine without me there. Mainly spent my time either proofreading contracts or meeting new clients. Isabelle had a couple of problems while I was away, but used her common sense to sort them out. Maybe not what I would have done, but everything got resolved. Sometimes I wonder if they need me there at all.”
“Nah, that there’s the sign of a good manager. They know you’re at the end of a phone in case they need you, but they also know you’re not breathing down their necks expecting them to do everything your way.”
Partway down the aisle, they stopped at the lighting section while Adrian pulled out a selection of bulbs of varying wattage, including spares.
“Kettle,” said Lenny. “We mustn’t forget to buy a kettle.”
“I’ve already packed mugs, tea bags, a jar of coffee, milk and sugar,” said Adrian. “So, yes. An electric kettle is a necessity. I’m not sure I trust that gas stove.”
After picking out a mid-priced kettle and a couple of long power extensions, they made their way to the towelling section. Adrian was determined to make sure the boiler and the shower above the bath worked, so insisted they needed to have at least a new towel each. He had even shopped for a new showerhead, a large container of shower gel, shampoo and a couple of packs of soap. Other bathroom accessories could wait until they’d finished renovating the bathroom. While Adrian picked towels out, Lenny began to fill him in on other developments.
“So I managed to get the number of the gardening company suggested by Mrs Llewellyn. That woman seems to know everyone in the area. One of their people went along to spec the place out, and they gave me a rough quote on clearing the front and back gardens and making the whole thing look more respectable. Very reasonable, actually, so one of their representatives is going to pop along and see us while we’re there this weekend.”
Adrian grinned then and noticed Lenny looking at him quizzically.
“What?”
“I thought I was the one fired up about this, sketching ideas of improvements, but seems like you’ve been doing a heap of things behind the scenes.”
“Let me just clarify, Mr Lamperton. This is my house.”
Adrian laughed at the mock-serious tone.
“I know, I know. But you have a hundred and one things on your plate at the moment, what with your businesses. While I’m sitting at home twiddling my thumbs, wishing for the weekend to come early.”
“Yes, well. Turns out I’m truly getting into this personal project. There’s something motivating and empowering about being able to do things the way I want them, instead of having to please a client. Especially when they come up with ludicrous ideas.”
“I hear you there, brother.”
“Right, come on,” said Lenny. “Let’s head for the checkout and then load the mattresses into your truck. I’m afraid I have to have dinner with my mother tonight, so I’ll see you first thing in the morning. Don’t be late.”
“Six o’clock sharp.”
* * * *
Agreeing to set off early in the morning on Friday had been an excellent plan. Beating much of the rush-hour traffic, Leonard drove his vehicle and led the way. With clear weather and lighter traffic than the weekend before, they arrived at the house just before midday, even after a brief stop for a late breakfast. This time Leonard found the home quickly. Adrian had cut away the flora covering the signage for Bryn Bach on their previous visit and had left the gate open. More conspicuously, a large metal rubbish skip sat in the lane outside the property.
As Adrian steered the truck into the driveway, he noticed Leonard had driven his SUV past the façade of the house and pulled up beneath a low-hanging tree. Apart from his red brake lights beaming, the car was almost totally hidden from view, leaving Adrian plenty of room to park right outside the front door. Turning the engine off, he smiled to himself with approval. At work he liked his site managers to be smart, proactive and practical. Lenny certainly displayed those qualities, arranging mattresses, landscaping contractors and now a rubbish skip. Adrian clambered out and strode beneath the cover of the portico just as Lenny joined him. Before Lenny fished out his door keys, they both stretched their stiff limbs.
“Now what are you smiling at?” asked Lenny, eyeing Adrian sidelong while sorting through the keyring.
“Nothing.” Adrian nodded towards the front gate. “See you ordered a skip. Very organised.”
“If I weren’t, I wouldn’t be in business.” Lenny unlocked and pushed open the front door. “Come on, let’s get the back of the truck unloaded.”
They set to work straight away, unloading mattresses, boxes, toolkits and other items into the front corridor, ready for use.
After thoroughly cleaning the fridge and making sure the appliance still worked—which, thankfully, it did—they agreed to clean the upstairs first of all to make the bedrooms habitable. However, they decided to concentrate on renovating downstairs that weekend, ripping out kitchen units and stripping flooring and walls. Only if they made good progress would they consider tackling any of the upstairs rooms.
Adrian found himself enjoying working alongside Lenny, chatting occasionally but never slacking. Lenny seemed to be on the same wavelength. He even felt a pang of pleasure at Leonard’s impressed surprise when he produced the industrial vacuum cleaner he had brought and started cleaning the floors in the front bedroom. As he worked, Leonard wiped down the bed frame and began removing the plastic packing from the first of the mattresses.
“What?” Adrian asked as he switched off the machine.
“And you call me organised.”
“You pay top dollar, you get only the best.”
“So I see. Here, give me a hand with this.”
Adrian went over and helped Lenny haul the mattress onto the bed. Although snug, they had measured correctly and the mattress fitted nicely. Even with the stark décor—peeling beige paint, faded floral wallpaper and drab dirty-white curtains—the room had a comfortable feel and overlooked the short driveway below, even though trees blocked any view of the lane beyond.
“Do you want this room tonight?” asked Lenny. “Or the one at the back?”
“This one is fine.”
“You don’t want the one with the view?”
“I’ll leave that to the master of the house. Come on, let’s get the sheets and duvet on the bed. Then we can use the plastic sheeting from the mattress to drape over. Even with the door closed, there’s bound to be dust from downstairs.”
Just after they'd finally finished setting up the back bedroom and stood back to admire their handiwork, a female voice sounded from below stairs.
“Hello? Is anybody there?”
Adrian met Lenny’s curious gaze. The voice had a very distinctive Welsh accent.
“Did you leave the front door open?” asked Adrian, walking over to the door to peer down the stairs.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well, it sounds as though you have a visitor. Word certainly gets round in these parts,” said Adrian, grinning, before shouting out. “We’re upstairs. Give us a minute.”
“It’s probably the gardening contractor. They’re a little early, which in my book is always a good sign.”
Adrian finished securing the plastic packing from the mattress over the bed and descended the stairs behind Lenny to see a woman standing b
y the front door, her face frozen in shock.
“Luke?”
“Uh, no. I’m Leonard. Leonard Day. And you are?”
Somehow, maybe hearing the timbre of Lenny’s voice or seeing Adrian standing behind, but something appeared to break the spell, and the woman’s face relaxed. She had a tanned complexion and ruddy cheeks, and wore her grey hair tied back severely from her face. Lending to the outdoorsy look, she sported a green Barbour jacket over an oatmeal jumper, with jeans tucked into green Wellington boots. If Adrian had to hazard a guess—he was usually hopeless at guessing the ages of women—he would place her in her early fifties.
“I am so sorry. I’m Philippa Redfern. One of the owners of Redfern Landscaping. For a moment there you reminded me of someone I used to know. Or, at least, how he would have looked now—”
“Luke Darlington?” asked Lenny.
“Yes, actually.” The woman stopped again and stared at Lenny. “Thought I’d seen his ghost for a moment. You knew him?”
“I never met him, but Luke is—was—my cousin. So there might be a family resemblance,” said Lenny, before stepping down into the hallway and allowing Adrian to join them. “This is my—uh—friend, Adrian.”
Even though he thought of them the same way, Adrian felt a twinge of pleasure hearing Lenny refer to him as a friend. The woman, Philippa, smiled then, and shook hands with each of them before placing a hand over her heart.
“I am so sorry, but honestly, in this dim light, you looked the image of him. Older, of course, than the last time I saw him. But even the way you moved, the way you hopped down those stairs. Gave me quite the start, you did.”
“In which case, I’m sorry, too. Let’s go through to the living room. It’s a bit of a mess, I’m afraid. Thanks for being punctual, by the way.” While Lenny led the way in, Adrian pulled open three of the folding chairs around the small collapsible table he’d been wise enough to bring and they all sat down. But they didn’t get straight down to business, Lenny curious to know more. “In case you were wondering, I inherited this home from my father. Hence the renovations. I thought you might have had trouble finding the place.”
“Ah, well, I’ve been here before,” said the woman. “Many times, actually.”
“Really? Is that how you knew Luke?” asked Lenny.
“Yes. We were good friends. Years ago, of course. I’d have been Pippa White back then, before I married. Used to hang out with Luke and the Williams twins, Freya and Howie.”
“Philippa. Yes, Mrs Llewellyn at the Manor Inn pub in Newbridge mentioned you. Thick as thieves, she said.”
The woman laughed at the comment, while clutching the sizeable flat valise to her chest.
“Not much ever got past Megan or her mother. But yes, we were great friends. And please call me Pippa.”
Adrian liked her; she had a nice, open laugh. But he felt uncomfortable sitting, listening as they talked about something personal to Lenny’s family.
“Can I make us some tea or coffee?” he asked, standing. “Tea with milk, no sugar, Lenny?”
Lenny grinned and nodded in response. Philippa opted for the same. Adrian headed to the kitchen where he’d placed the kettle and box of refreshments. While he wiped down one of the surfaces and set about making mugs of tea and coffee, he could still overhear their conversation.
“I suppose you know all about what happened to Luke. Were you here at the time?” came Lenny’s voice.
“No, I was studying at Durham University. I can’t even begin to tell you the shock I felt when I heard. His sister, Mary, phoned me. Told me how Luke had accidentally slipped from a step ladder while working on a light switch in the bedroom. I know it sounds odd now, but I believed her. Luke loved doing handiwork around this place on his own. But for something like that to happen to someone so talented. Tragic. I moved heaven and earth to get to the funeral, but I could tell they were hiding something. It was only at the gathering afterwards that his father confided in me what had truly happened. Which, honestly, made even less sense. I suppose you know that Mr Darlington was the one who found Luke. He walked out on them not long afterward. I’ve always wondered if the suicide had something to do with that. Of course, the wife could also be difficult.”
“Luke’s mother?”
“Have you met her?”
“Only once, recently. At my father’s funeral. She came across as quite—um—opinionated.”
“You could say that. Luke wanted to study photography. In the upper sixth form he applied to the RCA in London for a degree in arts and humanities specialising in photography. Got accepted, too, and while his father didn’t mind—the father was pretty chilled about everything the few times we met him—Luke’s mother refused, insisted he study something more respectable like law or politics or economics. If you’d ever met Luke, you would know how much he despised those subjects. Art defined him. He could sketch proficiently, and even with his instant Polaroid camera—this was back in the eighties, remember—he took some incredible shots. Some people instinctively understand light, shade and composition and how to capture a scene. Luke was one of those.”
“So he hadn’t even started his studies?”
“He planned to. I don’t know why he didn’t. I know his mother threatened that if he did, they wouldn’t pay a penny towards the fees. But I got the impression they didn’t have much to contribute anyway. Luke didn’t care. He hated the idea of a student loan, so he planned to defer, to spend a couple of gap years working hard and saving as much money as he could and then take the smallest loan possible, if at all. The people at the RCA were understanding and said they would keep a place open for him. I remember him telling us that he had lined up a couple of casual jobs after the summer, working weekends as an assistant to a wedding photographer and during the week as a labourer on a building site.”
“And what happened?”
“That’s all I know. The next thing I heard was that he’d died. If you get a chance, you should have a chat with Freya. I think she still lives around here.”
“And her brother?”
“Howie?” Something about the way she said his name made Adrian feel that she had been fond of him. “Heaven knows where he is. Timbuktu, probably. Couldn’t wait to get away from Newbridge. Well, from the UK. Born with wanderlust in his veins, according to his dad. For as long as I knew him, he talked about travelling the world on a shoestring.”
“But Luke felt happy here?”
“He loved the area, and especially this house. Often came here earlier than the rest of the family. He’d usually entice us and others into getting the place tidy, or help get the garden looking presentable. Even did a bit of decorating in some of the rooms.”
As he grabbed the three mugs to bring into the main room, Adrian grinned, realising now why the decorating seemed to have been performed with more enthusiasm than skill.
“Did you know his grandfather was going to leave the place to him, to Luke?” asked Philippa.
“No,” said Lenny. “I didn’t. He left it to my father.”
Adrian wondered if Lenny’s aunt wanted the place so badly because she knew about that promise. Maybe he would share those thoughts with Lenny later. He placed the three mugs on the table before sliding one over to Lenny and absently squeezing his shoulder.
“I imagine that’s because your grandfather outlived Luke.” Before taking the mug, she placed her flat case by the side of her chair. “Ah, tea, thank you, Adrian. Can I ask a personal question?”
After Adrian had moved a mug to her side of the table, he found her looking at him. The question had been meant for him.
“Of course,” he answered, taking his seat.
“Hope you don’t think I’m being presumptuous, but are you two a couple?” she asked, plainly, before blowing on the surface of her tea mug.
Lenny choked on his tea, while Adrian could not help but chuckle.
“No. I’m the hired help for the long weekend. Lenny needed some muscle to assist with
the manual work.”
“But you’re friends?”
Adrian peered over at Lenny. For some strange reason, his friend’s cheeks had flushed noticeably.
“Are we?” he asked Lenny.
“Of course we are. Used to go to the same school back in Norwich. So what proposals do you have for me, for the gardens?”
Diverting attention to the garden plans seemed to get Philippa motivated and Lenny’s discomfort back under control. From her case, she pulled a two small booklet containing computer-aided plans of the gardens, front and back. Adrian flicked though one, impressed at the professionalism, the designs shown in three dimensions.
“These are your copies. I have to be honest with you,” said Pippa, “the design is not that different from the original layout, but I’ve added easy-to-maintain shrubs to the back garden, in case you’re not here that often. In my opinion, the most important thing is to make sure we don’t block that amazing view. I’ve included replacing the patio with new material—your choice, really—but maintaining the same design. And you’ll see in one I’ve added a small gazebo at the far end of the garden on the right. We often use a couple of reliable local gardeners who can come in for maintenance from time to time. To make sure the garden doesn’t end upon in the same state again.”
Once they had briefly gone over everything, Philippa left the plans with Lenny for him to mull over. He agreed to give her a call over the weekend, to get the ball rolling as soon as possible. As Adrian cleared their mugs away, Philippa stood and shook hands with Lenny.
“I’m glad you’re fixing the place up,” she said once they had finished. “A good friend of mine would tell you this place has amazing Feng Shui, a real sense of peace and harmony if you know anything about the Chinese practice. Were you told anything about the origins of the house?”
“No,” said Lenny. “But I had wondered.”
“Luke was doing some digging. I know he found out the house was originally commissioned in the 1880s. That’s about all I remember.”
“How did it end up in our family?”
Pippa laughed then. She had a nice, unaffected laugh.
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