The Little Orchard on the Lane: An absolutely perfect and uplifting romantic comedy

by Tilly Tennant

  ‘There are a few things I could suggest,’ she said. ‘I’d have to take some measurements and work them out before I could say for certain.’

  ‘Right… so do you make drawings? Take photos or something?’

  ‘It might honestly be easier if you tell me what you want first. Have you seen a scheme you like? Any ideas on themes or aesthetics?’

  ‘Some.’

  ‘So, do you have photos or anything you can show me, just to give me somewhere to start?’

  ‘I’m afraid I don’t…’

  ‘Oh. It would be helpful as a first port of call. I could spend hours designing something that in no way matches your needs or your tastes. It’d be good to get an idea of your tastes before I start, what you want to use each bit of the house for, how you use it day to day now, what features are important to keep and so on. Then I could draw up recommendations from there.’

  ‘You must think me so silly,’ Asa said ruefully.

  ‘Of course not – why would you think that?’

  ‘Here’s me asking you to come and wave a wand over the place…’

  ‘I wish I could,’ Posy said with a smile. ‘It would make my job a lot easier. People have no idea how many times a design can go back and forth before it’s agreed on, and even then clients can change their mind – sometimes even as it’s all being installed. I’ve had some absolute nightmares… but I’m sure you won’t be one of them.’

  ‘I’ll try very hard not to be.’

  ‘That’s all I can ask for. But I absolutely don’t want you to stay silent if I give you anything you don’t like or think won’t work for you. Better to get it right at the planning stage than be stuck with something worse than you already have. Deal?’

  ‘Deal,’ Asa said. ‘I bet it’s a fabulous career, isn’t it, though? Especially when you get to see your designs in the flesh, as it were?’

  ‘It’s rarely a solo effort and clients are often heavily involved, so it’s hard to take all the credit. I like to think of myself as a facilitator for their own ideas. But yes… it is a good feeling to see people happy when it’s done.’

  ‘Right. Tell me what we need to do to achieve this aesthetic nirvana and I’ll do it!’

  Posy had to laugh. Asa, she was beginning to discover, had such an unexpected way with words that it was hard not to laugh, even when he might not have meant to be funny. And contrary to the more subdued first impression he’d given her, she was beginning to enjoy spending time with him very much too now that he was opening up. She’d never had an uncle and she’d never really considered what one might be like, but if this was the sort of relationship she could have had with one, then she’d clearly missed out.

  ‘Do you have any magazines?’ she asked. ‘House decor pull-outs from the newspaper… anything like that you might have picked up and saved for reference?’

  ‘I’m afraid not. I really am bad at this, aren’t I?’

  ‘How about a Pinterest board or an Instagram account you like?’

  ‘I don’t, but if it’s important I’m sure I could do some research and find some.’

  ‘It was just a thought to start us off. Why don’t I send you a few links to useful design inspiration sites and you can spend time looking at them before we do anything else? When you’ve got some ideas of what you like then we can look at them together and I can start to figure out what might work and what definitely won’t. Sound OK?’

  A broad grin spread across his face. ‘Oooh, you’re good, aren’t you? I can tell you’ve done this a few times before!’

  ‘You could say that.’

  But then his face fell and he looked vaguely pained. ‘I’m ever so sorry I can’t pay you much.’

  ‘I wasn’t expecting to be paid at all. You did say last time there was no spare money—’

  ‘Yes, I was being facetious there, wasn’t I? It will be my undoing one day. I realised afterwards how rude it must have sounded. Sometimes my mouth runs off on its own when it absolutely needs my brain to chaperone it.’

  ‘It’s really OK. To be honest, I won’t have much else to do anyway for a while. If it’s alright with you, when you’re finished doing your refurb, if you do use my designs I’d love to come back and take some photos for my professional portfolio. I could do with a testimonial if you’re willing too.’

  ‘Oh, of course, take as many photos as you need and then take them all over again! But why don’t you have much to do?’

  ‘I’m about to be unemployed.’

  Asa frowned and Posy gave a slight shrug.

  ‘The company I work for needed to lay people off and I volunteered.’

  ‘Why on earth would you do that? Is there a big redundancy pay-off?’

  ‘There isn’t one of those at all. But out of everyone who works there I probably had the least to lose having to leave and find another job. Besides, I was one of the last to start working there – it seemed only fair and decent in the end to take the fall and leave the jobs they did have for the others with families and mortgages.’

  ‘Well, I hope these people appreciate what you’re doing for them – it’s very generous. What are you going to do? I expect you’ll snap up another job quickly, won’t you?’

  ‘I’m not so sure about that but I hope it won’t take too long. Mum and I have discussed it and she thinks I ought to work with her in the studio.’

  Asa looked doubtful. ‘Making pottery?’

  Posy nodded. She couldn’t help a small smile at his confusion, because she felt doubtful about such an arrangement with her mum too. It might have suited them both and it might have been the easy option for her, but it didn’t feel right. Posy was supposed to be out in the world on her own – she was getting too old to rely on her mum, and taking up Carmel’s offer felt very much like relying on her mum, even if it might prove advantageous to them both in the end.

  ‘Let me see if I’ve guessed this correctly… You don’t fancy it but you don’t know how to tell her?’

  ‘I honestly don’t know what to do,’ Posy said. The admission surprised even herself, considering how short a time she’d known Asa. ‘Mum keeps saying I’m at a crossroads and this is the time to make changes, and I know she’s right. I just don’t know what those changes ought to be.’

  ‘I never wanted to work here in the family business,’ Asa said, suddenly solemn. This time, Posy was surprised by his frank admission rather than her own.

  ‘Then why did you?’

  He shrugged. ‘Because I didn’t know how to tell my mother – after Father died and Angelica left I suppose Giles and I felt more pressure to be the good children, so that we wouldn’t cause Mother more stress. And then later after Mother died I didn’t know how to tell Giles, and by the time I plucked up any sort of courage I’d got so used to working here that I thought I might as well carry on. It’s not such a terrible life – sometimes it’s quite idyllic – just not what I’d ever seen myself doing when, as a young man, I’d imagine the rest of my life.’

  ‘Not exciting enough for you?’ Posy smiled at his wry expression.

  ‘I’m an open book, aren’t I?’

  ‘From where I am your life looks wonderful. Like a novel.’

  ‘Maybe we ought to swap lives.’ Asa grinned. After a moment, he shook himself. ‘Come on,’ he said briskly. ‘Let’s carry on into the bedroom so I can get your take on my feng shui. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, but I’m quite certain I’m doing something wrong because it hasn’t made me a success yet!’

  Posy followed him, deep in thought. She felt, finally, that Asa was letting his guard down and she was beginning to see clearly who he was. He was someone who felt a sense of duty but also felt trapped in a life he wouldn’t have chosen, one he’d only settled for to spare the feelings of the people he cared about. She had to admire that and she liked him a lot for it.

  From what she’d heard and seen so far, she also had to surmise that he was single. Was that down to his sacrifices too or had someth
ing else happened? Had there ever been a significant other in his life? She had a feeling that being single wasn’t a state that suited him and she wondered if it was lonely for him at Oleander House, especially having to see his brother happily married, spending every day in domestic bliss.

  The sound of Asa’s voice brought her back into the moment, and as he smiled at her she felt almost guilty for the prying nature of her thoughts.

  ‘Well… it’s not huge but could we do something with it?’ he asked, sweeping a hand towards the room. Posy noted immediately a king-sized bed and two double wardrobes. Either Asa had one hell of a lot of clothes or she was missing something far more important, but they were taking up a lot of space somewhere she felt they needn’t have been at all. Then she noted two bedside cabinets. Par for the course in most bedrooms, but still she felt there was something more to it than that.

  ‘It’s quite…’

  ‘Woody,’ Asa said with a chuckle. ‘Full of the stuff.’

  ‘It’s nice furniture, though,’ Posy said. ‘Looks like good quality. Don’t you want to keep it?’

  ‘It cost an arm and a leg and Giles says it ought to last for decades. He says I’d be mad to get rid of it.’

  ‘But you want to?’

  ‘I haven’t completely decided yet whether I can bear to keep living with it. It’s dark and really quite ugly. But perhaps I will…’

  Posy glanced across to see Asa regarding the wardrobes, deep in thought, but with a sudden melancholy in his eyes.

  ‘Do you use them both?’ she asked, thrown by the change in mood and not knowing what else to say.

  ‘Not now.’

  ‘So one of them is empty? Could you perhaps just keep one?’

  ‘But they’re a pair, and it doesn’t seem right to separate them.’

  That sounded like an odd thing to Posy too. If he only used one, and he wasn’t even sure he liked them (and it sounded like he didn’t), what did it matter if they were separated? What did it matter if he kept either of them?

  ‘It’s something to consider later, maybe…’ she said uncertainly. ‘We’ll talk about it as we draw up designs.’

  ‘That would be good,’ Asa said, snapping out of his reverie as quickly as he’d fallen into it and looking at her brightly again. ‘You really are a godsend, and I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I have a feeling you’ll have me sorted out and back on track in no time!’

  And even that innocuous statement seemed to have a hidden implication that Posy just couldn’t see for now, though she had a feeling that she might soon enough.

  Chapter Eleven

  ‘How lovely to see you again!’ Karen smiled broadly as Posy and Carmel walked through the entrance doors of Sunnyfields Guest House. She was standing behind the reception desk, her hair tied back by a vibrant silk scarf. ‘And so soon after your last visit too! You just can’t stay away, can you?’

  ‘Lucky for us you had that cancellation or I don’t know what we would have done,’ Carmel said. ‘We couldn’t possibly stay anywhere else after you spoiled us so utterly last time we were here – it wouldn’t be the same at all.’

  Karen’s beaming smile stretched wider still. ‘I’m usually fully booked for most of the summer so it must be fate, mustn’t it? You were meant to come to me again.’

  ‘It must be,’ Carmel said, smiling too.

  ‘Do you need some help getting your things to your room?’ Karen looked at their overnight bags. ‘I’m afraid you’re right at the top of the house this time so it’s a bit more of a walk. We have the lifts of course, but still…’

  ‘I think we’ll be fine.’ Carmel glanced at Posy, who nodded. She was more than capable of taking her own bags anywhere she might want them to go, and she’d dragged far bigger suitcases up to the top floor of much higher hotels before now.

  ‘If you’re sure…’

  Carmel nodded. ‘Quite sure. I’m sure you have lots to do and we’re quite capable.’

  ‘Well, there’s your key…’ Karen handed it over to Carmel. ‘Shall I see you both for dinner?’

  ‘I wouldn’t miss one of Ray’s dinners for anything!’ Posy said warmly.

  ‘Oh, he’ll be pleased to hear that,’ Karen said. ‘He takes his cooking very seriously – too seriously sometimes, I’d say.’

  ‘It shows,’ Carmel said. ‘His food is as good as anything I’ve tasted in Michelin-starred restaurants.’

  If Karen could have smiled any more widely she might have been forced to build an extension onto the reception area just to contain it.

  ‘When you’re ready you can come down to the bar if you fancy it,’ she said. ‘I’ve had a delivery from Oleander Orchard and their new coolers are to die for.’

  ‘Oh, we tried one!’ Posy said. ‘They’re amazing! I could definitely drink one of those before dinner!’

  ‘Fabulous,’ Karen said. ‘I’ll see you shortly then.’

  It was as Posy and Carmel were making their way to the lifts that they heard a man’s voice. Posy turned sharply, blood rushing to her face. She’d heard that voice before and she’d never forget it, but even if the voice hadn’t been so memorable, the accent would have made it unmistakeable.

  ‘Why give out an email address if you don’t plan to respond to anything?’ he demanded in a gruff voice that instantly reminded Posy of Asa’s uncanny impersonation. She wished it wouldn’t, because now she had a bizarre and completely inappropriate compulsion to laugh on top of the excruciating and desperate need to escape.

  The fact that she whipped around to face him had been completely instinctive too, and as soon as she had she wished she’d been better able to control that impulse. As their gazes met, his lip curled. Slight, but unmissable. He definitely remembered who she was, and Posy didn’t quite know how to feel about that.

  ‘Guests of yours?’ he asked Karen, angling his head in their direction.

  ‘Yes, and if you don’t mind changing your tone…’ Karen replied with surprising mildness. The hackles were rising for Posy and she had to admire the fact that Karen appeared to be taking it all in her stride. Perhaps she was very used to dealing with Lachlan.

  ‘I’ll take whatever tone I want to,’ he said brusquely. ‘If you don’t want me to use it then perhaps you might want to inform your guests that some land about here is not for them to wander as they please.’

  Carmel looked over now, seeming to realise that he was referring to them. She was set to say something when Karen beat her to it, and the previous mild tone was suddenly gone. For the first time since Posy had met her, she detected annoyance instead. She glared at the man.

  ‘Lachlan… if you’ve got something to say I’d appreciate you following me to the office where we can discuss it in private.’

  With a last glower at Posy and Carmel, Lachlan seemed to decide Karen might be right and followed as she beckoned him behind the reception counter.

  The space was suddenly empty and silent as they closed the door to a room off the main area. For a moment, all Posy and Carmel could do was stare after them.

  ‘Wow!’ Carmel said finally.

  ‘My thoughts exactly,’ Posy agreed. ‘Someone needs a term at charm school.’

  ‘Or some anger management classes,’ Carmel said. ‘It’s his problem. Although, I do feel sorry for his neck muscles – being so tense and angry all the time must give him permanent neck ache.’

  Posy was inclined to agree. ‘I suppose, if what we’ve heard from Giles and Sandra today is true, it’s no wonder he’s tense all the time.’

  ‘We all have money worries but it doesn’t give us the right to go around offending everyone we meet.’

  ‘I guess not,’ Posy said. ‘But it does go some way to explaining it.’

  ‘So now I’ve finally met the neighbour of legend,’ Carmel continued with a wry smile as she pressed the button to call the lift. ‘And I’m quite gratified to see he’s every bit as disagreeable as everyone says he is. Often what’s promised by these stor
ies is not quite the truth; it’s good to see something live up to the hype!’

  * * *

  By the time Posy and Carmel had arrived in the bar for their pre-dinner drink, Karen was nowhere to be seen. In fact, the bar was empty. They wondered if perhaps it was just a little too early for most people and Carmel joked that they must be a pair of desperate lushes, and then they wandered into the day room to see if she was in there but didn’t find her there either. Instead, they found Pavla, Karen’s assistant, who informed them that Karen had been forced to go out to undertake a brief errand but would be back shortly, and that she could get drinks for them as she’d almost finished setting up for dinner.

  ‘That’s very kind of you,’ Carmel said as they followed her back to the bar.

  ‘Not a problem,’ Pavla said, and Posy detected an accent that she couldn’t quite place but sounded vaguely Eastern European. She wondered if Pavla was here to work over the summer or whether she’d settled locally. Maybe the story would unfold in conversation. Posy hoped so, because she loved real-life stories, especially ones about people who’d uprooted for new lives, how they’d come to be where they were and what had prompted them to make the move.

  The story didn’t come, however. Pavla served them quickly, making small talk but nothing more, and then, satisfied they had everything they wanted and telling them to look for her in the dining room if they needed anything else, she left them to it, all Posy’s questions still trapped in her head.

  ‘Here’s to another lovely visit!’ Carmel said, raising her glass.

  ‘We’d better not get used to it,’ Posy replied. ‘Neither of us will want to go home and it would cost a fortune to live here with Karen.’

  ‘I bet she’d let us though,’ Carmel said with a chuckle. ‘I wonder if she’s still busy with that awful man? Perhaps her errand is something to do with his visit – she didn’t mention having to go out when she offered to meet us in here earlier so something must have come up.’