Abi's House

by Jenny Kane

  Beth waved, telling Abi her call was over. ‘Max has been having a think while he was tiling.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes, he always reckons he does his best thinking while he’s tiling.’

  ‘Fair enough,’ Abi nodded, ‘I always do my best thinking in the bath.’

  Beth laughed, ‘Really? You two are a right pair, aren’t you!’ She bent down to unlock the car, ‘Anyway, he said that if you wanted to find out who lives in Abbey’s House, then you should ask at the village post office. They know everything and everyone in that place!’

  Climbing into the car, Abi asked, ‘How is knowing who lives there going to help me?’

  ‘Well, Max thinks that if the house is so unloved, then perhaps you could make an offer to the owner? They may be open to it? Can’t hurt to try – if you do want to live there, that is?’

  Abi tried hard to keep the flame of hope that had instantly leapt up in her chest from showing on her face. ‘It’s a huge long shot, though. I mean, I can’t just walk up to the front door and say, “Excuse me, but can I buy your house”, can I? And although I love it from the outside, I may hate it on the inside.’

  ‘True, but if you don’t try you may always regret it. I mean, if the house was obviously being looked after and loved it would be different, but it isn’t, is it?’

  ‘You’ve seen it?’

  ‘I drove that way before I came to collect you this morning. It would need a lot of work if the owners said they’d sell.’

  Abi watched the sea disappearing from view out of the car window as Beth slowed to follow a tractor that was taking up the entire width of the road.

  Abi smiled. Max was such a lovely man to think of even more ways to help her, but she kept the thought to herself. Relaxing back in her seat, watching the Cornish hedges go by, Abi sighed softly. Even though a tiny fleck of hope was nudging at her thanks to Max’s idea, she had to be sensible. ‘I’ve decided to go back to Surrey and have a rethink.’

  Beth almost swerved the car in surprise. ‘What do you mean? You’ve just got here, and you’ve hardly house hunted at all yet.’

  ‘I know, and it isn’t exactly what I want to do, but I have to be practical. Coming here was exactly what I needed, but if I want to sell the house in Surrey I ought to be there to do that. I’ve left my brother-in-law in charge, and I’m not sure I can trust him to help me as much as he claims he will. So, I’ll give myself two more days of searching for what is realistically available here house-wise, then I’ll take a few days as holiday to think things over, before I go back until a suitable property comes along. I can’t live in a hotel forever.’

  ‘But you will stay to find out who lives in Abbey’s House, won’t you? I’ve been thinking about it. It might just be unloved and run down because the owner isn’t actually living there. Loads of people own property here but work up in London or Bristol or something. If that’s the case, they might be up for an offer on a property they obviously can’t maintain? Surely it can’t hurt to find out, and it would be better than going back to making muffins and thinking up excuses for why you don’t want to paint scenery for the local amateur dramatic society.’

  Even though she knew Beth could be right, Abi was determined to keep a firm grip on common sense, and not raise her own hopes high again. Yet she couldn’t quite stop contemplating that, just maybe, she could get to see inside the house, and perhaps fall out of love with it, or even persuade the owner to sell …

  Beth’s phone rang again as they approached the sign to St Just. ‘Can you get that for me, hun?’

  ‘Beth’s phone, Abi here … Oh hi, Max, look, thanks again for yesterday. I hope I didn’t mess up your day too much … What? Really? Are you sure? That was so kind, you didn’t have to do that … well thanks. I’ll tell Beth … Yes, I’d like that, thanks … see you, then. Bye, Max.’

  ‘Well, don’t keep me in suspense, what has he found out?’

  ‘How did you know he’d found something out?’

  ‘Because once Max has an idea in his head he’s like a dog with a bone. I bet he couldn’t wait for you to go to the post office and popped in there himself.’

  ‘Yes! That’s exactly what he did.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘Apparently they told him they weren’t allowed to give out confidential information, but suggested he went to the library in Penzance to look up the property on the electoral roll. The house belongs to a Mr Stanley Abbey.’

  Beth negotiated a particularly awkward bend in the road before saying, ‘Abbey is the surname, not a reference to a building, then.’

  ‘Yep. And it would appear the house is still very much in the Abbey family.’

  Chapter Fifteen

  Beth leaned back against her grandfather’s empty workbench, her phone to her ear. She could hear Max rummaging around in the back of his van as she spoke. ‘Abi’s coming over this afternoon to help me sort the last few cardboard boxes of stuff out, and hopefully visualise a few uses for the old place.’

  ‘Good idea, it’ll be useful getting a fresh set of eyes to run over the shop.’

  ‘She’s had a quick look before, and to be honest her ideas were pretty much the same as ours, but I think she needs another problem to think about. Did you know she was planning to go back to Surrey in a few days’ time?’

  ‘What?’ Max stood up suddenly, banging his head on the roof of the van, causing him to swallow back a curse and rub at his scalp as he replied, ‘But she’s only just arrived in Cornwall. I thought now I’ve found her a contact name for Abbey’s House, she’d at least do a bit of research and see if there is any possibility of it going on the market in the near future.’

  Beth didn’t miss the hint of dismay in her friend’s voice, and any doubts she’d had about him being interested in Abi beyond having her as a new friend disappeared. She was also sure that Max would do nothing about it, especially if he believed Abi was going to run back to Surrey without acting on the help he’d gone out of his way to give her. It looked as if she was going to have to act as fairy godmother if everyone was going to live happily ever after. ‘I don’t know, Max, I’m pretty sure Abi is simply doing her best to be practical and avoid further disappointment. Anyway, I wondered, as we’ve more or less finished clearing the space here apart from the polishing machine, if you had time to come over tonight for a colour scheme think?’

  ‘Sure. Be about seven o’clock, is that OK?’

  ‘You are wonderful! Thanks, Max.’

  Having warned Barbara that she might be checking out the day after tomorrow, Abi had left the Cairn earlier that morning with a new sense of purpose.

  She’d had two early meetings with two different estate agents, and was now holding a handful of house particulars, all of which were just a little short of dream house status, but all of which had the potential to be homes she could learn to love.

  Still determined to be both positive and practical, Abi knew that even if none of them had space to use as a studio yet, they at least each had enough garden in which to build one. In fact the only drawback that these properties had was that none of them were in Sennen. But as Sennen was basically only a couple of streets with the occasional house built off at an angle, Abi wasn’t surprised she’d found nowhere there to buy.

  Parking her car as near to Beth’s flat as she could, Abi clutched the details of a three-bedroom cottage in the small village of St Buryan, further inland, and to the east of Sennen, and a two-bedroom end-of-terrace house in Gulval, just north of Penzance, to show her friend.

  Calling out her arrival as she pushed open the unlocked door into the shop, Abi found Beth with her arms wrapped around a cardboard box, in the process of stacking it on a neat pile of several others by the end of the workbench.

  ‘Wow, this place looks so different. You’ve worked like a Trojan!’

  Wiping a stray hair from her eyes, Beth poked it under the bandana she was wearing to keep her long fringe out of the way. ‘Thanks, hun, I seriou
sly underestimated how much time getting the last few bits and bobs sorted would take.’

  ‘It’s always the little things that take the time.’ Abi scanned the space, which now had a swept floor and no clutter at all. ‘So, does this mean it really is decision time for you now then?’

  Beth wiped her dusty palms down her dungaree-covered legs, ‘It is, unless I can think up some more delaying tactics, of course!’ She nodded towards the house particulars Abi was holding. ‘And do they mean that you’ve come to some conclusions as well?’

  ‘I have done a sweep of every estate agency and property-management company in the entire West Country. Well, that’s how it feels!’

  ‘So does that mean you have some places to view, and we won’t be losing you to the Home Counties just yet?’

  Abi smiled at the hopeful look in Beth’s eyes. She still wasn’t used to the fact that someone wanted her to stay simply because she was her, and not because they required something from her. ‘I have two places to see tomorrow afternoon, then, unless one of them is just right, I’ll go back to Surrey until something more suitable comes up. I do intend to come back once that happens though.’

  ‘But that could take years,’ Beth tried not to sound too disappointed, ‘and you haven’t investigated Abbey’s House yet.’

  Not meeting Beth’s eyes, Abi ran a hand over the smooth wooden bench. ‘How can I? I can’t turn up on a total stranger’s doorstep and ask to snoop round their house. It would be a bit pushy, if not rude. And to be honest, I’m not that brave.’

  Beth had a quick read of the house particulars that Abi had brought with her. ‘They both look lovely, but they’re a bit further from Sennen than I thought you wanted?’

  ‘True, but property in this area is like gold dust.’

  Knowing this to be true, Beth couldn’t argue. ‘Well, if you fancy a second pair of eyes when you go to see them, then just ask.’

  ‘That would be great, thanks, Beth. I have a feeling I’m going to get lost trying to track them down!’ Changing the subject, Abi put her hands on her hips and surveyed the space around her as she said, ‘Any conclusions this end then?’

  Abi experienced a rush of pleasure as she and Beth heard the distinctive sound of Max’s work boots come into the hallway. Despite herself, Abi knew a light glow of pink was beginning to bloom across her cheeks. Hoping that her companions would put it down to the hot weather, Abi was just asking Max about his day, when Beth started fiddling with her mobile phone.

  Max, who had sat himself on an upturned bucket, added, ‘Well, I must say you guys have worked wonders.’

  Abi held up her pruned hands. ‘Thanks, we’ve been scrubbing the walls with soda crystals. Unbelievably, you can now see that they were painted white all along!’

  Beth waved her phone in her friend’s direction. ‘Abi has been an angel. I could never have got this far without her this afternoon. I was going to treat you both to pizza and a bottle while we talked colour schemes, but I’ve just received a text from the school’s headmistress.’

  Abi frowned. ‘I didn’t hear your phone? Hope everything’s OK.’

  ‘Looks like I must have knocked it onto silent by mistake. I’m always doing that! She wants to see me ASAP about the new curriculum. I’m so sorry; I’m going to have to dash. Can I stand you both pizzas tomorrow night instead?’

  ‘Sure, no problem.’ Abi felt a little awkward about being left on her own with Max now she’d privately accepted the fact that she fancied him a little bit (though only a little bit, mind). After all, she told herself firmly, you need a new boyfriend like a hole in the head. It’s friends you need right now.

  Beth fussed around. ‘I must go and have a quick wash and then get over to her place. I’m really sorry, guys.’

  As Beth virtually herded Max and Abi out of the shop, Max suspected he was being set up. Flashing Beth a look that clearly told her he didn’t believe her flimsy excuse in the guise of a disappearing act, and that he was going to be having a serious word or two with her about this later, Max steered Abi onto the street.

  ‘Looks like it’s just you and me, lass, fancy a bit of company over dinner?’

  Dishevelled from working hard with Beth, scrubbing the walls with a bucketful of warm water infused with soda crystals, Abi was very conscious of her creased and grubby clothing, even though she was standing next to a man wearing paint and plaster-spattered overalls. ‘I’d love to, but look at me. I’m a mess! I ought to go back to the hotel to change first.’

  Max winked. ‘You’re looking just fine to me, lass. However, if it would make you feel better, why don’t I pick you up from the Cairn in half an hour, and we’ll go over to Lamorna?’

  ‘If you’re sure you don’t mind.’

  ‘Not at all, the Wink’s a lovely pub. You really should try all the great local eating and drinking spots before you buy a place.’

  Abi loved the Lamorna Wink instantly. They sat in the evening sunshine garden under a parasol, munching their way through the biggest plate of cheesy nachos she had ever seen. Max had already thoroughly examined the house details for the Gulval and St Buryan properties she’d brought with her to show him, and declared both nice little areas. It was only after they were beginning to see a glimpse of plate underneath the heaps of sour cream and guacamole that he asked what he’d been longing to ask since he’d walked into Beth’s shop.

  ‘You aren’t really going to go and see these houses, and then drive back off to Surrey before you’ve knocked on the door of Abbey’s House, are you?’

  Playing with a nacho between her fingers, Abi sighed. ‘It’s like I said to Beth, I can’t just go up to a stranger’s front door and demand to see inside their home. It’s rude for one thing, and well …’ she played the nacho chip through a mini mound of sour cream, ‘I’m not local, am I?’

  ‘What’s that got to do with anything?’

  ‘Oh come on, Max, please don’t think I’m ungrateful to you for finding out that the house is owned by Stanley Abbey, but you know as well as I do that a person who isn’t local, who is obviously trying to buy a village home out from under its occupant, won’t be looked on kindly. I’d be seen as just another interloper who wants to buy up village property.’

  Max was about to protest that Abi was going to be living and working there, but he knew that there was an element of truth in what she was saying. He gave her an appealing half-smile. ‘I don’t suppose you have any Cornish blood hidden away in that pint-sized body of yours?’

  Taking a fortifying sip of wine, Abi returned his smile. ‘Don’t think so. I just had eight childhood holidays down here.’

  ‘If Beth was here she’d be telling me to pretend to be your brother or something; something to give you credible Cornish roots just in case!’ Max laughed, ‘but I’ve been around here far too long to miraculously discover a long-lost sister or acquire a wife overnight.’

  They both went quiet at his mention of a wife, before Max added, ‘But I will come with you if you like. If you decide to pay Mr Abbey a visit, that is. For moral support.’

  Dismissing the idea of faking Cornish ancestry as insane, Abi accepted Max’s offer of accompanying her to the Abbey House. ‘You’re both right, aren’t you? You and Beth, I mean. I can’t go back until I’ve at least tried to see inside Abbey’s House. Thanks, Max, I’d really appreciate the moral support.’

  ‘Tomorrow morning, then; so that you can view it before visiting the more far-flung cottages you’ve appointments to see?’

  Abi gulped. ‘You’re on.’

  ‘Good.’ Max took a draught from his pint of cola. ‘And, anyway, I’m more than a little curious myself. I thought I knew everyone in this area, but Mr Stanley Abbey is a new name to me.’

  Chapter Sixteen

  What on earth was she going to say? Abi’s mind had gone through every possibility of how to explain why she was knocking on a complete stranger’s door. In the end, as she’d half-heartedly chewed on the toast and marmalade she’d f
orced herself to eat for breakfast, despite her nerves having stolen her appetite – determined not to go all pathetic on Max again – she decided that honesty would definitely be her best policy.

  Telling Mr Abbey, if he was even in the house when they called, that she used to come to Sennen on holiday as a young child and had fallen in love with his house because her parents had always joked it should be where she lived because of her name … well, it might sound a bit weird, but at least it was the truth.

  Glad that Max, who was currently sat parked up behind her car in his van, was with her in case the reaction she received was less than friendly, Abi did her best to calm her racing pulse.

  Calling on her long-forgotten business confidence, she decided to approach knocking on the front door as though she was negotiating with a difficult client, and she’d dressed for the occasion. Too late, Abi had realised she looked a bit too ‘city’ for the area, especially compared to Max, who was wearing his overalls, complete with their splashes of paint, so he could head off to work afterwards.

  ‘Come here, lass,’ Max rummaged around the passenger seat of his van and pulled out a folded-up sweater, ‘you look a million dollars, but if you don’t want Mr Abbey to see you as a London interloper, it might be an idea to play down the “stunning girl from the wicked metropolis” look.’

  Secretly warmed by Max’s words, Abi obediently, took off her jacket and swapped it for one of Max’s oversized jumpers. It immediately felt far too hot in the early sunshine, but at the same time, as she rolled up the sleeves several times, Abi found herself infused by its comforting nature. Holding back from making her inhalation of its Max-type aroma from the wool obvious, Abi took a deep breath, and they both approached the house.