Amelia Grey's Fireside Dream

by Abby Clements

  Jack took my hand and squeezed it tight, a wide smile spreading across his face. ‘Are you sure you’re ready? We can wait, if you want.’

  ‘Nothing can be harder work than doing up this cottage, can it?’

  ‘You want to bet?’

  ‘I’m ready for the challenge.’

  Jack took me into his arms and kissed me. In that kiss I felt the blending of our past and present and a glimpse – just a glimpse – of our future.

  Chapter 21

  The Dining Room

  On the Mood Board

  Large oak table from Heal’s, wooden chairs, branches draped in fairy lights, fireplace with Christmas cards on the mantelpiece, Persian rug on the floor, dark red curtains, mistletoe.

  Wednesday, 25 December

  The dining room was the last room in the cottage that we finished, and Jack and I had done it with my mum’s help. The two of us had hacked away at the green-tiled seventies fireplace to reveal the original brick one behind it. I’d sewn the red drape curtains and reupholstered the window seat, and Jack had papered the walls in a cream and red paper that matched the soft furnishings.

  But it was Mum who noticed that just a couple of weeks before Christmas we still didn’t have a dining table or any chairs, only the cheap kitchen table we’d brought with us from Addison Road. As a surprise, she bought us a beautiful oak table from Heal’s, with matching chairs, that she knew Jack and I had fallen for. It was a very generous Christmas present, and one we were making use of today.

  Eleanor was seated at the head of the table, closest to the fire that kept the room toasty. To her left was David, and opposite him my mum. Then came me and Jack, with Sunita, Nico and baby Bella next to us. A funny sort of family really, but just the right one for me.

  In the centre of the table were decorations made from holly and the evergreens from the garden, wound into candle holders and left as sprigs. Red candles bathed the room in a warm light.

  Mum passed me a plate piled high with pigs in blankets, and smiled. ‘Your Grandma Niki would be pleased to see you serving these. They were her favourite.’

  ‘Most of this stuff is from her recipes,’ I said, looking out over the Christmas spread, our dining table heaving with turkey, roast potatoes and bread sauce.

  ‘She was a great cook, my mum,’ Mum said to David. ‘Taught us all a thing or two.’

  ‘Seconds for me, please,’ Eleanor called out from the head of the table, banging her fork against her plate.

  With her family around her, in what was once her home, Eleanor bore barely any resemblance to the woman I’d seen lost at the bottom of the garden. Back then her skin had been translucent and her eyes empty and she’d seemed adrift. Today she was wearing a smart red top and had her hair neatly combed and there was a glow in her cheeks. ‘Delicious, this is,’ she said.

  ‘Seems like today’s a good day,’ David said to me quietly, with a smile. ‘The cottage looks wonderful. I think that’s cheered her up.’

  My dad had called me that morning to wish us a happy Christmas, and to let me know that he’d paid our loan back in full. It was too late to use it on the house, but we had something else in mind for it now. He invited Jack and me to stay with him in the new year, and this time I’d said yes.

  Mirabel had snatched the phone off him to tell me about the NVQ course she’d signed up for, a foundation in animal care. She wanted to get some more experience on farms over the next year and then planned to start the following September.

  Callum wasn’t here today – when December had rolled round he’d driven to Spain. He’d left some presents under the tree for all of us to open though, and said he’d be back next summer to see how the garden was doing. ‘Perhaps we could talk again then about the summer house,’ he’d said. With the permanent job I’d had confirmed at Woodlands Secondary starting in the spring, we might actually be able to afford it this year.

  As for Carly and Alex, my Facebook timeline was full of pictures of the two of them sunbathing on Bondi and eating oysters in Sydney fish market. Carly looked tanned and happy, and Alex was relaxed beside her in board shorts. It seemed now as if they’d always been together.

  Bella gurgled from her place on Sunita’s lap. ‘I think she’s enjoying her first Christmas,’ Nico said, tickling his daughter under her chin. ‘Hopefully next year she’ll be able to eat a bit more.’

  ‘She loves the fairy lights,’ Sunita said. ‘She’s been staring at them for ages.’

  ‘You guys have done so much with this place,’ Nico added.

  ‘I guess we have, haven’t we?’ I replied.

  Jack caught my eye and smiled. ‘It feels like home now,’ he said.

  I thought of the plans we’d made, and realized it was finally true.

  Hello!

  Abby, here. I hope you enjoyed reading about Amelia and Jack’s adventures in home renovation! In case you’re inspired to take on the challenge yourself, I’ve got a few ideas to get you started.

  As always, I’d love to hear about your own home make-over triumphs (or catastrophes!) Here are the ways you can contact me …

  www.abbyclements.co.uk

  Twitter: @abbycbooks

  Pinterest: /abbycbooks

  Lots of love,

  Abby x

  Create Your Own Mood Board

  In the book, Amelia plans how she wants her house to look by using a mood board. Here are a few tips on how to get started making your own!

  A mood board is a collection of colours, textures, images and shapes that will help you plan how you want a space to look before you begin decorating. Professional interior designers use them to create a feel for a room, and to check that everything from the furniture to the fittings look good together.

  You can make a mood board either on the computer, or scrap-book-style on paper. Work how you feel most comfortable.

  Begin by brainstorming images that make you happy, and that you want to be incorporated into your space. These can be anything from colours and patterns to images of people, places or things you love. For example, if you want your bedroom to have the feel of retro Hollywood, find some pictures of vintage fashion, beautiful houses, or stills of old films and add them to the board to inspire you!

  Remember your mood board doesn’t have to be flat – fabrics, textures, bobbles and buttons make great additions.

  Be realistic – we’d all love to have an unlimited budget, but your mood board will be most useful if it’s a practical tool. Use the board to brainstorm the most cost-friendly ways to get the look you love.

  Good luck! x

  Fifteen Facts about Abby Clements

  Where were you born? In north London

  What’s your favourite tipple? Rum and ginger beer

  What superpower would you want? To know what male family members really want for Christmas

  Dog or cat? Dog all the way – particularly dressed in antlers or silly outfits (sorry, dogs)

  What keeps you sane? Friends who’ve known me since I was in school, when I wore huge red glasses and my mum cut my fringe

  What scares you? I can’t swim in the sea without thinking of great white sharks

  Beaches or adventure? Both. Just not at the same time, thanks (see above)

  What’s your holiday read? The Villa by Rosanna Ley

  What is the best present you’ve ever received? A silver necklace with a fox, from my boyfriend. The chain also has a little silver hat on it, so at certain points of the day the fox can be wearing the hat. Hours of entertainment for a writer with deadlines to meet

  What have you learned about yourself as you’ve got older? That I’m more cheerful after my first coffee of the day

  What would people be surprised to discover about you? Quite how grumpy I can be before that

  Sweet or savoury? I love chocolatey things

  What is your favourite way to travel? Buses – I can’t resist snooping in people’s first floor windows …

  What’s your comfort food? Ma
caroni cheese, or gnocchi. Yum. I can’t resist carbs

  Night in or night out? summer – night out, winter – night in by the fire

  Acknowledgements

  As always, thanks go to my brilliant editor Jo, whose creativity, skill and kind encouragement has been essential in shaping this novel from the very start, and to my agent Caroline Hardman, for her practical support, keen editorial eye and unwavering sense of humour.

  To the team at Quercus – Kathryn Taussig for her efficiency and flair on the editorial side, Georgina Difford for working magic with schedules, Caroline Butler for her endless smart marketing ideas, Alice Hill, my publicist, for her dedication and energy. Thanks also to Mark Thwaite, David North, Daniel Fraser – and to Jenny Richards for creating another beautiful cover.

  To my friends and family, in particular those who shared their experiences of renovation projects – Donna, Tracey, Sophie and Vicki. This novel is based on none of these real stories, but the resilience shown in the face of burst pipes, no stairs and crumbling walls was an inspiration all the same.

  I’m grateful to my partner James for supporting me every day, especially when deadlines approach, and for always making me laugh. J, I look forward (with just the tiniest bit of trepidation) to the day we make over a house for ourselves.

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