Cinnamon Gardens

by Anna Jacobs

  ‘And what if I wanted to go away at the same time as you wanted to use mine? I’m planning to see some of this country while I’m here and I’m also going to start hunting for my relatives.’

  ‘You’ve already found one.’

  ‘Who obviously didn’t want to keep in touch and whom you dislike, which makes me wary of her.’

  He considered this, head on one side. ‘Actually, I don’t know her well enough to dislike her personally, because she only moved back to the area recently. But I do dislike the way she’s picking on me for no reason, I must admit.’

  ‘Well, I’ll be on my guard but I do want to talk to her if I can, so I’m going to get in touch once I’ve sorted the house stuff out. She may know what the big Chaytor family bust-up was about and why my parents emigrated so suddenly. Neither of them would ever talk about their families.’ She waited a moment for an answer, then prompted, ‘So we’ll find you a new car this morning, shall we?’

  ‘Oh, very well. But a cheap one and we won’t spend a long time on the search. I don’t give two hoots about the engine details or the colour, just that it’s reliable, comfy to sit in and complies with safety regulations, so that I can keep that damned woman off my back.’

  They found a car for Angus quite quickly, at the same place where Nell had bought hers, a modest little vehicle that was economical to run. The salesman promised to make sure there was nothing that could be faulted by a picky police officer and said it’d be ready to collect the following day.

  ‘I need to buy some food on the way home – you’re invited to tea, Angus.’

  ‘Don’t forget that we’re both going to talk to Jeffries this afternoon.’

  ‘Of course I won’t forget. But I need to do a load of washing in Fliss’s antique machine, so I can’t come back to your place.’

  ‘Are you sure about that?’ Angus pulled her close. ‘I can think of far better ways for us to spend the time than you doing your washing.’

  She was tempted, she admitted to herself, feeling surprised. What was there about this man that made her feel like throwing herself into his arms any time he held them open?

  ‘I’m not going to bed with you just before I confront someone who’s going to try to get the better of me,’ she managed, hoping she sounded firm and sensible, but not feeling it, not with his arms round her.

  ‘Ah, you’re such a spoilsport,’ he teased. Pulling away, he glanced at his watch. ‘I’ll go home and do a few little jobs, then.’

  ‘You won’t be late?’

  ‘No, love. I’ll set the alarm on my mobile phone right now.’

  She did the washing and pegged it out in the sunshine to dry, enjoying the brightness of the day. After that she forced herself to go inside and clear out another cupboard on the ground floor, then felt like a breath of fresh air, so went out into the garden.

  As she walked round, she noticed one or two plants that might be worth saving and transferring to Angus’s garden, but she didn’t even recognise many of the plants.

  There were times when she felt at home in England and times when she felt like a foreign visitor, she thought ruefully. Today she felt to be see-sawing between the two states.

  At five to two Angus strolled round to the back of the house and found Nell sitting on an old wooden bench, staring into space.

  ‘That skirt is a lovely colour of blue.’ He saw her jump in shock and realised she must have been lost in thought. ‘Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.’

  ‘Oh. Is it time for our visitor?’ she glanced at her watch.

  ‘Yes. Are you ready to face the ogre?’

  ‘As ready as I’ll ever be.’

  He pulled her to her feet and they started walking towards the house, hand in hand. ‘Nell, you seem a bit nervous about dealing with this.’ Her nod surprised him. ‘How can you possibly be nervous of that buffoon, with his manicured hands and lacquered hairstyle?’

  ‘I’m not nervous of him, but I’m on edge about selling the house, I must admit. It’s such a lot of money, double what I got for my Australian house, and I had to share that with Craig.’

  ‘Why don’t you let me do the negotiating, then?’

  ‘I don’t like being the helpless female, that’s why.’

  ‘Well, I used to do a lot of negotiating for far bigger amounts, so I don’t think this is about male versus female but about personal skills and experience. Why not use my expertise? I’d love to help you.’

  She hesitated, then shrugged. ‘Well, if you really are good at that sort of thing …’

  ‘I am. Very. But you’ll have to go along with what I say or we’ll not get the top price possible. It’d be best if you told Jeffries straight away that I’m acting on your behalf and then kept quiet. Make sure you look stern and unimpressed by his offers and refer him back to me if he asks for your opinion. Do you trust me enough to do that?’

  ‘I’m not a very good actress but I’ll try. And yes, I do trust you. It’s just that selling this house will make a huge difference to the rest of my life, not to mention my retirement.’

  ‘You hanker after security, don’t you, love?’

  ‘I guess so, though I think what I really hanker after is not to have to work so hard just to survive. I’d hate to have nothing to do with my time but I’ve always had so much on my plate that I sometimes felt like a spinning top. Craig paid maintenance money for the boys, but he didn’t do much else.’

  ‘Hmm. I don’t know that I can promise you total security. My area of work is very up and down, and my house takes a lot of maintenance and keeps springing expensive surprises on me. If I can get this app suite finished – and I’m nearly there – maybe I’ll take a leaf out of your book and set some money aside from what it earns to help provide for our old age.’

  She stopped as they reached the back door, staring at him in shock. ‘You’re talking about our old age? Already?’

  ‘Yes. Didn’t last night mean anything to you?’ He pretended to pout. ‘Or were you just using my body?’

  ‘You idiot! You know last night meant a lot to me.’

  ‘But I made you smile again, didn’t I? I love doing that. I don’t think you’ve smiled nearly enough in your life.’ He was about to kiss that soft curved mouth when the doorbell rang. ‘Ach. Bad timing, that. Another black mark against the man.’

  She went to open the front door and he heard her take a deep, steadying breath on the way.

  ‘Mr Jeffries. Do come in. We’ll sit in the front room, if you don’t mind.’

  Angus ambled in to join them, nodded a greeting and sat next to Nell on the sofa.

  ‘You’ve already met Mr Denning. He’s going to act for me with regard to the house sale, since he has considerable expertise in that area.’

  Jeffries looked from one to the other, his expression growing tighter. Clearly he didn’t welcome this news.

  Angus leant forward and took the initiative. ‘How about we cut to the chase and start considering sales figures, Jeffries? Since your client will be knocking the house down, you won’t need to look round it or have a survey done.’

  The agent opened his mouth to protest, then thought about it for a few seconds and shrugged. ‘All right. My client has increased his offer.’ He named the amount.

  Angus laughed. ‘Not enough. Not nearly enough. Stop fooling around.’

  ‘The place isn’t worth more.’

  ‘Not to someone who needs a home to live in, I agree, but it’s worth a great deal to your client. In fact, it’s not only perfect for his needs, it’s necessary: the final piece in the jigsaw puzzle, so to speak. Buying it so easily will save him a lot of trouble with the council and planners, so he must be prepared to save Ms Chaytor a lot of trouble in her turn. You surely know your client’s top figure?’

  Silence reigned until Jeffries suddenly said, ‘OK. This is the top figure.’

  Angus saw Nell’s eyes light up as she heard it and poked her in the side. ‘That’s better. We’re nearly there n
ow.’

  ‘I just told you it’s the top figure.’

  ‘And I told you, it’s not quite good enough. If you need to get back to him about moving a little higher, we can meet another day.’

  ‘You’re a cool customer.’

  ‘Yeah, well, I used to be a demon negotiator for one of the big international IT companies, dealing in millions, not paltry sums like this. Nowadays I help out my friends and work for myself. Life is much more enjoyable but I haven’t forgotten how to talk money.’

  ‘What do you think he should offer?’

  Angus named a figure.

  Jeffries didn’t speak for a few moments, then said slowly, ‘If we agree to that, you won’t try to pull a fast one? It’ll be a firm sale? No gazumping.’

  ‘It will be absolutely firm.’ Angus gestured towards Nell. ‘My lovely friend here isn’t the conniving sort. Surely you’ve summed her up by now?’

  A reluctant smile crossed Jeffries’ face. ‘No offence, Ms Chaytor, but I agree with your, er, adviser. You were wise to get someone else to do your negotiating. So, we’re agreed. Let’s get the contracts signed.’ He pulled a sheaf of papers out of his briefcase. ‘I just have to add the figures to the offer.’

  ‘I like people who come prepared to do business,’ Angus said.

  Nell leaned forward as if physically joining in. ‘I have two small conditions.’

  ‘Oh?’ Jeffries paused, frowning at her.

  Angus glanced sideways in surprise.

  She took a deep breath. ‘The sale won’t include the contents of the house. They include a lot of rubbish but also things that belong to my family’s history.’

  Jeffries let out a snort of laughter. ‘No one will worry about the contents. In fact, if you agree to remove some of the things, it’ll probably save my client the cost of taking a load to the council tip. And the second condition?’

  ‘I’d like to take some of the plants out of the garden, for sentimental reasons.’

  ‘Fine by me. It’s getting bulldozed, so take what you like.’

  She nodded. ‘That’s all.’

  Angus relaxed again. He’d been a bit concerned there.

  ‘If you’ll give me a few minutes, I’ll fill in the necessary details on the offer.’ Jeffries took out a flashy fountain pen and flourished it over the paper.

  ‘After which you can give us a few minutes and we’ll both read the offer through carefully,’ Angus said.

  Jeffries shrugged. ‘It’s a standard format.’

  ‘Nonetheless.’ Angus winked at Nell, who was sitting looking frozen, as if she couldn’t quite believe what was happening. ‘We’ll start moving the things you want to keep into my house as soon as you like, love. I have plenty of storage space.’

  She nodded and he could see her relaxing slightly.

  He’d enjoyed the short joust with Jeffries. He’d never believed in posturing and pretending about sales. He could usually get most of what he wanted with a confident grin and a stubborn refusal to give way beyond a certain point.

  Fifteen minutes later the offer had been sorted, the preliminary papers signed and Jeffries had driven off.

  Nell turned to Angus, flung her arms round him and burst into tears. ‘You’re marvellous.’

  ‘I am, rather.’

  ‘I mean it. I shall be truly independent when the sale goes through.’

  ‘No, you won’t.’

  ‘What do you mean by that, Angus?’

  ‘I’m hoping you’ll be permanently attached to me. Total independence is vastly overrated, believe me.’

  ‘You certainly go straight for what you want, don’t you?’

  ‘Yes. And what I want is you, love. Never doubt that. Now, let’s stroll up to my house and choose some rooms for you. It’s a lovely sunny May day, birds are singing, butterflies are fluttering and I am hoping, in my artless little masculine way, that you’ll share my bed from now onwards.’

  ‘Do I have the choice?’

  He looked at her very seriously. ‘Yes, Nell, you do. It’s not the price of your accommodation at Dennings. But you did give me hope yesterday that you’ll consider building a life with me.’

  She nodded.

  ‘However, I think you should have your own rooms as well as those we share. The only thing is, they’ll be dusty because I haven’t touched the rest of the house for a long time. Perhaps I should get someone in to clean the rooms you choose, then I’ll help you move furniture around or whatever else you need doing?’

  ‘No, let me do the cleaning. I’ve had years of practice at it. Just help me with moving the furniture afterwards.’

  She beamed at him suddenly, her eyes sparkling with happiness. She looked younger than when he’d first seen her.

  ‘I can’t believe I’m moving in with you, Angus. I’ve never been an impulsive type.’

  ‘Believe it. When you see a good thing, you have to grab it and hold on with both hands. Like this.’ He drew her gently towards him and kissed her.

  Nick’s father rang him the day after their meeting. ‘I’ll be round tonight with a new door to that bedroom and a man to fit it. Make sure you’re in.’

  ‘OK. What time?’

  But Craig had already ended the call.

  Nick decided this would be a good time to introduce Carla to his father, so they bought some rolls and had a scratch meal as they waited.

  The doorbell rang just as they were finishing.

  She cleared the mess away quickly while he answered the door.

  His father came in, carrying a bag of tools, but stopped to stare at Carla in an assessing way. He nodded and held out one hand. ‘So you’re the one.’

  She gave him back stare for stare as she shook hands. ‘Yes.’

  There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs and another man appeared, carrying a door.

  ‘Come in, Kev. This is my son Nick and his fiancée Carla. The door goes here.’ He led the way to the short corridor that led to the bedrooms and bathroom, and came back shortly on his own.

  ‘Got some coffee? I’ve had a bloody awful day.’

  Carla stood up. ‘I’ll get it. How do you take it?’

  ‘Black, no sugar.’

  Since the kitchen was part of the living area, she continued to listen to the conversation as she waited for the kettle to boil.

  ‘Did you get on to Steve?’ Nick asked.

  ‘Yep. Your brother’s bringing the laptop back tomorrow night and while he’s here, he’ll clear out the rest of his stuff. He’s staying with me for a couple of days.’

  ‘Is Jenny OK with that? He’s a real slob in the house.’

  ‘He won’t be with us for long and she’ll make sure he doesn’t mess her kitchen up, believe me. After that he’ll be working for a friend of mine in the country as a farm labourer.’

  ‘Steve? Labouring. He hates to exert himself, has trouble raising a mug of coffee to his lips. He won’t stick with that.’

  ‘I’m not interested in what he likes and he’ll have no choice about sticking to the job. He needs to pay me back what he owes for this place, and for settling his debts. Jenny and I are driving him down to the farm at the weekend.’

  ‘Can’t he even drive himself?’

  ‘I’m selling his car. He wouldn’t be allowed to take it anyway, and he had a lot more debts than he admitted when your mother left, so the money can go towards paying them off. The friend who owns this farm lost a son to drugs. He helps young guys out from time to time because of that. Steve knows that if he leaves the farm, I’ll wash my hands of him completely.’

  ‘I still can’t see him sticking at it.’

  Craig hesitated, then added, ‘Steve’s had a bit of a scare. His so-called friend put the hard word on him to pay his debts by dealing drugs.’

  Nick let out a soft whistle of surprise. ‘He was that far into it?’

  ‘He was starting to get into it. So half his wages from the farm will be paid into a special charity commemorating my friend’s
son and the rest will be given to me. I’ll save it for Steve. My friend will know when he’s safe to let loose again.’

  ‘And you feel that’ll work?’

  ‘Best chance I can think of for him. He knows I won’t give him another.’ Craig drew one finger across his throat in a cutting motion. ‘I’ve helped with this charity from time to time, because I hate drugs. I never thought I’d need to put a son of mine into the programme, though. I am not happy about that.’

  There was silence. Nick was shocked rigid by these revelations.

  Craig glanced round, changing the subject. ‘You two could stay on here, if you wanted.’

  Carla came across to sit next to Nick. ‘We’ve already signed up for another flat and paid the deposit, Mr Vincent. Anyway, I don’t like this place and it has bad memories for Nick.’

  Nick nodded and put his arm round her shoulders. ‘The rent on our new flat is quite a bit cheaper, Dad. We have a lot of things to buy if we’re going to set up home together.’

  Craig grinned at them. ‘I can’t believe this is you, Nick, getting all domestic. But then, you always were the quiet one.’ He looked round the room and frowned. ‘Whose furniture is this?’

  ‘Ma gave it to me and Steve.’

  ‘You’d better take it all with you. I’m not clearing the damned place out. Oh, and another thing. Does Robbie know about you two?’

  ‘Not yet. I’ll phone him tonight.’

  His father studied them again, his head on one side. ‘Well, you certainly have all the signs of being in love and you look like a decent girl, Carla. I hope it works out for you both.’

  After his father and the door installer had left, Nick let out a long sigh of relief.

  Carla smiled at him. ‘Relieved to have Steve off your plate?’

  ‘Very. But I’m shocked. I had no idea he was in so deep. Anyway, that’s enough about him. Let’s ring Robbie, then Ma. Get it all over with.’

  Her mobile phone rang. When she ended the call, she said, ‘They want me to go into work for a couple of hours. Someone didn’t turn up.’