course, Mum. Look, it’s what I really want to do. And I just need a change, to get out and do something different. I’ve never really enjoyed the insurance job.’
‘Well yes, maybe with everything that’s happened these past months … I can see that, but to move right away, from your family and everything. Won’t it just make things harder?’
Ellie didn’t answer that question. She wasn’t sure whether it would or not yet. ‘I’ll show you the kitchen and teashop before you go.’ She quickly changed the subject. ‘So you can see where I’ll be working.’
‘Oh, pet, I do hope it all works out for you. But you know you can always come back if it doesn’t. It’s such a way out up here. Won’t you find it lonely? You know your dad and I can be here within the hour if you need us.’
‘Mum, thanks for your concern but I have a car, I’ll not be stranded and there are other people here. It’s not just me. It’ll be fine, I promise.’ And even if it wasn’t, she wasn’t going to be giving up any time soon; she’d already promised herself she’d stick the full season out, whatever happened.
A black sack on legs wobbled at the door. ‘Give us a hand, Ells, this weighs a ton.’ Jason nearly fell into the room. It was her books and CDs. She loved reading and had a great selection of cookbooks, baking manuals and, of course, her nanna’s beloved Be-Ro book (that one was packed safely in her case). She managed to catch the front of the bag from Jason before they all tipped out. Dad appeared with a second suitcase, more clothes; she’d packed for winter, spring and summer, though summer seemed a long way off. On a day like today it was hard to imagine the castle as anything but cold and grey.
‘I’ll make us some tea then, shall I?’ her mum popped the kettle on, while Ellie checked out the adjoining room – she’d spotted a white wooden door, thick with layers of paint, leading off from the bedroom. It opened onto a small shower room, with a basic white sink, shower cubicle and loo – at least she had an en suite. Very posh. On closer inspection, the cold tap on the sink had evidently dripped over the years and left a metallic green trail on the porcelain. The window had condensation inside, and there didn’t appear to be a radiator in there – that didn’t bode well. It’d be freezing of a morning, for sure. ‘Bathroom,’ she announced chirpily as she stepped back out.
They had tea and biscuits – three of them perched on the bed, Dad in the armchair – chatting on inanely about the castle. It’s just so old, Mum kept repeating. What did she expect? Her family commenting on her room – general consensus not bad, the weather, the journey. Then they had a quick tour of the castle, via the rooms Ellie had already seen, on the way to the tearooms.
She stood there, bigging up the huge kitchen space she had to work in, and explaining that it would all look different out front in the teashop when it was up and running. It had an air of shabbiness about it at the moment that certainly wasn’t shabby chic. She made a mental note to go and buy new oilcloths for the tables and some posy vases – for spring flowers on each table – that would perk things up a bit for the customers on the Easter weekend. She tried to distract her mother from the grimier parts of the kitchen – buying disinfectant, rubber gloves, and scrubbing the place from top to bottom would be her main priority tomorrow. Ooh, and placing an order for all the food she needed for the coming week (she had no real idea of quantities – she’d ring Kirsty in the sandwich bar later). Joe had mentioned in a phone call that they used Breakers for most of the supplies, and that they delivered daily. She wondered where he was – hadn’t seen anything of him as yet today. She had so much to think of, her mind was spinning.
The time was approaching for her parents to leave, the late-afternoon light thinning outside, and Ellie began to feel a little strange. She’d holidayed with friends before, been away from home for the odd week or two, but had never lived away for any real time. Okay, so she was twenty-six, and for all her bravado that she was doing the right thing and would be fine, it still felt odd. An elastic twinge of vulnerability pulled inside.
‘Well then, lass, we’d better be setting off shortly.’ Her dad grasped her to him in a big bear hug. Oh shit, there was a mist of tears in her eyes, better not let Mum see, or they’d have her whisked back home to safety in the back of Dad’s van.
‘Yes, pet. It’ll be coming in dark soon enough,’ her mother agreed, ‘We’d better be going. Now, are you sure you’ve got everything you need?’
‘She’s brought half the house, Mam. We’ll probably find we’ve got nothing left when we get home,’ Jason joked, softly punching his sister in the ribs.
They left the dim light of the tearooms and walked out into the courtyard and towards the main doors. The elastic band in her gut was pulling tighter.
‘Make sure you ring, now, and tell us how you’re getting on. We want regular updates,’ Mum said, her voice wavering.
‘I will, of course.’ Stay cool, calm, collected.
‘And you’ll pop home and see us sometimes too.’ Dad’s eyes looked a bit misty.
‘I promise. I’m only an hour away, and I’m sure I’ll get the odd day off. Once I’ve settled in and got things up and running, I’ll come and see you all.’
‘See ya, Sis.’ Jason put an arm about her shoulders with a squeeze.
There was a knot forming in her throat now.
‘Oh, and we’ll come up to visit you too, no reason why not,’ Dad grinned. ‘Come and sample the food here! It’d better be good,’ he laughed. Then he began fishing in his back pocket, pulling out banknotes. He counted out a hundred pounds and handed it to Ellie. ‘Just in case, pet.’
‘Oh, you don’t need to, Dad. I’ve got savings.’
‘I know I don’t need to pet, but I want to. Take it.’
‘Aw, thanks, Dad.’
‘Where’s mine, then?’ Jason jested.
‘Yours can wait till you leave home. It might give you an incentive. Just think of the peace and quiet we’ll get then, hey, Mam.’
They all laughed, a little too loudly, anxiety feeling its way through the four of them. The family dynamics were about to change.
At the main castle door now, Ellie pulled across the heavy metal bolt, turned the latch. And there she was, on the threshold of her new life. Hugs, kisses and ‘Byes’. They were walking away, the rest of her family, back to Dad’s white work van. Waves and more goodbyes shouted from wound-down windows, a toot of the horn, and she watched with a lump in her throat and tears in her eyes as the van got smaller and smaller, until it was swallowed up by the vast tree-lined driveway.
Well, that was it. She was on her own now, and she had to make damned sure this new life and her teashop dream worked out.
Ellie
She was lying on the bed, having emptied one case, which filled the whole wardrobe before she had even opened the second. She had crammed her books onto two shelves that were set into an alcove in the wall, the overflow pile stacked under her bed. Hmn, storage was going to be an issue.
There was a knock on the door.
‘Come in,’ her voice sounded strange and echoey in this high-ceilinged room.
Joe popped his head around the door. ‘Only me! Just thought I’d see how you were settling in. Sorry I didn’t get chance to come a little earlier and meet your family. Deana said they’ve gone now. I got held up – bit of a problem down on the farm.’
So, there was a farm to deal with on the estate too; Joe must have a lot to keep up with here. He was hovering on the threshold. She suddenly felt awkward lying there on the bed, so sat