Lavender Lane (Larch Tree Lane #4)

Chapter Ten

Nina and Sean found a pub to provide them with an evening meal and enjoyed it hugely. They sat chatting quietly for a while afterwards and were never short of something to say.

They found they had similar views about many things including how the world could be improved. They both felt equally helpless to cure the seemingly incurable urge of an increasing number of people to committing violent acts, whether as an individual or a big group.

This was followed by a less than comfortable night at the nearby B&B, which seemed to have chosen its beds for durability rather than comfort.

‘I’m not using the same place if we have to stay here another night,’ he muttered as they met for breakfast. ‘As well as being rock hard, that single bed is far too small for a man as tall as me to get a good night’s sleep in. I’d have been comfier in the back of my car, far comfier, because I could have laid the back seats flat and stretched out at least.’

He caught her eye and smiled ruefully. ‘Sorry to bang on about unimportant things. I’m a man who values his sleep. I hope you at least managed to sleep well.’

‘I didn’t and for a similar reason, an uncomfortable bed.’

When they’d finished bowls of cereal from the small breakfast bar, the landlady brought them the cooked breakfasts they’d ordered.

‘At least the breakfast is good.’ Sean dunked his toast into the runny egg yolk and took a big bite with relish.

Nina didn’t answer, because she was also enjoying her meal.

‘Nice to see a woman enjoy her food,’ he said as they finished.

‘I’m always ravenous in the mornings.’

They stopped on the way at a small supermarket to buy some basic food supplies, mainly substantial snacks and good supplies of coffee and tea to see them through the day and to leave behind in the big house for future use.

When they drove into the parking area at the back of the big house, however, Sean slammed on the brakes at the sight of a car parked under a tree in one corner with no sign of a driver in it or nearby.

They got out and went across to study it more closely.

‘If it had broken down, the rescue service would have towed it to the nearest garage, surely?’ he said. ‘So it must have been left here on purpose.’

Nina studied its position, frowning. ‘And the owner seems to have parked it as far out of sight as possible. Look at the way we have to hold back the lower branches of the tree to see into the back of it.’

They both studied the vehicle again, then Sean said, ‘It looks as if it’s got someone’s entire collection of personal belongings in it, far more than just a night’s worth like us. But where did the owner sleep last night?’

‘I wonder if the person walked into town and found accommodation for the night? I’d have come back early if I’d done that, though.’

They both stood staring at the piles of contents in the back of the vehicle, then Nina said, ‘This doesn’t look to me like the belongings of someone who could afford a hotel room. Most of it has been stuffed into old grocery boxes or rubbish bin liners.’

‘I agree. So where is the person?’

‘It’s a woman, I think, judging by some of the things left here.’ She pointed to a jacket lying on the passenger seat, its embroidered panel winking in the sunlight with a few sequins. ‘That isn’t a man’s garment.’

He grinned. ‘Well, I’d definitely not be seen dead in it. I wonder . . .’

‘What do you wonder?’

‘Whether our mystery owner has broken into any of the cottages looking for somewhere to sleep. There were some light showers during the night. I think that’s far more likely than trudging all the way into town to find a B&B, especially if she’s a stranger to the area and doesn’t know where to go anyway.’

‘Or can’t afford to pay for a B&B. Give me a minute to check something.’

Nina walked across to the top of the narrow lane that ran along the backs of the cottages and glanced down at the soft earth it was covered in, calling, ‘Hey! There are some fairly recent footprints under the shelter of the foliage of this tree, ones that last night’s rain didn’t wipe out. Come and have a look but be careful where you tread.’

He came to join her, whipped out his camera and took a quick photo of the footprints, then they both studied them more closely.

‘Hmm. With sneakers it’s harder to tell whether it’s a man or a woman,’ he said.

She held her foot out close to the nearest full footprint. ‘Similar size to mine so I think I’m right that this intruder is a woman.’

He held out his foot next to the print and it was indeed much bigger. ‘I agree. But just in case it isn’t a woman, let me do the job of taking a look round the cottages and checking for whether someone’s broken in, unless you’re particularly good at fighting, that is?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘I know some basic self-defence tactics, which I’ve never had to use, and that’s all. You’re bigger than me so it makes sense that you go and check.’ She clasped her hands together and said, ‘My hero!’ in a sing-song voice, which made him laugh.

‘I won’t be long. You keep an eye on our car. Here you are.’

He tossed her his car keys. ‘Sound the horn if anyone turns up and I’ll come running. If necessary you could bar the exit with our car. I don’t want this person driving away before I’ve found out what the hell they think they’re doing here, as well as how they found it. Visitors to the town don’t normally know their way into the rear car park and the locals leave the place alone because they think this is just a convalescent home.’

He scowled at the elderly car. ‘I don’t like to see that lump of old tin left here. I hope the Lane hasn’t become known as a place for vagrants to stop.’

‘They could just be visiting someone at a nearby house.’

‘I doubt it. Not if they parked the car like that, so close to the tree. Anyway, it’s part of my present remit to guard these cottages – as well as to keep an eye on you. So I’m going to see if I can catch whoever it is.’ He winked at her. ‘Though you’re a lot more fun to look after.’

He didn’t wait for an answer but went off to check each of the three cottages at the far side. He found no signs that anyone had been messing around with them to break in, then, as he was about to move down the backs of the nearer row, he saw a woman climbing out of the kitchen window of the middle one.

He took a quick step back and stayed hidden behind the top cottage, peeping out through the foliage of a tall shrub and trying to keep quiet as well as out of sight. He waited there until she had nearly reached him, then moved out of hiding to block her way and ask, ‘Sleep well in there, did you?’

He watched in satisfaction as she jumped in shock and then froze, looking at him in horror. Serves her right. Then he noticed that her clothes were crumpled and she had a deep-down weary look on her face that suggested she hadn’t been sleeping soundly for a few days. It was a look you couldn’t mistake. Her stomach growled as if she hadn’t eaten, and in spite of his concern about what she was doing there, he couldn’t help starting to feel sorry for her.

‘I didn’t do any damage, I promise you,’ she said pleadingly. ‘I’m homeless. That’s my only crime. Even the window lock was already loose the first time I came here over a year ago and no one’s mended it since, so I thought the cottages weren’t being used.’

He continued to study her carefully, then said in a gentler voice, ‘Come and tell my partner and me why you’re homeless.’

‘Can’t you just – you know, let me go on my way? I promise I won’t come here again.’

‘My conscience won’t let me. If we do, you’ll still be homeless and it upsets me to see how deep-down tired you look. Come along.’ He began walking the rest of the way up round the big house to the car park at the rear and with a weary sigh, she joined him. She didn’t seem afraid of him. Well, she had no need to be, had she?

When she fell over, he thought at first that she’d tripped, only she didn’t get up again or even move. He knelt to examine her and could tell immediately that she wasn’t faking this faint, so called out for Nina, who came running round the corner of the big house to join him.

Together they carried the woman round to the parking area, by which time she had started to regain consciousness.

‘Shh. Don’t struggle. You fainted,’ he said gently and held her upright against him while Nina opened up the back hatch of their car. They helped her to sit down on the edge of the boot and she leant against the side as if finding it difficult to stay upright.

‘What’s your name?’ Nina asked.

‘Ilsa.’

‘Ilsa what?’

She hesitated then shrugged and said, ‘Platt.’

‘You’re not well,’ Sean said bluntly.

‘I’m not ill. At least, I don’t think I am, though I may be a bit run-down. I don’t usually go round fainting, but I reckon I’ve forgotten to eat anything for a while. Hmm. Since breakfast yesterday, actually.’

She frowned, stared into space for a moment then nodded. ‘Yes, I didn’t even manage to take a lunch break yesterday. It’s been frenetic this past week. I’ve lost my job and was handing over to the new owners.’

‘How come you’re homeless if you’ve only just stopped work?’

‘To cap it all, when I got home last night my landlady asked me to leave at once.’

‘Was there a specific reason for that?’

‘Yes, but it wasn’t because of anything I’d done wrong. It was because her nephew needed my bedroom. He’s been sleeping rough and he’s an alcoholic, so now that he’s got in touch again she wanted him to move in with her straight away and attend rehabilitation sessions.’

‘Didn’t your rental contract specify the number of days’ notice that had to be given?’

‘I didn’t have a contract. I needed a cheaper place to live last year when my hours of work were cut and my landlady didn’t want the tax department to find out about her extra money. So we kept it informal.’

She sighed and volunteered the rest. ‘I was only on short time at work and as you can see, my car is quite old. It needed repairs to keep it going and as a result I don’t have much money saved at the moment.’

‘Hard luck on it all happening at once.’

‘Tell me about it. Anyway, I was too busy packing to think about food. Sorry. I don’t want to hold you up but could you let me have a few more minutes to recover before I move on because I still feel a bit dizzy. I’ll get out of your way as soon as I can stand up without the world spinning round me, and I won’t come back to that house, I promise.’

‘Or we could give you something to eat and drink, and see whether we can help you in other ways, Ilsa,’ Nina said gently.

Sean nodded agreement. ‘Take as long as you need to pull yourself together, then we’ll all go into the big house. We’ve got some bread rolls and jam there, as well as biscuits and apples and I’ll make us all mugs of coffee.’

‘We’ll stand you a proper meal later on as well,’ Nina said.

‘But I—’ Ilsa looked from him to Nina and back. ‘You aren’t doing this so that you can keep me here while you call the police on me, are you?’

‘Heavens, no! We’re going to feed you and then help you, if we can.’

She must have believed them because she blinked her eyes furiously, then wiped them with the back of one sleeve as tears couldn’t be held back. They continued to trickle down her cheeks and Nina shoved a clean tissue into her hand.

‘I’ve been – you know, a bit upset about losing my job and then my home,’ Ilsa muttered as she dabbed at her eyes.

Nina held out another tissue. ‘Anyone would be in your situation. Don’t you have any family or friends you can go and stay with?’

‘No. I don’t have any family at all, and my friends are working overseas and I don’t want to go travelling. And now I need to find a job and a new place to live.’

Sean didn’t comment but she looked so shaky he insisted she take his arm as they walked across from the car to the big house at the top of the drive. When they were inside, he helped her to sit down at the dusty kitchen table while Nina got the gas stove working, filled the old kettle they’d found and cleaned earlier, then put it on to boil.

By then Sean had opened the packet of biscuits and offered one to their guest.

Ilsa took it and hesitated. ‘I’ll get myself a drink of water first, if you don’t mind. My throat’s rather dry.’

He pressed her shoulder to keep her from standing up. ‘I’ll get you a glass. It’ll have to be tap water, I’m afraid.’

‘Thanks. It’s all I ever drink. I don’t have the money to waste on fancy water. As long as it’s clean and wet, it’ll be fine.’

Sean kept an eye on her but she did nothing except gulp down some water then take a small bite of her biscuit. She leant back in her chair, closing her eyes as she chewed and slowly swallowed the rest bite by bite. She accepted a cup of coffee and ate two more biscuits, probably not realising that she was sighing from time to time.

She looked as if the world had not been treating her well for a while, poor thing. When she’d finished, she put her empty mug down and looked from one to the other, not saying anything, simply waiting for them to speak.

But Sean spoke to Nina first. ‘Seems to me that we’ve just found a way of getting help to clear up the places for our new convalescent homes.’

‘That’s exactly what I was thinking.’ She turned to Ilsa. ‘We’ve been told that these cottages were intended to be used as convalescent homes where government employees could come and stay for longer than usual at no cost, in fact as long as was necessary to recover properly. You look as if you have a similar need for a refuge.’

‘I suppose I do, but unfortunately I’m not a government employee.’

‘And we’re not experts at the job of running this centre, so perhaps we could all work together to get things ready? You seem to be in need of a job.’

‘I am. And I’m not fussy what I do to earn money as long as it’s honest.’

‘Oh, it definitely is. We plan to spruce up the cottages before we put them to use again, but if you don’t mind living in the servants’ quarters attached to this house, which are like a small bedsitter, we could give you the job of helping us run them afterwards and then you could stay there.’

‘Helping you to do what exactly? I’m not the strongest person you could hire if you’re needing help with DIY work. I broke my leg quite badly on a ski slope a couple of years ago and have to be careful how I go if I need to carry something heavy.’

Sean and Nina exchanged glances of approval at her honesty, then she said, ‘I don’t think you’d find it too onerous to help clean the cottages then open and close them for a variety of tradespeople to do any little jobs necessary, Ilsa. We need to renovate the place, you see. What do you think?’

‘I could easily do that. In fact . . .’ She hesitated, then said, ‘I enjoy organising things.’

‘Good. That’ll fit in well. We neither of us enjoy fiddling-around-type jobs. When each tradesperson has finished a job, you’d need to check that they’ve done what we wanted and done it properly. And at the same time, perhaps you could clean the cottage interiors and the rest of the big house. In other words, act as a sort of caretaker-cum-cleaner. If you don’t mind that sort of work, that is.’

Ilsa’s utter astonishment at this showed. ‘I can’t believe you’re offering me a job when you’ve never met me before today. How do you know I’m trustworthy?’

‘Well, we’ll be coming and going for a while, so though we won’t always be around to keep an eye on the people working here ourselves, we’ll still be able to work with you regularly. And apart from the fact that you have an honest-looking face, if you’re short of money, I doubt you’ll run away from a chance to earn some once you’re started and found you can cope, as we expect.’

She looked at them with hope brightening her face so visibly that Sean smiled at her. ‘We’d have to find someone to do that job and you’ve just dropped into our hands like a ripe plum.’

‘But you don’t know anything about me. Though I do have references from the shop.’

‘I’m sure you’re going to tell us the basics about your background but I always go by what people seem like, rather than words on paper,’ Sean said. ‘Written references can be forged, but few people can conceal all their feelings and attitudes if they chat to you for a while.’

Nina took over. ‘We’d pay you a wage and, of course, your accommodation would be free, but it won’t be the most fun job and you’ll be rather tied to this place, plus you’ll be working seven days a week to start off with, except for occasional short trips into town for food and other bits and pieces we might need. You’d have to fit your own shopping in with the work going on as well.’

‘I’d not cheat you,’ Ilsa said fervently. ‘I promise you that.’

‘I believe you,’ Sean said gently.

Nina gave her another of those lovely encouraging smiles. ‘We both do.’

‘We’re setting up an internet connection and will open an account for you to order things online as well as to use for your own needs as long as you don’t use too much.’ Nina’s voice took on a teasing tone. ‘And of course we’ll notice if you try to nick off with the contents of the houses.’

Ilsa didn’t smile at the mild joke, just stared at them as if she was finding it hard to believe what she was hearing.

‘Interested?’ Sean prompted.

She nodded vigorously. ‘Oh, yes. Very interested indeed. I’ve stayed in Essington, struggling on part-time wages because I love this little town and I prefer to live quietly here rather than in a big, busy city.’

‘Did you grow up here?’

‘No. I grew up in foster homes but the last couple were here.’

‘Oh, I see.’

‘I don’t like big towns nearly as much.’

‘Because you don’t want to face the sharp, crowded rat race?’

‘Yes. And – I’d better tell you: I’ve been a bit depressed rather than suffering from a physical illness, partly the result of the accident that stopped me doing what I wanted.’

‘Can I ask what that was?’

She told them about her time in the army and her attempt to try life outside it as well as details of the accident.

‘What about your family?’ Nina asked gently. ‘Did you never go back to visit any of them?’

‘I don’t have any family left, at least none that I know of. When I recovered, I had to find something to do that was less demanding physically and I found the valley and what used to be Hayton’s dress shop.’

She was suddenly overcome by a huge yawn. ‘May I save telling you any other details till I’m not so weary? I slept for a long time last night, but it still doesn’t seem to have been enough and I hope I’m making sense at the moment.’

‘Yes, of course you can tell us more later. I should have noticed how exhausted you were.’

‘Thank you.’ She waited, eyeing them hopefully. ‘I promise I won’t let you down if you still want to employ me.’

Sean smiled. ‘I’m sure you won’t. I’m rather good at judging character and you seem like an honest soul to me.’

That kind remark brought more tears to her eyes and elicited a husky ‘Thank you.’

They let her sit for a few more moments pulling herself together, then Nina said, ‘Let me show you the servants’ quarters. The flatlet is in the part of the house at the side of the car park, so that we can put up a sign outside it telling people who’ve come to do jobs here to sign up with you on arrival. And you can tell them where to go.’

‘What are these quarters like?’

‘A very small flat with all amenities.’

‘I don’t mind as long as it’s safe.’

‘I think you’ll feel quite safe there. What did you do to feel secure last night?’

She gave them a reluctant smile. ‘I slept inside the pantry and wedged the door shut from inside. But the floor was rather hard.’

‘How very enterprising!’ Sean couldn’t help chuckling. ‘I wish I could have seen it. Mustn’t have been much room to wriggle about.’

‘There wasn’t but if anyone had come to the house they wouldn’t have seen me, which was the main point, because there was only a tiny high window in there with bars on.’

Nina held her laughter back for a short time, then it escaped her. ‘Slept in the pantry! Oh, my!’

Sean couldn’t help joining in and in the end Ilsa had to laugh with them and admit, ‘I’m hoping for a softer mattress tonight, I must admit, and room to wriggle about.’

‘You shall have it.’