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Chapter 7



The house in Revello Drive had gone on the market as soon as they’d got back from England, and it had sold within ten days. A month later, they were on their way back to England to live.

They decided to rent a holiday apartment in Lower Netherbourne while the cottage was being renovated, and being towards the end of the summer season, it was cheap enough.

Buffy came in from shopping at the tiny little local shop-cum-post office where she bought the basics like milk and bread.

“Spike”

Spike was reading a letter

“Hmm?”

“The woman asked me in the shop, if we were here on holiday again”

“Oh?”

“And when I told her we’d bought Honeysuckle Cottage, she changed – her manner and mood, it was odd”

Spike looked up and frowned, and then said,

“How do you mean odd?”

“Well, she was always friendly towards me, bubbly and smiling, she spoke to the children, said they were beautiful, but when I said we’d bought the cottage, she gave me a ‘look’, she looked…it’s hard to describe – kind of angry or - scared even, oh I don’t know, she slammed the cash register shut and said ‘Oh, I see, THAT place!’ – like we did something wrong”

Spike smiled

“Take no notice pet – it’s probably just them thinking that it’s been bought by outsiders or something – people from these small villages can get very territorial. They’ll come round, you’ll see – at the moment they probably think we’re going to move in, knock it down, rebuild it into some modern monstrosity, put satellite TV dishes on the roof and have a mobile phone mast in the garden. When it’s all back to it’s former glory, and the garden is all pretty they’ll change their minds, you’ll see”


“But” Buffy bit her bottom lip

“But what pet?”

“But what if they don’t?”

“Then we’ll just have to make sure we never run out of anything and we won’t give them any custom. Did you put that postcard in the shop window advertising jobs for the electrician and a plumber?”

“That’s another thing. I did, she read it and muttered, ‘You’ll be lucky’”

“Did she put it in the window though?”

“Oh yes, and she charged me 50 pence for the week”

“Well, we’ll just wait and see – give it a week and if nobody gets in touch, we’ll have to bring in somebody from outside the village – nobody can say we didn’t try and give locals the work”

**************

Three days later, work started on the roof. Spike had gone out that morning in the car to see the solicitors about the deeds to the house and to sign some papers.

Buffy thought she’d offer the thatcher and her son some tea.

“Oh, love some!” Buffy smiled and bought them into the kitchen.

While chatting, Buffy learned that the woman wasn’t local – well not originally from Devon anyway – she was Cornish, and she and her husband (also a thatcher) had divorced…

“………So once the Decree Absolute came through, I upped sticks and came to Devon – I figured at least I could get work here” She explained to Buffy.

Buffy explained what had happened in the shop, how the assistant’s demeanour changed when she’d learned that they’d bought the cottage.

“Take no notice, folks can get uppity ‘bout things like that – it’s silly! Take my old dad for instance, he was English, moved to Wales when he were a lad of seven, married my mum, and they lived there for 70 years, they were STILL known as the ‘foreigners’ or the ‘new ones’, even after all that time!”

Buffy smile/frowned

“Wow – but I’m sorry, ‘uppity’? – I’m American, I’ve never heard of-“

“Hoity-toity, getting on their ‘high-horse’” The woman explained

“Oh, right”

“Well, we best get on – John, go start unloading the van – thanks for the tea, Mrs?”

“Oh, call me Buffy, and you’re very welcome”

“Right then Buffy, and I’m Jean, and my son is John - we’ll get on. Don’t mind if we have the radio on, do you?”

“Not at all”

***********

Spike came back lunchtime, bringing some groceries with him.

“Looks like she’s doing a fine job out there, have you seen it?”

“No, not yet, I’ve been trying to clean this brickwork round the fire place – we’ll have to get a chimney sweep in, it’s thick with soot”

“I’ll put it on the list – it’s amazing, already they’ve pulled off the top layer of over a quarter of the roof, and have it covered in plastic to keep the rain off until the new top layer is ready to go on”

“The plastic won’t stay on will it?”

“Oh no, it’s just in case it rains…where are the children?”

“Upstairs…playing with that cat – I still don’t know how the thing gets in here!”

“Right. Okay then, I’ve bought some cheese and some ham, I’ll make up some sandwiches for lunch, shall I?”

“Great – I think I shall have to leave cleaning this until we have hot water” Buffy motioned towards the fireplace.

*****************

At 5.30pm Jean and John packed up for the day and went home.

Spike had started to ‘attack’ the front garden with some garden shears, cutting down the weeds.

He’d been working for a couple of hours and went indoors for a drink.

“I was thinking – lets drop into the pub on the way home, I could murder a pint, as they say”

“But what about the children?”

“Well we can all sit in the car, I’ll just go in and buy us a drink and bring it out – or there’s a beer garden we could sit in”

“Okay, but lets not stay too long, the children will want their tea”

“Me too! Just the one, I promise”

************

Spike pulled up on the Smugglers Cove public house car park.

It wasn’t his imagination when the chatter of the pub ceased as he walked in and went to the bar. A couple of the locals looked at him, and then turned away.

Spike glanced around but said nothing and strode to the bar.

“What can I get you?”

“A pint of best bitter, a glass of medium white wine and two small bottles of lemonade please, with straws if possible”

The landlord set about getting the drinks and Spike was relieved that the chatter started up again.

He put the drinks on the tray and carried them out to the car.

When Spike got outside, he saw Buffy sitting on a bench in the beer garden, the children looking at some horses in a field.

Spike took a long pull at the beer and smacked his lips

“Oh that’s good!”

“Giles just phoned me, he said he’ll come down the weekend and take the children out”

“Did he – oh that will be nice, they do so love their Uncle Giles! – Billy – BILLY, don’t let Izzie get too close to the horses” Billy nodded and gently pulled his sister away from the fence.

“No phone calls as regards the electric or plumbing jobs I suppose?”

Buffy shook her head.

“No. I think next time we go into Barnstaple, we can ask somebody when we go into that big DIY place”

Spike drained his pint, and Buffy finished her wine, and Spike took the glasses and tray back into the pub.

“Thanks, great pint by the way” Spike said to the landlord, and he just nodded.

On his way out, a woman who had been collecting the empty glasses for washing up and wiping the tables said to him,

“You’re the folk that’s bought Honeysuckle Cottage aren’t you?”

Spike smiled and nodded

“Yeah, yes that’s right, why, what of it?”

“Do you know its history? Some bad things went-“

“ROSEMARY!” The woman looked up at the landlord, who called her sharply. He lifted the flap of the counter and he motioned with his head for her to come through.

“I’m sorry, I’ve got to go”

“But…” Spike began, and looked at the bar and saw the landlord give the woman a really stern look. Shrugging, he left the pub, but decided there and then not to say anything to Buffy, he didn’t want to alarm her.





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