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Chapter 9


At 8.30 the following morning, while Spike and the family were still eating breakfast, he took a phonecall from Mick, the plumber………

“………It has, great…well she will be pleased………I’ll be over in about half an hour, Buffy and the children are going out…okay, will do, bye” Spike flipped the phone shut.

“Mick I presume?” Buffy asked eating some toast.

“Yup, the pumps done it’s job, and that awful smell has mostly gone you’ll be glad to hear”

“Oh good!”

“What time will Giles be here?”

“He said just after nine, it’ll only take about half an hour to get there”

“Mommy, can I get down now please, I’ve finished?”

“Yes you can love, go and clean your teeth now, and I’ll bring Izzie through in a minute” Buffy stood and began to clear the table of the breakfast paraphernalia.

Spike was finishing his tea and toast, when Izzie wanted to sit on her daddy’s lap. Spike hauled her up and she immediately started asking questions about the day they were going to have.

Buffy stacked the washing up and then she took a pack of sandwiches out of the fridge and a big bottle of pop, and added an apple and a banana from the fruit bowl.

“Are those our sandwiches mommy?”

“No darling, those are for daddy as he’s going to the cottage,” Buffy said wiping her daughters mouth.

“Daddy, you won’t fall down the hole like the ‘lectricity man will you?”

Spike grinned and cuddled his daughter up.

“I promise not to fall down it pet – oh hey, listen…who’s this coming, can you hear the car? – Lets go open the door shall we?”

After letting Giles in, Spike picked up his lunch and said,

“Not sure what time I’ll be home babe, but I thought we could have fish and chips or something for supper, is that alright?”

“Fine, now, you take care, and remember what Izzie said, don’t fall down that hole!”

“I won’t! Spike kissed his family goodbye and told them to have a good time and made his way to the cottage.

As he pulled up, he thought he saw somebody in the front room upstairs, but when he looked again after picking up his lunch and notebook up off the front seat, there was nobody there.

Fancying it was a trick of the light he went inside, he could hear the radio playing, and Mick whistling along.

“HI MICK, I’M HERE!” Spike called up the stairs en-route to the lounge.

“Right-ho boss, um, come up when you’ve got a moment, will you?”

Spike put his lunch and book on the little picnic table in the lounge and went upstairs.

“Hi!”

“Hi, which side do you want the door to the shower to open…do you want it to open this way…or that way?”

“Put the hinges on the right hand side”

“That’s what I thought, but it’s best to check”

“You were here bright and breezy this morning!”

“You think I was early, Andy came and woke me up banging on my door at just gone 7 ’o’ clock this morning!”

Spike frowned and said,

“Goodness, he was keen!”

“I think he wanted to check on the pump – smell’s gone thank god…it just smells damp down there now, but there must be an air brick blocked up, soon as we uncover it, it’ll get some fresh air down there and it’ll soon dry out, looks quite big, runs the whole length of the cottage”

“Does it? - You’ve been down then?”

“No, just stuck my head down and shone a torch while we pulled up the pump hose”

Spike clicked his fingers and said,

“Torch, that’s another thing I need, I must go add it to the list – along with all the gear to start decorating – well cleaning and preparing before decorating!”

Spike saw Mick glance behind Spike and then he said,

“Oh, did you bring your daughter, I thought you said they were going out?”

“What – I – I did say, they have, (Spike turned and looked behind him) I mean I didn’t bring her, why?” he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle

“Oh, I just thought I saw a young girl…trick of the light!”

“Um, yeah, listen, I’m going into Barnstaple, anything you want?”

“I take it you’re going into the big DIY store?”

“Uh huh”

“Get me another tube of this sealant please, I don’t think I’ve got enough to do around the base of the shower, and we don’t want you dropping into the lounge via the ceiling, do we?”

Spike studied the tube and nodded

“Will do…sealant and torch, mustn’t forget, I’ll go do it straight away and leave you to it mate!”

Spike went downstairs and got his notebook. Under a long list of cleaning materials such as sugar-soap, scrubbing brush (stiff) bucket, cloths, scraper, sandpaper (get three grades, coarse to fine) paint-stripper, rubber gloves, and protective goggles, he wrote torch and clear bath sealant in green tube.

A little over an hour later, Spike was back and he unloaded all the goods he’d bought from the car.

When he got inside the cottage, Mick was sitting reading his newspaper, drinking coffee from a vacuum flask.

“I got that sealant you wanted”

“Good, that’s all I’ve got left to do now”

“Great”

“Want some coffee? – I won’t drink all this as I’m not here all day”

“Oh, right, thanks” Spike fetched one of the odd mugs from the kitchen

“I’ve found a brick upstairs, dated 1626”

“Really- wow! I know when we first got the information about the place it said that there was a well tha dated back to then – well, the seventeenth century anyway…god…1626 eh – that would be………” Spike narrowed his eyes, thinking, and then he said,

“That would be Charles the 1st’s time – his first year of rule in fact!”

Mick folded his paper and smiled

“Well, the definitely built things to last in those days! – You should see some of the new houses I go into, great big cracks and such. You didn’t want something new then?”

“No, Buffy, she’s American, well, as you know, she’d got this idea about an old cottage, you know!”

“With roses ‘round the door?!”

“That’s it! I showed her a picture of a place in the Cotswolds, two bedrooms, wanted over a million for it!”

Mick gave a whistle and frowned

“Location you see!”

“Yeah, that’s what I told her”

“So, want to go look down this big hole you got? It’ll take me ten minutes to finish off with the sealant you got me, then we can go look if you like?”

“Sure, see if we can uncover this air-brick you mentioned, get the place drying out”

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


“…………After three, one, two, THREE, heave!” Spike and Mick pulled at the ivy and weeds choking the airbrick and pulled away handfuls of the stuff.

When Spike could see two tiny shafts of daylight coming through the mesh of small holes in the brick, he said,

“That’s got it!”

“Might be easier to do it from outside now…poke something through one of those holes as a locator and pull the weeds from there”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought…okay then…lets see what we’ve got…”

Spike wiped his hands on his jeans and switched on his new and powerful torch

The walls were covered in slimy green moss, stone flag flooring, it looked like it had been a cellar.

“Be nice to start a good wine cellar!” Mick said, flashing his torch around.

“It would – oh, is that you or – no, it’s you”

Mick took his mobile from his belt and answered

“Where? Oh yes…Um, well, I’m in Netherbourne at the moment, I could be there in an hour, hour and a half maybe, depends on the traffic through Barnstaple……………okay, see you then, bye”

Spike looked expectantly at him

“Gotta go I’m afraid, lady let her bath overflow and it’s bought down her kitchen ceiling”

“Oh dear…well lets go up, I’ll write you a cheque”

“Sure? You could send it to me?”

“No, get it out of the way…”


Five minutes later, Spike ripped out a cheque and handed it to Mick, they shook hands and the plumber was off to his next job.

Making his way around to the back of the house, Spike tried to calculate where they’d been standing in the cellar, and locate the airbrick. He nearly walked slap-bang into Hepsibar.

“Ooh!”

“Oh! Made I jump!”

“Made I, I, mean ME jump too!” Spike said, walking forward and spying the brick. He began to pull at the ‘weeds’ covering the special brick until he received a sharp poke in the shoulder from Hepsibar.

“Just a minute – stop, tell I what’s yon clump o’ sorrel done to ‘e that you’s a tearing and pulling it out like that!”

“What – oh, look, see? - It’s an airbrick to the cellar, which needs to dry out as it was flooded, this is the ventilation.”

Spike suddenly frowned; it was HIS property, why was he explaining what he was doing to a daft old busybody like her………

“Well…let I do it then…yon ruining my supper!”

“I’m sorry?” Spike stood and frowned again

“Your supper?”

“Aye, sorrel. Lemony tastin’ sorrel - use it in a salad or Hepsibar makes it into a soup”

“I see, well feel free to take it all”

“Not all, should leave some for…oh Hepsibar’ll take it…” the old woman bent and deftly plucked at the leaves, knowing if she didn’t, it would soon be gone.

Spike stood. The sun felt hot on the back of his neck, and although he was perfectly all right, he moved into the cooler shade.

His mobile rang and he answered

“Daddy! I play-ded crazy golf and beat-ted uncle Giles!”

Spike grinned

“Did you poppet – are you having fun?” As she didn’t answer, Spike assumed that she was nodding, not quite understanding that he couldn’t see her.

“Hi babe!” Buffy said

“Hi, having a good time?”

“Yeah, we’ll be making our way back soon, we should be home in about an hour. How are things with you?”

“Fine, Mick’s all finished, I’ve paid him and he went off to another job, and we found the ventilation brick and Hepsibar – oh…well she WAS taking the weeds but looks like she’s gone too. So, an hour you say?”

“Yup”

“Well I could do a couple of hours here”

“No, pack up and go home – have you eaten?”

“Just one of the sandwiches you packed”

“Good, well don’t eat anymore, we’ll have fish and chips like you said”


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



“………And I got seven!”

“Seven – wow, you ARE a clever girl, aren’t you!” Spike said, grinning at his daughter on his lap.

“Got a very competitive streak that child – hates to be beaten, I wonder where she gets if from!” Giles said also grinning

“And how did Billy do?” Spike asked Izzie.

“Oh, I beat-ted him too, he only got nine!”

“But pet, nine is more than seven!”

“Well, he got five then…or ten but I beat-ted him!”

“You won, okay then!”

“Daddy…did you see Tigger today?”

“Tigger, no darling…I saw Hepsibar though”

“Come on then, are we all ready, my belly thinks my throats been cut, I’m starving!” Buffy got everybody outside and they made their way out down to Lower Netherbourne.

By the time they got back to the holiday flatlets, it was dark and Izzie was falling asleep.

Buffy unlocked and found a note on the floor that had been pushed through the letterbox.

“What’s that?” Spike asked frowning, carrying his daughter through to the bedroom

“It’s from the owners, would we mind moving out this weekend as they have decided to open for Xmas bookings and they need to start decorating as soon as possible” Buffy handed Spike the letter.

“Oh well, I know you wanted the cottage painted before we moved in…still, can’t be helped”

“Serves them right if we said no – give people some notice! I’ll be chaos, you trying to paint, and Andy the electrician will be back don’t forget!” Buffy groused

“Hmm, hadn’t thought about that, you’ll just have to keep the children occupied during the day that’s all”

“I’ll help – I can spare a few days”

“Oh Giles could you? – That would be wonderful, that means I can help Spike paint and get it done quicker”

“No problem”

Giles yawned and Buffy pulled out the foldaway cot and made up a cosy bed for him.





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