Chapter 21

21

‘And you’re sure you don’t want me to come in with you? Or just to the door, even?’ Jackson switched the engine off and turned in his seat.

Laura glanced out of the car window towards the small bungalow. The pale yellow front door had a beautifully made winter wreath hanging from the door knocker and a small concrete gnome standing beside the shallow step below. As welcoming as it looked, she still felt butterflies in her stomach. ‘No, I need to do this on my own.’

‘Okay.’

‘Thank you, though.’ She reached across and touched his forearm. ‘I really appreciate the offer.’

‘I’ll wait here for you then. Take as long as you need.’

‘Thanks.’ She pulled down the sun visor and peered in the small mirror. ‘Do I look okay? Professional enough to run an inn, but friendly enough to show her I care about it?’

Jackson leaned over and cupped her cheek. ‘You look beautiful. Perfect.’

Scrunching up her nose, she shook his compliment off and took a deep breath. ‘Okay, here goes nothing. Wish me luck.’

‘Good luck. Not that you’ll need it.’

‘I hope not.’ Pushing open the car door, Laura stepped outside before she could talk herself out of the idea of visiting Vivienne Fields. She could do this. She was doing this. It would be fine. Or as she’d told herself umpteen times in the few days since Jackson had first voiced his suggestion, it couldn’t make things much worse than they already were. Especially since yesterday, when she’d popped into the village centre for the first time since overhearing the conversation in the pub and she’d been completely blanked in the grocery store – to the point that she’d had to check herself in the small mirror on the carousel displaying reading glasses to reassure herself she hadn’t in fact turned invisible. Yes, things couldn’t really get much worse.

Laura crossed the tarmac path and walked through the small garden towards the front door, where she stood and stared at the small sign sellotaped to the letter box – ‘No salespersons, no canvassing, no leaflets. Thank you!’

She shifted from one foot to the other and glanced behind her towards Jackson, waiting in his car. Was she really going to do this? Try to plead her case with the previous tenant of Pennycress after knocking on her door completely out of the blue?

No, it was a bad idea. She couldn’t. Not today.

Turning on the spot, she stepped down from the shallow step. Just because she’d chickened out this time, it didn’t mean she couldn’t try again, tomorrow perhaps, or the next day. Or next week even. She froze as she heard the front door open behind her.

‘Hello, can I help you, dear?’ The voice was calm, friendly maybe.

Laura turned slowly and saw a slight woman, with her white hair neatly curled, wearing a yellow cardigan almost as pale as her front door. ‘Hi.’

‘What can I do for you?’ The woman smiled, laughter lines deepening around her eyes as she did so.

‘I…’ She’d got this far. She might as well come out and tell her who she was. ‘Are you Vivienne Fields?’

‘Last time I checked, I am.’ The woman’s smile broadened.

Laura nodded. She needed to introduce herself now or the whole visit would be a waste. Opening her mouth, she blurted it out, ‘My name’s Laura Price and I’ve bought Pennycress Inn.’

Vivienne staggered back and held the palms of her hands against her cheeks.

‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have come. I knew it was a bad idea. I just didn’t know what else to do.’ The last thing she’d wanted was to give the villagers any more ammunition to hold against her. And she clearly had by upsetting the very person they felt they were sticking up for. She should have followed her first instinct to stay away. Stepping back, Laura went to turn around again.

‘Why don’t you come in, dear?’

‘Come in?’ Twisting around again, Laura watched as Vivienne pulled the door open further, standing back to usher her inside. Laura searched Vivienne’s face and instead of seeing the anger she’d expected to find, her shocked expression had quickly transformed to one of warmth.

‘Yes, I’ve only just poured water in the teapot. The tea should be ready about now.’

‘Umm, I don’t want to impose.’ Laura looked down at the ground.

‘Oh, you won’t be imposing. It would be my pleasure.’

Laura looked at her. Vivienne didn’t look as though she was about to wield a baseball bat or hit her over the head with a frying pan. But who knew? It wasn’t something that the perpetrator would give a warning about. What did she have to lose, though? Apart from her life, perhaps? ‘Okay.’

‘Good, good. I’ll get us both a piece of the fruit cake I baked yesterday too.’ As soon as Laura had stepped through the door, Vivienne closed it quietly behind her and pointed to the door to the right. ‘Go on in, dear, and make yourself at home. I’ll fetch the tea and cake.’

Laura followed the instructions and entered the room. The walls were painted pale yellow, almost an exact match to the front door, apart from a feature wall behind the fireplace in dark florals, much like the wallpaper Laura herself had picked out for the hallway. Two small two-seater sofas sat in the middle of the room facing each other, a large glass coffee table between them, a cream vase of roses centred on the coffee table, a TV guide lying open next to it.

Laura perched on the edge of the sofa nearest the door. She could hear Vivienne humming above the clatter of crockery across the hallway. This wasn’t the welcome she’d expected. After all she’d been put through at the hands of the Meadowfield community, she’d convinced herself Vivienne must be this formidable person, instead here she was making tea for Laura and bringing her cake. She certainly didn’t appear displeased or annoyed to see her.

After what felt like at least half an hour but was likely just a few minutes, Vivienne walked into the room holding a tray with a teapot, two cups and saucers, a milk jug and two plates of cake.

‘Here we go.’ Setting the tray down on the coffee table with a clatter, Vivienne sat on the sofa before standing up again. ‘Oh, I’ve forgotten the sugar. I knew there was something. Silly me, it’s because I don’t take it. I forget that I should offer it.’

‘I don’t take sugar in my tea either. Thank you, though.’

Sitting back down, Vivienne smiled. ‘That saves me a trip then.’

Laura reached out to help set out the cups and saucers as Vivienne picked up the teapot. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had tea from a teapot, probably when she’d been younger and had visited her grandma.

‘Milk?’ Vivienne held up the small milk jug.

‘Yes, please.’ She watched as Vivienne poured the milk, the white swirling on the top of the dark liquid. Despite the reason she’d come, she felt strangely at ease sitting here opposite the woman who had run Pennycress before her. ‘Thank you.’

‘Remember your cake too, dear.’ Vivienne passed her a plate, a slice of fruit cake sitting proudly in its centre.

‘Thanks.’ Taking the plate, Laura took a bite of cake, bracing herself for the too-rich-for-her taste, but it was lovely. Light and fruity rather than heavy. Beginning to feel a little calmer, she took another bite. ‘This is delicious.’

‘Thank you. I used to make it all the time for the guests at Pennycress.’ She smiled proudly. ‘It was always the first of the cakes to disappear.’

‘I can see why.’ Laura spoke between mouthfuls.

‘At the door, you mentioned that you’re the new owner of the inn?’ Holding her cup and saucer, Vivienne shuffled back on the sofa, getting comfortable.

‘Yes, that’s right. I moved in a couple of weeks ago now.’ Biting down on her bottom lip, Laura felt the nerves come flooding back as the change in conversation reminded her why she was here.

‘You have actually bought it? Or are you renting it from Mr Yates?’

‘I bought it.’ Laura nodded.

‘Right. That’s interesting.’ Vivienne suddenly looked deep in thought.

‘It is?’ Laura frowned. Didn’t she look like someone who would buy an inn? She supposed she probably didn’t. After all, even though she’d dreamt of doing so for so long, she’d never really thought it would ever be possible, ever be a reality. It had just been a pipe dream and pipe dreams didn’t often come true.

‘Yes, yes.’ Vivienne sat up straighter. ‘Sorry, dear. It’s just a little surprise, that’s all.’

‘I don’t look as though I should be running an inn, do I? You can tell I don’t have any experience?’ Laura placed the rest of the cake back on the plate and lowered it to her lap. Vivienne didn’t trust her. That was it.

‘It’s not that. It’s just, Evie told me it had been rented out again.’

‘Evie Taunton?’

‘Yes. You know her? Did she sell you Pennycress?’

‘That’s right, she was the estate agent in charge of the sale.’ Laura nodded. Why would she have told Vivienne it had been rented out again rather than sold?

‘Umm… that’s a little strange. I’d say she got her words muddled up, but we had a couple of conversations on the matter.’

‘Oh, I definitely bought it. I’m recently divorced and used the money from the sale of my marital home to put down a deposit for the mortgage.’

‘That’s okay, dear. I believe you.’ Vivienne shook her head sadly. ‘Evie sometimes likes to stir the pot, so to speak.’

‘You think she misled you on purpose?’ Something about it didn’t really surprise Laura all that much. She’d never felt a good vibe from Evie Taunton since the day they’d met. In fact, if she hadn’t fallen so much in love with Pennycress, then the estate agent herself may have put her off the purchase altogether. She’d been a little difficult and slow getting back to her for the entirety of the sales process.

‘Possibly, possibly not. Who can tell?’ Vivienne took a sip of her tea before continuing. ‘Anyway, it’s lovely to meet you and wonderful to be having tea with the new owner. I so loved my time running Pennycress and hold those special years close to my heart.’

‘Thank you for the tea and cake. It’s nice to meet you too.’ Laura smiled. She was glad she’d come. She could sense a genuine warmth from Vivienne. She wasn’t the woman who Laura had thought she would be, she was just someone who had loved Pennycress as much as Laura herself did.

‘Well, I’m pleased she wasn’t sold off to one of those hotel chains who would make her a carbon copy of a hundred other hotels they own.’

‘No, I definitely want to keep her as unique and special as she is now. That’s what I loved about Pennycress when I first viewed the inn. I admit, I only went to have a look at a few other places before I came here, but Pennycress had the most character out of all of them. And I guess I just got a feeling that this was the path I was supposed to take. That sounds silly, doesn’t it?’ She looked down at the plate on her lap. Had she said too much?

‘Not at all. It sounds as though you felt just as I did when I first stepped inside. I knew she’d make a difference to my life – a positive difference – and she did. All the people I met who came to stay, all the functions I organised there…’ Vivienne smiled.

‘Functions?’

‘Yes, little tea parties for local children, knitting clubs, family dinner parties. I rather enjoyed those the most, watching how people interacted with each other.’

‘Oh, that’s a good idea. I didn’t realise Pennycress had been used like that.’ Now that Vivienne had said that though, she could just imagine Pennycress being filled with the chatter and laughter of families coming together.

‘No? Didn’t Evie tell you?’

Laura shook her head. Ms Taunton hadn’t been very helpful. She’d let her glance at the books for a few minutes, but that had been about it. She hadn’t told her much about Pennycress at all.

‘Ah, that’s a shame. Still, you’re here now and hopefully we can meet again and discuss it all. I’d love to help you with anything, any questions, or anything I can do practically to help.’

‘That would be lovely, thank you.’ Laura nodded eagerly. It would be great to learn more about how Pennycress fitted in with village life and to have Vivienne’s experience and expertise on hand, of course.

‘And how are things over at the old place? I hope she’s treating you well?’

Laura smiled. She could tell how much Pennycress had meant to Vivienne by the way she referred to ‘her’. ‘Good thanks. Well, I’ve had a few little disasters, if I’m honest, but okay in the main.’

‘Oh, I hope it wasn’t that darn banister. I’ve been pleading with Mr Yates for a good couple of years to fix it, I have.’ Vivienne shook her head. ‘I do hope the old girl was left in a decent state when you moved in? I hope he’d fixed things?’

Laura squirmed on the sofa. ‘The banister broke.’

Vivienne took a deep breath and sighed. ‘As much as I absolutely adored looking after Pennycress, I relied on Mr Yates as the landlord to do any of the big repair works. I was only renting, you see, and it was in the agreement that he was to take care of any structural repairs that needed attending to. The banister was one of the things I raised with him and he assured me he’d get round to fixing it one day. Of course, weeks turned into months and months turned into years and, still, he didn’t visit or send anyone over to repair anything.’ She picked up a spoon and stirred her tea, a look of disappointment clouding her face.

‘That’s terrible.’

‘It is. I did my best, of course, but I was giving him a fair share of the profits and the little I had left I reinvested. I learned quite a lot over the years about how to fix this and that. It was just the big works I didn’t like to carry out myself. Scared, I suppose, in case I did something wrong and made it worse.’

Unsure of how to answer, Laura took a sip of her tea.

‘I complain, but he wasn’t so bad, not as landlords go. He kept himself to himself and let me get on with it without any interference from his part. And I so enjoyed my time there. I really did.’ Vivienne leaned forward and placed her cup and saucer down. ‘I’m so glad she’s now been passed on to you. You talk about her like I do.’

‘I do?’ Did she? She’d felt an almost instant connection to Pennycress from the very first viewing, but she didn’t think she spoke as passionately as Vivienne. Maybe Vivienne could tell she meant well.

Vivienne nodded, her tight curls dancing on top of her head as she did so.

Laura sniffed. She’d been so worried about coming, but Vivienne had been nothing but kind to her since she’d arrived, which actually thinking about it didn’t make sense at all.

‘Are you all right, dear?’ Vivienne frowned.

‘Yes, sorry, I just don’t understand. You’re being so lovely to me and yet…’ Should she say anything? If she did, she’d be badmouthing Vivienne’s friends, her neighbours.

‘And yet?’

‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.’ Why had she? She should have just accepted Vivienne’s kindness and left out the real reason she’d come here.

‘Don’t give me that, dear. Tell me if something is bothering you. We might just be able to figure out a solution together. Is there something wrong besides the banister in the inn?’

‘It’s not that, it’s just… I’ve struggled to fit in with the local community, I guess.’

‘Ah.’ Vivienne sank back against the sofa cushions. ‘In other words, people are being quite rude, but you’re too polite to tell it how it is.’

Laura shrugged. ‘A little.’

‘Hmm. I was afraid this would happen. Leave it with me. I’ll sort the lot of them out.’

‘You will?’ Laura could feel the tension which had been building since she’d arrived in Meadowfield begin to dissolve. ‘I don’t understand. Why haven’t they given me the opportunity to show them who I am? I’ve hardly spoken to anyone since I moved here.’

‘I think what’s going on is a little displaced rebellion. You see, it wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience when Mr Yates decided to evict me. People get used to things. They like their stability and so it was a big adjustment for them. Remember, they used to come to the inn for all sorts of reasons. It wasn’t just the guests from outside our area Pennycress provided a haven for, it was those clubs, those meet-ups, those family events just as I mentioned. Well, people lost all of that when I was forced out.’

‘I understand. But no one mentioned any of that to me. I’m more than happy to start offering some of those things again.’ And she was. It sounded as though Pennycress had been a big part of the village, possibly as much as Vivienne herself. Yes, it would take a little more effort and planning on her part, but on the plus side, she’d also bring in more money too.

‘Yes, but I’m wondering: if Evie told me that Mr Yates rented Pennycress out again despite sending me packing, then she may well have said the exact same thing to others – or at least suggested it or omitted the truth.’

‘And therefore people wouldn’t like the fact that I was seemingly renting it and you’d been evicted for no apparent reason?’

‘That’s it. Plus, of course, they’d think that if you were to leave, then that would mean Mr Yates wouldn’t receive his rent. So, you see, it really has nothing to do with you, it’s between the people of the village and Mr Yates. Unfortunately you’re caught in the crossfire.’

‘I’ve done nothing wrong, then?’

‘You’ve done a wonderful thing taking on Pennycress, a wonderful thing, and I for one am very glad it’s you who has taken the reins.’

‘Oh, thank you.’ Laura could feel herself welling up.

‘You seem like a kind person who has the best interests of the old girl close to your heart. I’m the one who should be thanking you, not the other way around.’

Laura finished her tea. She had so much to think about that her mind was whirring. After replacing her cup and saucer on the tray, she stood up. ‘Thank you again for the tea and cake and a huge thank you for clearing everything up for me. I was so worried I’d done something wrong.’

‘You’re very welcome, dear.’ Vivienne stood up and led her to the front door.

After saying goodbye once again, Laura walked back along the garden path, feeling a lot lighter than she had been on the walk up.

Jackson held his hand up enquiringly, first showing the thumbs down signal and then the thumbs up. She replied by giving him the thumbs up.

As she neared the car, Jackson leaned across the passenger seat and opened the door for her. ‘How did it go?’

‘Great. Really good, actually! I’m glad you suggested me visiting. It’s cleared up a lot of questions for me and I’ve learned a lot about Pennycress as well.’

‘That sounds positive.’ Jackson started the ignition.

‘Yes, it was.’ She grinned. She needed to process everything Vivienne had told her, about the extra functions being offered at Pennycress through to the way Evie Taunton had behaved. She didn’t really understand why Evie would do what she had, but she was determined to find out.

‘Did Vivienne shine any light on the reason why people are treating you as they are?’ Jackson glanced at her as he drew away from the kerb.

‘Yes, and no. The people in the village love her and respect her just as you’d said, and she said some of it could be the fact that the local residents just don’t like change. But she also mentioned that Evie Taunton had told her that I was renting the inn from the previous landlord.’

‘Renting it?’

‘Yes. And so, Vivienne suspects that people probably figure that if they can encourage me to leave, then Mr Yates will have to start the process of finding a tenant again and lose out on the rent money in the meantime. I guess they want to prove a point to him.’

‘Okay… that makes sense about people wanting Mr Yates to lose money. From a few things I’ve heard in the pub, I don’t think he had many fans here when he moved out himself decades ago and then fewer fans when he failed again and again to help Vivienne with the upkeep of the property, so I can kind of see the logic in that, although it still seems harsh to behave the way they have to a complete stranger.’

‘Yes, I guess it does.’

‘But Evie? I can’t imagine her telling people you were renting from Mr Yates on purpose. What would she stand to gain from it?’

Laura shrugged. ‘I really don’t have a clue. Not much makes sense to me at the moment. I mean, it makes more sense than when I walked in there to see Vivienne, but I still don’t feel I understand all of what’s going on.’

‘No.’

Laura looked out of the window as they drove back to Wisteria Lane. She could do with an early night. She felt so emotionally drained after her conversation with Vivienne.