Page 23 of Welcome to Pennycress Inn

‘It sure is. I was talking to Mrs Pierce the other day, who owns the bakery, and she told me that the hall had been in disrepair only about forty years ago and the entire village had joined together to set up a series of fundraising events to rebuild it. Think the beams had suffered from woodworm or something.’ Jackson shrugged. ‘Anyway, ever since then they’ve held monthly village meetings to keep the residents up to date with anything which may concern them.’

‘Umm, maybe that’s where my woodworm came from then. A village legacy.’ She laughed.

‘Evening, Jackson.’ The man who had shunned her both in the hardware store and outside just now, nodded as they walked past.

‘Evening, great night for a village meeting, isn’t it, Mr Parsons?’ Jackson looked back at her. ‘Your what?’

‘Oh, the banister at the inn collapsed, taking poor little Toby with it and apparently it’s woodworm.’ She shrugged as they slipped into a row of chairs before sitting on the uncomfortably hard wood.

‘Toby? Is he okay? He wasn’t hurt, was he?’ Jackson furrowed his brow, concern etched between his eyes.

‘No… well, yes he was, and Jenny and Rob had to rush him off to the hospital, but it turns out he’s just sprained his ankle.’ Laura slipped out of her coat, draping it over her lap. ‘I’m just relieved he hasn’t broken anything. He was in that much pain, bless him.’

‘Ouch, sprains can still be painful. Let’s hope he makes a quick recovery. Sorry, that’s what you began to tell me earlier at the pub, wasn’t it? Did all of your family visit?’

‘No, just Jenny and Rob, and the twins, obviously. They were on their way down to Rob’s parents’ house.’ She stood up, allowing a couple to exit their row before sitting back down again. ‘They were supposed to be leaving the kids and going away for the weekend, but after the accident, they’re all staying at Rob’s parents’ tonight and will just go away tomorrow.’

‘Oh, that’s a shame. I can’t imagine they get much time to themselves. Not with Rob working all hours and Jenny running her own business.’

‘No, I don’t suppose they do.’ Laura frowned. If she was honest, she’d always felt quite envious of Jenny and Rob’s relationship, as they always seemed so happy together. Still in love after all this time, whereas she and Harry had fallen into the trap of friendship, or, towards the end of their marriage, only just about being able to tolerate each other. She hadn’t really thought about Jenny and Rob not having that much time together. Jackson was right, though, and her damn banister had just robbed them of the precious little couple time they did have.

‘Still, at least no permanent damage is done and the lovebirds still get to spend one night away on their romantic getaway.’

‘True.’ Leaning forward, Laura peered around Jackson. The seats next to him were empty too, just like the ones on her side of the row now the couple had gone and sat somewhere else. She looked around the hall, most of the other rows were full and those which weren’t only had one or two chairs empty.

‘But woodworm? You really think it was woodworm which made the banister collapse?’ There was the creasing of his forehead again.

‘Yep. Definitely woodworm. Rob said as much and then I managed to get someone to come and take a look and he confirmed it.’

‘As much as I love Rob, DIY is not his greatest strength, but if you’ve had a professional come and take a look, I suppose he’d know.’ Jackson shrugged.

‘I’m just hoping it hasn’t spread elsewhere in the inn. By the way he was talking, it’s going to be an expensive job just to eliminate it from the hallway. I dread to think how much it’ll cost if the whole inn needs to be fumigated and treated.’ She watched as a woman bearing the large golden chain of mayoress took to the small stage at the front of the hall.

‘It’s odd, though. Checks were made on all the properties within the original village when this hall was treated. That I remember because that was something Mrs Pierce stressed when she was talking about the hall being rebuilt and I wondered if that was normal practice or if the village were particularly worried about it.’ Jackson shook his head. ‘Although I guess it must have returned.’

‘Lucky me.’ Laura looked across at the stage. ‘I’m guessing the meeting is run by the village mayoress then?’

‘That’s right and a small but well-respected group of long-term village residents.’ Jackson leaned in towards her. ‘I saylong-term, but what I really mean is people who are likely the descendants of the original settlement hundreds of years ago who are either too proud of their heritage or too scared of the outside world to leave.’

Laura giggled.

‘And by well-respected, I mean they think they’re well-respected, when, in fact, everyone else is just too scared to piss them off in case they don’t approve the seven-inch fence they want to erect around their front garden or the porch they need planning permission for.’

‘Ah, aka the school bullies?’

‘Nah, they don’t really have as many powers as they like to think they do, and for the most part, they’re good people. If you have a problem and go to them, you know it’ll pretty much get resolved.’ Jackson leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. ‘I think these village meetings add to the charm of the place. I’ve lived in many areas, and I’ve got to admit Meadowfield has a nice community vibe to it. The best I’ve come across.’

Laura sighed and turned to Jackson. ‘If I wasn’t sitting with you right now, in this hall and knew you were referring to the people here, I’d honestly think you were talking about a completely different village.’

‘You’ve got that wrong. These people are good. They’re not snooty to us outsiders like a lot of places, they’re just happy people want to come and live here, be a part of their community.’

Nudging her elbow into his side, she indicated the empty chairs next to her and to the side of him. ‘That’s why we’ve been abandoned, then? Ostracised within the charming community?’

Following her gaze, Jackson sighed before shaking his head. ‘It doesn’t mean anything. Someone put out too many chairs, that’s all. It’s just coincidence.’

She twisted in her seat and looked behind her. At least a dozen people were standing along the back of the hall, leaningagainst the wall or perching on the long table which ran the length of the back wall. Hmm, she wasn’t sure if she believed Jackson about the chairs. Still, it was good that he had been welcomed into the Meadowfield community with open arms. But then, who wouldn’t like Jackson? Everyone liked Jackson, they always had. Despite his difficult home life growing up, he’d sailed through school and luckily for her as on more than one occasion he’d used his influence to help her out of sticky situations.

‘Honestly, give them a chance.’ Jackson lowered his voice as the mayoress shuffled her papers behind the lectern and cleared her throat, ready to address her village.

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