Page 4 of An Island in the Sun

‘It is rather competitive from a sitter’s point of view, that’s why I try to be as flexible as possible and never too fussed about where I end up. I’ve discovered some incredible places that way and have been pleasantly surprised by locations that I wouldn’t necessarily have chosen.’

Cordelia sat back in her chair and smoothed out a crease in her trousers. ‘Anywhere in particular?’

‘Ghent springs to mind because it’s not somewhere I knew much about. Often, it’s the places I would never have considered that have surprised me the most in terms of how much I love them.’

‘The places or the pets?’ Cordelia’s eyes twinkled as she looked at Tabitha over her glass of wine.

‘Oh, both.’ Tabitha smiled. ‘I haven’t yet met a pet I haven’t liked, and everywhere has something appealing about it. Sometimes I hit the jackpot with everything: perfect pet, amazing location and a fabulous home. Much like I imagine your place will be.’ She leaned down and tickled the top of Fudge’s head.

‘He’ll be the first to sit next to you hoping you’ll drop some food, won’t he, Rufus?’

‘He certainly will, although we refrain from feeding them anything from the table.’

‘Oh, don’t worry about that,’ Tabitha said. ‘I’ll follow exactly what you’ve set out in your welcome pack.’

‘And I’m sure you’ll love Madeira,’ Rufus said with confidence. ‘We certainly do.’

‘Have you lived here long?’

‘Twenty-two years,’ Cordelia said with a satisfied smile. ‘We lived in Surrey and Rufus worked in finance in the City so he was forever commuting and he wanted to do more, didn’t you, love? He was full of business ideas – a proper entrepreneur.’

‘I worked sixty hours a week and brought home a lot of money, but I knew I’d burn out if I carried on at that sort of pace. And Cordelia was a marketing whizz, driving companies to commercial success, which made us think why couldn’t we do it for ourselves. We started our luxury travel company, Sun & Stars, from our spare room, both of us working all the hours we could to get it off the ground. When it felt like a permanent and viable business, we took the plunge, sold up and moved out here.’

Folding her arms and clasping her wine glass, Cordelia looked at Tabitha. ‘Friends and family did question why Madeira rather than somewhere like the south of France, but it was an island we’d both fallen in love with on a holiday in our twenties. The subtropical climate appealed, didn’t it, love. We both adore walking and the levada trails across the island are wonderful.’

‘Not to mention there’s a world-renowned golf course, which made me rather happy.’ Rufus grinned. ‘Back in Surrey we craved the outdoor life, but England doesn’t exactly have the right climate.’

Cordelia placed a manicured hand on her husband’s arm and laughed. ‘When he says “outdoor life”, we’re not talking about hiking in winter or camping in the rain – we love walking, but we are rather partial to home comforts.’ Tabitha could easily believe that. ‘No, we wanted a large garden, somewhere to invite friends over and enjoy barbecues with an ocean view.’ She swept her hand towards the Atlantic Ocean glinting in the moonlight beyond the sloping garden.

Tabitha could certainly see the appeal. ‘Do you still work from home then?’

Rufus nodded. ‘We run our business from our home office at the bottom of the garden, but we’ve grown over the years, so we have an office in London too where most of our employees are based – we’re there a couple of times a year, aren’t we, love.’

‘It’s good to touch base, but really we can work from anywhere, so being here is perfect. We have the best of everything.’

‘The location too,’ Rufus added. ‘We’re just outside the village with walks on the doorstep and nothing’s too far away. Even Funchal is only forty-five minutes.’

‘It’s really peaceful,’ Tabitha said. ‘And no neighbours?’

Rufus and Cordelia glanced at each other.

Cordelia picked up her wine glass and leaned back in her chair. ‘Julie and Anton are next door – well, when I say next door, they’re a couple of minutes’ walk away, but they’re our closest neighbours. We’re all spread out here, which is a dream, but the bottom of their garden butts onto the side of ours.’ Cordelia gave Tabitha what she assumed was a knowing look and wrinkled her nose. ‘The wife is rather nosy, so I do apologise in advance. If, however, you know you’re going to be out for the whole day, then please do ask Julie to check on the dogs. The only good thing about her is she has time on her hands and is always happy to walk them, isn’t she, love?’ She looked at her husband.

‘They have their uses.’ He chuckled.

Feeling a little uncomfortable about the downbeat tone over a couple she hadn’t yet met, Tabitha smiled weakly.

‘They’re aware you’re staying and have a spare key if ever needed,’ Cordelia added.

‘Just duck behind a bush if you’re out in the garden and Julie pops her head over!’ Rufus laughed.

One of the greatest appeals about house sitting, beyond the initial meeting with the owners and handing over the keys on their return, was generally only having animals to deal with. From the short time she’d been in Rufus and Cordelia’s company, they were beginning to come across as the sort of couple who could become overwhelming. One evening was probably enough, not that it had been unpleasant in the slightest, but she knew she’d be far happier when she was finally on her own.

With Rufus and Cordelia leaving reasonably early in the morning, the evening drew to a close. Tabitha helped clear the table, and once Cordelia had stacked the dishwasher and Rufus had locked up, they said goodnight.

It felt a little like a test: Tabitha having their room with the dogs, while they stayed in the guest room. Not that they could kick her out when they had a holiday of a lifetime to go on.

The dogs seemed confused when it was Tabitha who headed down the hallway towards the bedroom. She paused outside the door and watched them padding around, both of them glancing back as if trying to work out where their owners had gone. Then, without further hesitation, they trotted down the hallway and followed her into the room.

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