Page 40 of Wild Swimming at Croftwood Lake
The rejected candlesticks were actually very pretty. The Christmas green had come out as a sage colour and the red as a dusky pink. There was also a gold shade which had fired perfectly and went very well. Unless you knew what they were supposed to look like, they were lovely and entirely suitable as a gift for Constance.
The following morning, Nora went for a swim and was surprised when there was no sign of Archie. They generally didn’t arrange to meet every day, but now that he wasn’t here, Nora felt disappointed. Perhaps it was that it was a slightly murky, drizzly day, and he didn’t fancy sitting out in the rain. As it was, she enjoyed a swim alone, letting her mind wander. The sound of the rain pattering onto the water was soothing, although she wished she’d worn a hat because it was making her head cold.
When she got home, the hot shower was very welcome, and she made an effort to blow-dry her hair rather than let it dry into its usual waves. Although she knew Constance a little already, this lunch date felt like some kind of landmark occasion. Maybe it was a test. And in case it was, Nora wanted to prepare for it.
She picked out one of her favourite day dresses. It had long sleeves which were full, but elasticated at the wrist. The bodice was fitted, and the skirt was full and came to mid-calf. The dark pinky-burgundy colour suited her and paired with her favourite black suede wedge-heel boots, she felt good. She pulled a pretty crochet shawl from the blanket chest where she kept all her scarves and gloves, and wrapped it around her neck like a scarf but with the pretty edge across her collarbones and the ends draping down her back.
Now that she had a better feeling for where her house was in relation to Archie’s, she knew that if she walked down her road, there was a spot where the estate wall had fallen into disrepair, much like the wall she climbed over near the lake. It wasn’t ideal to clamber over in her dress, but it saved a very long walk around to the main gates, or a very muddy walk through the woods to her usual entry point by the lake. Driving was out of the question because she was hoping Archie would have some Dutch courage on offer, and she wanted to take full advantage of that.
When she was safely over the wall, she smoothed her dress down, adjusted her shawl and tucked her hair behind her ears. Clutching the prettily packed parcel of candlesticks for Constance, she headed along the estate road, approaching the manor house a few minutes later. It looked very different from this side. The side that faced the lawns was more opulent, whereas this was the back of the house and the disrepair that Archie spoke of from time to time was more obvious.
‘Miss Hartford?’ A willowy woman in jeans and a sweater came out of the back door.
‘Yes.’
‘Come this way. We’ve had a bit of a morning.’
Nora went over to the door and into a boot room which was stuffed to the rafters with waxed jackets, tweed coats and wellies and boots of various sizes and colours.
‘I’m Ursula, the housekeeper. Sorry to bring you in this way. Archie said you wouldn’t mind.’
‘I don’t mind at all. Please call me Nora.’
‘Right you are.’
Ursula led the way along some dark corridors before taking Nora up a short flight of stairs and through a door into a huge hallway. It was dominated by an ornate fireplace with a huge gilt mirror hanging above it. A galleried landing overlooked the space and a wide staircase led up to it.
‘He asked that you wait in the drawing room,’ Ursula said, leading the way into a bright room that overlooked the lawns and had about ten sofas dotted around it and almost as many windows. ‘Don’t worry, her Ladyship won’t be down just yet,’ Ursula said with a smile, as if reading Nora’s mind about perhaps getting ambushed by Constance before Archie appeared.
She set her package down on the table and walked over to the largest window. From here, she could see within the walled garden, something that no one could see from the lawns. The area nearest the house had a patio with a large round table and chairs and it was surrounded by shrubs and succulents. Everything was about to spring into life now that the weather was improving. The rest of the walled garden must have been a proper kitchen garden in its day. The beds were still there, tidy and laid out as they would have been, but there was no sign that anything was being grown.
‘Nora.’ Archie came into the room, beaming but looking tired. ‘It’s wonderful to see you.’
They took a moment to kiss, although Nora couldn’t help but feel odd. It was strange to see Archie here. He seemed different. Not in a bad way, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
‘Is everything alright?’ She cupped his cheek in her hand, and he closed his eyes for a moment.
‘The rain last night caused a bit of bother. I should have had the roof repaired by now. It’s made it worse by putting it off.’
‘You look tired.’
‘I was up until the early hours. Well. You’ll see.’ He raked a hand through his hair. ‘I’m sorry I missed the swim this morning. I overslept.’
‘It’s okay,’ Nora said, wanting to take him back to her house, tuck him into bed with her and let him sleep. ‘It was raining. Well, you know that. So not much fun to sit on the dock today.’
He smiled and took her hand. ‘Come on. Oh, would you like a drink?’
‘What are you offering?’
‘Tea, coffee, wine, beer?’
‘Would it be awful to have a glass of wine before lunch?’
‘You’re nervous,’ he said. ‘There’s no need. But of course you can have a glass of wine. I’ll join you.’
Archie produced a bottle of red and two glasses from a cabinet in the room next door, filled them halfway, and handed one to Nora.
‘To be perfectly honest,’ he said, ‘I feel nervous myself. This is uncharted territory. Who knows what Mama’s going to come out with?’
