Page 19 of Wild Swimming at Croftwood Lake
The dog was still in the water, happily paddling back and forth before she hauled herself out on the island and settled down for a doze.
‘Daft dog,’ Archie said affectionately. ‘I hope she won’t mind getting in again when she realises she’s marooned on the island.’
‘You might have to go and fetch her,’ Nora teased him, handing him a battered enamel mug half-filled with tea.
‘Thank you. That won’t be happening, I can assure you.’
Nora felt a thrill that Archie had expected her to be here. He’d come at exactly the same time of day, as if he’d come especially to see her. But then, she’d told him she was swimming every day, so perhaps not that surprising. ‘Do you always walk her in the grounds?’
‘Always. Convenience, I suppose. Tatty is running around after me all day, anyway. I’m not really walking her.’
‘More for yourself?’
He looked at her and Nora lost herself in his eyes again for a moment before he looked away. ‘A good walk seems to help with most things. Same as the swimming, I imagine?’
‘Definitely. Especially today. I have a million things to do and none of them are fun. But at least now I feel like I’m ready to tackle it all. Coming here has made me take a breather before all of that starts, otherwise I’d be halfway up the M6 by now, all stressed out with my shoulders up around my ears.’
‘You work that far away?’
‘I’m a potter. I work out of a pottery in Stoke. I don’t have to go in every day. A lot of the admin can be done remotely, but that’s where my kiln is. Was,’ she added, with a sigh.
‘What’s happened to it?’
‘It’s old and unreliable, so I had to buy a new one and now I have to do a load of test firings before my next batch of work can be fired. The window for making sure it’s firing perfectly is tiny. I need to try and pin it down this week, otherwise I’ll miss my next deadline.’
‘It sounds like a lot more than I envisaged a potter having to cope with. Where do you sell your work?’
‘The stuff I’m worried about is sold mostly to department stores or galleries. Here and overseas.’ She was usually more reserved with information she gave when someone asked something like this, but Archie was a lord and unlikely to be after her money. And as such a new friend – if she could even call him that – it was better to start out with no misconceptions. ‘And I have a production line that produces pottery for the mass-market.’
‘Goodness me. I can understand why it’s important to take some time for yourself.’
‘I love it all, but not today. Making friends with a new kiln is a tricky business.’
‘Lots of gods involved, as I understand it,’ he said.
Nora laughed. ‘You’ve been watching that pottery competition on television.’
‘My mother loves the chap on there.’
‘He’s brilliant,’ Nora agreed.
‘I don’t suppose you know anything about chimney pots?’
‘I’ve made a chimney pot or two in my time but it’s been a while, and nothing as ornate as the beautiful chimneys on your house.’ Realising that she had just admitted she’d taken a wander further into the estate, she blushed. ‘I’m sorry, I —’
‘No need to apologise. We’re friends now. In fact, I was hoping to pick your brains a little more about the swimming.’
Nora relaxed. ‘Fire away.’
‘My friend has suggested that cold-water swimming is all the rage these days and that opening the lake might be something to look into.’
The prospect of the lake being commercialised excited Nora because she’d love other people to experience the beauty of the place. But it was her lake. ‘I can see that working,’ she said. ‘I mean, you could easily have twenty or so at the same time without it feeling crowded.’
‘Really? As many as that?’
‘I think you’d need to make it worthwhile. The first step is to have the water tested, just to make sure. And in the meantime, I could ask some friends if they’d like to try it? Get you some early consumer feedback?’ Hilary and the others might like to come.
‘That sounds wonderful,’ said Archie. ‘You know, if Tatty and I hadn’t come across you here, I’d never have thought the lake was useful.’
