Page 65 of Wild Swimming at Croftwood Lake
‘We’re a team,’ Nora said firmly. ‘And you can’t be a team unless everyone feels part of it.’
‘I like the idea of collaborating,’ said Archie on the drive back to Croftwood. ‘It makes me wonder what else we could do.’
‘You could do all sorts of things. We could try for a collab with a dry robe company. See if they’d do a limited run of robes in Croftwood lake colours that we could sell. We could talk to Jess about having some bespoke hats knitted.’
‘We need a brand,’ said Archie. ‘For all of this, Croftwood Court needs a brand.’
‘Don’t you have a coat of arms or a family crest or something like that?’
‘Of course, but it’s rather dull. Who wants a stuffy old crest on a mug?’
Nora laughed. ‘Exactly. But we can take elements of it to come up with a contemporary brand that you can use for anything. The lake, the Christmas market and anything else you end up doing.’
‘I can’t wait to get started,’ said Archie. ‘That’s how you felt today, isn’t it? Desperate to put your ideas for your new pots into action. It’s like an itch that needs scratching.’
‘Exactly. I can’t keep my mind on anything else once that feeling comes. It was all I could do to make myself go to the lake this morning instead of setting off for Stoke before dawn.’
Archie laughed. ‘Well, I’m very pleased that you waited so I could go with you. It’s been a wonderful day.’ He reached over and patted her thigh.
‘Are you going home for dinner first?’
‘Not on your life. I’m taking you straight to bed.’
Nora giggled. She loved this side of Archie. The playful side he’d only recently revealed to her now that he had gained more confidence in their relationship. It was intoxicating knowing how he felt about her and feeling exactly the same way about him.
24
THE FOLLOWING WEEK, the Court was a hive of activity. After the excitement of the vase selling at auction for far more than even the auction house had predicted, the work to repair the roof was underway. It was still a patch-up job, but a thorough one that would last long enough to enable Archie to have a breather from worrying about leaks every time it rained for a few years. And hopefully by then, a couple of years of income from the lake and the Christmas market would be enough to fund a proper renovation of the roof. Unless a more urgent maintenance issue cropped up in the meantime, but that was old houses for you.
Seb had submitted the plans for the lake shortly after their meeting with Ben from the planning office. Ben had recommended the plans be approved, so they hoped it would be only a formality. Work had already started to reinstate the gateway and to clear an area for car parking between there and the little brick shed.
The removal of all the greenery that had been allowed to run riot made the area around that side of the lake feel bare and exposed, so the gardeners had suggested planting a living willow hedge that gave almost instant privacy and separated the lake from the car park quite nicely.
The Finnish hut had been delivered in pieces and was waiting until the planning permission was in place before being erected, as was the canopy that would extend out from the brick shed and act as a changing area.
‘You know we were thinking about what to do with the island now that we’re having the bridge made,’ Seb said, when they strolled down to the lake to see how the hedging was coming along.
‘To save Tatty having to swim across every day?’ Archie joked. The dog still jumped in, swam, rested on the island and then swam back when Archie headed home.
‘Yes, purely for the convenience of your dog,’ Seb said, drily. ‘Actually, I was thinking we could have the sauna over there.’
They’d applied for planning permission for everything they wanted to do now, but they’d do the work in phases, as funds allowed. The sauna was less important than the Finnish hut to begin with and at the moment, it had to be either or.
‘That sounds pretty idyllic, a sauna on a little island.’
‘It might help us police who’s paid for the sauna on top of a swim. I don’t know how, exactly but we can work it out.’
‘Nora thinks we ought to have a lifeguard on the island because it’ll give them a clear view of the entire lake. So I suppose they could check people across the bridge.’
‘Sounds good to me.’ Seb sat on the edge of the dock. It was the only one remaining now that the others had been taken out. They were trying to cut down on entry points into the water to make it easier to monitor who was in the water and how long they’d been in.
Archie sat down next to him, idly picking a piece of grass and tying it in knots.
‘So you and Nora had a good time in Dorset?’
Archie grinned. ‘We both loved it. Jess’s family are wonderful. How was the honeymoon?’
‘Bloody fantastic. I’m very lucky.’ He and Jess had enjoyed a week in the Italian Lakes, a last-minute wedding gift from his father.
