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Chapter 3
Alice had a picture in her mind of the ideal holiday home. It would be neat and impeccably tidy with roses above the door and flowering bushes in the garden.
The house to which Alice had been directed was very different. It was set in a beautiful location beside the stream in the heart of the valley with views of the trees sweeping up the hills on both sides only broken with the occasional isolated house.
But it was an austere Victorian building. The garden was mainly overgrown except for some parts where a lawn had been improvised. An old water wheel was attached to it, but it's channel had long dried up and it had become broken and neglected over the years.
The path to the front door was crazy paved with weeds between the stones and encroached by yellowing perennials from flowerbeds alongside.
The old wooden front door creaked open revealing a large sombre hall with a very high ceiling and a musty smell. A hat rack with pegs sticking out was attached to a large brown wardrobe. A wide staircase disappeared into the darkness above.
Alice turned left into the dining room. There was a large polished oak table with six chairs, a large welsh dresser and an enormous fireplace. The room didn't look as if it had been used for years. Leading from the dining room was the kitchen. An old cooking range fuelled by logs or coal on the left hand side. There was a small kitchen table in the centre. On the right was an old 1930s square sink.
Beyond the kitchen was a storage area with logs piled high and rusting gardening equipment hanging from nails banged into anything conveniently wooden.
Another door led off the kitchen under the stairs and into the lounge. There was a large fireplace, a sofa and easy chairs covered with dustsheets. It completely lacked any personal touch.
Alice climbed up the large staircase. This wasn't at all the sort of place where she had pictured Estelle. Her feet echoed on the hard linoleum and wooden boards. An old print of a grim faced Victorian farmer gazed down at her from the top of the stairs.
There were four bedrooms, three were double and one was used to store furniture. The beds were large, high off the ground and had metal springs.
Alice chose the least gloomy. It was south facing and the last rays of the day's sun gave it a warm dusty ambience. It was in this room that Alice unpacked her case. Habitually tidy, she put away her clothes in oak drawers lined with paper, placed a photo of her husband on the dressing table by the window and her toothpaste in a cup in the bathroom and then, feeling suitably organised, went to find the local village shop to buy some provisions.
The only shop in the tiny High Street doubled as a Post Office and was closed. Alice checked her watch; it was only 5 o'clock. She cupped her hands against her face and tried to peer inside.
"Why don't you go round, my dear, she's probably in the kitchen at the back." The soft voice that made Alice jump was from an elderly lady, all smiles and hair in a bun. She was pushing a shopping basket on wheels containing gardening implements and looked as if she had just come from her allotment.
"I wouldn't want to bother anyone."
"I'm sure it's no bother, she'll welcome the business."
Alice thanked her and pushed open the garden gate besides the shop and went down the narrow path that led to the back of the house. There was a small square conservatory packed with stationery and children's games. The door to the kitchen from the conservatory was open and Alice called through.
"Hello, is there anyone there."
"Can I help you?" A tall gaunt woman with a deep voice appeared.
"I have just rented a house down the road for a couple of weeks and find myself without any provisions. I only need some milk, tea bags and a few other things."
"Then why don't you come through, dear?"
As Alice followed her through to the shop, she thought about this fashion for calling her 'dear'. It seemed to be a local habit.
Five minutes later, Alice was walking back down the country lane with enough provisions to last her several days. The shopkeeper had been surprised when she explained where she was staying.
"It was a terrible thing to happen to such a young lady," she said. "You wouldn't find me staying there so soon after; I'd be too terrified."
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