She started clicking through the list, astounded to see some with a guide price of less than the cost of her new kitchen. She shot him a quick glance. ‘I’ll make some tea in a minute if you like. Do you want to take a look around the place in the meantime? You might as well check to see if it could suit you.’
He got up and wandered round the flat. There was this wonderful large living room, with a dining table to one side. The view from the window, over old slate roofs, was towards trees and parkland. The ultra modern kitchen was through an arch and looked like the inside of a space capsule. Not without difficulty, he located the electric kettle and filled it. While it heated up, he continued his tour of inspection. The bedroom and bathroom were spectacular. The bed was stainless steel, the sheets crisp and white. It was like something out of a glossy magazine. Shelves of clothes and rows of shoes gave it an air of intimacy, as did the blouse lying across the bed. He thought he could distinguish the imprint of her head on the pillow. He gave a silent sigh. He was still looking down at it when he heard her voice.
‘What do you think?’ Her voice echoed through the flat.
He returned to the living room. She had left the computer and was in the kitchen, making tea. He glanced at the screen. There was a pretty, red-brick terraced house for sale with a guide price of less than a hundred thousand. He gawped. The same house around here would be closer to half a million. Alongside the keyboard he saw that she had opened the letter from Nigel. She had tucked it back into the envelope again. He found himself hoping desperately that it would be sufficient for her to be able to keep the flat and rent it to him.
‘Afraid I haven’t got any biscuits.’ She reappeared with two mugs of tea. ‘If I had them in the house I would only end up eating them. Just because I’m unemployed, I don’t intend to slob out on the sofa.’
She looked, as ever, utterly gorgeous. He risked a compliment. ‘I can’t imagine you as anything remotely resembling a slob. You always look fantastic.’
Her head jerked up. That sounded remarkably like a compliment. Mind you, she thought to herself, he’s probably just trying to cheer me up. She kept her tone light. ‘A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.’
He did his best not to think of either her lips or her hips. He turned his attention to the laptop and pointed at an address on the screen. ‘See that? Beauchamp-by-the-Sea, I know that place. Did you know the locals pronounce it “Beecham”? It’s got a lovely sandy beach. Good for windsurfing, if you’re ever interested.’
She concentrated on the house agents’ blurb. ‘It’s in East Devon. That’s an area of outstanding natural beauty. I like the sound of that.’
He took a good look at the description of a terraced house. ‘It says here this one is in need of total refurbishment. Are you ready for a bit of DIY?’
She took a sip of her tea. ‘Do you know, Danny, I think I am. Something physical might be just what I need after years sitting in an office. I know what I’ll do, I’ll buy something in Devon that needs to be refurbished. In the meantime I’ll rent a place down there, so I’m not living in the midst of a building site.’ Happy with her decision, she pointed to the letter on the desk. He was pleased to see her smiling. ‘You can tell Nigel that he was right. It is a good severance package they have offered me. So, Danny, if you want it, this flat is yours. I’ll find out what the going rental rate is and send you an e-mail. OK?’
He jumped to his feet and extended his hand. ‘It’s a deal. Shake on it?’
She took his hand. ‘It’s a deal.’
‘So you bought it without viewing it first?’ Sally was aghast.
Alice looked a bit sheepish. ‘It was at auction, and it was so very cheap. I thought I’d got nothing to lose.’ In fact, she acknowledged to herself, she had been caught up in auction fever. Although she had registered, she had only intended to view the different lots as they went under the hammer. But then when this one had appeared for so little, she had decided to put in a bid. To her surprise, nobody else had followed, and she was now the owner of a terraced house in East Devon.
‘So what are you going to do now?’ Sally still sounded very dubious.
‘I suppose I’d better go down and take a look at it. Then I’ve got to pay for it. Plus I’ve got to arrange insurance and all that stuff. I suppose I’d better get it surveyed as well. While I’m at it, I could look for a place to rent until the other one is finished.’ She swilled the last of the cappuccino around in her cup before swallowing it. ‘I don’t suppose you fancy a trip to Devon sometime soon?’
‘I’d love to, Al, but I’ve got my boys to look after.’ Her boys were two Yorkshire terriers and a husband. ‘If I take Cain and Abel on the train, they’ll probably throw up. Come to think of it, Adam might throw up as well.’
‘How is your perfect man?’ Alice had always liked the big, quiet man that Sally had married. For a while they had even tried to set Alice up with his brother, but to no effect. She had always been far too busy.
‘My perfect man is no doubt sitting in a fire station somewhere, rubbing baby lotion on his muscular body after rescuing a few old ladies and a pussy cat.’ Her eyes became positively misty before she returned to the real world. ‘As for Adam, he’s fine. He’s joined a gym because he reckons he’s getting a bit porky.’ She lowered her voice. ‘Between you and me, he’s right. Anyway, how about you and men? Any on your radar, now that you’ve got the time to dedicate yourself to their pursuit?’
‘I haven’t had time, yet. First things first, I need to get my new life on track. Then I can think about men.’
‘What about that tall boy from your office?’ Alice looked blank, so Sally elaborated. ‘You know, the one you introduced me to in that pub that time.’
‘You’re going to have to be a good bit more precise, Sal.’
‘Tall, blond, good-looking, races yachts or something.’
The penny dropped. ‘You mean Danny, Danny Kemp. He doesn’t race yachts. At least, I don’t think so. He does a lot of windsurfing, though. And, no, he’s just a friend.’
‘A handsome one.’ Sally was doing her best to get Alice fired up.
‘I can’t say I’ve noticed.’ That wasn’t strictly true. Only the other day it had occurred to her, but theirs was now a business relationship. ‘Actually, he’s renting my flat from me once I move out.’
‘With his bronzed Australian windsurfing girlfriend?’
‘Not so far as I know. He says he lives on his own. At least, that’s what he told me.’
‘What a waste.’ Sally glanced at her watch. ‘Well, got to go. I dare say you’ll find yourself somebody suitable once you are down among the haystacks. I can see you in a few months’ time, plucking cows, milking chickens…’
‘Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.’
Alice rented herself a car from the station at Exeter. Buses to and from Beauchamp-by-the-Sea appeared to be few and far between. She made a mental note to add a car to her shopping list, when the time came to move out of London.
After threading her way out through the traffic, she soon found herself in the Devon countryside. Easter was approaching and the fields and banks were peppered with daffodils and