I smiled, making a calculated guess. ‘Am I right?’
‘Exactly,’ he grinned, as Kate shook her head.
‘We’ll see you in a little while,’ she said, ushering him out. ‘And in spite of what Luke says, there really is no pressure.’
Harold showed me proudly over the house, pointing out the room where he had been born and explaining that most of the furniture and some of the contents would be staying as he wasn’t going to have room for them.
‘I don’t know how you’d feel about that,’ he said, looking about the kitchen. The room clearly hadn’t been decorated for a while and featured an abundance of orange pine and Hornsea pottery containers. ‘I don’t suppose any of this is in style now.’
‘On the contrary,’ I told him. ‘This kitchen is the height of fashion, Harold. The retro look is very popular right now.’
‘So, it wouldn’t all go straight in a skip then?’ he sniffed, his voice a little shaky.
‘Absolutely not,’ I reassured him. ‘None of it would. Not if I moved in, anyway. Between you and me, I haven’t got an awful lot in the way of furniture and material possessions. I’ve always travelled light, so anything you left would be very much appreciated.’
Harold was clearly much cheered by the thought as we walked through the dining room and back into the living room where he had kindly turned the electric log-effect fire on for Nell because he thought she looked a bit chilly.
‘So, what do you think?’ he asked. ‘Are you going to take the job?’
‘I’m certainly going to give it some serious thought,’ I told him.
‘If I were you, I’d snatch their hands off,’ he said firmly. ‘You won’t find a better place to live or a better family to work for.’
I thanked him for showing me around and Nell and I walked back over to Prosperous Place. If I did accept Luke and Kate’s offer, then my daily commute would be barely longer than the one I had now. The pair had certainly given me plenty to mull over.
After Luke’s call asking me to come back, I had wondered if the job offer would still stand but I hadn’t for a single second speculated that there might be accommodation to go with it, and certainly not an entire house set around the pretty green in Nightingale Square!
‘So,’ said Luke, rocking back on his heels, from where he was waiting for me on the drive. ‘What do you think?’
‘The house is lovely,’ I told him, ‘and it’s a very tempting offer.’
‘And I can email you with salary details and holiday entitlement and so on, this evening, if you like.’
Kate came out of the house to meet us with Abigail in her arms. The little girl’s cheeks were flushed as if she had just woken up, which she probably had.
‘That would be great,’ I nodded. ‘Thank you.’
‘So, there is some hope then,’ said Luke, biting his lip.
‘There’s always hope,’ I told him. ‘And I promise I won’t keep you hanging on,’ I added, addressing them both.
‘I really hope you say yes, Freya,’ Luke reiterated.
‘And of course, we’re more than happy for you to bring Nell,’ Kate added.
If only she were mine to bring.
‘You two look very much like you come as a pair and she would be a lovely addition to our community here, as would you.’
I thanked them both, kissed Kate on the cheek, before remembering to collect my wellies and paperwork, and then climbed back into the van, settling Nell next to me.
‘See you soon,’ Luke said hopefully, as they waved me off.
I waved back and pulled out on to the road before turning on the radio. It had somehow switched back to Radio Suffolk, even though we were definitely in Norfolk and in spite of the fact that I hadn’t re-tuned it since it had mysteriously reset itself after I had asked Eloise for a sign.
‘Thanks, Eloise,’ I laughed into the air around me. ‘Message received and understood.’
Chapter 4
I’d never been much of a one for lying in late, not even when I was on holiday. I’d never seen the point of getting out of the habit of setting my regular alarm. If I was awake, I’d get up and get on, no matter what day of the week it was. However, having had such an overwhelming start to the weekend, I did allow myself a slow start on the Sunday. Not that it wasn’t productive.
Luke and Kate had wasted no time in emailing the promised details