I beckoned Peggy to follow me until we were out of earshot and then in hushed tones explained the situation, asking her not to pass the information on, especially to Jackson.
‘I see,’ she said, marching back around to where Jackson was standing.
I quickly followed, hoping she was satisfied that I had told her enough to keep Nell out of the metal crate.
‘Have you any idea how busy I am, Jackson?’ she angrily asked. ‘Have you even the slightest inkling how hard it is to feed, clean up after and arrange a schedule of walks for seventeen dogs with just three volunteers?’
‘There’s no need to take that tone,’ he pouted, sounding hurt, but Peggy was in full flight.
‘You have called me out here this morning on false pretences,’ she stormed on. ‘You knew that Freya here – who, by all intents and purposes, has been Nell’s sole care-giver since your aunt’s death – was willing to take the dog on full-time, and yet rather than simply ring to explain what was happening and request a transfer of ownership you insisted I came in person – and not with Nell’s best interests at heart, but because you wanted to make mischief.’
Jackson looked astounded and then angry, but not particularly contrite.
‘You should be ashamed of yourself,’ she scolded.
‘Now look here…’ Jackson scowled.
‘Why don’t you get off, Freya,’ she then said, turning to me and smiling. ‘Before that poor creature catches on that I’m here and goes into a decline, and I’ll take Jackson here,’ she added, marching him back up his own steps, ‘into the house to discuss the donation he wants to make by way of apology for wasting my precious time.’
There was no opportunity to say goodbye but the look on Jackson’s face was enough to make my departure from my old life less maudlin and more amusing and I set off down the drive with laughter on my lips and feeling surprisingly light of heart.
* * *
It was only an hour’s drive to Nightingale Square, but as promised I stopped en route to let Nell stretch her legs while I checked my phone. There was a message from Kate telling me to go straight to my house because she and Luke were having to make an unexpected trip into the city. She also explained that she’d left my key in the safe which Harold had had fitted inside the little brick porch. She had already sent me the code in one of the many emails we had exchanged and I couldn’t help thinking that it would be nice to see the place for myself and settle in, in peace.
I was just climbing back behind the wheel when my phone vibrated again. It was another message, this time from Luke, telling me not to start unloading boxes on my own because they would be along later to help. Having already managed to pack everything on my own, and carry it down four flights of stairs, I was certain I could cope with the straight run up the garden path, but it was nice that he had thought to offer. As I turned the key and set off again I already knew that I was much going to prefer having considerate Luke rather than suspicious Jackson as my boss.
‘Here we are then,’ I said to Nell, pulling on the handbrake and turning off the ignition once I had driven around the square and parked up outside the house. ‘Home sweet home.’
The square looked a little different to the last time I had seen it. There were far fewer leaves on the trees for a start and every house was adorned with at least a pumpkin or two. I had forgotten it was Hallowe’en.
I was grappling with the key safe when I heard someone clear their throat behind me.
‘You must be Freya?’ asked a man’s voice.
‘That’s right,’ I said, twisting round.
‘I’m John. I live next door with my wife, Lisa, and our little brood.’
‘Pleased to meet you, John,’ I said, abandoning the safe for a moment and turning to look at him properly.
He was a big, solid bloke with a smile as broad as his shoulders and he looked as friendly as they come. The black and red checked shirt he wore made him look like a lumberjack and the size of his hands suggested he would have been useful in the role.
‘These things can be a bit tricky,’ he said, reaching around me