Deciding she probably wouldn’t be giving that a whirl any time soon, Joely returned to Sully’s directions. ‘OK, we need to follow the road all the way through the Valley of Rocks to … Oh my God, are they goats? Yes, they’re goats. They’re so sweet.’
‘They live here,’ Andee told her, steering around a handful of the small, feral beasts that had broken off from the main gang.
After taking in more of the scenery, Joely continued with the directions. ‘OK, there’s a small track at the end of the valley that eventually leads to a spiritual retreat. We’re to take that, but about twenty metres in we’ll see another track to the left that we should follow all the way along the ridge to the next vale.’
Soon after passing the spiritual retreat in its haven of natural beauty they began a gentle descent from the next hilltop into an enclave of clifftop moor where black-faced sheep were grazing the sloping fields on one side and immense tors clustered like giants to block the sea on the other. Between the opposing swells of nature was a sprawling green meadow rich with tall grass and that appeared at the furthest point to dip down to a cove.
As they drove slowly on they finally realized that down to their right, tucked securely against the protective wall of rocks was a house where it seemed no house should be.
‘Wow,’ Joely murmured again, taking in the pale-coloured limestone exterior with three storeys of tall shuttered windows facing out over the meadow, and a bold, square tower at the far end with a grey slate conical roof. In spring the entire facade would be covered in wisteria, now there was only the climbing ramble of naked branches not at all ready to flower. On the ground level of the tower was a patio with large stone pillars holding up another grey slate roof, and all along the front of the property were clusters of rich green foliage belonging to rhododendrons and camellias.
‘OK, this is awesome,’ Joely stated as the road curved around allowing them a fuller front view of the house.
‘It certainly is,’ Andee responded, and pressing gently on the accelerator she made a 180 degree turn into the drive that ran parallel to the meadow’s edge. They came to a stop in a large space next to the house where an old red Jeep was parked in front of a row of garages.
As Joely looked at the black front door at the side of the house she felt a flutter of nervous anticipation come to life inside her. ‘How far are we from town?’ she asked, as Andee began turning the car around to face back down the drive.
‘Not much more than a mile,’ Andee replied, stopping when they, like all the windows at the front of the house, were gazing out towards the dramatic rise and fall of the cliffs that stretched out along the coast beyond the meadow. The sea was enchantingly visible thanks to a large V in the rugged landscape, while the tors protecting the house from fierce southwesterly winds hugged up closely behind it and into the far side of the tower.
‘So it’s walkable,’ Joely stated. ‘That’s good.’ She was looking now at the random arrangement of garden beds framed by small rocks and filled with succulents, heather, faded hydrangeas, daffs, snowdrops, hellebores and even palm trees.
‘You have to wonder what it’s like inside,’ Andee commented. ‘If it’s as well tended as the exterior.’
Joely turned to her. ‘I wish I could invite you in …’
‘It’s OK, I understand that she doesn’t want visitors.’
Joely glanced over to the front door again surprised that no one had come out to meet them. Or maybe her host was waiting for the uninvited guest to leave before welcoming the one she was expecting. ‘I’ll take photos if I can,’ she said, ‘and maybe when I’ve got to know her I’ll be able to invite you for tea.’
Andee smiled. ‘Do you want me to help you carry your things to the door?’
‘It’s OK, I can manage,’ Joely assured her, mindful of a meeting Andee had to get back for.
After taking her bags from the boot she hugged Andee warmly and walked back to the driver’s side with her. ‘Thanks for bringing me,’ she smiled, ‘and for all the moral support.’
‘It’s always yours,’ Andee assured her. ‘Stay in touch, won’t you?’
‘Are you kidding? Of course. If you’re free, let’s make a tentative arrangement to have lunch next Saturday. We can call or email to confirm when I’ve got a clearer picture of what my schedule’s going to be.’
‘It’s a deal!’ Hugging her again, Andee slid into the car and started back down the drive.
As Joely watched her turn at the end to start along the track towards the Valley of Rocks she gave her a wave and only then realized it might have been a good idea to establish that someone was actually at home before she’d let Andee go.
To her astonishment there wasn’t.
She could hardly believe it, but the white envelope in plastic wrapping that she found attached to the panel of the doorbell with her name handwritten on the front, told her it was true.
My dear Joely,
Please forgive me for not being here to greet you, but I’ve been called away unexpectedly and I was unable to get hold of you on the phone. I expect you were crossing the moor where there’s little if any mobile reception.
Don’t worry, I shall be back tomorrow –
Tomorrow!
– and I’ve left a key under the pot to your right so you can let yourself in. Please make yourself at home. You’ll find more helpful instructions in the kitchen, which is at the far end of the house on the ground floor of the tower. You simply follow the corridor from the entrance hall all the way through to the last door which is facing you. There is plenty to eat courtesy of my housekeeper Brenda Bambridge, who you’ll meet in due course.
I am very much looking forward to working with you.
Freda M. Donahoe
Not at all sure how she felt about this, apart from distinctly weird, Joely glanced at her mobile, saw no service in the top corner, and having to fight down a surge of annoyance at being cut off in a strange place she accepted there was little else she could do right now but retrieve the key.
It was the smell of the place that greeted her first, kind of musty with drifts of wax and wood smoke and something sweet and flowery. She looked around the spacious entry hall with its wide ornate wooden staircase rising from the centre up to a half-landing where it divided and disappeared from view. The floor was laid with an intricate mosaic of earth-coloured tiles, and the cream-coloured paint on the walls was flaking in places and darker in others where smaller paintings had taken the place of larger ones. The magnificent windows that occupied the front wall were like masterpieces in their own right with such stunning views in their frames.
She glanced at the double doors in front of her, wondering what might be on the other side, but felt uncomfortable about snooping (in case she ran into someone or was even being watched). So she followed instructions and walked the long corridor at the back of the house through to the kitchen. It was high-ceilinged and bright thanks to a set of large French doors that led out to the vine-covered patio. The floor was laid with pale flagstones, the many cupboards and units were in honey-coloured oak, there was a long refectory table at the centre of the room, and an enormous Inglenook fireplace built into the far wall with an armchair either side of it. There were other doors, presumably leading into a pantry, a utility room and maybe one of them led to the base of the tor outside. Above the one she’d entered through was a quaint row of four brass servants’ bells and since they were labelled den, front door, music room, library and bed, she suspected they might work, and was already praying hard that none of them rang while she was here alone.