do like it?’
‘I think so. Only the asking price is way too high. No,’ she picked up her handbag as if making ready to leave, ‘I'd better look for something that wouldn’t entail so much expense, something smaller. Perhaps the estate agent across the road has something. Or I could try another town.’
Bill leaned forward in his chair. ‘Don’t go yet! Before you dismiss Somerlee entirely, let's look at the whole situation. I will admit to you – in the strictest confidence, mind – that the vendors are being rather optimistic in setting such a high price on it. I told them so, but they insisted and well, it’s been on the market for a while. You couldn't have chosen a better time to buy, Miss – er – Ms Ingram. You could get yourself a real bargain here.’
She hummed and hawed, but allowed him to continue for a while, then left his office without committing herself. She did, however, agree to let Bill show her round some more properties the next day and to look over Somerlee again with him, so that he could point out its advantages.
She wondered as she walked away if Ben Elless really was interested in the place. No, he couldn’t be. He was based in Queensland. He was probably just looking round it because it was near one of his uncle’s properties, to get some idea of prices. She couldn’t remember where exactly they were, but there had been several in this area.
* * * *
Ria’s mobile phone rang and when she saw it was Bill Lansome, she answered it. They knew each other from way back and he’d helped her a lot since her ex-husband ran off with most of their money.
‘Don’t move to that empty block I told you about yet, Ria. I’ve got a buyer interested. She’s playing it cool, but I can spot genuine interest a mile off.’
With a sigh, Ria switched off her phone and turned to Pete. ‘We can’t move to that place after all. Bill thinks he’s about to sell it.’
‘We still have to be away from here by the end of the week, though, and you know how Big Jim hates living in caravan parks.’
‘So do I.’ She sat down to think. People thought they were crazy, living like a group of hippies in the twenty-first century, but she’d never been as happy. Nor had her kids.
Pete was right. Jim couldn’t cope with people for long. Who’d have thought that service in the Vietnam War would mark a strong man like him for his whole life?
Pete came to sit beside her. ‘There’s a block of land over the hill that might suit us temporarily. As far as I can see, the owners haven’t been near it for years, except for having the fire breaks put in. Want to come and look at it?’
She beamed at him. ‘We’ll all go. Even if we can just stay there for a month or two, it’ll be a help.’
Chapter 10
Meriel had come prepared to stay overnight in York, so went to look for a hotel. The old sign painted on the gable of one place: ‘Rooms for Respectable Married Couples' made her chuckle as she passed it in the street, so she went inside.
It was a modernised two-storey colonial building, with verandas and balconies, typical early Australian architecture. Her upstairs room was cool and shaded, furnished with old-fashioned wooden pieces instead of square minimalist furniture. It looked out over brick-paved courtyards filled with tubs of plants and flowers.
She wished she had someone to spend the evening with. Perhaps she should have accepted Ben Elless’s invitation? No, better not. She’d checked the hotel register before she booked a room, to make sure he wasn’t staying there. If he had been, she’d have found somewhere else.
When she went down that evening Meriel found the restaurant as quietly elegant as the rest of the hotel. As she was choosing her meal, a shadow fell across the table and she looked up into Ben Elless' smiling, sun-tanned face. Her heart started to thud and the worst of it was, she didn't know whether she was glad or sorry to see him.
‘I'd really welcome some
‘I think so. Only the asking price is way too high. No,’ she picked up her handbag as if making ready to leave, ‘I'd better look for something that wouldn’t entail so much expense, something smaller. Perhaps the estate agent across the road has something. Or I could try another town.’
Bill leaned forward in his chair. ‘Don’t go yet! Before you dismiss Somerlee entirely, let's look at the whole situation. I will admit to you – in the strictest confidence, mind – that the vendors are being rather optimistic in setting such a high price on it. I told them so, but they insisted and well, it’s been on the market for a while. You couldn't have chosen a better time to buy, Miss – er – Ms Ingram. You could get yourself a real bargain here.’
She hummed and hawed, but allowed him to continue for a while, then left his office without committing herself. She did, however, agree to let Bill show her round some more properties the next day and to look over Somerlee again with him, so that he could point out its advantages.
She wondered as she walked away if Ben Elless really was interested in the place. No, he couldn’t be. He was based in Queensland. He was probably just looking round it because it was near one of his uncle’s properties, to get some idea of prices. She couldn’t remember where exactly they were, but there had been several in this area.
* * * *
Ria’s mobile phone rang and when she saw it was Bill Lansome, she answered it. They knew each other from way back and he’d helped her a lot since her ex-husband ran off with most of their money.
‘Don’t move to that empty block I told you about yet, Ria. I’ve got a buyer interested. She’s playing it cool, but I can spot genuine interest a mile off.’
With a sigh, Ria switched off her phone and turned to Pete. ‘We can’t move to that place after all. Bill thinks he’s about to sell it.’
‘We still have to be away from here by the end of the week, though, and you know how Big Jim hates living in caravan parks.’
‘So do I.’ She sat down to think. People thought they were crazy, living like a group of hippies in the twenty-first century, but she’d never been as happy. Nor had her kids.
Pete was right. Jim couldn’t cope with people for long. Who’d have thought that service in the Vietnam War would mark a strong man like him for his whole life?
Pete came to sit beside her. ‘There’s a block of land over the hill that might suit us temporarily. As far as I can see, the owners haven’t been near it for years, except for having the fire breaks put in. Want to come and look at it?’
She beamed at him. ‘We’ll all go. Even if we can just stay there for a month or two, it’ll be a help.’
Chapter 10
Meriel had come prepared to stay overnight in York, so went to look for a hotel. The old sign painted on the gable of one place: ‘Rooms for Respectable Married Couples' made her chuckle as she passed it in the street, so she went inside.
It was a modernised two-storey colonial building, with verandas and balconies, typical early Australian architecture. Her upstairs room was cool and shaded, furnished with old-fashioned wooden pieces instead of square minimalist furniture. It looked out over brick-paved courtyards filled with tubs of plants and flowers.
She wished she had someone to spend the evening with. Perhaps she should have accepted Ben Elless’s invitation? No, better not. She’d checked the hotel register before she booked a room, to make sure he wasn’t staying there. If he had been, she’d have found somewhere else.
When she went down that evening Meriel found the restaurant as quietly elegant as the rest of the hotel. As she was choosing her meal, a shadow fell across the table and she looked up into Ben Elless' smiling, sun-tanned face. Her heart started to thud and the worst of it was, she didn't know whether she was glad or sorry to see him.
‘I'd really welcome some
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