Finding Home by Kate Field (read book .txt) 📗

too much,’ Heather said, sending Mim a sympathetic look. ‘Bill seems a lovely man, from what I’ve seen, but he’s well-known for having ideas that seem the next big thing and then fade away. He once renovated a land train to attract tourists to Littlemead and it caused chaos on the roads. It probably wasn’t even legal. Then there was the caravan park. We all thought it would be great for the village at the time. But all the work was done by people from outside, not locals. It was abandoned after a few years.’

It was more or less the same story that Lia had told. Was the charity another idea that would produce initial enthusiasm and then be cast aside for something else? Mim hoped not. Corin had seemed genuine enough, but perhaps she should tread cautiously before thinking up too many ideas and getting her hopes up that the scheme might actually happen.

Bea flagged Mim down as she drove towards the caravans later on, by standing in the middle of the track and waving her arms as if she were delivering a semaphore message. Mim slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car.

‘Is something up?’ she asked. Bea laughed.

‘I do love your accent, my dear,’ she said. ‘No, nothing is “up”. Quite the opposite. Bill is down in his workshop, tinkering with his latest invention and doesn’t have time to take me to Exeter to pick up my new glasses. Are you busy, Mim dear? Would you be able to take me?’

‘Yes. We can go now if you want.’

‘Lovely. Give me thirty minutes to make myself presentable.’

Presentable? Bea already looked smarter than Mim did. But Mim agreed and spent the thirty minutes having a lukewarm shower to wash away the salt water on her skin and in her hair before returning promptly to the house and waiting outside for Bea.

‘Whyever didn’t you come inside?’ Bea asked. ‘You didn’t need to sit out here like a taxi driver.’ She peered into the car and brushed at the passenger seat before getting in. A burst of intense perfume filled the car, improving its fragrance considerably. Bea looked at Mim. ‘Did you not have time to dry your hair? You should have said. We could have set off later.’

‘It’s no problem. I don’t have a hairdryer.’

‘Why didn’t you ask? We probably have dozens of spare ones littering the house. Come in later and we’ll find you one. What would we do if you perished of pneumonia?’

‘Scatter my ashes in the sea, if it’s not too much trouble.’

Bea laughed and they set off towards the road that would lead to Exeter. Bea directed Mim at every turn.

‘Didn’t you fancy driving yourself, then?’ Mim asked. There was clearly no issue about Bea getting lost on her own. ‘Not that I mind taking you,’ she added quickly.

‘I don’t drive,’ Bea said. ‘I had a go once but I didn’t take to it. Besides, Bill loves driving so much that he would hate me to take a turn. I found that my services were better employed navigating, until the sat nav came along and made me redundant.’ She gave Mim the next couple of directions. ‘Of course, when Bill had his little health scare last year, I did wish I’d kept on with the driving but now we have Corin back with us so we can always call on him. He’s infinitely safer behind the wheel than Lia,’ she added, leaning close to Mim. ‘She took six attempts to pass her test.’

Mim had passed first time, but then she’d had the best and most patient teacher. Gordon had taught her when he’d realised she’d never had lessons, and he had taken her out whenever they’d had a spare half hour in the hotel. It was only one of the many gifts he’d given her.

Bea talked all the way to Exeter, where they finally parked in a multi-storey car park and climbed up a steep hill into the city centre. Bea collected her glasses – a vibrant black and yellow pair – and led Mim down a passageway which unexpectedly opened onto a grassed area, with the largest church Mim had ever seen at the centre of it. A cobbled road ran round the edge of the grass and was fringed with a variety of old buildings, some with black and white timbering, others made of stone, but all stunning in their own way.

‘You don’t get this in Burnley,’ Mim said, spinning round. Even on a dull winter’s day, the place basked in peace and beauty, as if the bustle of the city was far behind them. Mim loved it.

‘It’s very special, isn’t it?’ Bea replied, smiling at Mim. ‘I never tire of coming here, in all seasons, whether it’s quiet and cold like today or warm and sunny so the grass is packed with students and tourists. Bill and I were married over there in the cathedral.’

‘In there?’ Mim pointed. It looked like the sort of place where members of the Royal Family would marry, not ordinary people. Although, she supposed that the Howard family weren’t ordinary by her standards. ‘Wasn’t it terrifying?’

‘It was wonderful. I’d do the whole thing again in a heartbeat.’ She smiled at Mim. ‘You’ll understand when it’s your turn.’

‘Oh, I won’t be taking a turn,’ Mim said. ‘I don’t want to be half of someone else. I’m happy being all of me.’

‘I’ll look forward to seeing whether you stick to that when you meet the right man or woman. But do you know what I’m looking forward to now? Lunch in the café over there, facing the green. It’s my treat, before you argue, as a thank you for driving me here.’

Bea was clearly a regular in the café as she was greeted with smiles and given one of the best tables in the bay window.

‘Don’t even think about the price of anything,’ Bea said, holding up a warning finger to Mim when they were given