There's No Accounting For Love

Chapter Eighty Five

DEDICATED TO GDENPLNTY

To start with the day had been grey and dreary, but by the time they reached the car the sun had appeared, making the journey more enjoyable.

Alan drove to Westbury On Trym and turned into a cul-de-sac. It was a road they had not visited before. It was obviously an affluent area, with all of the houses being large detached properties. At the end of the cul-de-sac Clare saw a field with countryside in the distance. It looked very pretty. Alan carried out a three point turn and parked by a high, unruly hedge which obscured the view of the house behind it.

"What are we doing here?" asked Clare.

"It's a surprise." said Alan. "When we get out of the car, stand on the pavement and wait for me to come to you."

They got out of the car and Alan locked it and Clare did as she was told.

"Right. Now you have to close your eyes. You do trust me, don't you? I'm going to lead you to the gate and then you can open them."

"Okay." said Clare.

Clare closed her eyes and Alan led her carefully to the double gates of the property.

"Right. You can open them... now."

Clare opened her eyes and in front of her was a double garage. The doors of which were old and wooden and desperately in need of replacing. Her eyes then took in the house attached to it.

"Oh!" she said. "Isn't it lovely!"

The two storey house was like a child's drawing, with a door in the middle and windows both sides. The upper first storey windows were arched and over the door was an arched window made up of coloured glass, in blues and oranges. The front door had a porch around it with pillars, like a mini Georgian style portico. On the right hand side of the house was a rotting high wooden gate. Unruly hedges were the boundaries on the left hand side by the garage and on the right hand side near the high wooden gate.

Alan pushed open the rusty iron gate and they walked onto the gravelled driveway. There were two gates either side of the  untidy hedge, one being the entrance and the other an exit. There was a small half moon lawn at the front near the overgrown hedge on which was a little tree, which was presently full of berries.

"I like the look of this, it's very pretty." said Clare. "But it needs a lot of attention."

"Well, I know a good builder, so it's not a problem is it?"

"No, it doesn't bother me. It would be good to modernise to our own taste. Are we meeting an Estate Agent?" asked Clare.

"No, I've got the key. This isn't on the market yet, we're the first to view."

Alan went to a large flower pot by the front door pillar and found a key inside it, wrapped in a piece of paper. He opened the front door, the paint of which was flaking and they went inside.

"This is Stephen Miller's house." said Alan. "He's working on it at the moment and he wondered if we'd like it. It has been under pinned because of subsidence, which means he will need a cash buyer as mortgage companies don't often give mortgages out for houses with those problems. They work he's done would withstand an earthquake he said, so he doesn't understand why not. He's told me the lay out of the house. This room here, could be your library."

He pushed open the door of the room and they went inside. It was in need of new plastering and a new ceiling, but was a good size and looked out over the front of the house. The lawn and tree looked attractive from here.