Page 96 of Escape to the Country

Chapter 32

Eleanor had been at home at The Forge for the past couple of days, waiting for the delivery of the caustic soda with which to make her soap.

Well, that was the excuse she was telling herself and her friends.

In reality, she was still embarrassed about the kiss. Especially now it was all over social media. Thankfully, nobody had recognised the back of her head. And she was hoping to keep it that way.

So she used the delivery, the animals, helping her mum, any pretext she could think of, so that she didn’t have to face him again.

But her hands were driving her crazy with the itching. And once the caustic soda had been delivered she knew she couldn’t put off making her soap any longer.

So in deference to the full heat of summer, she put on her best cut-off shorts, her favourite flip-flops and her smartest T-shirt. She was oozing confidence. At least, that was what she hoped it looked like on the outside.

But her cheeks betrayed her at the first sight of Tom when she almost bumped into him in the huge entrance hall and she could feel them turning bright red.

‘Hi,’ he said, smiling.

Hello,’ she replied, keeping her tone neutral. Cool but friendly.

‘How are you?’ he asked.

‘Great,’ she replied, her voice catching as she looked up at him. ‘You?’

‘Never better.’

‘Great,’ she repeated before walking away. She knew she must have sounded like an idiot but she was still smiling when she came across an excited Annie.

‘Do you want to see the kitchen?’ she said, pulling Eleanor down the corridor before she had a chance to refuse. ‘It’s finally finished.’

Grateful for the distraction, Eleanor had to concede it really was quite a transformation. Soft baby-blue walls matched the brand new Aga. Cream cupboards filled all the walls.

‘It’s lovely,’ said Eleanor.

‘There’s so much storage,’ sighed Annie, smiling.

Away from the food preparation areas, there was a brand new huge oak table that could comfortably seat ten people. In addition, a couple of comfy arm chairs had been placed either side of the new wood-burning stove.

It was a welcoming space. A room to be cherished. It would be the heart of the home. A place to congregate, chat and relax. No doubt, full of love and laughter.

Eleanor found herself yearning to belong to such a place.

‘I’ve still got all those old trays and saucepans if you need them for your soaps and stuff,’ Annie told her.

‘That would be great, thanks,’ said Eleanor. She made a pile of the pans, as well as some old wooden spoons, oven gloves. ‘Don’t you need any of this?’

Annie shook her head. ‘Alex insisted that everything should be new.’ She glanced over her shoulder before whispering, ‘Just don’t tell Sam.’

Eleanor grinned. ‘Mum’s the word.’

‘Do you want to see the guest bedrooms as well?’

Eleanor nodded and followed Annie upstairs. The spare bedrooms were now painted and furnished with beds, wardrobes and other cupboards.

‘What kind of look are you going for?’ asked Eleanor. Apart from the new furniture, the bedrooms were a blank canvas.

‘I have this grand idea that they should each be individual,’ said Annie. ‘You know, the blue room, the green room et cetera. Otherwise there’s too many to refer to. And I didn’t want to say bedroom one, two and so on. But beyond that I’ve no idea. I haven’t even chosen the colour of the curtains yet. The ones Alex keeps picking up are way too expensive.’

‘You know,’ began Eleanor, ‘my mum is great at stuff like that. If you like, she could make you some curtains.’