"What are you doing today?" Rory asked between mouthfuls of toast.
"I'm going out with Maria. We've been trying to get together for weeks and we are finally both free on the same day."
"Shopping?"
"Of course, and then a spot of lunch."
"Very nice. I'll think of you while I'm on a building site with a plastic cup of lukewarm coffee."
Maria had offered to pick her up, so Nina was planning on having a large glass of wine with lunch. Their destination was a nearby village, which had some interesting shops and an Italian restaurant. A new place to visit and learn about. A toot of the horn announced her friend's arrival and she grabbed her bag and keys and left the house.
"Hi Nina, hope you have your credit card."
"I certainly do. I must take note of the route so that I can get there myself."
"You must be like me. When you're a passenger you don't take any notice of how to get somewhere."
"Exactly. I want to get familiar with the area. I've got a car and I want to be able to take myself off to other villages and places of interest. Please tell me there are places of interest."
"Moreton has a model village."
"Please tell me there are places of interest other than the model village."
Maria and Nina laughed as they drove through the country lanes. The fields which had seemed so boring on her way to Fernborough, were now fascinating. There were horses, calves and lambs as well as crops.
They pulled into a car park next to an old church. A few paces and they would be on the main road with the shops. A couple of thatched cottages bookended the street, giving it a charming rural feel. The fronts of the retail premises were painted in bright colours. The window displays were artfully done and Nina couldn't wait to forage.
The first stop was the antique shop that Maria had mentioned. Old paintings were on the wall and then leaning against the shelves. A glass topped cabinet held jewellery and watches. Clocks, ornaments and vases were displayed around the edges with the furniture in the middle.
It wasn't a big space, so all of the furniture was small. A nest of tables, a couple of dining chairs, they had enough of them, footstools and a chest. Suitcases, a small chest of drawers and larger pots were stacked on the floor, too. Where to start? Steering away from the jewellery, Nina and Maria took a clockwise route around the shop.
"Look at these. They are the same colour as my lounge." Nina was pointing to a pair of vases.
"How much are they?"
"Does that matter. They match."
"Well, when you put it like that."
"The label says £60"
"Offer him £50."
"Ooh, do I get to haggle. How exciting."
"Don't show him how keen you are. Say something like, I quite like them, before the negotiations start."
"Play it cool."
Nina could do deadpan well and it wasn't until she left the shop, the vases carefully wrapped in paper, and costing £50, that she smiled and punched the air. More browsing ensued as she carried her precious package like a baby. It was, finally, put down, safely, when they got to the restaurant.
Big bowls of pasta, and the glass of wine, were relished as the woman chatted.
"No sign of any ghostly happenings in the house then." Maria said.
"No. I'm not a believer in that sort of thing. Who knows how these rumours start? It may be, because two owners didn't stay for long, people have assumed there is something wrong with the house."
"The first people who had it after the Phillips, did some renovations and then moved on. I saw them in town a couple of times and then they were gone. I thought that they were making a quick buck by smartening the place up. The next ones were an older couple. The wife would go into town, but the husband was quite ill for a time. They stayed longer, but then it was up for sale again."
"Did you hear any gossip about the house?"
"I know someone who works in the local estate agents. They said that the older woman didn't like the house. She thought it was haunted. No specifics about why were given. As you say, it is all nonsense. The Phillips were there for years and were quite happy."
"Exactly. Well, I love it. I don't see us ever wanting to move."
"How's it going then? In general, away from the city."
"When Rory first mentioned moving to Fernborough, I was horrified. I've always lived in the city and immediately though that I couldn't be happy anywhere else. I could see all the logical reasons for moving, big house, Rory's job, clean, fresh air, but my heart wasn't in it. Now, I admit, it's growing on me. You and Grant have definitely helped. It seems that you can turn a townie into a country girl."
"I'm glad. We love having you two around. The only problem is we will have to listen to Grant and Rory's stories of their youth over and over again."