The village was quiet and the residents were, mostly friendly. They would give a wave or say hello. Hannah had bumped into the lady who had told her about the cottage. Invited for a coffee she was about to learn a lot more about the previous owner of her home.
"How are you getting on in the cottage?" Jane asked.
"It's a bit of a state. I've been cleaning constantly since we got there. It will be nice once we've sorted it out."
"Mr Grundy, the former owner, was what they call a character. In his case that meant that he was a grumpy old man. He lived out there in the cottage and pretty much isolated himself. If he came into the village to do a bit of shopping, people would cross the road to avoid him."
"He must have smoked. The cottage walls, and the furniture, are covered in a film of nicotine, everything's yellow."
"Oh, yes, he smoked roll ups. His clothes were covered in flecks of tobacco and burns. He wore the same things most days. You could smell him coming before you saw him. Jeans that were too big, held up by a belt. A filthy anorak. The only thing that changed was his footwear. Wellies in the winter and shabby trainers in the summer."
"Yes, there were some of his clothes in the house. We burned them. He seemed to have been a bit of a hoarder."
"That is an understatement. I had the misfortune to visit him a couple of times. The garden was full of scrap and the house, let's just say that it was crammed full. There were piles of newspapers, cupboards full of tinned food, tools, pieces of wood and metal, I'd never seen anything like it. Not many people were allowed in the house, so I was surprised that he let me in."
"I think a lot of it had been moved before we got the place. It was still messy and there was a lot of stuff, but it didn't take long to deal with."
"Someone said that he had a young man helping him sorting it out over the last couple of months. Mr Grundy was finally getting rid of stuff it would seem. Ironic that he died so soon after making the effort to get his act together"
"I saw the postman the other day and he said that it was safer delivering the mail now. What did that mean."
"Ha, you took your life in your hands if you went to the cottage without an invite. He had a gun and would answer the door holding it. No one went up there to deliver leaflets or anything like that. During the last election, a canvasser went up there and was sent packing. He rushed into the pub and ordered a brandy to get over being chased away by a man with a rifle."
"The cottage being outside of the village helped him keep private I suppose."
"Yes. There were a couple of attempted break ins though. When someone shuts themselves away, all sorts of stories circulate. Legend had it, that he didn't use banks and had money stashed all over the house. The, would be, robbers were frightened off when he produced a weapon."
"He didn't have any family then?"
"Not as far as anyone knew. He hadn't ever been married. His parents lived in the cottage before him and that is why I was sure he owned it. Your husband said that it was rented, didn't he?"
"We're not married. Yes, that is what Carl said."
"You're not married. That means that you can leave at any time if you want to."
"What do you mean?"
"I've met Carl. He seems to be a rather surly young man. I get the impression that he might be a little overbearing as a partner."
"I would never leave Carl. He makes a lot of the decisions, but what he does is what's best for us."
"I'm sorry Hannah. I shouldn't have said that. It's just that you are such a nice young woman and I would hate to think that you were not happy. If you are fine, I won't mention it again. I'm always available if you want someone to talk to though."
The two women parted and, although they were smiling, both of them left their meeting a little saddened. Hannah had thought she had found a friend, but Jane had criticised Carl and that had made her uncomfortable. It had also made her think about her life. Many questions needed answering. The problem was that she was too afraid to ask them.