I try my best not to become increasingly paranoid about the remaining deliveries. The fridge, freezer, cooker and washing machine are all due to arrive sometime today from The Appliance Store and at least Ryan is proof that the main road is still passable. The postman, who doesn't appear until late-morning, explains that a number of smaller roads through the Forest have experienced subsidence problems and the weight limits have been restricted. One by one, the routes through to our little part of the world seem to be ruled out and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they don't have to shut the main road.
With Christmas just three days away, I've also placed a large order to stock up the new fridge and freezer. That will be one more worry off my mind and another big item ticked off the to-do list if that, too, arrives today. At least I won't have to worry about food until the end of January, at the very earliest. Plus I'm already fed up with eating sandwiches.
Lewis pops out to pick up a new pipe to replace the one the squirrels chewed up and to collect some fittings he's ordered, ready to install the new range cooker. Earlier in the morning he'd looked quite serious when he was sitting cross-legged on the floor making his list.
Of course, deliveries are great but every time something is delivered it presents a problem. The cottage is small and Lewis needs room in which to work. I was a little dismayed when the flooring arrived yesterday, as the huge mountain of boxes and rolls of foam underlay now mean my temporary kitchen is reduced to a very tight corner. But it feels good to know it's here and it's one thing less to worry about. Plus the new white goods will at least be in situ and working by the end of the day, and I'm excited about that. It will be a big step forward.
There's a knock on the door just as I'm about to put on the kettle and have a break from sanding the stair spindles. I'm surprised to see Sarah from the estate agents standing outside with a box in her hands, trying her best to shield it from the rain.
"I come bearing gifts," she laughs. "No, not really, but I think this will be of interest to you."
"Great, come in. I was just about to make a cup of tea. Do you have time to join me?"
She nods and I notice that she isn't wearing her usual suit, but she's casually dressed in black jeans, beneath her soggy top coat.
"It's my day off. I've been to visit a friend who lives about ten minutes' drive away. You won't believe what I've had to drive through!"
I stare at the package in her arms; it's about the size of two shoe boxes and has a faded pattern on the outside. It looks old and rather fragile.
"The company who did the house clearance auctioned off a lot of the furniture. Obviously whoever emptied out the personal contents of the house missed this. It was in a dressing-table drawer. The relatives didn't want it and it looks like it's full of receipts and stuff to do with the house. The auctioneers asked me to pass it on to you. I thought you might want to go through it, in case it solves the mystery of the land at the back. You never know, the answer might be right here." She places the box down on one of the folding chairs and then slips off her coat.
"Thanks, that's thoughtful. Spread your coat out over that chair, it might dry off a little. I did think it was strange there weren't many documents with the deeds. People of that era kept absolutely everything. Unlike today, when it's all electronic, in bygone years at least snail mail left a physical record. Goodness, even I can't find things on my laptop, let alone anyone else carrying out a search. I guess in this wonderful age of technology and communication overload, a lot is going to get lost in the future."
Sarah chuckles as I hand her a mug of steaming tea.
"This already feels like a different place," she comments, looking through into the former dining room.
"I'll give you the tour – not that there's much more than basic building work being done at the moment. It's more about ripping it apart and making good the walls. My temporary bedroom is cosy, though, come on through."
Seeing it through Sarah's eyes, it does look inviting. The white room feels more spacious than the size would give credit for, and with the blind and matching bedding in a zingy white with over-sized green and pale-yellow leaves, it feels very country with a contemporary vibe.
"Wow, I wasn't expecting this. At least it's a little sanctuary while the work is going on around you. That low ceiling certainly works to give it a cosy feeling now there's some furniture in here."
We walk through to the kitchen and Sarah does a double-take.
"Goodness, for a tiny kitchen, now it's stripped out it looks twice the size. What colour units are you putting back in?"
"Here's the 3D plan," I pull a few sheets of paper out of Lewis' tool box. "Sorry about the dirt and dust, it's not the best filing cabinet."
I smirk and she laughs.
"How's it working out? He seems to have done a lot in a short space of time."
This is my chance to ask a few questions, but I don't want Sarah to feel I'm quizzing her. Ignoring any hint of a dilemma, I say the first thing that pops into my head.
"Great. I've never known a tradesman work Saturdays and Sundays without having to twist their arms. I get the impression he's not from around here, which was a surprise."
Sarah sips her tea then frowns slightly.
"He isn't, although he's looking to settle in the Forest at some point. I don't think it's a secret that he's looking to buy something to do up."
"Oh. Why didn't he make an offer on Ash Cottage? I would have thought it would have been a perfect project for him."
She nods, taking another sip.
"In strictest confidence, he was going to. I had a message on my desk to call him urgently when I arrived back in the office after your viewing. If he'd phoned through on my mobile, as my colleague suggested, he might just have beaten you to it. He wasn't here when the For Sale sign went up, his mother died unexpectedly and he had to go back home for a couple of weeks to sort out the funeral. A case of unfortunate timing, I'm afraid."
That's awkward and sort of confirms my suspicions. I don't know what to think now about the fact that he's bending over backwards to help with a renovation that could have been his own.
"He must have felt gutted to come back and find he'd missed out on Ash Cottage. I feel sad knowing that."
Sarah hastens to reassure me. "He will have been grateful to have a job to keep his mind occupied, no doubt. I don't know how close he was to his mum, but a death brings out all sorts of emotions – especially at this time of the year. He's on our mailing list and something else will come up before too long. In his line of work he'll no doubt hear on the local grapevine if someone's thinking of selling, so he'll be one step ahead. It's a small community here. This case was complicated because of the number of beneficiaries involved. Everything took a little longer than expected to set up."
"I'm glad I asked. I'd hate to say anything to upset him in any way. His mother's death must have been tough to deal with. He isn't the sort of man who finds it easy dealing with emotion, is he?"
I wasn't expecting Sarah to respond to that, I was simply voicing my thoughts.
"I think he's lonely, to be honest. I don't know why as he's made a few hearts pound among the single females and widows around here. I know Joanna next door is one of his biggest fans. The gossip-mongers are watching his every move." She laughs, raising her eyebrows at me, knowingly.
I feel the heat rising up from my neck, gulp down the last of my tea and muster up a laugh that sounds suitably dismissive. A cough alerts us to the fact that Lewis Hart is standing in the doorway and the fact that he's soaking wet might not be the only reason why he looks like thunder.
"Well, maybe the gossip-mongers need to mind their own business," he scowls and I'm surprised that his tone isn't quite as angry as I feared. Sarah gives Lewis a melting smile.
"Oh, Lewis – you know what it's like in the Forest. Everyone knows everybody's business. It's a pastime. You aren't a local if someone, somewhere isn't talking about you."
He smiles back at her and I wonder if there's something going on between them. The look of thunder disappears without a trace.
"Well, you can start a new thread of gossip. After I've finished helping out Madeleine, here, I'll be disappearing for a while. My mother's house will need a lot of work doing to it before it goes on the market."
Sarah looks disappointed and I try my best not to follow suit.
"You'd better keep your fingers crossed," he glances in my direction. "That water level is rising faster than the pumps can shift it. What time are those deliveries coming today?"
"They couldn't give a time for the white goods, only that it would be after twelve o'clock and I've booked the groceries for early this evening."
He shrugs off his jacket, throwing it in the corner. "I need you ladies to move into the conservatory to continue gossiping, I have to finish off the framing for the fridge and freezer, now that the floor appears to be dry." He looks down at our feet, checking we haven't done any damage.
We exit quickly and it feels as if we've just been told off. He's right, of course, we shouldn't have been walking on that floor and we definitely should not have been talking about him.
As Sarah pulls on her coat, I notice she's wearing a wedding ring, so maybe that wasn't a look of interest that passed between them. Unless she's stuck in an unhappy marriage as I was, only I didn't appreciate that fact at the time.
As she leaves, she looks at me with concern on her face and leans in to whisper something.
"It's none of my business, but Lewis likes you, I can tell. He's abrasive, but sometimes it's a way for someone to hide their feelings. Don't let that put you off."
As she straightens up and steps outside, I nod my head in thanks.
"Hope you find some useful documents in that box," she adds, raising her voice slightly. No doubt keen to let Lewis know the purpose for her visit wasn't just to share a little gossip.
I turn around, considering how to apologise to Lewis and he's standing there, in the kitchen doorway, staring at me.
"Documents?" For starters it's unusual for anything to pull him away from his work. The other mystifying factor is that very little of what goes on around him seems to spark his interest.
"The box. Apparently it was in one of the drawers when the house clearance people took the furniture away. They contacted Sarah, who asked the bank if any of the relatives wanted it. They said no, so she thought I might want to go through it in case there were any documents to do with the house."
He looks rather shocked; his face starts to redden, as if he's angry.
"Well, I'm not sure I'd want a total stranger going through my personal effects."
He looks directly at me, as if he's challenging me.
"I don't regard myself as being a total stranger, Lewis. I live in Aggie's cottage now and that gives us a real link. Her memories are between these walls and always will be. I'll be adding my own to those. We're all caretakers in this life, Lewis. We can think we own brick and mortar, but we are merely passing through."
His jaw is set at a stubborn angle. I think he was expecting an argument and my answer surprised him.
"You believe in all that stuff?"
"Some of it. I've felt her here; it's subtle, but I talk to her to reassure her that we will put Ash Cottage back together and it will look lovely."
I wonder if he's going to laugh or mock me. Instead he raises his hand to rest his chin between his index finger and his thumb, his elbow leaning on the arm wrapped around his waist. He looks rather like a Greek statue. I almost laugh, but restrain myself, as now is not a moment for hilarity. It's a classic thinking pose, although the body language suggests he's not comfortable with something. Maybe it's the topic of conversation or maybe it's being around me.
"It's still an invasion of a person's privacy. I suggest you are mindful of that." He turns and walks back into the kitchen.
I simply cannot understand this man who acts like a bear but has a side to him that is almost an unbelievable contrast. He’s complicated, that’s for sure. It makes me wonder what has happened in his life that he finds himself alone, putting up barriers and living far away from friends and family. It sounds as if warning bells should be ringing, but the reality is that I feel very safe when he’s around.