Amber walked around the bedroom of the guesthouse and let out a long sigh. At ten o’clock, Emilia had declared that it was bedtime. Amber had smothered a smile as she watched the Swede hurry around the kitchen and the dining room tidying up following their meal. It seemed that Emilia was a stickler for bedtime.
Amber couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone to bed so early. Probably when she’d had the flu a few years back.
She held her mobile phone out and circled the room, seeking a signal. As she had dreaded, there was nothing. She was completely cut off from the outside world.
She’d thought that the two-hour power cut on a Sunday afternoon a few months ago had been bad, but that was nothing compared to having no TV, no mobile signal, and no Internet access whatsoever. At least then she had still been able to use her phone, check her email, and play games.
Now there was nothing to entertain her and she wasn’t in the least bit tired.
She sat on the edge of the bed and put her phone on the bedside table. It was like she had been thrown back in time, into a strange world that she felt very uneasy in.
It was a world that Emilia had carved out for herself. Amber knew that Sweden had perfectly good Internet access. They had television, ride-sharing services, food ordering apps.
Sweden was a vibrant and modern country with technology being used for everything. They were the home of Candy Crush, for heaven’s sake. It was as modern and technologically advanced as Britain.
But Emilia’s little oasis, just outside of one of the main cities of the country, couldn’t be further removed from the modern day.
Amber had no idea what they intended to do for the next few days. She couldn’t imagine how to fill the time. There was quite simply nothing to do, and she worried that they had already exhausted their conversation.
Emilia was adorably awed by Amber’s modern-day lifestyle. Amber had deliberately kept some information back, fearing that explaining things like Tinder would be enough to make poor Emilia implode.
Talking to Emilia was like meeting a time traveller who had been pulled out of the past and had endless questions about how everything worked in this strange, new world.
She opened up her suitcase and pulled out a pair of pyjamas. She’d bought them new from the local supermarket, something else that probably would have blown Emilia’s mind.
Nightwear? In a supermarket? Next to the pre-roasted chicken?
She usually slept naked but had decided to invest in some cheap sleepwear considering the cold temperatures and the fact that she was staying in someone else’s house. She’d had no idea what to expect and only now realised how lucky she was that things had worked out.
Normally she would never have considered jumping on a plane and staying with someone she hardly knew. The threat of unemployment had caused her to act rashly, but thankfully things seemed to be working out well.
She held her pyjamas in her hand, realising that she needn’t have worried about the potentially cold temperatures. While the outside was freezing, both the main house and the guesthouse were toasty and warm. Crossing from one to the other wasn’t exactly fun, but it took less than ten seconds.
She glanced out of the window. The main lights in the house were off, but the lit-up paper stars in all the windows remained on. Amber had seen them in other houses on the drive over. Emilia had explained that they were common Christmas decorations, that many Swedish households liked to display candles or stars in the windows during the winter months.
She let out a sigh and wondered what to do with herself. It had been a very long time since she had been well and truly bored. Of course, she thought she had been bored before, but that passed after a couple of seconds. She had access to friends via text, video chat, email, and good, old-fashioned telephone. Games, movies, television box sets, and music could all be accessed as the touch of a button. Boredom only ever lasted a few moments.
That wasn’t the case currently. Now she was properly bored. She was also pre-emptively bored, knowing that things weren’t going to change anytime soon.
She wasn’t tired, despite Emilia’s insistence that she must be exhausted after her travels. Another throwback to the Victorian era from which Emilia seemed to hail. She acted as if Amber had been stuck on a passenger steam liner for the last week. She’d actually been on a relatively comfortable plane for around ninety minutes.
She tossed her pyjamas onto the bed and then flopped down onto the soft duvet. She stared up at the ceiling.
Part of her wanted to refuse to go to bed so early. It seemed ridiculous. She was a grown woman, she didn’t need a bedtime. She went to bed when she was tired. Not when the clock told her.
She frowned.
“Wait a minute,” she muttered.
She held her arm up above her face, staring at her watch.
“Oh, no… no way.”
She had suddenly remembered the time difference. Sweden was one hour ahead. Which meant, according to Amber’s watch and her internal body clock, it was only nine.
She flopped her arm back down on the bed.
“Oh, well,” she said to herself. “When in Rome.”
She pictured Emilia, presumably tucked up in bed. Probably wearing an ankle-length nightdress buttoned up to the neck. Maybe holding a teddy bear as she slept.
She chuckled. Emilia may have been a little odd, but she seemed happy with her life and happy to see Amber. While Amber was bored enough to consider going out into the nearby forest and screaming with frustration, Emilia seemed genuinely pleased to have company.
It boded well for the currently unsigned contract. Emilia had said she would only do business with people she liked, and she seemed to like Amber. They had chatted and laughed. The evening had been pleasant enough.
She decided to bring up the subject of the contract the following day. That way she could get Emilia’s signature secured as soon as possible and then rest easy. Though rest was the last thing she wanted.
She blew out a frustrated breath as she continued to stare at the ceiling.
She felt sorry for Emilia, stuck out in the middle of nowhere with no one to speak to. She said she was happy, but Amber detected an underlying hint of sadness. And who wouldn’t be sad? Clearly the house had been in the family for generations. It was a house that had grown with the family and was built to shelter many people. Emilia was just one person rattling around a large house. She’d be better off in the guesthouse, Amber mused. Less room to fill.
Emilia spoke about her family only through stories of things that had happened a seemingly long time ago. While she hadn’t said anything specific, Amber got the distinct impression that talking about the Lunds was off-limits.
The fact that Emilia lived alone led Amber to believe that they had all died. Of course, she knew about Charlotte Lund’s death, but knew nothing about Emilia’s grandfather, mother, or father. The fact they weren’t around, or spoken about, was one thing that did not bode well.
She sat up and stretched her hands above her head. She decided to do some yoga in the hope that it would tire her out before bed. Her mind needed clearing, and it wasn’t like she had anything else to do.
Standing up, she shook her body as she tried to clear her mind. Unfortunately, all she could think about was the hike around the lake they had planned for the next day. Amber couldn’t remember the last time she had only had one thing planned for an entire day.
But apparently that was the way Emilia did things. They were going to go for a hike around the lake, as she’d somehow got the impression that Amber would love it. She didn’t go out of her way to dissuade Emilia from the idea. If Emilia would be happy walking around the lake, then Amber would pretend that she was, too.
At the moment, she was in the business of doing things that would make Emilia happy.
Because happy Emilias were apparently the ones who signed contracts. And that would make Amber happy.