The Cottage of Curiosities by Celia Anderson

Author:Celia Anderson [Anderson, Celia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008312824
Amazon: B083RB9ZNP
Published: 2020-09-25T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

As the evening draws on, Emily lets herself back into the cottage and revels for the moment in the peace and quiet. The only sound is of Fossil snuffling around the kitchen looking for food, and after she’s fed the cat and put the kettle on there’s only herself to think about for a change.

She heads for the stairs to her flat while the tea brews, quickly changing into comfortable sweat pants and a baggy T-shirt, then coming back downstairs to pick up a mug of tea and a blanket. It’s been a while since she’s had time to sit out on the veranda, and the sun was warmer today than it’s been so far this year. Andy and Tamsin are out with the Sunday School for a picnic so they won’t be back yet. Hopefully Grace and James have reached their overnight stop and Julia should have Will with her by now. She puts ticks by each name on her mental register, resolving to ring Gran in ten minutes. Everyone is accounted for.

Emily settles herself in May’s old swing seat, wrapping the fleecy blanket round her knees and sipping her tea slowly while it’s still hot. Fossil, hunger satisfied, jumps up beside her and lies down with a contented sigh. Coming home to Pengelly is wonderful, especially now she’s got her own little house.

She debates starting on the proof of a novel she’s been given to read but then decides to deal with messages first. Her phone has been on silent on the train home but it’s constantly flashed with incoming texts and emails. None of them seemed urgent in her exhausted state but she’s intrigued to see that there’s a more recent email from Tamsin. This is new. Andy’s been showing her how to use his computer and will have supervised any messages carefully, but the wording and spelling are all her own.

Hi Em I have bin to the bech and I sor Grays. We need to tork. See you soon, Tam

How puzzling. Emily reads the email again but it doesn’t get any clearer. For one thing, it’s been a while – much too long – since she’s had any friendly communication with Andy’s daughter, so that’s got to be a positive development. There are no kisses although Tamsin’s called her Em, just like she used to. But what’s Grace got to do with anything and why do they need to tork?

Her other messages are much easier to understand. She’s already dealt with the one from Gran saying Will’s plane has been delayed but she’s arranged a taxi for him, and Andy’s text is brief.

Call you later. Love you madly, A. x

There are several more, and Emily works through them systematically as the sun goes down. She phones Julia, knowing she really should go over and meet her great-uncle for the first time, but her grandmother seems to be coping and says the visitor is so tired from the journey he’s going to have supper on his lap in front of the fire, and then a bath and a very early night.

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