A Change for the Better?
Read A Change for the Better? Online
Authors: Stephanie Drury
A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER?
BY Stephanie Drury
ebook
is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publisher as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
First published in 2012 by Stephanie Drury
Copyright© 2011 Stephanie Drury
Stephanie Drury has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This novel is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or
dead,
is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright owner.
The rain was bucketing down, hammering on the roof of the car like a demented pigeon having tap dance lessons. Katie peered through the windscreen at Tolpuddle House, of course it was
raining! It
was wet and gloomy, just like her mood. How had she agreed to come here? Still, no use sitting in her little sports car ruing her unfortunate position, after all, it was almost entirely her own fault that she found herself in her current predicament. It was pointless hiding here in the
car, watching
the rain and feeling sorry for herself, she had nowhere else to go so she may as well make the best of it. Katie carefully opened the door and promptly put her foot straight into a muddy puddle about six inches deep. “Bugger” she mumbled, still at least these were the Primark imitations and not the actual Ugg boots that were tucked away in her case. Splashing through the puddles Katie opened the boot of the car and heaved the cases out, dropping the corner of one onto her foot, which was now throbbing and wet! Carefully she turned towards the house and stopped. Katie stood in front of the old house, taking in it
’
s familiar outline, The rickety turret at the top, resembling a tower where the princess (always herself) would be imprisoned awaiting the handsome prince to rescue her.
“
Not anymore
”
thought Katie bitterly
“
rescue yourself; no swashbuckling knight on a white horse or charming
prince was going to come along and do it for you, no they would be cowering in the bushes or hightailing it in the opposite direction. Princes were definitely not what they used to be” The ivy was climbing up the west side of the house and it now covered almost half the house giving it a slightly sinister look like a theatrical mask concealing half
its
features, that was only offset by the many different shades of light beaming out of the rooms, like many twinkling eyes of soft shades of luminous pale light from the turrets to a bright vivid red light with mauve tones from the first floor window, setting the house alive.
It had been an age since Katie had been here, at least three years, but when she was a child she had spent many happy times here, staying at her grandparents, being spoiled and scolded in equal measure, living out huge adventures in the rambling garden and throughout the house in all the nooks and crannies. Katie smiled as she recalled Mo (as everyone called grandma) and granddad sat in front of the open fire in the kitchen, squabbling gently about anything and everything whilst she sat eating a bowl of plum crumble and custard or tucking into a doorstop sandwich, the only thing ever known to stop her talking for five minutes.
Katie smiled, despite it
s
sometimes imposing appearance; Tolpuddle House was a warm and welcoming place inside and always provided a
safe haven from the hostile world outside. Katie needed a haven now, she knew that, but she still wasn
’
t sure if she
’
d done the right thing by coming here – but it was too late now.
Giving herself a mental shake Katie opened the gate and entered into the slightly wild garden following the slightly overgrown path to her new, if temporary, home.
It had been only two days ago when Katie had received a call from Mo in hospital. She
’
d had a
‘
slight
’
fall as she understated it. Actually she had clattered down one and a half flights of stairs in Tolpuddle house before ending up in a heap in the middle of the hall. Fortunately there had been someone else in the house at the time and they had, despite Mo’s very vocal protests, called the ambulance straight away.
Mo, much to her chagrin, was now in hospital with a broken hip, bruised ribs, concussion and severely dented pride, but she was on the mend now. In fact when Katie had visited her she was practically back to her usual irascible self.
“
I don
’
t even know why they
’
re making such a fuss - it was only a little tumble
”
moaned Mo.
“
It was not a
‘
little tumble
’
Mo
”
Katie replied shortly
“
it was a nasty fall for someone half
your age
.
”
“
What
’
s age got to do with it? I
’
m as fit as a fiddle, I
’
ve never been ill in my life I ...
”
“
Yes, you old
battle-axe
, you
’
re indestructible I know
”
Katie interrupted,
as Mo
could run on eloquently in this theme for some time,
“
but either way you
’
re in here now and you have to stay until you
’
re fixed. Anyway it may not be so bad; it
’
s a mixed ward you know!
” Katie added with tongue firmly in cheek.
“
You cheeky mare
”
Mo laughed in mock outrage,
“
but don
’
t you go thinking I
’
m past it. How
’
s that young man of yours anyway, you know the one you won
’
t let any of us meet.
”
“
He
’
s history, Mo - I don
’
t want to talk about it but he
’
s gone and I
’
m officially homeless and probably jobless too.
”
Katie sighed, this was a conversation she wasn
’
t ready to have yet - the wounds were still raw. In addition there were so many other problems her current situation brought with it that she had no idea where to even start explaining it all. Mo saw the shutters go down on her granddaughters expressive brown eyes and saw her chin tilt up in that determined fashion she’d
had since she was a stubborn five-year-old who really didn’t want to go
home. There’d
be no confidences from Katie now. Mo sighed, she really admired Katie
’
s determination and strength but sometimes she wished she could open up so that she could put her arms around her to help make things better. Still at least she could help with one or two of Katie
’
s problems this time without appearing to. Mo cleared her throat and jumped in before Katie could steer the conversation completely away from herself.
“
Well Katie, we won
’
t talk about it if you don
’
t want to, but when you do want to, you know where I am, I’m not going anywhere for a while! Anyway I need your help if I
’
m going to be stuck in this godforsaken place. I need you to look after Tolpuddle house for me.
”
Mo paused and listened for any reaction in the heavy silence that followed. Katie didn
’
t think she
’
d heard correctly.
“
Sorry, keep an eye on it you mean?
”
“
No
”
Mo shook her head vigorously until the bandages started to wobble;
“
I mean look after it - move in to it and make sure all my people are ok too. Come on, you just said you had
nowhere
to live and no job either!
”
Mo looked up innocently from her bed, holding Katie in
her translucent blue gaze. Anyone who knew Mo would tell you there was no escape from Mo
’
s plan when she fixed you with those azure glinting innocent eyes. They were much more Machiavellian than innocent in the workings behind them.
Katie took a deep breath to buy herself a bit more thinking time, but Mo seizing the moment, decided to take this pause as consent and before Katie could respond in any way Mo had removed her keys from her bag along with a list of instructions from the notepad by the side of her bed and pressed them into Katie
’
s hand. As if on autopilot Katie took them and started to rise from the chair – she knew she was already beaten.
“
Ok Mo, I
’
ll look after things only for as long as you
’
re in here. I
’
ll see you soon,
”
she said kissing the top of Mo
’
s head,
“
I just want to have a word with the sister before I go.
”
Katie rose thinking she had taken control of the situation well. It wasn
’
t until she had spoken to the sister that she
realised
quite how skillfully she had been stitched up. Mo would be in hospital at least a month, need a convalescence period for another two months after that and even then she may not be strong enough to look after the house and it
’
s inhabitants. Katie had just been signed up for at least a three-month stint!