At Home With The Templetons (29 page)

‘The timing couldn’t be better. Three months’ work at least, do you think, between the cataloguing and the valuing? Perfect, perfect. Yes, I’ll come first, and the rest of the family will follow. Or perhaps all of us together. I’ll let you know once it’s decided.’ Once what was decided? And what did ‘all of us together’ mean?

Gracie didn’t have to wait long to find out. Two days later, she was summoned into the kitchen by her parents. Audrey, Spencer and even Hope were already there waiting. Everyone looked very serious.

‘Take a seat, Gracie, would you?’ her mother said. ‘And please don’t interrupt.’

Her father did all the talking. He’d barely finished breaking the news before Gracie stood up, pushed back her chair and started running, down the hallway, out across the back garden and through the gate. It wasn’t three o’clock. It didn’t matter. ‘Nina, Nina!’

Nina’s head emerged from her studio. ‘Gracie, what is it?’ Gracie burst into tears. ‘We’re leaving, Nina. All of us. Leaving!’

Just like that?’ On the phone that night, Hilary was as surprised as Nina.

‘Just like that,’ Nina said. ‘Henry and Eleanor told the kids and Hope today. They fly out a week on Saturday, straight back to London.’

‘But what about the Hall? The groups? The tours?’

‘They’re putting a sign up at the gate. “Closed for renovations until further notice”, or something like that. Henry’s ringing the local paper too.’

‘But why? What’s happened? Why so suddenly?’

Nina had asked first Gracie and then Eleanor exactly the same questions herself. Gracie had been too tearful to tell her. When Eleanor had followed her daughter out to the stables, Nina hadn’t been able to read the other woman’s face. She had seemed calm, matterof-fact about the sudden news, but surely it must have been a shock to her as well?

Nina told Hilary all she’d managed to find out. ‘They’ve been called back to England for family reasons, apparently.’ ‘Apparently?’

‘It doesn’t make sense to me. Gracie told me they don’t have any close family left in England. And it just seems so strange, to suddenly decide to go back for three months, to close the whole Hall up. And it seems even stranger that they’d invite me to rent the apartment and then announce only a fortnight later that they’re moving.’

‘So where does it leave you?’

‘I’ll just have to start packing again, I guess. I’ll ring the real estate people tomorrow, look for a house in town after all.’ ‘There must be more to it. You can’t even get the truth out of Gracie?’

‘Not a word. The poor little thing hasn’t stopped crying since she found out.’

Over the next few days, Gracie was a constant visitor to the apartment, but anything Nina said to try to console her just sparked more sobbing.

‘There’s nothing good about any of this, Nina. It doesn’t matter what you say. I won’t be able to be your neighbour. We won’t get to see Tom play cricket again. I won’t get to pick the flowers I helped plant. It’s a disaster.’

‘Do you have to go?’

A slow, unhappy nod. ‘We have to. We just have to. It’s just the way it is.’

‘She’s obviously been told not to tell you anything,’ Hilary suggested after Nina related that conversation. ‘And they’re all going? Even the drunk one? The mute one?’

‘Hilary!’

‘I can’t say I envy poor Eleanor. Presumably she’s the one doing all the packing and organising? If I was her, I’d want to just run away and leave them all to it, wouldn’t you?”

”Sometimes, Nina, I wish I could just run away and leave them all behind.’

Nina had already been surprised when Eleanor appeared at her door again. She was even more thrown now. ‘You don’t need to tell me anything, Eleanor. I don’t want to pry ‘

‘I know you don’t. I also know you don’t go around telling everyone around here our business. That means a lot to me, Nina. Thank you.’

Nina was struck again by Eleanor’s dignity and grace. By something else, too. Her sadness. There was something very sad about the other woman.

‘Is there anything I can do until you all get back?’ Nina expected her to say no. She was surprised when Eleanor hesitated and said, as it happened, yes, there was something they hoped she could do for them. Nina listened as Eleanor explained.

‘Be your caretaker? But how can I, when there’s nothing to take care of? The Hall won’t be open, will it?’ She was puzzled. ‘I thought you were going to ask me to move out.’

‘Of course not. You’ve just moved in. This will only be a short trip away, while we, well, while Henry - I won’t go into it. But we will be back. And it would give us great peace of mind to know you were keeping an eye

on everything in the meantime. Airing it, arranging cleaners, that kind of thing. We’d pay you, too.’ ‘Eleanor, no!’ ‘Nina, we would. It’s a job, so we’d pay you for it.’ ‘You’re already giving me cheap rent.’

‘If you won’t take payment, then we won’t take your rent.’ ‘But Gracie said you were in financial diffi-‘ She stopped, embarrassed.

Eleanor gave a brief smile. ‘Gracie says a lot of things that she doesn’t quite understand. Please, Nina, think about it. A caretaker’s role in return for rent-free accommodation.’

It was so tempting. So incredibly tempting. Work had slowed down again. Money was as tight as ever. And as exciting as Tom’s promising cricket career was, it was also expensive - the equipment, the uniforms, the travel. One day, years off perhaps, if he turned professional, all his costs would be covered, but for now, it was her responsibility. Three months of rent-free accommodation could be just what she needed to help get her through this tight patch. Give her some breathing space … ‘You’re definitely coming back?’ she asked. ‘It won’t be for long?’

‘Of course we’re coming back,’ Eleanor said. ‘We’ll be away three months at the most. Please, Nina, would you just consider it?’ Nina knew she should think about it first. Talk it over with Hilary, with her parents, look at the whole situation with a careful eye. But Eleanor was standing there, waiting, that sad, secret look in her eyes. There seemed to be no way she could say no.

So she said yes.

Time moved faster from that day. Nina agreed the terms with Henry and Eleanor, even signing a contract to keep it formal. A sign announcing the Hall’s temporary closure was erected at the front gate. A fullpage article appeared in the local newspaper. Gracie finally stopped crying and spent her days choosing what to pack instead, running each item past Nina for her approval. ‘I’m not taking everything,’ she informed her during one of her many daily visits. ‘Just my favourites. We’ll be back so soon there’s no point taking masses of suitcases with us.’

The day of the Templetons’ departure felt like a strange dream to Nina, as they all gathered on the front steps of the Hall. She felt as if she was a head of state, moving from one to the other saying goodbye, Tom following behind her.

Audrey was first in line. She gave Nina a feeble hug. She still hadn’t spoken a word.

‘Good luck, Audrey,’ Nina said. ‘I hope things get better soon.’ There was no reply.

Hope was next. Nina hesitated before holding out her hand. ‘Goodbye for now, Hope.’

Hope’s voice was as sardonic as her smile, her handshake perfunctory. ‘It’s been a pleasure, Nina.’

Spencer shied away from her hug and shook hands instead. He did hug Tom, though. Very quickly.

Eleanor and Henry were next.

‘Thank you again, Nina, for everything,’ Eleanor said, kissing her cheek.

Henry kissed both her cheeks and then hugged her. ‘We couldn’t do this without you, Nina. Thank you.’

Gracie was last. Nina held the little girl close, smoothing down a fly-away lock of her hair. ‘I’ll miss you, Gracie.’ She meant it. ‘You’ll write to me, won’t you?’

A forlorn nod. ‘All the time. When I’m not writing to Charlotte, that is.’

Their bags were in the car. There was nothing for the Templetons to do now but leave.

‘See you in three months,’ Nina called, as their car turned in a slow circle and made its way down the tree-lined drive away from the Hall.

Dear Nina

Hello from London!

I promised I’d send you a postcard as soon as we got here, and here it is! It was a very LONG flight and we are all tired. We are staying in a hotel at the moment until we find a house but Mum has told me not to worry about that. It is very cold, hardly daylight at all, but it feels SO Christmassy already and the shops look beautiful with all the lights.

I will write again soon once we have somewhere to live. Please say hello to Tom for me. I MISS you both already!

Love Gracie xxxxxxxxxxx

January 1994

Dear Nina

Thank you so much for your thorough detailing of the situation with the window shutters. Please do go ahead with the lowest quote regarding the repairs. I will arrange for funds to be deposited into the account this week.

This letter also comes with news that I hope won’t prove difficult for you. We find ourselves in the situation where we need to extend our stay here in London. Is it a huge imposition to ask you to continue in your role as caretaker for another three months? Either myself or Eleanor will phone you shortly to discuss this further, but we do hope it might suit you too.

In haste, but with gratitude, as ever, Henry

March 1994

Hello Nina!

THANK YOU for your wonderful letter. Yes, I was SO sad at first to hear the news we’re staying here for another three months. I haven’t told Mum and Dad but I’d already packed, so I had to spend another whole day unpacking again.

That is wonderful news about Tom being picked for the state junior team!!!! (Please excuse all the exclamation marks.) You must be SO proud of him. I wish we could all have been there to cheer him on again. Does this mean he is now famous??? Can you please send photos of him and of you next time? I want to stick them on my bedroom wall.

Apart from the fact we’re not coming back to Australia yet, my other bad news is I have to go to a local school. Mum has decided to go back to teaching fulltime, rather than just teach Spencer and me. She said it was because she wants to stretch her learning muscles again, but I also heard her fighting with Dad about money they

owe, so it may be because of that as well. Dad is working hard. I think so, anyway. He’s not here much. The new job he has means he visits lots of big old houses full of antiques in the countryside. Audrey is still not talking (Charlotte is disgusted about it. She says it has nothing to do with the stage fright any more, it’s all about getting Mum’s constant attention), but she has started going to school again, a different one than mine, luckily. Otherwise she’d be writing notes to me all day, like she does at home, and I wouldn’t have time to try and make friends. Spencer says she’s probably the ideal student, never answering her teachers back. Hope is still with us unfortunately (please don’t tell Mum I said that) and still spending lots of time in her bedroom, though it’s not as nice as her room at Templeton Hall. Our whole house is NOWHERE near as nice as Templeton Hall. But it’s only for a few more months so I am trying not to get too sad about it.

I miss you Nina. Please write back soon. Love from your friend,

Gracie xxxxxx

August 1994

Dear Nina

I know Henry has written formally to ask you to continue to take care of the Hall for us until the end of the year, but I just wanted to add my thanks. As you know, we’d hoped to be returning by now, but life is always unpredictable, isn’t it? Fortunately, things appear to be settling down a little now. I have taken a short-term teaching contract at a local school and am enjoying it more than I expected. The children are as stimulating as always, in their different ways, although I’m sorry to say Audrey still hasn’t recovered her speech. I had hoped a change in scenery would help her, but sadly not as yet. Gracie misses Australia very much, but is slowly settling into London life, I think. Spencer at least seems happy to be here. Henry’s work is going well. Hope also seems to be in much better health. I’m glad to say Charlotte is having the time of her life in Chicago.

Thank you again, Nina. I hope you know how much we appreciate your understanding.

This comes with all best wishes to you and Tom from all of us, Eleanor

November 1994

Dear Nina

I’m sorry not to have written for so many weeks. We’ve had to move again. We’re in a new part of London and I don’t like it. Spencer has started misbehaving all the time and this week he broke Mum’s favourite cup and he said it was an accident but I was there, and it looked to me like he pushed it off the table.

Audrey still isn’t speaking and hardly ever leaves the house except to go to school. She still writes a lot of notes though. Mum has tried to get her to see a doctor but I said to her what’s the point? If she doesn’t talk to us, her own family, she’s hardly going to talk to a doctor, is she? Charlotte rang to talk to her last week (to tell her off, from what I could gather - she still thinks Audrey is making the whole thing up) but Audrey just listened for a few minutes and then hung up on her. Charlotte was furious about that, as I’m sure you can imagine! Dad is so busy all the time, we barely see him any more. He is now working with another friend of his, cataloguing the contents of three stately homes. Right up his street as he said, but they are all a long way from London so he doesn’t stay here at night much, once a week at the most. I asked Mum if she missed him and she just laughed, which I didn’t think was very nice of her.

At least it’s the Christmas holidays soon so I’ll have a break from trying to understand algebra and physics. But I wish I was back at Templeton Hall with you.

Love Gracie xxx

March 1995

Dear Nina

I feel like we covered so much when we spoke on the phone yesterday but I wanted to put it in writing once again how much we appreciate your flexibility and good humour regarding our ever-changing situation. I know you went to pains to tell me that continuing our arrangement for another year suits you and Tom as well, and I hope you are being truthful.

Would you please reconsider our offer to move into the Hall itself though? It seems very unfair to ask you to extend your caretaking for a second year and yet still be crammed into the small apartment when the whole Hall is there at your disposal. Please take your pick of any of the bedrooms and treat the whole Hall as your own home. But if you truly do prefer to stay in the apartment, we will of course understand your decision.