Since living on her own, Jenna had got into the habit of checking her voicemail and email the moment she got in. She kicked off her boots and sat on the sofa with her laptop. Nothing interesting in her messages, so she emailed her agent to update her availability. Unless there was something happening on the weekend like a wedding or someone’s birthday, she liked to keep herself free in case she got a last minute job. But instead, she emailed Beth to say she was unavailable for the upcoming weekend. She was going to go to Cornwall with her parents to help them sort through Aunt Vi’s things. Most of all she wanted to see the cottage for herself.
Chapter Two
It was a hellishly long drive to Cornwall. They left before rush hour on the Friday as Jenna’s dad Tony decided it was the best way to avoid the worst of the traffic, while her mum Kath was keen to give themselves as much time as they could to sort through the cottage. It was years ago that Jenna had been on a long journey with her parents. The drive reminded her of family holidays when she was a kid, squabbling in the back with her brother, heading to a caravan park on the Norfolk Broads or down to Dorset or Cornwall camping.
The landscape changed from the suburbs, to the fields and countryside of middle England, to the winding narrow roads boxed in by hedges and trees as they got closer to Aunt Vi’s cottage. After more than four hours in the car she was feeling sleepy, but she perked up when her dad said they were about ten minutes away. She’d already looked on Google maps to see where the cottage was, and had become even more excited when she discovered it had a perfect location; on its own surrounded by countryside, just a short drive to the nearest beach, and a little further to the coastal town of Falmouth. It had everything going for it. Jenna got butterflies as she glimpsed a smudge of deep blue sea on the horizon. Tony turned off on to a narrow road and they were once again swamped by leafy trees lining each side, forming a tunnel of luminous green above them.
‘It shouldn’t be far now,’ Tony said, leaning forward in the driver’s seat. ‘So keep an eye out.’
There was nothing but green hedgerows and trees. The lane even had grass and weeds growing along the middle.
‘Dad, I think you missed it,’ Jenna said as they whizzed past a wooden gate half-hidden by foliage.
‘Damn.’
They had to keep driving for another mile before they found a gateway to turn around in. Tony took it easy on the way back, slowing down in time to pull into the space in front of the worn wooden gate with a faded sign saying ‘Bramble Cottage’. Jenna jumped out of the car and struggled to push the rickety gate open over the stones. Branches slapped the sides of the car as her dad drove into the driveway. Jenna closed the gate and followed her parents’ car as it slowly rocked its way down the stony uneven drive. Overgrown shrubs and grasses lined each side, encroaching on the already narrow lane. Her dad stopped the car in a space just big enough to park two cars.
Her parents got out and slammed the car doors shut. Birds shot out of a beech tree and flapped into the air.
‘Well,’ Kath said. ‘It doesn’t look like anyone’s touched this place in a long time. You can barely even see the cottage.’
The cottage was right in front of them. At least the side of it was – an outbuilding with a partly collapsed roof was built against the end wall of the cottage. A rose clambered up the side, obscuring most of the faded white wall, and entwined itself into the broken slate tiles of a roof that was in desperate need of repair. It was early spring and the recent rain, followed by sunshine, had left the garden overgrown. Trees loomed on all sides so Jenna couldn’t even tell where the garden started. Leafy greens and pink and white blossom swamped the place, making the cottage feel enclosed.
Jenna followed her parents along a weed-covered path around to the front of the cottage. Her immediate negativity about the place and how much needed to be done vanished as the whitewashed cob and stone building was revealed, along with the front garden, a wilderness with steps leading up to an overgrown lawn bordered by shrubs. A breeze rustled the branches of trees, wafting the scent of hyacinths in their direction. Apart from the crunch of their feet on the gravel path, the only sound was the breeze and birds twittering.
They reached the front door and Kath fumbled in her bag for the keys. Jenna wandered up the stone steps to the lawn; long grass swiped at her skinny jeans as she turned to get a proper look at the cottage. It was a tired dirty grey instead of the gleaming white it must have once been. The wooden sash windows looked original, but the paintwork was peeling. Jenna was certain the wood beneath would need some major TLC.
Kath pushed open the front door. ‘Oh my.’
Jenna followed her mum inside. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the gloom. Although the three windows in the kitchen and dining area were a decent size for a cottage, they were engrained with dirt and hardly let in any light. Kitchen units ran along the back and side wall, but they were worn and
