Deadlight Hall (Nell West/Michael Flint #5)(21)
‘The lease is probably the same as your place as far as ground rent and repairing obligations and whatnot,’ said Godfrey. ‘But there’s about thirty years left to run on mine. And the two shops adjoin – I’ll bet you could knock them into one.’
‘The freeholders would have to approve that,’ said Nell, looking round Godfrey’s shop with the rows of bookshelves, and the lovely old tables for customers to consider the wares and discuss them in leisurely fashion.
‘It would double your present floor area,’ said Godfrey. ‘It might even more than double it – I think this shop is a bit bigger than yours.’
‘Godfrey, I don’t know if I could afford …’ But Nell was already remembering the insurance payout from Brad’s death, some of which the bank had invested in various funds and bonds, most of them incomprehensible, but all of them paying reasonable dividends, even in the current depressed and depressing market. If she called them in, would there be enough to take over Godfrey’s shop? And even if there was, would she want to use all of that money, which she had meant to keep for Beth? But then she looked round Godfrey’s shop again – yes, it was larger than hers – and she found herself thinking that she could turn the annexe behind her own shop, where she and Beth currently lived, into a big workshop which would allow her to return to renovating furniture, which she loved doing.
‘Come and see the rest of the place anyway.’ Godfrey was already leading the way. There were two more book-lined rooms, and a large alcove for prints. The living part at the rear had a beautiful large sitting-room looking on to a paved courtyard, with a small dining area leading off. There was a big square kitchen. Everywhere was immaculate – Godfrey was inclined to be fussy in a slightly old-maidish way – and the place would not need so much as a lick of paint.
‘Two huge bedrooms and bathroom up here,’ said Godfrey, starting up a spiral staircase. ‘From the main bedroom you can see across to All Saints Church.’
For a wild moment Nell saw herself waking in this room – Michael would be there on some mornings – and seeing the misty silhouette of All Saints against the dawn with him next to her. This was such an alluring prospect that she thought she had better slow down before she got carried away.
‘And a couple of storerooms at the top of these steps,’ said Godfrey, going across a small landing and up four more stairs. ‘I’ve never really used them – except for storing old stock. This one’s directly under the roof, as you can see. But I should think you could make two more bedrooms up here, or a study, if you wanted.’
‘Yes,’ said Nell, looking about her. ‘Yes, you could.’
But as they went downstairs, she said, ‘Godfrey, we have to be very straight with each other about this. I’m attracted to this, but I’ve only got a certain amount of money, and it really is all there is. I’m not going to start borrowing from banks or building societies.’
Godfrey beamed, and pattered into the little office to put the kettle on. When he came back, he was wearing the rimless spectacles which he always donned for serious work, and which made him look like a pleased owl.
‘Let’s work out some figures over a cup of coffee,’ he said.
The figures worked out surprisingly well.
‘We’re making a few assumptions,’ said Godfrey. ‘And we don’t know how much it would cost to knock the two shops into one. But I don’t think we’re very far out.’
Nell hoped they were not, because it was looking as if this really would be affordable. It would be a bit of a risk, because it would take most of the squirrelled-away investments, but it would not take all of them. The money earmarked for Beth would not need to be touched. She promised Godfrey that she would give him her decision within the next two days after she had talked to the bank and perhaps to a builder as well, then she went back to her own shop. Awaiting her was a message from some Japanese customers who wanted to buy a pair of Regency sofas which Nell had been trying to sell for six months. This was so encouraging, and would replenish the coffers so well, that Godfrey’s project looked even more promising.
After supper, when Beth embarked on her music practice, Nell caught herself thinking that if she took on Godfrey’s shop, Beth could have a bedroom in one of those unused upper rooms, and one of the present bedrooms could be turned into a music room. She was immensely proud of Beth’s progress and pleased with Beth’s continuing interest in the lessons, but it had to be acknowledged that the annexe was a bit small when it came to the practising of scales.
‘Would you like a proper music room, Beth?’
Beth’s small face, so heartbreakingly like her father’s at times, lit up. ‘I’d utterly love it. Where could I have it? Here somewhere?’
‘No, not here. But if we were to move to a bigger shop you might. It’s only an idea at the moment.’
‘We wouldn’t move away from Oxford, though? We couldn’t move away from Oxford, and leave Michael.’
Beth sounded anxious, and Nell said, ‘No, not away from Oxford.’ Certainly not away from Michael, she thought. ‘But perhaps to a bigger shop here in the Court.’
‘That’d be lavishly good,’ said Beth, and by way of expressing her approval, started in on a lively Mozart piece which her teacher had transposed and simplified for her.