“In Rowan Thorp?” Maggie exclaimed. “I mean, that would be wonderful! I’d love it if you lived here, but isn’t it a bit quiet here for you London gals?”
“We love London, but we’ve lived there for our entire married life. We’re ready to start a new adventure.”
“Oh my god! This is so amazing! We’ll all be together again! I’m so excited!” Star was shrieking with delight.
“How would it work with Evette’s counseling?” asked Maggie, ever practical.
“If her existing clients want to stay with her, she could offer video appointments and then she could set herself up in practice here for in-person consultations. And if after a year we’ve settled in properly, I guess I’ll look at getting another physiotherapy placement. To be honest, I’m looking forward to helping at the shop and just being around, you know? Being in the present, instead of living on fast-forward. I’ve been so busy chasing the future that I stopped appreciating the here and now, and that included my wife. We need a bit of time to bask in the greatness of our marriage.”
“Sounds like you’ve got it all worked out.” Maggie smiled. “I think it’s a brilliant idea. The only fly in the ointment is that I might not be able to afford to stay here. How ironic that after all these years of living here without you both, I might be leaving just as you move in.”
“What!” Star exclaimed. “No!”
“Interest from city dwellers wanting to move to the country—no offense, Simone—has pushed rents around here through the roof. I was barely hanging on over at the shop, and that was with the advantage of being a long-term tenant.” Maggie couldn’t help the wobble in her voice.
“Live at Dad’s with me permanently,” Star implored.
“Sweetie, that’s not a long-term solution for either of us, you know that. We need to sell the building; we all need the money, and I need a job. I’m losing my livelihood; I’ve got to move where the work is.”
“Which leads me to my next proposal.” Simone pulled her phone out of her pocket and said in her bossiest voice, “Hello. Yes. I need you to come here now, please.”
She had barely shoved her phone back into her jeans when Duncan walked in, holding a glass of orange juice and a plate with a chef’s club sandwich teetering on top.
“I’m here,” he said, resting his lunch on the worktop. “I was just in the bar getting lunch. Why are you all wearing goggles? Blimey! It’s a bit oniony in here!” His eyes instantly began to stream.
Star handed him a square of kitchen paper.
“Tell them what you told me earlier.” Simone nodded at him.
The paper towel was already soaking, but Duncan struggled bravely on.
“It’s a Hilliard,” he began, “the miniature we found the other day. I just found out this morning. Simone caught me as I was taking the call; she asked me to wait until you were all together.”
“Holy Mary, Mother of God!” Maggie reached for the worktop to steady herself.
“All praise the goddess!” Star trilled.
Simone smiled, pleased. “In light of the fact that our ancestors appear to have hoarded some pretty mint heirlooms over the years, my suggestion is this. We don’t sell the shop. We keep it going. Star, you are homeless and jobless . . .”
“Thanks for reminding me.”
“My point is, you can live at Dad’s and run the shop. You’ve been learning this stuff with Duncan, so keep learning. Become a buyer of interesting things like Patience and Dad and all the Norths in between.
“We can auction off some of the bigger-ticket items like the Hilliard and split the cash to keep us going. Two hundred grand split three ways would be about sixty-six grand each. More than enough for you to find a new place to rent in Rowan Thorp, Maggie, and give you a bit of breathing space while you find another job. We’ll get a contract made up, Maggie and I can be silent partners in the business. We’ll take our cut, and, Star, you’ll have somewhere to live rent-free.”
Star was nodding like one of those bobble-head dashboard dolls, her mouth an O shape of delight.
“You could work in the curios shop with me, Maggie. It’s a family business, after all,” she gushed excitedly, hugging herself as though to stop herself from exploding. Simone couldn’t help but grin at the effect her words were having on her sisters.
“I can’t quite take it in.” Maggie laughed. “Sixty-six grand. Shit! That’s more money than I’ve ever had in my life!”
“That’s a modest estimate, in my fine art counterpart’s opinion,” Duncan put in. “That would be the reserve price; I’d expect it to go for a lot more.”
“I think I might throw up.” Maggie was dabbing her forehead with her apron.
Star was doing a strange kind of floaty dance of joy about the kitchen, which looked all the more incongruous for the apron that read Dirty Bitch! and the welding goggles. She paused to kiss Duncan, who had taken to stirring the three pots of onions to make sure they didn’t burn, since the North sisters had all but abandoned their workstations.
“Well?” asked Simone. “What do you think, Maggie? It won’t save your home, but it means you can stay in the village. Verity wouldn’t have to change schools, and you could help out at the shop until you find your feet, or forever if you’d like? You have to admit it’s a genius idea, if I do say so myself.”
“I agree with your genius,” said Maggie slowly. “I think it could work. It would be lovely to have you all here. I mean, you are a giant high-maintenance pain in the arse, and Star is a space cadet, but I wouldn’t have you any other way.”
“Who’s a space cadet?” asked Star as she pirouetted about the kitchen.
Simone smiled. At long last, things were starting to look up.
43
“I’m going to tell them both tonight,” Maggie said, a half-empty crate of broccoli in her arms. “Over dinner.”
She and Joe were bringing in the fruit and veg displays from the front of the shop. The weather had turned ominously cold, and a freezing fog hung along the high street. She had filled Joe in on the events in the pub kitchen.
“We could tell them about us too. Make it official. Hit them with all the good news at once.” Joe smiled.
Maggie squirmed. “Maybe not tonight. We don’t want to blow their minds.” She laughed awkwardly. His face fell and she felt horribly guilty. “But soon,” she added brightly, always playing for time.
Joe recovered his good humor quickly. “I’ve got say, I’m relieved,” he said, dropping a crate of parsnips down beside a tray of sprout trees. “I understand your reasons for keeping the eviction from them, but I’ve felt uncomfortable about Patrick; he’s an adult, he ought to be kept in the loop.”
“I know. I was hanging on for a miracle. But what with the money from the painting and not having to sell my dad’s place, it feels like I’ve got the next best thing. Honestly, I feel like a weight’s been lifted. I know I gave it the big ‘I’ll be fine’ speech, but I was scared shitless about what I was going to do.”