Page 81 of Lost in Love
“Good job too; you don’t want the expense of maintaining it. It looks like it’s about to fall down.”
“They had done some minor work to it at one end as it was the weekend ticket office whilst they built the visitor centre, but yes, otherwise it is pretty dilapidated. Margaret showed me around and went through their plans. They want to start holding weddings next year.”
“Good luck to them getting it finished for the spring. Who would book a wedding in there until it could be seen finished?”
“She said they were getting some expert to do some artistic impression, to show off its potential.”
“So, how does this affect the village and your dreams of getting pensioners sweaty?”
Katherine twisted her face at the thought.
“She offered out the barn for anything I could throw at it. The nature of the wedding business is of course that you know in advance when you’re booked. The rest of the time it would be available to the community, for a small fee of course. She seemed very enthusiastic about it all. They will use it for events as well, but again they will be scheduled well in advance.”
“It’s going to cost them a fortune to sort it out; I expect any income from it will help. Don’t forget Gloria can always do the catering!”
They caught each other’s eye and laughed.
Rebecca continued. “No doubt it will help to have the neighbour on-side when it comes to renovations and late-night parties.”
Katherine grinned. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Well, it all sounds perfect. Just one thing concerns me.”
Katherine raised her eyebrows and shot her a look.
“You, overdoing it!”
“I think I can cope with a few exercise classes with some pensioners.”
The sound of the door knocker reverberated through the kitchen.
“Can you get that?”
“Of course, madam.” Rebecca doffed an imaginary hat. “I need to powder my nose anyway.”
Katherine went back over everything Margaret had suggested. She was really excited about a new chapter in her life; she was also excited for the abbey. It had so much potential, and she wanted to be part of it. She hadn’t told Becks about the most interesting suggestion of Margaret’s, as she hadn’t yet decided to accept it. Once the GMC debacle was behind her, she could move forward and start making plans.
“You have a visitor, Kat,” Rebecca shouted through the kitchen. “I’ll make myself scarce.”
Katherine got up to see Anna standing by the patio door.
“Anna. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Dad says you’re not his doctor anymore.”
“That’s right.” Katherine considered giving the reason why but wanted to hear what Anna had to say on the subject before imparting the facts.
Anna joined Katherine on the patio.
“So you ditch us when either of us needs you most. If you were so desperate to be rid of us, I wonder why you even bothered in the first place. We would have been better off without you.”
Katherine felt as if she’d been kicked in the gut but tried to keep her cool.
“That’s harsh, Anna. You know why I broke it off with you, and you know I’m sorrier than I can say. As for Harry, his care home is well out of our area. It was completely out of my hands. I also understand that his new doctor is particularly experienced with Parkinson’s disease, and he has personally reassured me that Harry is in safe hands.”
Anna’s lips parted and then closed again.
“You know he’s stopping there now? He asked to stay. It seems my assistance is no longer required. I can hardly be expected to compete with voice-activated Sky Television, can I?”
