Justin had taken up residence in the county town of Tresham some years ago, when he had first formed a business relationship with his uncle, Robert Pettison, housing small creatures at the Lincolnshire farm until he could collect them. There were empty barns and stables, so it was no problem.
Justin was getting very fed up now with having to share his room with creepy crawlies. As Robert’s valuable consignments grew in number, he had to move. He often had to do a holding job for a day or two, as they had to be kept out of sight. Many were rare, and some nigh on extinction, illegally obtained from the wild, and Robert did not want them examined too closely before moving them on to rich customers. Justin opened the local paper and turned to the houses and flats to see if the one over the Farnden shop was in.
Nothing suitable presented itself at first, so he made himself a coffee and took up the evening paper. Flats to buy and rent. Ah, that should be it! His eye was caught by a name he recognised. There it was: Long Farnden, and the one he meant to take on. The details sounded promising. A one bedroom flat, with parking and a garden. No particulars of rent required, but a telephone number to contact, and he called straightaway to make an appointment to view.
There was no estate agent involved, so no need to leave his name and particulars. It sounded as if the owner had inserted the ad, and so he hoped for a reasonable rent.
“Good morning! Long Farnden village shop. How can I help you?”
Ah! The charming young shopkeeper herself, thought Justin. He announced his interest in the flat, using his old public school voice, and asked if he could come over and take a look.
“Yes, that will be satisfactory,” said Josie.
“This morning? I have to be in your area,” said Justin.
“No, I’m afraid it will have to be after shop hours. The flat is above the shop, you see. Also, I need the owners, one or other of them, to be present. Perhaps you could come about six o’clock? We are in the high street, and you can’t miss the shop!”
Oh, you can be sure I know where the shop is, thought Justin, but he thanked Josie for her information and said he would see her at six o’clock sharp.
*
“We’ve got a prospective client for the shop, Mum, so can you be down here at six this evening?”
Lois heard the excitement in Josie’s voice, and agreed at once. It was a big step, letting the flat over the shop to someone who could easily be a complete stranger. Derek had said that estate agents did all kinds of financial checks, and wouldn’t it be a good idea if they put their flat in agents’ hands? But Josie had said she was sure her questions would reveal the kind of character she would be dealing with, and took up Derek’s suggestion that either he or Lois should be with her when showing people around.
“Man or woman?” asked Lois now.
“Man. Sounded posh, but nice. Agreed at once to come after shop hours. Said it would suit him better, as he was here and there during the day. Anyway, he is the first, if you don’t count Gran, so we may get others. Must go now, Mum. Customer waiting.”
Lois put down the phone and went off to the kitchen to find Gran. She needed to make sure her mother had no intention of resorting to her former plan of occupying the shop flat in the future. She was fairly sure the first experience had put her off for good, but she was equally sure that during a long life Gran had maintained a strongly held conviction that she was her own master and quite capable of making impulsive decisions, regardless of the inconvenience to other people.
“It’s why you’ve never been president of the village Women’s Institute,” Derek had told her jokingly many times. “You can’t be trusted to do the right thing.”
Gran had retorted that one man’s right thing was another man’s disaster, and she had every right to make up her own mind. So now Lois told her that a possible tenant for the flat was coming at six o’clock, testing her reaction.
“I hope he’s not allergic to creepy crawlies,” Gran replied. “Or killer reptiles, for that matter. I trust you’ll not tell him about the snake and the toad? Not to mention the rat!”
“So you’d not want to go back there and give it another try?”
“Over my dead body!” she exclaimed. “Which it might very well be, if I was ever fool enough to set up house there again.”
“Good, so that’s okay. Josie said he sounded posh, and nice with it, so let’s hope we’ve got the right one first time.”
“He may be nice and posh, but that don’t mean anything. Anyway, what’s a posh, well-educated man want with a small flat over a village shop?”