please.â
She rubbed the back of her hand across her face and Katie made a mental note to add make-up to their shopping list. She waited until Victoria had recovered her composure and then did her best to be supportive and positive.
âDonât let it get you down too much, Victoria. Your father wasnât all wrong, you know. I drove around for years in my little car and, believe me, it was crap. It was forty, fifty, sixty years younger than your dadâs cars, but it wouldnât go up hills, it leaked like a sieve and, in winter, it never wanted to start. And, in fact, itâs died now, completely. So itâs not all good out there in the twenty-first century. But weâll soon get you up to speed. It wonât take you long, I promise. Youâll see.â She gave Victoria a bright smile and was gratified to see the beginnings of a smile on her young employerâs face.
âAnyway, if youâll let me, I think we should be able to get a TV and a computer installed up here in a very short space of time. And then, Iâll take you on a trip through the modern world thatâll blow your mind.â Seeing Victoriaâs expression, she translated. âThatâll amaze and astound you.â As she was talking, she was thinking: music and cinema. An iPod and a stereo system would have to appear on their shopping list, plus some must-see DVDs. Maybe a Kindle would come in handy. She was beginning to realise that she was going to have her work cut out.
âKatieâ¦â Victoriaâs face had cleared. She looked up, straight into Katieâs eyes. âWhatever it takes, Katie.â She was smiling now. âOne thing we arenât short of is money, so, like I say, whatever it takes.â
Chapter Four
The trip to Exeter was a great success. By the end of the afternoon, they had bought a lot more than Katie had written on her list. It was fortunate that Mackintosh had chosen to take a Rolls-Royce this time. It was an enormous vehicle with a cavernous boot. Even so, they filled it to bursting. Apart from a mass of clothes, books and films, there were two laptops, two tablet computers, a large flat screen television and numerous other electronic devices.
To Katieâs surprise, all the purchases were paid for by Mackintosh, who followed them round patiently, settling up shop by shop as they moved on from one to another. Katie was relieved to see that he used a debit card. For a while she had been wondering if he would appear with a bag of gold sovereigns, but clearly, some aspects of modernity had, of necessity, had to intrude upon the isolation of Iddlescombe Manor. However, as far as Katie could see, Victoria didnât even carry a purse.
Although Katie had had a pretty privileged upbringing, without any real money worries, she had never experienced anything like this before. She had started to keep tab of just how much was being spent, but she gave up after the figures became a blur. Victoria was spending thousands of pounds without batting an eyelid. And yet, somehow, Katie didnât feel jealous. However much money Victoria might have, it still couldnât compensate for the loss of so many years of her life. She knew Jen would have a fit when, or rather if, she told her, but she didnât know the full story.
What was that thing about money not buying happiness again
?
They had lunch in a restaurant near the fine old cathedral. The two girls sat by the window, while Mackintosh disappeared for a short while. Victoria demonstrated that she wasnât quite as green as she looked by informing Katie of his likely destination.
âIâm pretty sure heâs gone to the bookmakers. Heâs always been one for a flutter on the horses. When he and my father used to go to the local point-to-point, they would always place a few bets.â
âDidnât they take you? You love horses after all.â Victoria caught her eye and gave the now familiar
Vanessa Mock, Jessie Reinking